UNDERSTANDING THE SELF (09-06-22)

CHAPTER 1: Philosophical self

1. Is it really essential to understand the self?

Yes, so we can be readily understanding others
2. What are the different notions of the self from different standpoints of various
philosophers across time and place?
3. How do we compare those varying standpoints?
4. How do I examine myself using these different standpoints or perspectives?

NAME tag; identity; it doesn't measure yourself holistically speaking

THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

Philosophy - “” Love for wisdom”
Answer questions regarding the nature of and existence of man and the  world
(Socrates, Plato, St. Augustine, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Freud

SOCRATES (GREEK) - All time favorite Philosopher; we only know socrates because
his illustrious of his students, Plato and Aristotle
> “Gnothi seauton” = know thyself
- If you know who you are, all basic issues and difficulties in
life would be gone in a simple snap of a finger.
- If you know who you are, then everything would be clearer
and simpler. One could now act according to his own self-
definition without any doubt and self-contradiction.
> Socratic Method - art of questioning
- possession of knowledge is a virtue and that ignorance is a
vice, that a person’s acceptance of ignorance is a source or a
springboard for the acquisition of knowledge later on
- One must first have the humility to acknowledge one’s
ignorance so as to get or acquire knowledge
- Answers will always be subjective
- There is really no right or wrong answers
- He is known as the first martyr of  education, knowledge
and philosophy. For lighting up the minds of his students, he
was literally charged with corruption of minors
- Socrates is even considered to be so ugly, the only his own
mother could love
PLATO (GREEK) He is acknowledged author of the groundbreaking book “The
Republic” which became the bedrock of democracy as we
know it today
BELIEVES IN THE DIVISION OF BODY AND SOUL
> Appetitive soul needs and wants that are to be satisfied; basic level of soul
> Spirited Soul courageous part of the person; one who wants to do
something or right the wrongs; matapang na bahaging tao;
courages to accept mistakes
> Rational Soul “the conscious mind”; responsible for decision, plans, and
thinks; responsible for a person to be aware of the situation
- Plato made the philosophical allegory of the cave
 - Slaves born as such inside a cave facing only the shadows of
men, whill never have knowledge that there is another set of
men 
ST. AUGUSTINE (AFRICA) - Roman catholic priest; everything is better if we acknowledge
God in our life
- developed the concept of the church being the city of god.
That a city governed by the church is a city governed by god. 
- He was a doctor of the church
- By extension, this is the very basis of kings and royalty,
having their coronation presided by church
- in simplified form, his own philosophy posits that love of
knowledge brings happiness and that only knowledge could
bring man true happiness
- education is equated by knowledge
RENE DESCARTES (FRENCH) - He is best known for quoting “cogito ergo sum” or “I think
therefore, i am”
- Just as no animal would be musing about the purpose of his
life, only humans have the audacity and impertinence of trying
to figure out the meaning of his life and is actually self aware
- Humans are able to create reality and proves their own
placement in the universe; Humans create their own reality
and they are the master of their own universe
JOHN LOCKE (ENGLISH) - Father of liberalism
- coming from an era where proper decorum
- believes of principle of empiricism 
- John locke’s profession was that of a country lawyer and
degree in medicine, fortunately  for the field of philosophy
(AAAAAAAAAAA)
- Everyone started from a black state “tabula rasa”; the
concept posits that everyone started as a blank slate, and the
content provided 
DAVID HUME (SCOTT) - This is irony because, he espoused 3 notable contention in
philosophy
Empiricism
Skepticism
Naturalism
- One can only know through senses and experience
- David was a known atheist and as such, he believed in the
natural cycle of life. 
- Everything is governed by reason
- There is no permanent “self”
- This self is a collection of a person’s different impressions
and perceptions
Impression = coming from external world
Perception = manner of interpretation
IMMANUEL KANT (GERMAN) - he posted the idea that there is a connection between
reason and experience. That in order to have solid rationality,
one must have a variety of experience and exposure
- There is  a correlation between experience and rationality.
You cannot have one without the other
 - he subscribes to the idea of metaphysics, that which is
beyond matter. 
SIGMUND FREUD (AUSTRAIN) - Father of Psychoanalysis
- Predicated on sex and aggression with the unconscious mind
as the platform
- Present self or personality is greatly shaped by the person’s
past experiences
- Unconscious mind
- we are driven by unconscious mind; the reason is absent;
actions are beyond reason
- past self is connected to present self and to future self 
- Utilized introspection (subjective understanding of oneself)
as a tool
> Unconscious
Preconscious
Conscious 
> Id pleasure principle 
> Ego reality principle
> Super Ego morality principle

