Lesson 1: Philosophy
negative effects in our lives. As such, by
Philosophy is often called the mother of all
disciplines simply because all fields of study
began as philosophical discourses.
B. PLATO – He is a student of Socrates
What is Philosophy? study of acquiring
knowledge through rational thinking and
inquiries that involve answering questions
regarding the nature and existence of man and
the world we live in.
What is Self? It is defined as “a unified being,
essentially connected to consciousness,
awareness and agency (or, at least, with the
faculty of rational choice).
PHILOSOPHERS
A. SOCRATES - First martyr of education,
knowledge, and philosophy. His
philosophy underlies the importance of
the notion "knowing oneself". A person's
acceptance of ignorance is the
beginning of acquisition of knowledge.
But, possession of knowledge is a
virtue; ignorance is a depravity (evil,
corruption, wickedness). Knowing
ourselves, lies in our own abilities, and
wisdom.
Understanding ourselves is through
internal questioning or introspection
(understanding our strengths and
weaknesses, like vs. Dislike)His way of
teaching called Socratic Method or
Socratic conversation (role of both the
teacher and the student is known to the
world; asking and answering questions
to stimulate critical thinking and to draw
out ideas and underlying presumptions).
However, he was charged with
corruption of minors and died as a
martyr that fought against ignorance and
narrow-mindedness.
But for him, men's goal in life is to obtain
happiness. It motivates us to act
towards or avoid things that could have
fully knowing oneself a person will be
able to achieve happiness.
that is the reason he followed the idea of
Socrates in knowing thyself. He was
called the Father of academy (a place
where learning and sharing of
knowledge happens; Later became one
of the pillars and basis of what schools
and education is now in the present).He
also wrote several literature that tackles
politics, human nature and established
the idea of virtue and intelligence.
According to Plato, a person who is a
follower of truth and wisdom will not be
tempted by vices and will always be
correct/moral/ethical. He believed in the
division of a person's body and soul
which forms the person as a whole
aside from the material things that could
be observed and associated with a
person.
He believed that the soul is divided into
3 different parts that has different views,
leading to different behaviors:
1. Appetitive soul - the part of the
person that is driven by desire
and need to satisfy oneself. This
satisfaction involves physical
needs, pleasures and desires,
objects, and situations
2. Spirited soul- courageous part
of a person. One who wants to
do something or to right the
wrongs that they observe. This
is very competitive and is very
active. Competitiveness drives
one to expect positive results
and winning.
3. Rational soul- the drive of our
lives. The part that thinks and
plans for the future (the
conscious mind). It decides
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 what to do, when to do it and
the possible results one could
have depending on their
actions.
C. ST. AUGUSTINE A saint and a
philosopher of the church. He follows
the idea that God encompasses us all,
that everything will be better if we are
with God. He believed that God and his
teachings affects various aspects in life
(that everything is better if we devote
ourselves in mending our relationship
with God). His idea of a man and how to
understand who we are as a person is
related to our understanding of who we
are and how we question ourselves. He
also relates our existence to God being
modelled in his likeness though being
alive means that we are still far from god
and has yet to be truly with him.
But he rejected the doubtfulness of the
academy in which one cannot or should
not accept ideas from others. St.
Augustine emphasized that we may not
be able to give our agreement to
everything other people tell us, but we
can still agree to those who we are from
our own perception. He believes that
teaching the church and establishing our
sense of self with God identifies the
essence of our existence and role in the
world (the reason for this is because our
bodies are limited).
D. RENE DESCARTES – a French
philosopher known to be the father of
modern philosophy because of his
radical use of systematic and early
scientific method to aid his ideas and
assumptions. He believed in modern
dualism or the existence of body and
mind and its importance to on e's
existence were presented with the
evidences from experiments as well as
philosophical reasoning.
Descartes is known to be the proponent
of the "methodical doubt" (continuous
process of questioning) doubting, asking
questions is part of one's existence. He
defined the roles of the mind and body
to the notion of one's existence and
sense of self.
He is known for the statement "cogito
ergo sum" (I think therefore I am) and
according to him, a person is composed
of mind (thinks and questions what the
body has experienced) and body
(perceives from the different senses).
The body and its perceptions cannot
fully be trusted or can easily be
deceived (for example: there are times
that we feel that a dream is real before
actually waking up or having a different
perception of size based on an object's
distance from the viewer).
Descartes believes that we should focus
on the mind in order to perceive who we
are or the essence of our existence
because we cannot always trust our
senses. He explained that the more we
think and doubt what we perceive from
our senses and the answer that comes
from such a thin king or doubting leads
to better understanding of ourselves. He
also emphasizes that being in constant
doubt regarding one's existence is proof
that a person exists.
E. JOHN LOCKE – An English
philosopher and physician. He is the
Father of Classical Liberation. His works
paved the way to several revolutions to
fight the absolute powers of monarchs
and rulers of his time that led to the
development of governance, politics,
and the economic system that we now
know. His work on the self is most
represented by the concept "tabula
rasa" (blank slate).
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The experiences and perceptions of a
person is important in the establishment
of who that person can become. Locke
does not disregard the experiences of
the person in the identification and
establishment of who we are as a
person. He stated that a person is born
with knowing nothing and that is
susceptible to stimulation and
accumulation of learning from the
experiences, failures, references, and
observations of the person
F. DAVID HUME – A Scottish
philosopher. He focused his work in the
field of empiricism, skepticism, and
naturalism. He explained that the Self is
the accumulation of different
impressions and does not exceed the
physical realm. For him, there is no
permanent self because impressions of
things are based on our experiences
where we can create our ideas and
knowledge. Thus, it may improve or
totally be replaced
G. IMMANUEL KANT – A German
philosopher that is known for his works
on empiricism and rationalism. He
established that the collection of
impressions and different contents is
what it only takes to define a person. He
believes that the awareness of different
emotions that we have, impressions and
behavior is only a part of ourselves.
He emphasizes that a person who fully
understand the self has a certain level of
consciousness or sense that uses our
intuition which synthesizes all the
experiences, impressions and
perceptions of ourselves will pave the
way to define and know who we really
are. But he argued that the sense called
"transcendental apperception" is an
essence of our consciousness that
provides a basis for understanding and
establishing the notion of self by
synthesizing one's accumulation of
experiences, intuition, and imagination.
