PHILOSOPHY OF THE SELF
SELF
- unified being (consciousness, awareness, agency
– rational choice)
Approximately 600 BCE
- Birth of Philosophy (love for wisdom)
- Athens of Ancient Greece
- Greeks search for knowledge and resulted with
answers (cognitive & scientific)
GREEK PHILOSOPHERS IN MILETUS
- to seek natural explanations on events &
phenomena around them
- observed changes in the world & wanted to
explain these changes
- “idea of permanence”
-sees man as basically good & become evil when
ignored what is good
“They sought to understand the nature of human
beings, problems of morality, and life philosophies”
5TH CENTURY BCE
Athenians – discussion and debate
Sophists – first teachers of the west
SOCRATES 470 – 399 BCE
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
“Be true to thine own self.”
- believed that his mission was to seek the highest
knowledge and convince the willing to seek it with
him
- the real self is not the physical body, but the
psyche (soul)
- appearance of the body is inferior to its functions
Socratic Method (think, seek, ask)
- questioner should be skilled in detecting
misconceptions & at revealing them by asking right
questions (goal – bring the person closer to the
final)
- Socrates did not lecture, he asks questions
(discussion)
- forces people to use inner reason by reaching
inside their self to their deepest nature
TRUE SELF
- touching a soul may mean getting in touch with
the true self
- virtue is inner goodness, & real beauty is that of
the soul
GOOD – wealth, status, pleasure, social
acceptance
EVIL – what will bring us happiness is good, what
will bring us suffering & pain is evil
VIRTUE – most important state of the soul (one
supreme good, ultimate good, moral excellence)
(knowledge=virtues=happiness)
PLATO (Aristocles) 428 – 348 BCE
“Wise men speak because they have something to
say, fools speak when they have to say something.”
- named Plato because of his wide/broad physical
build
-The Academy (school he established)
- believed that knowledge lies within the person’s
soul
- believed that people are intrinsically good (but
judgments are made with ignorance which means
evil)
Theory of Forms
Plato’s Metaphysics (philosophical study of the
causes and nature of things)
- forms refer to what are real (not objects
encountered with senses but grasped intellectually)
Forms are:
- eternal (ageless)
- permanent (unchanging)
- unmoving & divisible
Plato’s Dualism
The realm of shadows – changing, sensible things
which are lesser entities – imperfect and flawed
Think more and Know Yourself
Doxa – popular opinion
Three Components of the Soul
Reason – rational; motivation for goodness and
truth
Spirited – non-rational; will or the drive toward
action
Appetites – irrational; lean towards the desire for
pleasure of the body
THEORY OF LOVE AND BECOMING
Allegory of The Cave
- what people see are only shadows of reality which
they believe are real things & represent knowledge
Theory of Being
- in knowing the truth, the person must become the
truth
- to know is to be (the more you know, the more
you are and the better you are)
Plato’s Love
- begins with a feeling/experience that there is
lacking
- which then drives a person to seek which is
lacking
- thoughts/efforts direct to the pursuit of which is
lacking
Love is a process of seeking higher stages of
being.
To love the highest is to become the best
CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHERS
- concerns were with God & man’s relationship with
God
- did not believe that self-knowledge and happiness
were the ultimate goals of a man
-sees man as sinners who go against loving God’s
commands
St. Augustine of Hippo 354 – 436 CE
“God loves each of us as if there is only one of us.”
- God is the source of all reality and truth (possible
through the existence of one eternal truth – God)
- The sinfulness of man (cause of sin – act of
freewill; moral goodness is only achieved through
grace of God)
Role of Love
For God is love & he created human to also love.
- disordered love results when man loves wrong
things & thinks it brings happiness
He explains that:
1. Love for physical objects leads to greed
2. Love for others isn’t lasting & excessive love
is jealousy
3. Love for the self leads to the sin of people
4. Love for God is the supreme virtue; Loving
God gives real happiness
RENE DESCARTES 1596 – 1650
“Corgito ergo sum.”
