MODULE 1

CONCEPT AND NATURE OF SELF

Ms. Carolyn B. Santiago
Instructor

Email address:
jelmcarol17@gmail.com

Mobile Number:
09266255664

GE 005
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
 SAN MATEO MUNICIPAL COLLEGE
General Luna St., Guitnang Bayan I, San Mateo, Rizal
Tel. No. (02) 997-9070
www.smmc.edu.ph

MODULE 1: CONCEPT AND NATURE OF SELF

MODULE DURATION

I. August 25 to September 3, 2021 Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning

II. For asynchronous learning inquiries, you may reach me through messenger group or gmail.
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After this module the students are expected to:

1. Explain the nature, concept, and meaning of the self

2. Describe the nature of the self from your own point of view
3. Discuss the conceptualization and representation of the self from various disciplines and
perspectives
4. Develop a pleasant and wholesome attitude towards oneself
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INPUT INFORMATION

INTRODUCTION

How well do you know yourself? Are you aware of your talents? Skills? Weaknesses? Strengths? The
persistent question, "Who am I?" is rooted in the human need to understand the basis of the
experiences of the "self." When people are asked to explain their understanding of the word, the
usual answers are: "It's who I am. It's me, my essence. It's what makes me unique and different from
everyone else."

For a more meaningful understanding of the "self," numerous studies have been conducted and
various approaches have been developed from concepts about it. Important philosophers from
ancient to contemporary times sought to describe the essential qualities that compose a person's
uniqueness. On the other hand, sociology sees the "self as a product of social interactions,
developed over time through social activities and experiences.

Anthropology views the "self' as a culturally shaped construct or idea. Anthropologists assert that it
is an autonomous participant in the society as much as it is submerged in the community.
Meanwhile, rather than giving a definition, psychology sees the "self" as having characteristics or
properties that can be used to describe it. Pioneers in the study pointed out that the "self" is related
to its physical and social environment, it is unique, and it is necessary to its experiences.

Before we start, attached herewith, is the lyrics of the song “Who am I” by Casting Crowns. You may
read or sing the song if you know the tune while understanding the lyrics. After singing or reading
the lyrics, you may have a self-reflection on the following questions below.
 “WHO AM I”
Casting Crowns

Who am I, that the LORD of all the earth

Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt?
Who am I, that the bright and morning star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart?

Not because of who I am

But because of what you've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who you are

I am a flower quickly fading

Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still you hear me when I'm calling
LORD, you catch me when I'm falling
And you've told me who I am
I am yours

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin

Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again?
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me?

Not because of who I am

But because of what you've…

Questions:

1. What is the meaning of the song?

2. How would you describe yourself?
3. How will you relate yourself to the song?
4. What are you most grateful in life?
5. What are the biggest and most important things you have learned in life so far?
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF

Socrates: Know Yourself

Socrates is principally concerned with man. He considers man from the point
of view of his inner life. The famous line of Socrates, “Know yourself” or one’s
self, as well as the question about how one ought to live one’s life, are very
important concerns because only by knowing yourself can you hope to
improve your life. Socrates believed that you as a person should consciously
contemplate, turn gaze inward, and analyze the true nature and values that
are guiding your life. A bad man is not virtuous through ignorance; the man
who does not follow the good fails to do so because he does not recognize it.

Plato: The Ideal Self, the Perfect Self

According to Plato, man was omniscient or all-knowing before he came to

born in this world. With his separation from the paradise of truth and
knowledge and his long exile on earth, he forgot most of the knowledge he
had. However, by constant remembering through contemplation and doing
good, he can regain his former perfection.

St. Augustine- All knowledge lead to God

Augustine's sense of self is his relation to God, both in his recognition of God's
love and his response to it—achieved through self-presentation, then self-
realization. Augustine believed one could not achieve inner peace without
finding God's love.

Immanuel Kant: Respect for Self

Man is the only creature who governs and directs himself and his actions, who
set up ends for himself and his purpose, and who freely orders mean for the
attainment of his aims. Every man is thus an in himself and should never be
treated merely as a means-as per order of the Creator and the natural order
of things.

Rene Descartes: “I think, Therefore I am”

Descartes states that the self is a thinking entity distinct from the body. His
first famous principle was “Cognito, ergo sum,” which means “I think
therefore I am”. Although the mind and body are independent from each
other and serve their own function, man must use his own mind and thinking
abilities to investigate, analyze, experiment, and develop himself.
 John Locke: Personality Identity

Personality identity is the concept about oneself that evolves over the
course of an individual’s life that man has no control over, such as where he
grew up or the color of his skin, as well as the choices he makes, life how he
spends his time and what he believes.