H. SIGMUND FREUD – An Austrian
psychologist and physician. The Father
of psychoanalysis. Freud is well known
for his work on human nature and the
unconscious. He believed that man has
different constructs of personality. He
conceptualized about the different levels
of consciousness that provides an idea
how a person develops a sense of self:
Man has 3 aspects of personality
1. Id- the child aspect of a person;
attention is on satisfaction of
one's needs and
self-gratification. Driven by
pleasure principle.
2. Superego- the conscience of
one's personality. Has the
inclination to uphold justice and
do what is morally right and
socially acceptable actions.
Involved in the notion of right or
wrong that is imparted to us by
our parents or people that took
care for us during childhood
3. Ego - police or the mediator
between id and superego.
Operates within the boundaries
of reality, primary function is to
maintain the impulses of the id
to an acceptable degree.
Introduced the Levels of
Consciousness:
1. Conscious- where minority of
our memories are being stored
and the memories that are in the
conscious is easier to be to be
tapped or accessed
2. Preconscious - the middle part
of the entirety of our
consciousness; the memories
stored in this area can still be
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 accessed but with a little
difficulty
3. Unconscious- this area is
where the majority of our
memories since childhood are
deeply stored. It is very difficult
to tap the memories. It would
need a trained professional and
several special techniques in
order to make some memories
resurface.
He believed that we are a by-product of our
experiences in the past and that are actions are
driven by the idea of resisting or avoiding pain,
and are molded from our need for pleasure or
being happy
I. GILBERT RYLE – He used a
behavioristic approach to self. According
to him, self is the behavior presented by
the person. The behavior that we show,
emotions, and actions are the reflection
of our mind and as such is the
manifestation of who we are. He does
not believe that the mind and body are
two separate entities which is said to be
evident in the unexplainable
phenomenon or abilities of the mind
where the soul is considered; however,
to some they can co-exist.
He explained that the self is exemplified
in his "ghost in the machine" view (man
is a complex machine with different
functioning parts, and the intelligence,
and other characteristics or behavior of
man is represented by the ghost in the
said machine. His idea is saying that the
things that we do, how we behave and
react and all other components like the
way we talk, walk and look is generally
who we are as a person
J. PAUL CHURCHLAND - A Canadian
philosopher whose focus is on the idea
that people should improve our
association and use of worth in
identifying the self.
The self is defined by the movement of
our brain. A constant movement of the
brain can be the basis of who the
person is (emphasized by Churchland
and his wife in the statement "the brain
as the self"). He focuses on the
philosophy of "eliminative materialism"
and understanding the different neural
pathways, how they work, and what
implications are those movement to
people is a measurable classification of
one's behavior.
K. MAURICE JEAN JACQUES
MERLEAU-PONTY – A French philosopher.
He is known for his works on existentialism and
phenomenology. He coined the idea of
phenomenology of perception (unity of the
function of the mind and the body) which is
divided into three divisions. Merleau-Ponty
regarded that the body and mind are not
separate entities but rather those two
components are one and the same. His idea of
perception follows the idea of Gestalt
psychology (gives importance on the whole
rather than the sum of its parts).
The perception guides our action based from our
experiences. The body perceives while our
consciousness provides the meaning or
interprets the various perceptions we have in the
world and the self could be established by the
perceptions we have in the world. One's actions,
behavior and language used could be said to be
the reflection of our united perception of the
world.
L. THOMAS AQUINAS - The most eminent 13th
century scholar and stalwart of medieval
philosophy, appended something to this
Christian view. He explained that Man is
composed of two parts: Matter or hyle in Greek,
refers to the “common stuff that makes up
everything in the universe.” and Form or morphe
in Greek refers to the “essence of a substance
or thing”.
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In the case of human person, the body of the
human person is something that he shares even
with animals. The cells in man's body are akin to
the cells of any other living, organic being in the
world. However, what makes a human person a
human person and not a dog, or a tiger is his
soul, his essence. To Aquinas, the soul is what
animates the body; it is what makes us humans.
Summary:
● The philosophical framework for
understanding the self was first
introduced by the ancient Greek
philosophers Socrates, Plato, and
Aristotle. In particular, Socrates:“Know
thyself”. But what exactly does “know
thyself” mean that is self and the
qualities that define it. The different
views of prominent philosophers
regarding the nature of the self are
discussed and while there are
disagreements in how philosophers
view the self, most of them agree
that self-knowledge is a prerequisite
to a happy and meaningful life.
Lesson 2: Sociology
GEORGE HERBERT MEAD
✓ Sociologist from University of Chicago
✓ Symbolic Interactions Perspective
THEORY OF SELF
Two parts of Self: Self-awareness and
Self-image
● Our bodies age biologically, but the self
is something that emerges through
social interaction
● Self is developed as we age, as we
grow
● Self develops through interacting with
others, through reflecting on that
interaction, to thinking about how others
are perceiving you, and that helps you
generate an image of yourself
● Our self is mirrored in the reaction of the
other
● Self-image was developed in
recognizing how others are perceiving
us, we are constantly trying to put
ourselves in the shoes of another and
think about how they are seeing this
event or situation or this action
transpiring – this is imitation
● When you have internalized the
widespread cultural norms, mores, and
expectations of behaviors – this is
generalized others
● By taking the role of other, we can
become self-aware
THE “I” and “ME” of the SELF
“I” – what is out there, acting, being
spontaneous, doing things in the world
”me” – an object, the aggregate combined
image of yourself that has been given to you
from interacting with society.
