Reference No: KLL-FO-ACAD-000 | Effectivity Date: August 3, 2020 | Revisions No.

: 00

VISION MISSION
A center of human development committed to the pursuit of wisdom, truth, Establish and maintain an academic environment promoting the pursuit of
justice, pride, dignity, and local/global competitiveness via a quality but excellence and the total development of its students as human beings,
affordable education for all qualified clients. with fear of God and love of country and fellowmen.

GOALS
Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Lipa aims to:
1. foster the spiritual, intellectual, social, moral, and creative life of its client via affordable but quality tertiary education;
2. provide the clients with reach and substantial, relevant, wide range of academic disciplines, expose them to varied curricular and co-curricular
experiences which nurture and enhance their personal dedications and commitments to social, moral, cultural, and economic transformations.
3. work with the government and the community and the pursuit of achieving national developmental goals; and
4. develop deserving and qualified clients with different skills of life existence and prepare them for local and global competitiveness

LESSON 4 ATTACHMENT (D) THE SELF IN EASTERN AND WESTERN THOUGHTS

Different cultures and varying environment tend to create different perceptions of the “ self”
and. one of the most common distinctions between cultures and people is the Eastern-vs-Western
The Eastern
dichotomy philosophy
wherein Easternisrepresents
more attuned
Asiatoand
thewestern
collective dimension
represents of the and
Europe self as opposed
Northern to
America. In
the western individualistic ideals of the self:
the Philippines alone, each region may have a similar or varying perception regarding the “self.”

Features of collectivism

Eastern thoughts:
Each person is encouraged to be an active player in society, to do what is best for society as a
whole rather than themselves
The right of families, communities and the collective supersede those of the individual
Rules promote unity, brotherhood and selflessness
Working with others and cooperating is the norm, everyone supports each other

The self as embedded in relationships are through spiritual development in Confucian

thought – Eastern construct

Eastern social infrastructures are mostly seen as contrary to the western individualistic
construct. The eastern social construct is primarily viewed us collectivistic and is always
grounded on nature. There was many eastern traditions that flourished in the history of thought
that were firmly based on how the self relates to others, to the divine being and to nature.
Confucius or kung fu zi as certain the ancient Chinese civilization by establishing social order.
The society will be led by wise leaders who guaranteed peace, prosperity and harmony. Here
in the Confucian system, we can immediately notice the primacy of the society over the
individual person. In fact, Confucius believed that the threat to social order is only cause by the
unchecked selfish desires of individuals. The self therefor in the Confucian system is a person
within the society who exhibit refinement and compassion.

Another concept in Confucian philosophy is the principle of ren. Ren is the character of the self
that sincerely shows compassion for others. The self must embody human – heartedness by
prioritizing the self thus interest of others. The sage king – jenzi – is characterized by his
practice of ren in putting others first before the self.

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A code of ethical conduct, of how one should properly act according to his/her relationship with
other people. The identity and self-concept of the individual are interwoven with the identity and
status of his/her community or culture, sharing its pride as well as its failures.
Confucianism
Self-cultivation/self-realization is seen as the ultimate purpose of life.

The chun-tzu ( man of virtue or noble character; commonly translated as “gentleman” or

“superior man”) is above all , a man of self-cultivation.To be a chun-tzu man has to live by
these principles:

Li is the principle of self-restraint and sense of propriety. It includes following social etiquette
and mannerisms.
Cheng means sincerity and unwavering devotion to the good.
Hsiao is love for the immediate family and then society.
Yi is the principle of righteousness.
Xin is the principle of honesty in life.
Jen is the most important of all principles. It means being kind and humane to your fellow
beings. It is about helping out others.
Chung is loyalty to one’s family and country..

The self in Confucianism is a “subdued self.” It is conditioned to respond to perceptions, not

of its own needs and aspirations, but of social requirements and obligations.

Taoism is a religious or philosophical tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes living in

harmony with the Tao or the Way.

Taoism
Tao denotes the principle that is the source, pattern and substance of everything that exists.

The perfect man has no self; the spiritual man has no achievement; the true sage has no
name. the ideal is thus selflessness.

The ideal self is selflessness but this is not forgetting about the self; 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.

Rejects the hierarchy and strictness brought by Confucianism and would prefer a simple
lifestyle and its teachings thus aim to describe how to attain that life.

The self is not just an extension of the family or the community; it is part of the universe.