- father of modern philosophy
- I think, therefore I am
- believed that to doubt is to think
Skepticism – attitude of doubt (general or particular
or to any questioning attitude/state of mind)
- A thinker is a thing that doubts, understands,
affirms, denies, wills, refuses, imagines, feels
Descartes’ System
The human mind has 2 powers:
Intuition – ability to apprehend direction of certain
truths
Deduction – power to discover what is knot known
by progressing in an orderly way from what is
already known
The mind-body problem
The body is like a machine that is controlled by the
will and aided by the mind.
JOHN LOCKE 1632 -1704
“No man’s knowledge here can go beyond his
experience.”
- believed that knowledge results from ideas
produced a posteriori/ objects that were
experienced
- contended that ideas are not innate but rather the
mind at birth is a TABULA RASA (blank state)
The process involves 2 forms:
Sensation – objects are experienced through
senses
Reflection – mind ‘looks’ at the experienced objects
to discover relationship between them
3 laws according to Locke
Law of opinion –actions that are praiseworthy are
virtues & if not called vices
Civil Law – right actions are enforced by people in
authority
Divine Law – set by God on the actions of man
EMPIRICISM - sense-experience is the most
reliable source of knowledge
DAVID HUME 1711 – 1776
“A wise proportions his beliefs to evidence.”
- relied on scientific method
- believed that we are more influenced by our
feelings than by reason
- said that ‘self’ is just a bundle of impressions
- without impressions, there will be no ideas
- there is no permanent/unchanging self
2 types of perceptions
Impression – immediate sensations of external
reality
Ideas – recollections of impressions
- formulated three principles (resemblance,
contiguity, cause and effect) on how ideas relate to
each other
IMMANUEL KANT 1724 – 1804
“I have no knowledge of myself as I am, but merely
as I appear to myself.”
- argued that the mind is not just a passive receiver
of sense experience but it actively participates in
knowing what it experiences
- experience of the self and its unity with objects is
TRANSCEDENTAL APPERCEPTION
- the kingdom of God is within man
SIGMUND FREUD 1856 – 1939
“The mind is like an iceberg: it floats with one
seventh of its bulk above water.”
Three Levels of Mind
ID – pleasure principle
EGO – reality principle
SUPEREGO – dependent on learning
difference between right and wrong
2 kinds of instincts that drive individual behavior
EROS – life instinct; energy is called libido & urges
necessary survival like thirst, hunger, sex
THANATOS – death instinct; behavior that directs
on the destruction through aggression & violence
GILBERT RYLE 1900 – 1976
“Man need not to be degraded into a machine by
being denied to be a ghost in a machine.”
- The Concept of the Mind (his book)
- thought freewill as the answer whether an action
deserves a praise or a blame
- assumes that man’s action should be moral for it
to be free
2 types of Knowledge
Knowing-that refers to knowing facts and
information
Knowing-how is using facts in the performance of
skill/technical abilities
Without the ability of using knowledge to solve
practical problems to make his life easier, the
knowledge is useless.
PATRICIA & PAUL CHURCHLAND
“There isn’t a special thing called mind. The mind is
just the brain.” – Patricia
- She coined the term neurophilosophy (states that
the self is real, it’s a tool that helps the person tune
– in to the realities of the brain & extant reality)
- she claimed that man’s brain is responsible for the
identity known as ‘self’
- they sought to guide scientific theorizing with
philosophy and guide philosophy with scientific
theory
Philosophy of Neuroscience
- Study of the philosophy of the mind, the
philosophy of science, neuroscience, and
psychology
- aims to explore the relevance of neuroscientific
studies to the philosophy of the mind
MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY 1908 – 1961
- philosopher of the body
the
- focused on the relationship of self – experience
and experience of other through perception
- the world and the sense of self are emergent
phenomena in the ongoing process of man’s
becoming
- perceptions are not merely result of sensations
nor interpretation; consciousness is a process that
includes sensing and interpreting/reasoning
PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIOLOGY
aims to discover the ways by which the social
surrounding/environment influences people’s thoughts,
feelings, and behavior
GEORGE HERBERT MEAD
-Born on February 27, 1863 in Massachusetts, USA
-Graduated and taught Grade School at Oberlin College
-Enrolled in Harvard University in 1887 where his
interests were Philosophy and Psychology
-wrote and published articles and book reviews but did
not publish his own book
-His students put together number of his articles and
edited them for publication
-He died in 1931 due to heart failure
Mead’s Social Self
- self cannot be separated from society
-He explained through a set of stages which the person
undergoes in the course of his development
Social Behaviorism
-the approach Mead used to describe the power of
environment in shaping human behavior. At the center
of his theorizing is the concept of self
-He described the self as “dimension of personality that
is made up of the individual’s self-awareness and self-
image”
The Mead Stages
1. The Preparatory Stage - Mead believed that a
self-did not exist at birth but develops over
time. It depends on social interaction and social
experience.