HENRI de SAINT-SIMON (1760-1825)
● Historic founder of French Socialism
● Origin of many ideas elaborated into
Comtism
● His idea of the reconstruction of society
were conditioned by the French
Revolution and by feudal and military
system
● He insisted on the necessity of new and
positive reorganization of society
● Industrial chiefs should control society
● In medieval church, spiritual direction of
society should fall to the men of science
● Industrial state directed by modern
science, in which universal association
should suppress war
● Men who are successfully able to
organize society for productive labor are
entitled to govern it
● The social aim was to produce things
useful to life
● Call for “society of science” – influenced
his disciple Auguste Comte
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HERBERT SPENCER (1820-1903)
● Synthetic Philosophy - Encompasses
realms of physical, psychological,
biological, sociological, and ethical
Moral Philosophy
Social Statistics
● Human happiness can be achieved only
when individuals can satisfy their needs
and desires without infringing on the
right of others to do the same
● In obtaining full satisfaction, one must
derive pleasure from seeing pleasure in
others
Principles of Ethics – basic law of ethics and
morality
● Extension of laws in the natural world,
and much of his scientific justification
● for his moral position
● Moral dictum: Once physical and
biological realms are discovered,
humans should obey them and cease
trying to construct, through political
legislation, social forms that violate
these laws
● Scientific position: The laws of social
organization can no more be violated
than can those of the physical universe,
and to seek to do so will create, in the
long run, more severe problems humans
should be as free from external
regulation as possible – “implicitly obey
them!”
Social Statistics
● Moral laws and laws of laissez-faire
capitalism converge and how they
reflect biological laws of unfettered
competition and struggle among species
● In the union of many men into one
community – the law of individuation
● While decrying war as destructive, it
allows more organized “races” to
conquer the ”less organized and inferior
races,” increasing thereby, the level and
complexity of social organization
DAVID EMILE DURKHEIM (1858-1917)
● French sociologist, cited as the principal
architect of modern social sciences
● Established academic discipline with
Marx and Weber
● How societies could maintain their
integrity and coherence in modernity, an
era in which a traditional social and
religious tie are no longer assumed, and
in which new social institutions have
come into being
● Acceptance of sociology as a legitimate
science
Sociology of Knowledge
● How concepts and categories of logical
thought could arise out of social life
● Certain aspects of logical thought
common to all human did exist, but they
were products of collective life and that
they were not universal a priori since the
content of categories differed from
society to society
Collective representations
● The symbols and images that come to
represent the ideas, beliefs, and values
elaborated by a collectivity and are not
reducible to individual constituents
● Created through intense social
interaction and are products of collective
activity
● Controlled by society (as a whole) yet
simultaneously by virtue of that
individual’s participation within the
society
● A language product of collective action,
language contains within it a history
accumulated knowledge and experience
that no individual would be capable of
creating on their own
● Language – a social product that
structures and shapes our experience of
reality
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ALBERT BANDURA (1925)
Social Learning Theory
● Theory that attempts to explain
socialization and its effect on the
development of the self
● It looks at the individual learning
process, the formation of self, and
influence of society in socializing
individual
● Formation of one’s identity is a learned
response to social stimuli
● An individual’s identity is not the product
of the unconscious, but instead is the
result of modeling oneself in response to
the expectations of others
● Behaviors and attitudes develop in
response to reinforcement and
encouragement from people around us
Self-Efficacy
● People’s belief about their capabilities to
produce designated levels of
performance that exercise influence
over events that affect their lives
● This belief determines how people feel,
think, motivate themselves, and behave
● People with high assurance in their
capabilities approach difficult tasks as
challenges to be mastered rather than
as threats to be avoided
● They set themselves challenging goals
and maintain strong commitment to
them despite series of failures
● They attribute failure to insufficient effort
or deficient knowledge and skills which
are acquirable
➢ Not on their personal
deficiencies, on the obstacles
they will encounter, and all kinds
of adverse outcomes
● They approach threatening situations
with assurance that they can exercise
control over them
Four Main Sources of Self-Efficacy
1. Mastery Experience
● Successes build a robust belief in one’s
personal efficacy
● A resilient sense of efficacy requires
experience in overcoming obstacles
through perseverance effort
2. Vicarious Experience
● Provided by social models
● Seeing people similar to oneself
succeed by sustained effort raises
observers’ beliefs that they too, possess
the capabilities to master comparable
activities required to succeed
● People seek proficient models who
possess the competencies to which they
aspire
3. Social Persuasion
● People who are persuaded verbally that
they possess the capabilities to master
given activities are likely to mobilize
greater effort and sustain it than if they
harbor self-doubts and dwell on
personal deficiencies when problem
arises
● People who have persuaded that they
lack capabilities tend to avoid
challenging activities that cultivate
potentials and give up in the face of
difficulty
4. Psychological Responses
● People rely partly on their somatic and
emotional states in judging their
capabilities
● They interpret their stress reactions and
tensions as signs of vulnerability to poor
performance
KARL MARX (1818 – 1881)
Theory of Self-Estrangement or
Self-Alienation
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 ● “the alienation of man’s essence, man’s
loss of objectivity and his loss of
realness as self-discovery, manifestation
of his nature, objectification and
realization”
● When a person feels alienated from
others and society as a whole
● A person may feel alienated by his work
by not feeling like he has meaning to his
work, therefore losing their sense of self
at the workplace
MAX WEBER (1864 – 1920)
● German sociologist and political
economist
● Capitalism developed out of a
Protestant ethic, a religious calling“iron
cage” – as the religion became
peripheral, capitalism decoupled from its
roots and established itself as the
dominant force in society
Exercise Self-Help Imagination
✓ “Personality” makes little sense in its modern
usage
✓ “an inner devotion to the subject and only to
the subject”
✓ which raises one “to the height and dignity of
the subject”
✓ You gain personality within a field only by
stepping out of your own self
✓ Teach the subject, not your interpretation of
the subject
✓ Make your students interested in the subject
itself, rather than in the person teaching it
LEWIS MORGAN
● The League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee or
Iroquois (1851)
● This presented the complexity of
Iroquois society in a path-breaking
ethnography that was a model for future
anthropologists
● He wanted to provide evidence for
monogenesis, the theory that all human
beings descended from a common
source
● The structure of the family and social
institutions develops and change
according to a specific sequence
Theory of Social Evolution
● Kinship relations as a basic part of
society
● Critical link between social progress and
technological progress
● Interplay between the evolution of
technology, of family relations, of
property relations, of the larger social
structure, and systems of governance,
and intellectual development.
