Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1
-Kant proved the existence of the mind by defining it as the
organizing
principle that regulates the impressions that one gets from
the external world
-Defined the self as the seat of knowledge acquisition for all
humans
-Kant spoke of a unified consciousness as the central
feature of the mind. The goal of the human person is to
achieve unity between one’s inner (psychological and
intellect) and outer senses (experience of the physical
world).
I. Gilbert Ryle
-Resolved the mind-body problem by blatantly denying the
existence of an internal, non-physical self
-For Ryle the “self” is not an entity one can locate and
analyze, it is simply the name that people use to refer to all
the behaviors they make.
-Ryle instead views the mind as consisting of dispositions
based on what people know, feel, want, etc.
-The mind’s existence is made visible and evident in one’s
activities like singing, dancing, running, etc. not as a thing
existing apart from and parallel to the body (e.g. a soul).
-While Ryle acknowledges that the self is a combination of
the mind and body, he maintains that they are not separate.
He challenged the dualistic view espoused by many earlier
thinkers.
J. Maurice Merleau-Ponty
- As a phenomenologist, Merleau-Ponty believes that the
human person is embodied through lived experiences
- Merleau-Ponty problematized the mind-body problem
asserting that it is futile and invalid
- The phenomenological perspective stresses that the self
is best understood by studying experiences as they occur
and not reducing them to their elementary components
(e.g. mental vs physical states)
- He regarded the self as an embodied subjectivity, not so
much as disembodied minds (existing without a body) or
complex machines, but as living creatures whose
consciousness is actualized by their involvement with
the world.
- He opposed the Cartesian cogito stating that the “I think”
implies an “I can”
- For Merleau-Ponty, the living body, one’s thoughts,
emotions, and all experiences are one
2
2. Relational Self
- Emerges from a culture of relatedness wherein cultural and
interpersonal relations are between overlapping selves
- Relational and interdependent self with fluid boundaries
- The self is often described in terms of social roles (e.g. in
terms of whose child you are, your work)
LESSON 2- SELF, SOCIETY, AND CULTURE E. Independent versus Interdependent Selves
I. The Self and Culture 1. Independent Self
A. The Self-Concept - Defined by unique internal attributes, such as traits or
- Your answers to the question “Who am I?” reveal your self- dispositions, that are independent of one’s context
concept. - Exemplified by many Western cultures
- It is a set or collection of ideas, images, beliefs or schemas a - Goal: to become independent from others and to discover
person has about the self and express one’s unique qualities
- It is multiple and multidimensional, meaning, our self-concept 2. Interdependent Self
is not fixed or static. How we see ourselves may change - The focus of individual experience is self-in-relation-to-others
through time. - Exemplified by many Asian cultures, African cultures, Latin
B. Determinants of the Self American cultures, and Eastern European cultures
1. Social Roles - Goal: to maintain interdependence among individuals and
- The roles we play in everyday life influence our self-concept. requires seeing oneself as part of social relationships or a
- For example, our roles as children or parents, teachers or larger social unit
students, II. The Filipino Self
become part of who we are. o The way the Filipino self has been characterized matches the
2. Social Identity relational-interdependent conception of the self.
- It is the part of self-concept that is derived from group A. Kapwa as the Self with Others (Virgilio Enriquez)
membership (e.g. gender, nationality, religion) - Kapwa, the core concept of Filipino interpersonal relations,
- We develop social identities like that of being Catholics, being emphasizes the self as fundamentally related with other
Bicolanos, or being nursing majors. - Kapwa is the unity of the unity of the self and others, it is the
3. Social Comparisons equivalent for the interdependent or relational view of the self
- The self-concept is also shaped by the social comparisons we - Kapwa, a shared inner self, corresponds to pakikipagkapwa,
make when we compare ourselves with others. or relating to others as fellow human beings (kapwa tao)
- Leon Festinger’s Social Comparison Theory suggests that - In pakikipagkapwa, Filipino makes use of pakikiramdam
people have the innate drive to evaluate their abilities and (shared inner perception), or the active process of being aware
opinions by considering social reality, which they establish by of and being sensitive to others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions
comparing themselves to others. B. Self as Embedded in the Group (Fr. Jaime Bulatao)
4. People’s perception of who we are - Bulatao illustrated the self as embedded in the group through
- As we grow older, social relationships contribute to the an analogy:
changing images of our selves. • The hard-boiled egg represents the self, or ego, that is
- Charles Cooley’s Looking Glass Self Phenomenon refers to clearly
our tendency to use others as a mirror for perceiving ourselves. individuated or separate from others.
As such, how significant others see us becomes how we see • At the other extreme are scrambled eggs with
ourselves. completely mixed selves.
- For example, if your mother tells you that you are a well- • In between is a batch of fried eggs where each yolk
behaved child, you being well-behaved becomes part of your remains distinct and separate from other yolks. The
self-concept. whites, however, are now joined to one another that one
5. Culture cannot tell where one egg ends and another begins
- Culture and the self-structure each other. - According to Bulatao, Filipinos are like fried eggs or
- The individual self develops within a particular culture that unindividuated/
structures how the self is to think, feel, and act. In turn, the unseparated selves or egos. The Filipino self is dependent on
interaction of many individual selves transforms the cultural its primary group. As such, we are sensitive to others and seek
system. others’ approval.
C. Individualist and Collectivist Cultures
1. Individualist Culture
- Emphasizes that people are independent of their group
- Personal goals are seen as more important than the goals of
the group
- Stresses the “I” consciousness: emotional independence,
individual initiative, the right to privacy, and autonomy
2. Collectivist Culture
- Emphasize the interdependence among people
- A person’s goals are defined according to one’s social roles,
with the goals of the group more important than one’s own
goals
- Stresses the “We” consciousness: collective identity,
emotional dependence, group solidarity and sharing, and
duties and obligations
D. Separated versus Relational Selves
o Two basic strands of the self that have emerged from cross-
cultural research (Kagitcibasi, 1996)
1. Separated Self
- Arises from a culture of separateness wherein cultural and
interpersonal relations are between separated selves
- Self-contained and independent self-defined by clear
boundaries
- The self is often described in terms of trait descriptions/
unique attributes (e.g. “I am smart”, “I love football”)
3
4