GILBERT RYLE (BRITISH)
- relationship between body and mind, they are one. They are
connected to be separated
- The self is affected by the mind and by the body 
- Self is takes as a whole, with body and mind combination
- The self is an integrated whole made up of different parts
and systems
- He also posited the maxim “i am therefore i am”
- By extension, things take a life of their own. In his
contemporary times, every machines assumes a life of its own
- more than what it was intended for 

PAUL CHURCHLAND (CANADIAN) - folk psychology will eventually discredited by

scientific inquiry
- indigenous notions, theories, concepts and ideas will be
supplanted by scientific method
- the main philosophy of Churchland is predicated on
“eliminative materialism”. Principally, eliminative materialism
contention is that people’s common sense understanding of
the mind is false and that most of the mental states that
people subscribe to, in turn, do not actually exist.
- more importantly, Churchland postulated that the mind and
body are separate. The physical body cannot influence the
mind and the same is also true for the mind cannot influence
body 

EXAMPLES OF COMMON-SENSE THINKING

Heavy clouds lead to rain Not all the time 

Rich people are happy people Not all rich people are happy
 People with glasses are intelligent Even dumb people wear glasses
people

Harvard students are intelligent Not all Harvard students are intelligent

MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY (FRENCH) - He articulated the idea of existentialism. It is

predicated on the premise that man gives meaning to his own
life
- Happiness and sadness are dependent on the individual and
his perception of his own reality
- Consciousness and perception are related to one another
PHENOMENOLOGY OF PERCEPTIONS
The Body receives and integrate experiences
The Perceived World accumulation of perception as integrated by the experiences of
the body
People in the World experience the cultural aspect and
relate with others

UNDERSTANDING YOURSELF (09-13-22)

A. The Self - it is often defined by the following characteristics:
Separate - it is distinct from other selves, it is always unique and has
in its own identity
Self-contained - it is distinctive with its own thoughts, characteristics and
volition and does not require any other self to exist
Independent - it is consistent and unitary
Private - it means isolated from the external world. (Feelings,
emotions, private thoughts)
B. The Self and Culture - 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
- talks about who you are, physical self; how you behave in
physical self in external world
Personne - is composed of social concepts of what it means to be
who he is. And what it means to live in a particular
institution, family, religion, nationality, and how he behaves
given the expectations and influences from others.
- creating a social concept, for example: As you study the
course of BSA, people must be thinking you are good at
numbers
C. George Herbart Mead and the Social Self - Mead was considered as the Father of
American Pragmatism; rejects biological determination

“ An individual already has an established self from the moment he was born” (Biological
Determination) vs, “ A person with regards to who they are develops from one’s social
interaction with other people”
 Meaning - the self is established through the construction and reconstruction of the idea of
who we are as a person during the process of social experience

COMPONENTS OF THE SELF

1. The “I” Self
- the reaction of the individual to the attitude of others
 - active part of yourself
-  response of “ME” in the present (do not blindly follow rules)

2. “ME”
-  are characteristics, behavior, and or actions done by a person that follows the
“generalized others”
-  internalization of roles; past 
- (socialized aspect of the person; sense of self) 
- you want to be part of the society, you are going to identify others as how you
internalized your role (<<addition) 

MEAD’S 3 ROLE - PLAYING STAGES OF SELF DEVELOPMENT 

1. Stage 1 Preparatory Stage (Birth - 2 years old) - The infant simply imitates
the action and behaviors of other people that an infant interacts with

2. Stage 2 Play Stage (2-6 years old) - This is where children begin to interact
with others with which certain rules apply, these rules oftentimes do not adhere to any
set of standards but rather are rules that are set by the children themselves. This also
where they practice real li9ife situations through pretend play and is the on-set of
consciousness; The development of the self in this stage occurs through the
preliminary experiences that serves as practice for the child

3. Stage 3 Game Stage (6-9 years old) - Characterized by the ability of the children
to recognize the rules of the game and be able to identify their roles of the others that
is playing with them; They learn the implications of their actions as well as the
understanding or taking into account how one can take into account the viewpoint of
the society on the attitudes and actions

MEAD - The establishment of the sense of self, socialization is a lifetime endeavor, and
the people one interacts with will change throughout a person’s life in consideration to the social
environment one belongs to like school, home, work/ And such interactions will concretize the
identity of oneself

 The idea of “self” may be based on the general attitudes and behaviors of other people
or the individuality of the person that manifests as a response to those attitudes and
behaviors of others

CHAPTER 3 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF

Benjamin Franklin - “To know one’s self”

Anthropology - it is a systematic exploration of human biological and cultural diversity