Summary:
✓ George Mead – Symbolic Interactions
Perspective; two parts of Self: Self-awareness
and Self-image
✓ Henri de Saint-Simon – French Socialism;
synthetic and moral philosophies
✓ David Emile Durkheim – Sociology of
Knowledge
✓ Albert Bandura – Social Learning Theory
✓ Karl Marx – Theory of Self-Estrangement or
Self-Alienation
✓ Max Weber – Self-help Imagination
✓ Lewis Morgan – Theory of Social Evolution
Lesson 3: Anthropology
MARCEL MAUSS
● Remaining the same person and turning
chameleon by adapting to one’s context
seems paradoxical. However, French
anthropologist Marcel Mauss has an
explanation for this phenomenon.
● According to Mauss, every self has two
faces: personne and moi. Moi refers to a
person's sense of who he is, his body,
and his basic identity, his biological
givenness. Moi is a person’s basic
identity.
● Personne, on the other hand, is
composed of the social concepts of
what it means to be who he is.
Personne has much to do with what it
means to live in a particular institution, a
particular family, a particular religion, a
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 particular nationality, and how to behave
given expectations and influences from
others.
● He studied non-Western societies all
over the world and proposed the “Total
Social Phenomenon '', which tackles
that every sector in a community or
society should cooperate to have a
well-balanced living.
LANGUAGE
● Has something to do with culture. It is a
salient part of culture and ultimately, has
a tremendous effect in our crafting of the
self. This might also be one of the
reasons why cultural divide spells out
differences in how one regards oneself.
If a self is born into a particular society
or culture, the self will have to adjust
according to its exposure.
● Language and culture are intertwined. A
particular language usually points to a
specific group of people. when you
interact with another language, it means
that you are also interacting with the
culture that speaks the language. you
cannot understand one’s culture without
accessing its language directly. When
you learn a new language, it not only
involves learning its alphabet, the word
arrangement and the rules of grammar,
but also learning about the specific
society’s customs and behavior. When
learning or teaching a language, it is
important that the culture where the
language belongs be referenced,
because language is very much
ingrained in the culture.
CLIFFORD GEERTZ
An American cultural anthropologist who
defined culture as “a system of inherited
conceptions expressed in symbolic
forms by means of which men
communicate, perpetuate, and develop
their knowledge about and attitudes
towards life.
Basic premises of his work, "The Impact
of the Concept of Culture on the
Concept of Man," The Interpretation of
Cultures. (1966), include the following:
● Look for what makes people/cultures
different, not the same; it is more
effective to analyze human nature by
noting the differences between cultures
that arise over time and space than to
try to form vague notions of universals
● Culture reveals the link between what
man is capable of and how he actually
behaves, which in turn helps define
human nature.
● Culture is the "accumulated totality" of
symbolic patterns that appear in
different societies.
Summary:
✓ According to the anthropological perspective,
the self is embedded in our culture.
✓ Personne is composed of the social concepts
of what it means to be who he is.
✓ Moi refers to a person’s sense of who he is,
his body, and his basic identity, his biological
givenness.
✓ Language is a salient part of culture and
ultimately, has a tremendous effect in our
crafting of the self.
✓ Culture is a system of inherited conceptions
expressed in symbolic forms by means of which
men communicate, perpetuate, and develop
their knowledge about and attitudes towards life.
Lesson 4: PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology delves into the Physiological
having to do with an organism’s physical
processes and the Cognitive having to do with
an organism’s thinking. Learning psychology can
help you gain better understanding of your own
behavior and give useful insight thereof said
behaviors.
It is derived from two Greek words, psyche
meaning soul/mind; and logos meaning
``study''. Literally, psychology means the study
of souls but now it is the study of mind.
Psychology primarily studies WHO and WHAT
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we are, WHY we act and think in a particular
manner and what is our potential as an E.g. “Don’t wait for ME, I will be gone for a long
individual. Study of psychology is concerned time.
with specific study of behavior and mental
process. Psychology focuses on the individual, Furthermore, according to James, the “I” is the
cognitive functions and other possible factors thinking, acting, feeling self. While the “me” is
that affect the individual. the physical characteristics as well psychological
capabilities that makes who you are.
Who am I?
❖ A lot of people say, “I am who I am”, yet James’s further assumptions on the self:
this statement still begs the question “if
you are who you are, then who are you
“I” (the self in action) Me” (the self as an
that makes who you are?” - Self in process, in object in the world)
❖ “SELF” is the “sense of personal identity the moment - The structured and
and of who we are as individuals - The impulsive, determinate part of
(Jhangiani and Tarry 2014).” spontaneous, and the self
❖ Identity- concept of an individual about indeterminate part of - A product of
himself and often referred to as the self interaction and
- Non-reflective conscious reflection
“self-identity”
- Part of the self that - We know the “I” only
❖ “Self-identity” - is the belief of what the produces individuality through the “me”
individual thinks and feels about him.
And can also be influenced by how
Attitudinal Change
others perceive an individual
Quoting William James himself “The greatest
❖ Self-development is a continuous
discovery of my generation is that human beings
process throughout the lifespan; one’s
can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of
sense of self may change, at least
the mind”. He meant that with just the simple
somewhat, throughout one’s life.
change of attitude, anyone, even you can
❖ Self-representation has important
change your life for better or for worse.
implications for socio-emotional
functioning throughout the lifespan.
CARL ROGERS
“When I look at the world I'm pessimistic, but
WILLIAM JAMES (1890)
when I look at people I am optimistic.” - Carl
William James was one of the earliest
Rogers
psychologists to study the self and
conceptualized the self as having 2 aspects –
Carl Rogers’s theory of personality also used the
the “I” and the “me”. Both “me” and “I” are 1st
same terms as William James. According to his
person singular pronouns, which means that
theory, the “I” is the one who acts and decides
they are used by one person to refer to himself
while the “me” is what you think or feel about
or herself. Difference is: ... While “me” is the
yourself as an object.
object pronoun, which means that it is used as
the object of the verb.
The I Self reflects what people see or perceive
themselves doing in the physical world (e.g.,
The "Me" is the social self and the "I" is the
recognizing that one is walking, eating, writing),
response to the "Me." In other words, the "I"
in other words, the one who acts and decides.
is the response of an individual to the attitudes
of others, while the "me" is the organized set of
Meanwhile, the Me Self is a more subjective and
attitudes of others which an individual assumes.
psychological phenomenon, referring to
Mead develops William James' distinction
individuals’ reflections about themselves (e.g.
between the "I" and the "me.”