 Children’s behaviors are primarily based
on Imitation. They become familiar with
symbols (verbal and non-verbal) as they
interact and these symbols are the
bases of Communication
 Knowing and understanding the
symbols are important to constitute
their way of communicating with others
throughout their lives
2. The Play Stage - the child widens his
perspective and realizes that he is not alone and
there are others around him which he has to
consider.
- Skills at knowing and understanding the
symbols of communication is important
for this constitutes the basis for
communication. Through
communication, social relationships are
formed.
- Role-taking is the process of assuming
the perspective of another person to
see how this person might behave or
respond in a given situation
3. The Game Stage - has the ability to respond not
just to one but several members of his social
environment
 Begins to consider several tasks and
various types of relationships
simultaneously
 Generalized other was used to explain
the behavior when a person considers
other people in the course of his action.
Through this, the person realizes the
cultural norms, beliefs, & values
incorporated to each self. With this, it
forms the basis of self-evaluation

Other Sociological Approaches to Understanding the
Self
CHARLES HORTON COOLEY (1864-1929)
-American sociologist who made use the
Sociopsychological approach to understand how
societies work
-Earned his Doctorate at the University of Michigan and
taught as a Sociology Professor until the end of his life
-He discussed the formation of the self through
interaction in his written work, Human Nature and the
Social Order (1902)
Looking-Glass Self
The self that is a product of social interaction. Seeing
oneself is based on contemplating one’s personal
qualities and the view of the self is also influenced by
the impression of other people
The 3 developing stages of the Self According to Cooley
 People imagine how they present themselves to
others. Ex: You dress-up elegantly at the prom
 People imagine how others evaluate them. Ex:
Others will see you as pretty by the way you fix
yourself
 People develop some sort of feeling about
themselves as a result of those impressions. Ex:
You may see yourself as confident.
It is noticed that Cooley used the word Imagine. This
may mean that there is a possibility that people
develop self-identities based on the wrong perception
of how others see them. Wrong perceptions, however,
can still change based on positive social experiences
“I am not what I think I am
I am not what YOU think I am
I am what I think YOU think I am.”
ERVING GOFFMAN (1922-1982)
“Choose your self-presentations carefully, for what
starts out as a mask may become your face”
 Canadian-American sociologist known for his
role in the development of Modern American
Sociology
 The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life –
people early in their social interactions learned
to slant their presentation of themselves in
order to create preferred appearances and
satisfy particular people or altering how the
person presents himself to others which he
called Impression Management
 He sees similarities of real social interaction to a
theatrical presentation. This is the reason for
the label dramaturgical approach to his view
 He used the phrase face-work to describe
another aspect of the self. This was observed in
situations where face-saving measures are
resorted to in the maintenance of a proper
image of self in frustrating or embarrassing
situations
The discussions and observations of the sociologists
represented a progression on how the self has
developed through the process of socialization to how
the person manages self-presentation in order for him
to be accepted by others.
SELF IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF ANTHROPOLOGY
A field of the social sciences that focuses on the study of
man. Not just on one aspect of man, but the totality of
what it means to be human
- Looks into man’s physical/biological
characteristics, social relationships, and the
influence of his culture from the dawn of
civilization up to the present
Everything in anthropology is interconnected and a
complete understanding is necessary to achieve better
understanding of one-self.
Four Subfields of Anthropology:
1. Archaeology
2. Biological Anthropology
3. Linguistic Anthropology
4. Cultural Anthropology
Archaeology
 Archeologist is a scientist who studies artifacts
in order to discover how people lived their lives.