- studies the human species and its immediate ancestors
SUB-DISCIPLINE OF ANTHROPOLOGY
A. Cultural Anthropology
 Study of human society and culture which describes analyzes, interprets and
explains social and cultural similarities and differences
> Ethnography (based of field work) - living the same like other cultures
> Ethnology (based on cross-cultural comparison - from ideas you
gathered 
B. Archeological Anthropology
 reconstructs, describes and interprets human behavior and cultural patterns
through material remains
C. Biological Anthropology
 Focuses on these special interest, human evolution as revealed by fossil, human
genetics, human growth and development, human biological plasticity and the
biology, evolution, behavior and social life monkeys, apes and other non-human
primates
D. Linguistic Anthropology
 Its social and cultural context across space and over time

II. The Self embedded in the culture

Culture - is defined as the customary behavior and beliefs that are passed on through
enculturation (Kottak, 2008)
 It is a social process that is learned and passes from generation to the
next
 It depends on images, which have a specific significance and incentive
for individuals who share a culture
 Culture obliges people, yet the activities of people can change culture

Conformity - a change in behavior or beliefs as the result of real or imagined group pressure
Obedience - acting in accord with a direct order or command
- Compliance to an explicit command
Compliance - conformity that involves publicly acting in accord with an implied or
explicit request while privately disagreeing
Acceptance - conformity that involves both acting and believing in accord with social
influence

Normative Influence - Conformity based on a person’s desire to fulfill others expectation,

often to gain acceptance; Salient when we are in public
Informational Influence - conformity occurring when people accept evidence about reality
provided by other people; salient when we feel incompetent & when task
 is difficult; concern for social image produces normative influence; The
desire to be correct produces informational influence

SPOTLIGHTS AND ILLUSIONS

Spotlight Effect - The belief that others are paying more attention to one’s
appearance and behavior that they really are\
Illusion of Transparency - The illusion that our concealed emotion is “leaking out:
and can be easily read by others

 Social surroundings affect our self-awareness - When we feel “Out-of-

place” or O.P.
 Self-interest colors our social judgment - We tend to blame other people
for something bad or credit ourselves for something good
 Self-concern motivates our social behavior - We agonize our self-
appearance to make a good impression
 Social relationships help define our self - My relationship with my mom vs.
with my friends

DEV. OF THE SOCIAL SELF

1. Roles we play
Whether we are a college student, parent, or salesperson our sense of role
affects the way we see our self
> Leader, officer, kapatid, best friend
2. Social Comparisons
Evaluate one’s abilities and opinions by comparing oneself with others; it
involves others
> Smart or dull? rich or poor? Good looking or kind?
3. Success and Failure
Our daily experiences of success and failure gives us a sense of social self
> What would you feel if you got a high score in math?
4. Other people’s Judgements
What people think well of us, it helps us think well of ourselves
> Looking-glass self - tendency to use others as a mirror for perceiving
ourselves
5. The Culture
In cultural psych

Self & Culture

Individualism - the concept of giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals &
defining one’s identity in term of attributes rather than group
identifications
(AAAAAA)
Growing individualism - “The Me Generation” even parents are now concerned with the
uniqueness of their children’s name.
Culture & Cognition - Asian thinking (more collectivist) vs. Western thinking (more
individualist)
Culture & Self-Esteem - Self-esteem - overall self-evaluation or sense of self-worth
- Americans tend to have high self-esteem with disengaged emotions
– feeling effective, superior and proud (Kitayama & Markus, 2000)
 - Asians tend to have high self-esteem with positive social
engagement -feeling close, friendly, & respoectful (Kitayama &
Markus, 2000)

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF (09-20-22)

PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF
ABSTRACTIONS OF THE SELF 
 the self is the sense of personal identity and who we are as
individuals (Jhangiani & Tarry, 2014
 Distinction between “I” and “me” (James, 1980)
 “I” = the thinking, acting and feeling self
 - “me” = physical characteristics as well as psychological
capabilities that makes who you are
 James and rogers point out “I” is what you are thinking
 Distinction between “I” and “me” (Rogers, 1959)
 “I” = the one acts and decides
 - “me” = what you think about yourself as an object
 Related to constructs such as identity and self-concept

THE SELF AND ITS SELVES

 SELF - reference by an individual to the same individual person
 I - Knower; what you think about yourself
 ME - second self; the person that is known; creating ideas to people who you are

MAIN CONCEPTS OF THE SELF (JAMES)

A. Me-Self - phenomenal self, experienced self, self-known; intrinsic
B. I-Self - self thought or the self knower

THREE CATEGORIES OF UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

Constituents - human and non-human entities that are available
in your external world
Feelings and emotions - natatakot ka, nasisiyahan, excited; coming from
your experience (Feelings), after it is interpreted, it
will become emotions (representation of your
feeling, to give actions to what you feel)
Self-seeking and self-preservation - value of free
from harm; 

