Mark Joey Filamo 1st Year, Civil Engineering

Understanding the Self

Individualism in the West and Collectivism in the East, I believe, are the
main distinctions in the concept of self between the East and the West. To
attain a healthy life and find one's function in society, Eastern philosophy is
increasingly drawn into groups, society, or people's actions and thoughts.
Western culture, on the other hand, is more individualistic, attempting to find
purpose in life now, with the self at its center, and self actualization through
personal growth.
Geertz (van Meijl, 2008) defines the Western concept of Self as an
“abounded, unique, more or less the integrated motivational and cognitive
universe, a dynamic center of awareness, emotion, judgment, and action
organized into a distinctive whole and set contrastively both against other
such wholes and against its social and natural background. In the West,
philosophy and religion are separated, however in the East, philosophy and
religion are connected. As a result, prominent Eastern religions such as
Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism are also common
representatives of Eastern thinking. Eastern philosophy offers a number of
ways for building a deeper awareness of oneself, but unlike Western
philosophy, it does not employ scientific investigative procedures. In the West,
they sought wisdom by rational reasoning rather than faith, whereas in the East,
they relied on intuition and were often associated with religious ideas.
Overall, I realized that both the West and the East have a point for me; they
may have significant differences in viewpoints, but I believe that this is due to
the fact that these philosophers grow up in different environments, cultures,
perceptions, and other factors that influence how they develop their own
philosophies. They are all accurate and excellent in my opinion from a specific
perspective and in specific situations; therefore, as a student who has absorbed
these various philosophies, I must understand when and how to apply and
utilize these notions.