As a result, archaeologists have discovered
 humans adapted to changes in their
environment in order for them to survive.
 They believe that Homo Sapiens did not
become extinct because of their ability to think,
use tools, and learn from experience.
 These discoveries made people realize that the
most important aspect of human life is survival.
Human Behavior according to School of
Functionalism, continues to adapt, in order to
survive.
 Men are similar, but the manner they use to
survive differs. This is the dilemma that
archaeology continuously searching for
answers.
Biological Anthropology
- Focus primarily on how the human body adapts
to the different earth environments.
- Look at the probable cause of diseases,
mutation and death. They are interested in
explaining how biological characteristics of
human beings affect how they lived their lives.
- Study people in different places and discovered
that while human beings vary in their biological
make-up and behavior, there are a lot more
similarities among them than there are
difference
- Biological characteristics that human beings
share may earn for them complete dominion
over all earth creatures and at the same time be
the cause of their extinction.
Linguistic Anthropology
 Human survival is primarily linked to their ability
to communicate and an essential part of human
communication is language.
 Linguistic Anthropologists used language to
discover a group’s manner of social interaction,
to create and share meanings to form ideas,
concepts, and to promote social change, and
how language change over time.
 Language – identifies group of people; words,
sounds, symbols, writings and signs that are
used are reflections of a group’s culture.
 Language is reflective of the time and mode of
thinking of the people using it. As societies
change and technologies develop, so do the
symbols and meaning people use through
language as their way of communicating.
Cultural Anthropology
o Cultural Anthropologists focus in knowing what
makes one group’s manner of living particularly
to that group and forms an essential part of the
member’s personal and social identity.
o Culture – group of people’s way of life.
Including their behavior, beliefs, values, and
symbols that they accept, socially transmitted
through communication and imitation from
generation to generation.
Theory of Cultural Determinism
o Where culture has a strong impact on how
individual view himself.
o According to this theory, human nature is
determined by the ideas, meanings, beliefs, and
values learned as member of a society.
o Who or what a person is maybe determined by
the kind of culture he is born into and grew up
in.
o Having different cultures, Cultural
Anthropologists suggests that there is no
universal or right way of being human. The right
way is always based on culture. Since culture
varies, there is no one way of understanding
human nature.
Cultural diversities are manifested in different ways
and at different levels of depth.
Ways in which culture may manifest itself in people:
1. Symbols (considered the most superficial level
of culture) - words, gestures, symbols, that have
recognized meaning in a particular culture. Ex:
Rings that signify commitment
2. Heroes - person from the past or present who
have characteristics that are important in a
culture. They may be real or fictitious and are
models of behavior. Ex: Real – Jose Rizal,
Fictitious – Darna
3. Rituals - activities, may be religious or social,
participated in by a group of people for the
fulfillment of desired objectives and are
considered to be socially essential. Ex: Baptism,
Wedding
4. Values (deepest level or are considered as the
core of culture) - are unconscious, and can
neither be discussed nor be directly observed
but can only be inferred from the way people
act and react to circumstances and situations.
Ex: Kissing of the hand of elders
Anthropology makes the person aware that what he is
maybe determined by his past, and present condition,
his biological characteristics, the way he communicates,
the language that he uses and the manner in which he
chooses to live his life
SELF IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF PSYCHOLOGY
Field of social sciences that deals with the description,
explanation, prediction and control of human behavior
Psychology and the Self
 Connected to the study of human behavior is
the concept of the Self.
William James (1842-1910)
 American Philosopher and Psychologist
 Professor of Psychology and Philosophy at
Harvard
 One of great pragmatists
 Wrote a book entitled “The Principle of
Psychology
Me and I:
William James’s five characteristics of thoughts:
1. All human thoughts are owned by some
personal self.
2. All thoughts are constantly changing or are
never static.
3. There is a continuity of thoughts as its focus
shifts from one object to another.
4. Thoughts deal with objects that are different
from and independent of consciousness.
5. Consciousness can focus on a particular object
and not itself.
I Self
 Pure Ego or Thinking Self
 Self that knows and recognizes who they are
and what they have done.
Me Self
 Empirical Me
 Considered as a separate objects or individual
that the person refers to when discussing or
describing their personal experiences.