David Hume: The Self is the Bundle Theory of Mind

Hume is skeptical about the existence of the self, specifically. On whether

there is a simple, unified self that exists over time. For him, man has no
“clear and intelligible” idea of the self. He persists that no single impression
of the self exists; rather, the self is just the thing to which all perceptions of
a man is ascribed. Moreover, even if there were such an impression of the
self, would have to remain constant overtime to constitute identity.

Immanuel Kant – Reason is the final authority of morality. Morality is

achieved only when there is absence of war because of the result of
enlightenment

Philosopher Immanuel Kant is a central figure in modern philosophy.

Kant's view of the "self" is transcendental, which means the "self” is
related to a spiritual or nonphysical realm. For Kant, the self is not in the
body. The self is outside the body, and it does not have the qualities of
the body. Despite being transcendental, Kant stressed that the body and
its qualities are rooted to the "self”. He proposed that it is knowledge
that bridges the "self" and the material things together (Boeree, 1999;
Brook, 2004).

BIBLICAL VIEW OF SELF

The Holy Bible

“God created man in His image; in the divine image He created him; male and female He created
them. God blessed them, saying, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion
over the fish of the sea, the birds in the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.”
Genesis 1:24-28
According to the Holy Writ, man following his redemption by the savior from eternal bondage, now
shares in the infinite merits of his redeemer and has become not only the inheritor of the new earth
but also the heir of heavenly kingdom. Thus, it is appropriate to think of the “self” as the multi-
bejeweled crown of creation—the many gems thereof representing and radiating the glorious facets
of man’s self that include the physical, intellectual, moral, religious, social, political, economic,

emotional, sentiment, aesthetic, sensual and sexual aspect.

PSYCHOLOGICAL VIEW OF SELF

Sigmund Freud, the most important contribution, particularly in

Psychology, was psychoanalysis, a practice devised to treat those who
are mentally ill through dialogue. “The self” was an entity in itself
characterized as the subject (the focal point: the topic and doer of the
action) of the physical and mental actions and experiences. The notion
is that the self is essence and subject points to the idea of an entity
that is unified, single, undivided, and unaffected by time.

In his earlier structural division of the psyche, Freud distinguished

three levels of consciousness.
 1. Conscious, which deals with awareness of present perceptions, feelings, thoughts, memories, and
fantasies at any particular moment.

2. Pre-conscious/subconscious, which is related to data that can readily be brought to

consciousness; and

3. Unconscious, which refers to data retained but not easily available to the individual’s conscious
awareness or scrutiny.

Parts of Personality

1. Id (Internal desires). Also called internal drives or instinctive drives, it consist of the body’s
primitive biological drives and urges which are concerned only with achieving pleasure and self-
satisfaction. Id lives completely in the unconscious

2. Ego (reality). It is the “I” part of the individual that gives him/her the sense of the personality .

3. Superego (conscience). It is the part of the personality concerned with morals, precepts,
standards, and ideas. The superego is also the critical faculty of the personality.

Psychosexual Stage of Development by Sigmund Freud

Stage Age range What happen at this stage?

Oral Stage 0-1 year old Children derive from oral activities, including
sucking and tasting. they like to put things in
their mouth
Anal Stage 2-3 years old Children begin potty training
Phallic Stage 3-6 years old Boys are more attached to their mother,
while girls are more attached to their father.
Latency Stage 6 years to Children spend more time and interact
puberty mostly with same sex.
Genital Stage Beyond Puberty Individuals are attracted to opposite sex
peers.

Psychosocial Stage of Development by Erik Erickson

Erikson was primary concerned with how both psychological and social factors affect
the development of individuals. He has formulated eight major stages of
development, each posing A unique developmental task and simultaneously
presenting the individual with a crisis that he/she must overcome. As defined by
Erikson, a crisis is not “a threat of catastrophe but a turning point, a crucial period of
increased vulnerability and heightened potential”. Accordingly, individuals develop a
healthy personality by mastering “life’s outer and inner dangers”.