10
characterizing oneself as athletic, smart,
cooperative). Therefore, it is what you think or
feel about yourself.
Self-schema –is our organized system or
collection of knowledge about who we are. It
may also include our interests, work, course,
age, name, and physical characteristics. As you
grow and adapt to the changes around you,
self-schema also changes.
Example:
a. When someone states your first name
even if they are not talking about you,
your attention is drawn to them.
b. If you have a provincial language and
you hear someone using it, it catches
your attention.
c. If you consider yourself a book-lover, a
bookstore may always entice you out of
all other stores in a mall.
Unconditional Positive Regard
Unconditional positive regard, sometimes
referred to as “UPR”, is a term attributed to Carl
Rogers, the creator of person-centered
counseling and one of the founders of
humanistic therapy. UPR refers to accepting and
supporting another exactly as they are, without
evaluating or judging them.
Identity and Self concept Overview
Identity is composed of personal characteristics,
social roles and responsibilities, as well as
affiliations that define who one is.
SELF-CONCEPT - how someone thinks about
or perceives themselves. “the individual’s belief
about himself or herself, including the person’s
attributes and who and what the self is."
Identity- concept of an individual about himself
and often referred to as “self-identity” or the self-
belief of what the individual thinks and feels
about himself. And can also be influenced by
how others perceive an individual
Roles- are also part of his identity. (E.g. birth
order in the family, nature of work, occupation or
title, academic and social standing) SELF,
IDENTITY, and SELF-CONCEPT are NOT
FIXED in a one-time frame.
For example, when you are asked about who
you are, you can say
❖ “ I was a varsity player in 5th grade”
which pertains to the past,
❖ “ a college student” which may be the
present, and
❖ “a future politician” which is the future.
They are not also fixed for life nor are they
ever-changing at every moment. Think of a
malleable metal, strong and hard but can be
bent and molded in other shapes.Think about
water. It can take any shape of the container, but
at its core, it is still the same element.
Experiences of the Self
The Self-concept includes two different
experiences of the self:
1. The existential self - The concept that
you are unique/different from others
(Persian poet RUMI pondered, “Who am
I in the midst of all this thought traffic?”),
Subjective (I).
2. The Categorical self - concept (and the
concept of others) tends to focus on his
or her own visible characteristics,
Objective (ME).
Self-Concept
The real self is WHO WE ACTUALLY ARE. It is
HOW WE THINK, HOW WE FEEL, LOOK, AND
ACT. The real self can be seen by others, but
because we have no way of truly knowing how
others view us, the real self is our self-image.
Self-Concept/Self-Schema Composed of 3
Things:
1. Self-Image(Real Self) – who you are at
the moment (e.g. – as a student you are
interested in basketball but academically
challenge in most of your subjects), Self
image includes: Physical description,
Social Roles, Personal traits, existential
statements
2. Ideal Self – who you like to be (e.g.- to
practice more and play with the varsity
11
 team) is how we want to be. It is an
idealized image that we have developed
over time, based on what we have
learned and experienced. Could include
components of what our parents have
taught us, what we admire in others,
what our society promotes, and what we
think is in our best interest.
3. Ought Self ( Self-Esteem/Self-worth) –
who you think you should be (e.g. – to
pass your subjects as a responsible
student) Our group identity and
self-awareness also has a great impact
on our SELF-ESTEEM, one of the
common concepts associated with the
“self. It is defined as our own positive
and negative perception or evaluation of
ourselves.
A person’s ideal self may not be consistent with
their actual experience (real self), or what is
even possible. This is called incongruence. One
has to find a solution to such discrepancies to
avoid agitation, dejection, or other negative
emotions. In some instances, however, all 3 may
be in line with one another.
Self-actualization refers to the need for
personal growth and development throughout
one's life. It is the highest level of Maslow's
hierarchy of needs, which was developed by
psychologist Abraham Maslow. Once you are
self-actualized, you've met your full potential as
an individual.
Self-Esteem and Self-Worth refers to the
extent to which we like, accept, or approve of
ourselves; or how much we value ourselves.
Self-esteem always involves a degree of
evaluation, and we may have either a positive or
a negative view of ourselves.
Social Comparison Theory
One of the ways in which our social relationship
affects our self-esteem is through social
comparison. According to the Social
Comparison Theory, we learn about ourselves,
the appropriateness of our behaviors, as well as
our social status by comparing aspects of
ourselves with other people. There are types of
social comparison:
1. Downward Social Comparison - is the
more common type of comparing
ourselves with others. We create a
positive self-concept by comparing
ourselves with those who are worse off
than us. By having the advantage, we
can raise our self-esteem.
2. Upward Social Comparison -
comparing ourselves with those who are
better off than us.While it can be a form
of motivation for some, a lot of those
who do this actually felt lower
self-esteem as they highlight more of
their weakness or inequities.
SOCIAL COMPARISON also entails what is
called Self-Evaluation Maintenance Theory. In
this theory, we can feel threatened when
someone outperforms us, especially when that
person is close to us (i.e, a family or a friend). In
this case, we usually react in 3 ways:
● We distance ourselves from that person
or redefine our relationship with them.
Some will resort to the silent treatment,
change of friends, while some may also
redefine by being closer to that person,
hoping that some association may give
him some kind of acknowledgment also.
● Reconsider the importance of the aspect
or skill in which you were outperformed.
If you got beaten in a drawing
competition, you might think drawing is
not really for you and you will find a
hobby where you could excel, thus,
preserving self-esteem.
● Strengthen or resolve to improve that
certain aspect of ourselves. Instead of
quitting drawing, you might join
seminars, practice more often, read
books about it, and add some elements
in your drawings that makes it unique,
among others. Achieving your goal
through hard work may increase your
self-esteem, too.
12

CARVER AND SCHEIER (1981)
Carver and Scheier have identified 2 types of
self that we can be aware of:
1. The Private self – your internal
standards and private thoughts and
feelings.
2. The Public self – public image
commonly geared toward having a good
presentation of yourself to others.