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- The Buddha taught that an individual is a combination of five aggregates of existence, also
called the Five Skandhas or the five heaps .
Buddhism
Five Skandhas
Mental Formations includes habits, prejudices, and predispositions and volition or willfulness.
Consciousness awareness of or sensitivity to an object but without conceptualization
The doctrine of anatman is the core teaching of Buddhism. According to this doctrine, there is
no “self” in the sense of a permanent, integral, autonomous being within an individual
existence. What we think of as our self, the “me” that inhabits our body, is just an ephemeral
or momentary experience.
The ultimate goal is Nirvana (enlightenment). The English word enlightenment sometimes
refers to heightened intellect and reason.
The original Buddhists used the word Bodhi, which means awakened

The self is seen as an illusion, born out of ignorance, of trying to hold and control things, or
human-centered needs; thus, the self is also the source of all these sufferings.

To forget about the self, forget 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.

The Western culture is what we would call an individualistic culture since their focus is on the
person.

Features of Individualism

“I” identity
Promotes individual goals, initiative and achievement
Western thoughts:
Individual rights are seen as being the most important. Rules attempt to ensure self-
importance and individualism
Independence is valued; there is much less of the drive to help other citizens or communities
that in collectivism
Relying or being dependent on others is frequently seen as shameful
People are encouraged to do things on their own; to rely on themselves
People strive for their own successes

Marawoy, Lipa City, Batangas 4217 | https://www.facebook.com/KLLOfficial/

 Social construction is a shared assumption or perception of the people in society.
The western social construct of the self can be characterized in three ways.

1. The individualistic self – the individualistic self is always conceived as the autonomous
bounded entity. To be autonomous, one must be able to know independence.
Western thoughts:
2. The self-sufficiency – it presumes that a successful self must be able to supply one’s
needs without external assistance. Being self-sufficient also implies confidence in one’s
capacity to provide what the self needs from one’s own resources and authority.

3. The self being rational - in western practice, there is no time for the self to be weak and
emotional. The self must not waste resources on meditation and other metaphysical cognitions
but to be constantly rational and reasonable. The self- mastered the casual relationship of
things. Everything must be explained by logic and reason. Phenomenon outside the logical
realm is simple discredited and rejected. This explains the logical positivity movement. It
contends that what is rational and reasonable are only those which can be logically viable. The
successful self therefore is grounded on one’s investment on reason and logical thinking.

Features of Individualism

 “I” identity
 Promotes individual goals, initiative and achievement
 Individual rights are seen as being the most important. Rules attempt to ensure self-
importance and individualism
 Independence is valued; there is much less of the drive to help other citizens or communities
that in collectivism
 Relying or being dependent on others is frequently seen as shameful
 People are encouraged to do things on their own; to rely on themselves
 People strive for their own successes

Features of collectivism

 Each person is encouraged to be an active player in society, to do what is best for society as
a whole rather than themselves
 The right of families, communities and the collective supersede those of the individual
 Rules promote unity, brotherhood and selflessness
 Working with others and cooperating id the norm, everyone supports each other
 As a community, family or nation more than as an individual Social Construction of the Self in

Western Thought

1. Social construction is a shared assumption or perception of the people in society.

Marawoy, Lipa City, Batangas 4217 | https://www.facebook.com/KLLOfficial/

The western social construct of the self can be characterized in three ways.

1. The individualistic self – the individualistic self is always conceived as the autonomous
bounded entity. To be autonomous, one must be able to know independence.
2. The self-sufficiency – it presumes that a successful self must be able to supply one’s
needs without external assistance. Being self-sufficient also implies confidence in one’s capacity to
provide what the self needs from one’s own resources and authority.
3. The self being rational - in western practice, there is no time for the self to be weak and
emotional. The self must not waste resources on meditation and other metaphysical cognitions but to
be constantly rational and reasonable. The self- mastered the casual relationship of things. Everything
must be explained by logic and reason. Phenomenon outside the logical realm is simple discredited
and rejected. This explains the logical positivity movement. It contends that what is rational and
reasonable are only those which can be logically viable. The successful self therefore is grounded on
one’s investment on reason and logical thinking.

The Philippines is a culture in which East meets West. The Filipino people have a distinct Asian
background, with a strong Western tradition. The modern Filipino culture developed through influence
from Chinese traders, Spanish conquistadors, Japanese and American rulers.
With the social media, migration and intermarriages, variety between the Western and Asian
perceptions may either be blurred or highlighted. Whereas conflict is inevitable in diversity, peace is
also possible through the understanding of where each of us is coming from.

Marawoy, Lipa City, Batangas 4217 | https://www.facebook.com/KLLOfficial/