Basic Period of Important Relationshi Choices/ Outcome

Conflicts/Crisis Life Life Events p With Decision
s
Trust Vs. Mistrust Infancy Feeding Maternal To give in The individual develops a sense of trust
(Birth-18 return towards the caregiver, especially with
months) the mother’s genuine affection and
To get care. A lack of this leads to mistrust.
Autonomy Vs. Early Toilet Paternal To hold The individual needs to develop a
Shame/Doubt Childhood Training on sense of personal control over physical
(18 months skills and a sense of independence.
to 3 years) To let go Success leads to feelings of shame and
doubt.
Initiative Vs. Guilt Preschool Exploration Family To make The individual needs to begin asserting
(3 to 5 yrs.) control and power over the
To make environment. Parents who give their
like children freedom in running, sliding,
bike-riding, and skating are allowing
them to develop initiative. Success in
this stage lead to a sense of purpose.
Children who try to exert too much
power experience disapproval
resulting in a sense of guilt.
Industry Vs. Elementary School School To make As an individual moves into the world
Inferiority school age Neighborho things of schooling, he/she needs to cope
(6 to 11 od with new social and academic
years) To make demands. Parents and teachers who
together support, reward, and praise children
are encouraging industry. Success
leads to a sense of competence while
failure results in feelings of inferiority.
Those who rejects, ridicule, or ignore
children’s effort are strengthening
feelings of inferiority.
Identity Vs. Role Social Peer Group To be As an individual enters adolescence or
Confusion Adolescenc Relationshi oneself teen years, he/she needs to develop a
e (12 to 18 ps sense of self and personal identity. An
yrs.) To share adolescent tries new roles as he/she
being romantic involvement, vocational
oneself choice, and adult statuses. When the
adolescent fails to develop a
“centered” identity, he/she becomes
trapped in either role confusion or
negative identity. Success leads to an
ability to stay true to oneself while
failure leads to a weak sense of self.
Intimacy Vs. Young Relationshi Partners in To lose As an individual grows as a young adult,
Isolation Adulthood p friendship/s he/she needs to form intimate, loving
(19 to 40 ex To bind relationships with other people.
yrs.) competition oneself Success leads to strong relationships
to others while failure results in loneliness and
isolation.
Generativity Vs. Middle Work and To make be To make Generativity means reaching out
Stagnation Adulthood Parenthood To take care be beyond one’s own immediate concerns
of to embrace the welfare of society and
 (40 to 65 To take of future generations. It entails
yrs.) care of selflessness. The adult needs to create
or nurture things that will outlast
him/her, often by having children or
creating a positive change that benefits
other people. Success leads to feelings
of usefulness and accomplishment
while failure results in shallow
involvement in the world.
Integrity Vs. Old Reflection To be, To be, The older adult needs to look back on
Despair age/maturi on life through through life and feel a sense of fulfillment.
ty having been having Success at this stage leads feelings of
(65 to been wisdom while failure results in regret,
death) To face not bitterness, and despair.
being To face
not being

ASSESSMENT RUBRIC FOR ESSAY

Areas of 4 3 2 1
Assessment
CONTENT • Substantial, • Sufficiently • Limited content • Superficial and/or
specific, and developed with inadequate minimal content.
illustrative content with elaboration and
content adequate presentation of
demonstrating elaboration examples and
strong and ideas.
development and explanation
sophisticated of the topic
ideas related to in relevance
the theme, that to the
are appealing to theme.
the readers.
ORGANIZATION • Refined • Functional • Inconsistent • Minimal use of
arrangement of arrangement arrangement of transitional devices
content with of content content with with improper
evident and that sustains minimal usage of arrangement of
proper use of a logical transitional paragraphs.
transitional order with devices.
devices. some
evidence of
transitional
devices.
CONVENTIONS • Evident control • Adequate • Limited control of • Minimal control of
of grammar, control of grammar, grammar,
mechanics grammar, mechanics, mechanics,
spelling, usage, mechanics, spelling, usage, spelling, usage, and
and sentence spelling, and sentence sentence
formation. usage, and formation. formation.
 sentence
formation.

IMPORTANT REMINDER
For online submission
✓ Send softcopy of your activities and quiz to my gmail at jelmcarol17@gmail.com or
messenger @ Carolyn Santiago

To be submitted on/or before September 17, 2021.

LEARNING RESOURCES

• Understanding the Self (Dalisay G. Brawner and Analiza F. Arcega)

• A Holistic Approach in Understanding the Self (Vergie S. Otig, Winston B. Gallinero, Noemi U.
Bataga, Fritzie B. Salado, Josephine C. Visande)