One must find a solution to such discrepancies
to avoid agitation, dejection, or other negative
emotions. In some instances, however, all 3 may
be in line with one another.
Self-consciousness
Self-consciousness is when self – awareness
can be too much that we are concerned about
being observed and criticized by others. At other
times, especially with large crowds, we may
experience deindividuation or the “loss of
individual self-awareness and individual
accountability in groups” when we attuned
ourselves with the emotions of our group and
because the large crowd also provides some
kind of anonymity, we may lessen our
self-control and act in ways that we will not do
when we are alone (e.g. mass demonstration
erupting into a riot).
❖ Looking outside – e.g. seeing other
people who are better and dreaming to
become the same.
❖ Looking inside – reflecting on what the
heart desires
SIGMUND FREUD
Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist and
the founder of psychoanalysis, the clinical
method for treating psychopathology through
dialogue between a patient and a found in many psychological and spiritual
psychoanalyst.
Psychoanalysis is a method through which an
analyst unpacks unconscious conflicts based on
the free associations, dreams and fantasies of
the patient. Psychoanalysis and Sigmund Freud.
Sigmund Freud, the influential German
psychologist of the early 20th century, provided
not only a revolutionary way of understanding
human personality but also how society affects
our psychology. Freud's theory of human
personality revealed another facet of society.
Based on Freud's formulation, the individual
human mind—the source of our subjectivity—is
created by social and cultural forces that operate
beneath the level of the unconscious self. It is
like saying that even in our minds, there are
facets of ourselves.
In Freudian perspective, “socialization”, the
lifelong process of learning the ways and
behaviors appropriate to particular society, is not
only an external or structural process but also an
internal, mental process. There, in the inner
psyche the individual—the unconscious and
conscious self—societal presence is constantly
being engaged with by the person. This is what
makes up the totality of the person; and society
is very much part of it.
Freud further concluded that mental disorder
might be caused purely by psychological factors
rather than organic factors. He also proposed
that dreams are the disguised expressions of
unconscious wishes and emphasized libidinal
(sex) urges of a person.
Freud’s view of human nature
Freud’s view of human nature is that human
beings are biological organisms motivated by
the satisfaction of bodily needs and with
motivating forces that drive behavior. His theory
suggests that personality (mind) is composed of
the id, the ego, and the superego.
True Self Vs False Self
The concept of true self and false self can be
circles, and it can mean different things in each.
Inside each of us are 2 wolves: One is evil and
one is good.
Which wolf wins? The one you feed most.The
true self is the core of you who are, the original
you, unshaped by upbringing or society. This is
13
the state you were born in and it is a state that
still exists inside you. Your false self can also be
called your adapted self. This is the part of you
that has altered behavior, repressed feelings
and pushed your needs aside to fit in with
others.
Summary:
✓ Study of psychology is concerned with
specific study of behavior and mental process.
Psychology focus on the individual, cognitive
functions and other possible factors that affect
the individual
✓ William James was one of the earliest
psychologists to study the self and
conceptualized the self as having 2 aspects –
the “I” and the “me”. The “I” is the thinking,
acting, feeling self. While the “me” is the
physical characteristics as well psychological
capabilities that makes who you are. Carl
Rogers’s theory of personality also used the
same terms “I” and “me”. The “I” is the one who
acts and decides while the “me” is what you
think or feel about yourself as an object.
✓ Carver and Scheier have identified 2 types of
self that we can be aware of: The Private self –
your internal standards and private thoughts and
feelings and the Public self –public image
commonly geared toward having a good
presentation of yourself to others.
✓ In the concept of True Self vs. False Self, the
true self is the core of you who are, the original
you, unshaped by upbringing or society. This is
the state you were born in and it is a state that
still exists inside you. Your false self can also be
called your adapted self. This is the part of you
that has altered behavior, repressed feelings,
and pushed your needs aside to fit in with
others.
CONCEPT OF SELF - There are a lot of
sources in which we can analyze the
perspective of each culture and country about
the concept of the “self.”
Literature - like how one depicts a hero or villain
in their stories in different countries, like USA,
China, Korea, etc.
Socialization - like how they see their boss or
their subordinate.
Artworks, Dances, Even Clothing - This thing
may show us clues about the Self.
Cultural Diversity
❖ Put themselves first
❖ Dedicated to independent thinking and
self-reliance
❖ Distant to the feelings of others
❖ Preserving, and success of the group is
more important
❖ Paying attention to the needs and
feelings of each member of the group
❖ Sensitive with the feelings of the
members of the group to each other
WESTERN THOUGHTS
❖ They give higher value with their
personal rights.
❖ The western society is trying to find and
prove the "truth."
EASTERN THOUGHTS
❖ Giving more value to social
responsibility and accepting the reality
of life (fact) and interested in
maintaining the balance of life.
WESTERN EASTERN

Lesson 5: THE SELF IN WESTERN AND VALUES

ORIENTAL/EASTERN THOUGHT
Westerners Eastern with their
“One of the most effective ways to learn about emphasize more on collectivistic culture,
oneself is by taking seriously the cultures of the value of equality put more emphasis
even if they see that on hierarchy as the
others. It forces you to pay attention to those the individual can rise culture wants to keep
details of life which differentiate them from you.”- above everything things in harmony
Edward T. Hall else. Because and order (Qingxue,

14
everyone is on their 2003). Highlight their Keep a low profile as
own competition, one personal promoting the self
can say that they also Ex: For Asians, we achievements can be seen as
promote ideals that have respectful terms boastfulness that
create “fair” for our seniors and a disrupts social
competition and lot of workers would relationships
protect the individual. not dare go against
Ex: Westerners the high-ranking Looks at the world in Sees the other
would most likely to officials. DUALITIES wherein person as part of
call their bosses, you are distinct from yourself as well as
parents, or other the other person, the the things you may
seniors by their first creator is separate create, a drama in
name. The boss can from the object he which everyone is
also be approached created. interconnected with
head-on their specific roles
when conflicts or
problems about him
arises. WESTERN VS. EASTERN PHILOSOPHERS

SELF-DESCRIPTIONS CONFUCIANISM
Also known as RUISM, is described as tradition,
Talk more about their In general talk about a philosophy, a humanistic or rationalistic
personal attributes their social roles or
religion which was developed from the teachings
when describing the social situations
themselves; that invoked certain of the Chinese philosopher CONFUCIUS
traits that they deem (1551-479 BCE) who considered himself a
positive for re-codifier and re-transmitter of the theology and
themselves. values inherited from the Shang and Zhou
dynasty.