 Divided into three components; Material Self,
Social Self, Spiritual Self
Material Self – Consists of the things or objects that
belong to the person or entities that a person belongs
to.
Social Self – Refers to the person in a particular social
situation. Changes in behavior usually result from the
different social situations the person finds himself in.
Spiritual Self – Refers to the self that is more concrete
or permanent when compared to the material and
social selves and is the most subjective and intimate
part of the self. Always engaging in the process of
introspection (self-observation)
Other Selves in Psychology
The Global Self
 Represents the overall value that a person
places upon himself.
 Group of people that you interact with everyday
that strongly influences you.
 Product of all experiences that he had in the
society which accounts for the kind of person he
presently is.
MURRAY BOWEN (1913-1990)
 Came up with the concept of a differentiated
self
 Observed that there are two forces affecting the
person: togetherness and individuality
The Differentiated Self
 Affected by the presence of others and has the
ability to separate feeling and thoughts.
 Enables the person to develop and sustain his
unique identity, make his own choices and
accept responsibility for his behavior and still be
able to stay emotionally connected with his
family and friends.
Real and Ideal Self Concepts
Person-Centered Theory
 A theory proposed by Carl Rogers.
 According to Rogers, self-concept refers to how
a person thinks about or perceives himself.
 Two types of self-concept: a. real-self concept,
b. ideal-self concept.
Real-Self Concept – refers to all information and
perception the person has about himself.
Ideal-Self Concept – Refers to what the person aims for
himself to be.
“If both would be congruent with each other, it will give
the person happiness”
The Self-Discrepancy Theory
 Theorized by Edward Tory Higgins (1987)
 Self-guides – internalized standards to which
people use to compare themselves.
 When the self is found to be deviating from
these guides, the result is self-discrepancy.
Multiple and Unified Selves
Multiple Selves Theory
 Suggests that there exists in the individual
different aspects of the self
 A unified being is essentially connected to
consciousness, awareness and agency.
 “A psychologically healthy individual is a person
who is able to make sense of the sometimes
confusing and conflicting aspects of themselves
and integrate them into a single, unified self.”
True and False Selves (D.W. Winnicott)
The True Self
 Creative
 Spontaneously experiencing each day of their
lives
 Appreciate being alive
 High level of awareness in the person of who he
is
 Recognizes his strengths
 Accepts his limitations
 Enjoys winning and success
 Learns from mistakes
The false self
 Lacks spontaneity
 Dead and empty
 The mask that hides the true person for fear of
pain of rejection and failure
 At times, it enables the person to form
superficial but productive social relationships
True and false selves are present in all individuals. They
should be functional for the advantage of both the
person himself and his society.
The Self as Proactive and Agentic
 Albert Bandura (1925-2021) is the proponent of
the personality theory known as the Social
Cognitive Theory
 The Person is seen as proactive and agentic
 Capacity to exercise control over his life
Social Cognitive Theory
 Learning through observation
 Suggests that human beings are proactive, self-
regulating, self-reflective, and self-organizing
 The human agency is the essence of being
human.
Features of Human Agency
1. Intentionality – Actions performed by the
person with full awareness of his behavior.
2. Forethought – Person’s anticipation of likely
outcomes of his behavior.
3. Self-reactiveness – Process in which the person
is motivated and regulates his behavior as he
observes his progress in achieving his goals.
4. Self-reflections – The person looking inward and
evaluating his motivations, values, life goals,
and other people’s effect on him.
5. Self-regulation – A person reactively attempts
to minimize the discrepancies between what he
has already accomplished and what he still
wants to achieve.
SELF IN WESTERN AND EASTERN THOUGHT
Individualistic Self
 Through process of introspection and
reflection, a man decides to search for his
purpose in life and role he plays in the
world
 A person makes the most of his life going
into the world with the life he chooses,
making decisions, acting upon these choices
and taking full responsibilities of the
consequences is called an individualistic self
An Individualist Self
1. Aware that he is not alone and exists with
others
2. Sees himself as capable of living his own life,
doing things he loves, making mistakes and
learning from it.
3. Is aware of his rights and limitations of his
freedom.