SUB CATEGORIES OF SELF

Material self - possessions; tangible things extended to you; how many cars
do you own?
Social self - level of engagement to others; are you a person who is waiting
for others to approach you? 
Spiritual self - How healthy are you? religious; something within you, the
connection between God Almighty and you, yourself

CONCEPTION OF SELF
THREE SIDES OF UNDERSTANDING THE SELF (ROGERS)
The perceived self (self-worth) - how worthy you are as a person; paano mo
tinitignan ang sarili mo
 The real self (self-image) - authentic self, genuine part of who we are;
try to present our self
The ideal self (how the person would like to be) - aspiration in life

ABSTRACTIONS OF THE SELF

People are not passive receivers, they actively shape and affect how they see, think,
and feel about things or objects

Way of understanding ourselves, we are trying to react and/or contemplate.

MUNICIPALITY OF THE SELF

 The self has two subsystems (Rogers)
(I) the self-concept - which includes all those aspects of one’s identity that
are perceived in awareness
> Different from organismic self
(2) the ideal self - our view of our self as we would like it to be or what
would aspire to be
 Once formed, the self-concept tends to resist change, and gaps between it and the ideal
self-result in incongruence and various levels of psychopathology 
 People are aware of both their self-concept and their ideal self, although awareness
need not to be accurate
 For example, people may have an inflated view of their ideal self but only a vague sense
of their self-concept
 Rogers saw people as having experiences on three levels of awareness

LEVELS OF AWARENESS
 Those that are symbolized below the threshold of awareness and are ignored, denied, or
not allowed into the self-concept;
 Those that are consistent with the self-concept and thus are accurately symbolized and
freely admitted to the self-structure
> Any experience not consistent with the self-concept even positive
experiences-will be distorted or denied
 Those that are distorted are reshaped to fit it into an existing self-concept

THE STORY OF THE EAGLE

 He never knew that he could fly because he grew up with chicks
 His actualization tendency is different from his Self-Actualization (My wings are different
but I know that I am a chicken- so i could not fly)
 He always wanted to fly (ideal self) but he knows that chicken could not fly (Self-
concept)
 Chicken friends tell him he’s different but denies it because he thinks he’s really a
chicken
PERCEIVED SELF-CONTROL
Self-efficacy - A sense that one is competent & effective
- how competent we feel on the task
- given challenging tasks, people who imagine themselves as hardworking and
successful outperform those who imagine themselves as failures (Ruvolo &
Markus, 2002)

High self-efficacy means high self-esteem? Can be a yes or no

You can have high self-efficacy but low self-esteem

E.g., you might feel that you are really good at chess, but feel that your not important because
the sport is not so relevant

LOCUS OF CONTROL the extent to which people perceive outcomes internally

controllable by their own efforts or as externally controlled by
chance or outside forces
“Swerte lang”, “Na-malas ako!”
“The law of attraction”
“Kasi magaling ako”
“Because I practiced well”
INTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL
You probably believe you control your own destiny; “I failed because I
didn’t study”; They can because they think they can.
EXTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL

ABSTRACTIONS OF THE SELF Theories generally see the self and identity as mental
constructs created and re-created in memory
Current researches suggest that the frontal lobe is the
specific are of the brain associated with processes
concerning the self
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM (MEAD, 1934)
Suggest that the self is created and developed through human interaction (Hogg
&Vaughan, 2010)
We do not create ourselves out of nothing. Society helped in creating the
foundations of who we are
We need others as reference points of our identity. We need others to reinforce
our identity (e.g., social media interactions)
What we think as important to us may also have been influenced by what is
important in our social or historical context (e.g. education)
DOING TOGETHER WHAT WE WOULD NOT DO ALONE

DEINDIVIDUATION - What happens when people lose hold of their sense of self?
- loss of self-awareness and evaluation apprehension; occurs in
group situations that foster responsiveness to group norms, good
or bad
High social arousal + diffused responsibility = Deindividuation
GROUP SIZE - Has the power to arouse and render individuals unidentifiable 
PHYSICAL ANONYMITY - Being anonymous makes one less self-conscious, more group-
conscious, and more responsive to cues present in the situation;
may pen name like sa social media
DIMINISHED SELF-AWARENESS
Diminished self-consciousness tent to disconnect behavior from attitudes
Unself-conscious, deindividuated people are less restrained, less-regulated, more likely
to act without thinking about their own values, and more responsive to the
situation
CONCEPT OF UNIFIED AND MULTIPLE SELF
FREUD id, ego, superego
GERGEN multiple/flexible self
Many potential selves
TRUE SELF - simple benign, authentic experience of being alive, real
self
FAKE SELF - defense facade