SELF-EVALUATIONS
It is focused on having a harmonious social
They would highlight They would rather
their personal keep a low profile as life. Identity and self-concept of the individual
achievements promoting the self are interwoven with the identity and status of
can be seen as his/her community or culture, sharing its pride as
boastfulness that well as its failures.
disrupts social
relationships
Subdued Self’ – personal needs are repressed
INDIVIDUALISTIC COLLECTIVIST (subdued) for the good of many, making
Confucian society also hierarchical for the
Focus is on the The group and social purpose of maintaining order and balance in
person relations is given society. (Ho, 1995)
more importance than
individual needs and 3 Essential Core 5 Basic Virtues of
wants Values of Confucianism:
Confucianism: ● Ren –
Talk more about their Talk about their social ● Filial Piety – benevolence,
personal attributes roles or the social respect for humaneness
when describing situations that elders ● Yi –
themselves. invoked certain traits righteous,
that they deem ● Humaneness justice
positive for - goodness ● Li – proper,
themselves. ● Ritual - rite
proper ● Zhi –

15

conduct knowledge
● Xin - integrity
TAOISM
Also known as Daoism. A Chinese philosophy
based on the writings of Lao-tzu (6thcentury BC)
advocating humility and religious piety.
Is living in the way of the TAO or the
UNIVERSE. It is a simple lifestyle and its
teachings. It aims to describe how to attain life.
The self is part of the universe. It is living a
balanced life with society and nature, being
open and accepting to change, forgetting about
prejudices and egocentric ideas and thinking
about equality as well as complementarity
among humans as well as other beings. (Ho,
1995) The self is in harmony with everything.
The 3 Treasures or 3 Jewels - (3 ESSENTIAL
ENERGIES SUSTAINING HUMAN LIFE):
● Jing – “essence”
● Qi – “energy”
● Shen – “spirit”
Concept of Harmony - A central feature of
Taoism is harmony between people and their
environment, Nature, or Tao.
The Tao Chi (Yin-Yang diagram) is an example
of the value of harmony with the environment. It
is also applied to the concept of health for
energy (qi/chi), balance for disease prevention,
healing, and the development of human
potential.
BUDDHISM
It is the world’s 4th-largest religion, with over
520M followers or over 7% of the global
population are Buddhists. It is an Indian religion.
All Buddhist traditions share the GOAL OF
OVERCOMING SUFFERING AND THE CYCLE
OF DEATH & REBIRTH, either by the attainment
of Nirvana or through the path of Buddhahood.
3 Marks of Existence:
1. Impermanence (anicca) - all things are
in constant state of flux; nothing lasts,
and everything decays
2. Suffering (dukkha) - all things are not
experienced; everything is conditioned
and conditioning
3. Non-Self (anatta) - denies that there is
anything called a “SELF”
It is our quest to forget about the SELF, forget
about the cravings of the self, break the
attachments you have with the world, and to
renounce the self which is the cause of all
suffering and in doing so, attain the state of
NIRVANA.
Gautama Buddha taught that all beings
conditioned by causes (sankhara) are
impermanent (anicca) and suffering (dukhha),
and that not-self(anatta) characterizes all
dhammas, meaning THERE IS NO “I”, “ME” or
“MINE” in either the conditioned or the
unconditioned (i.e. nibbana).
Unsatisfactoriness and suffering exist and are
universally experienced. Desire and attachment
are the causes of unsatisfactoriness and
suffering.
SUMMARY:
✓ Western thought favors a rational-empirical
approach over magical and superstitious
explanation of things, including the self.
✓ The law of Karma is the most important
doctrine of Hinduism which implies that
individual actions will lead to either good or bad
outcomes in one’s life.
✓ According to the teachings of Buddhism,
every person has the seed of enlightenment,
hence, potential to be a Buddha.
✓ In Confucian thought, moral character is
perfected by continuously taking every
opportunity to improve oneself in thought and
action.
✓ To Taoists, the self is an extension of the
cosmos, not of social relationships. The self is
described as one of the limitless forms of the
Tao (nature).
Lesson 6: PHYSICAL SELF
16
PHYSICAL SELF- refers to the body which we
interface with our environment and fellow
beings. It is a tangible characteristic of the
person that can be directly observed and
examined.
Arthur Marwick (1988) defends the view that
physical beauty is no more than what it is:
only “skin deep”. It is a fact of life that some
people are physically beautiful while others are
not. Physical beauty is defined as a feature of a
person’s body. This feature can be valued, it
seems, independent of others that make a
person valuable, such as intellect, character, or
humor. However physical beauty was also
considered suspect and dangerous, due to its
link to sexuality and its “merely carnal”, power
and seductive side.
The modern view that acknowledges the
autonomous status of physical beauty, although
widespread nowadays, is still contested by both
feminists (beauty as a suspect concept, as a
male construct of feminine looks) as well as
religious conservatives (only inner beauty
counts).
Physical Beauty in its own right
The culture in which we are surrounded by has a
significant impact on how we feel about
ourselves and the manner in which we think
about our body.
A person’s attractiveness depends on many
features. We can value a person at different
levels with respect to his or her:
a. Physical looks (body, face, figure)
b. Artistic looks (clothes, make-up,
perfume, hair)
c. Personal looks (Appearance,
impressions, aura)
d. Performance (voice, attitude, behavior)
e. Personality (charisma, charm, appeal,
allure)
f. Relational capacities (contractual skills,
communication competence)
g. Friendship abilities (reliable, nice,
offbeat, loveable, companionable)
Judgements can be made at each level. A
person may have good looks, but nevertheless
be a faithless friend or a very poor dresser. A
person may be fat and ugly but extremely
charming, with a pleasant attitude and a great
personality. This is how we evaluate a person’s
appearance in everyday life. These distinctive
evaluations clearly appreciate the levels as
independent dimensions. By this we could
already say that evaluating someone’s beauty is
difficult because we need to see the person as a
whole and not just criticizing him/her because
the way of his/her dress or because of his/her
skin color. Beauty is Beauty.