4. Sets goals and works hard to achieve them.
  Development begins after birth and is observed
in the child-rearing practices of parents in the
West
 Independence and self-reliance form the
development of the self in Western cultures.
 Individualists are expected to have the ability to
stand alone
Collective Self
 The cultures of the East focuses with the
collective self of individuals
 It’s where the identity of the individual is lost
and doesnot exist except as a part of the group.
 The family and society control how group
members should think, act and behave in
society
 Group members depend on each other
Collective Selves
 Establish strong bonds with their families
 Bound by the customs, beliefs and tradition of
the group
 Examples of issues decide by the group are;
gender roles, marriage, practices and patriarchy
 In society, collectivism fosters nationalistic
attitude as what the group believes
In contemporary society, both individualistic and
collective self may exist in an individual resulting
between people of the East and West
SELF IN WESTERN THOUGHT
 Self plays a central role in almost all
perspectives of intellectual inquiry
 An area of interest by the French and English
philosophers
 An entity whose proof of existence is most
challenging as is ascertained in the early Greek
philosophies of Socrates and Plato
Descartes
 Self exists regardless of his environment
 The cognitive basis of the person’s thoughts is
proof for the existence of the self.
Kant
 Self is capable of actions that entities it to have
rights as an autonomous agent.
 This then inspired the recognition of the human
rights as important in the expression of
individual freedom.
Ecological self
 Sees the self as a process that is undergoing
development
 Self is seen as dynamic, different and unique
and constantly exposed to an ever changing
world
Factors that influence self-development:
 Human and biological and environmental
characteristics such as;
1. Race
2. Gender
3. Social Status
4. Education
5. Culture
SELF IN CONFUCIAN THOUGHT
Confucius
 The name for which Kong Zhongi of China was
known in the West.
 Was born in Zhou dynasty period in 551 BCE in
small state of Lu.
 Grew up poor even though he descended from
a scholarly family
 Zhou dynasty was characterized by political,
social and moral disintegration in China
 Through scholarly study, Confucius came to be
known as ‘Master Kong’ and as ‘Great Sage and
Teacher’
Confucian Thought
 Came to be known as humanistic social
philosophy
 Humanistic social philosophy focuses on human
beings and the society he finds himself in
 The society and communities serve as the main
source of values of both human beings and
society in general
Ren
 Philosophical concept of Confucianism
 Can be understood as human goodness
which makes human beings different from
beasts.
 Involves feelings and thinking which serves
as the foundation of human relationships.
  Manifested through; - There are no gray areas
 Li (propriety) - Actions must be done because they are the
 Xiao (filiality) right actions.
 Yi (rightness) - For example: obedience to parents which is
 Signifies the Chinese culture’s emphasis on expected from children because it’s morally
feelings or the heart as the most important right and obligated to do so
instead of the head in human nature.
 “reflection of the person’s own Ren through Li, Xiao and Li
understanding of humanity - Li, Xiao and Yi are virtues observed in a person
o Found within each person whose humanity is developed, morally
o Guides human actions cultivated and aware
o Makes life worth living - According to Confucianism, virtuous people
 To abandon ren means abandoning what is result in a well-rounded, civilized, humane
truly human society

Li (propriety)
- Rules of propriety should be followed in order
to guide human actions
- Such rules involve adherence to the rituals of
the community:
 Customs
 Ceremonies
 Traditions
- The rules form the basis for li which persisted
and strengthened by human practice through
generations.

Xiao (filiality)
- The virtue of reverence and respect for family
- “Parents should be revered for the life they had
given”
- “Children show respect to their parents by
exerting efforts to take care of themselves
- Reverence for parents and family is further
demonstrated by bringing honor to the family,
making something of himself to earn the
respect of others
- If the person is having difficulty giving his family
honor, he should do his best not disgrace the
family
- Relationship that exist in the family reflect how
the person relates to others
- Family is the reflection of a person
- How the person interacts socially and values
acted upon can be traced back to his family
environment which forms the bases of the
person’s moral and social virtue

Yi (rightness)
- It is the right way of behaving
- Unconditional and absolute
- Right is right and what is not right is wrong