If we then accept the conclusion that physical
beauty can be valued, an important implication
follows. Intervention in the body itself is often the
only way out for those who want to be physically
beautiful, and cosmetic or aesthetic surgery can
be, at least for some people and to some extent,
the option par excellence.
Before considering the norms of physical beauty
(‘What are we to conceive of as physically
beautiful or not beautiful?’), it may be helpful to
consider for a moment the levels of artistic
beauty and personal looks, as mentioned above.
These refer to a broader context than the
narrow, bodily one, reflecting views on the
importance of make-up, clothes, fashion and
individual self-expression.
Beauty is Culture Bound
In different countries, not all feel the same way
about the concept of beauty. In fact, cultures
around the world have different ideas of what is
beautiful.
Africa – they do not celebrate thinness the way
other countries do. Famously the country of
Mauritania has come to be known as one that
idolizes overweight women. This is most often
seen as a sign of wealth and fertility
Brazil – women want to appear fit and toned,
and things like waxing, sculpting massages and
manicures are everyday treatment, not only
reserved for the spa
17
Asia & Africa – skin lightening has risen in
popularity.
In order to understand their inherent beauty
norms, we should study today’s trends and
tastes, and their functions and meanings in our
lives. In this broader context ‘a beautiful
appearance refers to a beauty that is
man-made. It is artistic in two respects: (1) it is
clearly achieved by ‘cultural’ means and reflects
our present culture, and (2) it expresses
someone’s personal choice and intentions. Its
result is an intentional structuring from an artistic
point of view: in short, artistic beauty.
Physical beauty in which one has an interest
In an article on Immanuel Kant’s aesthetics,
Hannah Ginsborg (1997) shows that –according
to Kant – beauty can be attached to living things
(organisms) as well as to artificial things (works
of art). The character of the judgement of beauty
is the same in both cases. Moreover, central to
Kant’s idea of beauty is that beauty gives the
observer a feeling of disinterested pleasure
or liking. By ‘disinterested’ he means that the
object does not fulfill an aim or satisfy a need.
There is, for instance, no ‘wish to possess’,
regardless of whether it is a work of art or a
natural object being observed. Finally, according
to Kant’s view, beauty judgements are not
objective, but are nevertheless universal.
Physical beauty and Personal Identity
By assuming an attitude towards our bodily
looks we more or less integrate our
appearance-related experiences in our lives,
and thereby make these experiences part of our
personal ‘identity’. This notion must be grasped
in order to fully understand the concept of
physical beauty. Physical beauty is understood
as experienced beauty in primarily a relational
perspective. Implied is that not just that ugly
nose or plain face concerns us, but the story that
a person tells about his nose or face or other
bodily parts, as experienced by him and others.
Stories about reactions from friends and the
attitudes of parents; stories about an inherited
ethnic nose, or the color of one’s skin; stories
about one’s feelings, perhaps one’s suffering,
and about expectations for one’s future
(Freedman, 1986, pp. 49–54). The
characterization of a person therefore includes
experiences, values and beliefs, desires and
psychological qualities, which together constitute
someone as a person (Schechtman,1996).
Changing a person’s physical looks, e.g. by
aesthetic surgery, does not necessarily make
someone a different person, no matter how
drastic the change.
A new sense of identity has to fit the
reconstructed image and leave the old self
behind: “Altering appearance also changes
the way we see ourselves, and this is a
crucial consequence of cosmetic surgery”
(Freedman,pp. 54, 56). But although ‘deep’
connections do exist between the physical
(biological) and the psychological (existential)
realm of life, each undeniably represents a
different perspective: “Bodies constrain, but do
not determine” (Schechtman, pp. 67–70). Bodily
changes may undoubtedly change a person,
but these changes do not necessarily imply a
denial or loss of his identity.
As our physical self, dictates how we act in front
of other it also defines how we will manage
our self-esteem. Yet this self-esteem is vital on
how we form positive and healthy relationships
with people around us. We have different kinds
of self-esteem.
Self-esteem – is used to describe a person’s
overall sense of self-worth or personal value. In
other words, how much you appreciate and like
yourself. It involves a variety of beliefs about
yourself, such as the appraisal of your own
appearance, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors.
● Inflated Self-Esteem – these people
hold high regards for themselves. Better
than the other to the point of
underestimating them.
● High Self-Esteem – This is a positive
esteem, which make the person be
satisfied of themselves
18
 ● Low Self-Esteem – This person does
not value themselves and does not trust
their possibilities.
Why Self-Esteem is Important
Self-esteem can play a significant role in your
motivation and success throughout your life.
Low self-esteem may hold you from succeeding
at school or work because you don’t believe you
are capable of success.
By Contrast, having a healthy self-esteem can
help you achieve success because you navigate
life with a positive, assertive attitude and believe
you can accomplish your goals.
Sign of Healthy Signs of Low
Self-Esteem Self-Esteem
SUMMARY:
Physical beauty is an important human value
and can be evaluated on its own. The fact,
however, that our beauty judgements concern
human physical beauty makes all the difference.
This human perspective presumes an idea of
personhood and personal identity. Evaluations
include an inner perspective that is
fundamentally relational in character. For this
reason, physical beauty is not just skin deep.
Stories, in which context and contrast are
expressed, provide the sense needed for a full
understanding of the concept of bodily beauty.

You probably have You tend to

healthy self-esteem if experience these
you are more likely common problems
to: caused by low
✓ Avoid dwelling on self-esteem:
past, negative ✓ You believe that
experiences others are better than
✓ Express your you
needs ✓ You find it difficult
✓ Feel confident expressing your
✓ Have a positive needs
outlook on life ✓ You focus on your
✓ Say “no” when you weaknesses
want to ✓ You frequently
✓ See overall experience feelings
strengths and such as shame,
weaknesses and depressions, or
accept them anxiety
✓ You have intense
fear of failure
✓ You have trouble
accepting positive
feedback
✓ You have trouble
saying “no”
✓ You put other
people’s needs
before your own
✓ You struggle with
confidence

19