William James

THE “ME” AND THE “I”

All human thoughts are the property of some individual self

All thoughts are ever changing, or never static.

When the emphasis changes from one entity to another, there is a

continuity of thought.

Thoughts deal with things that vary from the consciousness itself and
are separate.

THE “ME” SELF”

A separate object or individual to be described in the person’s
personal experience.

William james Divided into three components:

The material self
the objects or items belonging to the individual or entities to
which the person belongs

The spiritual self

Refers to the more real or permanent self in contrast with the
material or social.

The most personal and subjective aspect of the body

Also interested in the introspection process (Self-observation)

The social self

Refers to who the person is in a particular social situation.
Changes in behavior are usually due to the different social
situations in which the individual finds himself.

THE “I” SELF:

> Pure ego = person’s soul and mind

> Comprises the totality of the person’s identity.

THE GLOBAL SELF:

Represents the overall importance an individual attaches to himself.

You are highly affected by group of people you communicate with every
day.

The global self is the culmination of all the interactions in culture that make
up the kind of person he is now.

2. MURRAY BOWEN”(1913-1990):

The differentiated self:

The ability to distinguish between thoughts and feelings in an

emotional relationship system.

The capacity to distinguish feelings and thoughts is compromised by

the presence of others.

Observed that there are two forces affecting the person:

1, Togetherness
2, Individuality (balance)

CARL ROGERS (1902-1987)

Real and Ideal Self-Concept

The Real-Self Concept – refers to all information and perceptions the

person has about himself.

The Ideal –Self Concept – refers to which person aims for himself to be
happy and satisfied.

The real self-concept CONGRUENCE The ideal self concept

EDWARD TORY HIGGINS (1987):

The Self Discrepancy theory”- states that individuals compare their

“actual self to internalized standards or the ‘ideal/ought self.”

Example: if your ought self (ideal) should volunteer more for the local
animal shelter then your actual self may make me more inclined to do so.

When the self is found to be deviating from these guides the result is
self discrepancy: causes emotional discomfort

Self guides – internalized standards to which people use to compare

themselves.

MULTIPLE AND UNIFIED SELVES:

THE Multiple Selves Theory – suggest that there exist in the individual
different aspects of the self

A unified being is essentially connected to consciousness, awareness

and agency.

D.W. WINNICOTT (1896-1971):

The True Self and the False Self:
The True self – Appreciate being alive
High level of awareness
Accepts his limitations
Learns from mistakes
Enjoys winning and success
The False Self:
> The mask that hides the
true self
> Dead and empty
> Lacks spontaneity
> at times enable the person
to form superficial but
productive social relationships.

ALBERT BANDURA (1925-PRESENT):

Social Cognitive Theory:

>Man is seen as proactive and agentic being, has the capacity to

exercise and control over his life.
Human agency is the essence of being human.
>Learning through observation
> Human being are proactive, self-regulating, self-reflective and
self-organizing
Features of Human Agency:
Intentionality- actions performed by the person with full awareness of
his behavior.

Forethought – a person's anticipation of likely outcomes of his behavior.

Self-reactiveness – a person attempts to reactively minimize the

discrepancies between what he has already achieved and what he still want to achieve it.

Self-Regulation – is the ability to respond to the ongoing demands of

experience with the range of emotions in a manner that is socially
tolerable and sufficiently flexible to permit spontaneous reaction as
well as the ability to delay spontaneous reactions as needed.

Skills:
1. executive or cognitive
2. Ability to manage emotions

Children with high regulation skills are achievers, excel in school.

Self-Reflectiveness – the person who looks inward and considers his

motives, beliefs, goals for life and the impact on him of other people.

PSYCHOLOGY – is the empirical study mental mechanism and human

behavior It is also a field of the social sciences dealing with behavior
description, explanation, prediction and control.

Objection on the Absolute Determinism:

Human being is free but not absolutely free, in the same manner, a
person is determined by possessing physical dimensions but he/she

is not absolutely determined.

Absolute Determinism – every action by a human could be theoretically

predicted even before you are born.

However, this seems to be a very negative view of human nature:

In Absolute determinism – we theoretically do not have the ability to
control our actions to be “good” or “bad” people.
The following conditions serve as objections
on the extreme determinism:

First, “If the feeling of freedom is rejected, then no basic experience

is trustworthy, which would lead to total skepticism and inaction,”
people tend to become doubtful on their experiences and the hope
to change the decision in various situations will no longer be possible.

Second, if the statement. “Human is absolutely determined” is true,

The statement is also determined. Its opposite, “Human is absolutely
free” would also be determined, and so there would be no truth
value anymore to the statement.

This shows that there are no longer falsity or falsehood in any

statement since there is no truth value anymore in it.

Third, If human beings are manipulable like machines, there would be no

problem in making a just society. Human beings will no longer be
responsible towards their actions nor accountable to its possible
results. It is beyond their choices or capacities to change actions since
the future is already predictable and fixed.

For Merleau-Ponty, there was “never determinism and never

absolute choices”, by the very nature of “Man’s being in the world” ,
by this, he means that the choices are made in the field (world)of
meanings.

Though humans can not change their situations conditions, human’s

however, have the capacity to change their views in every situation
as well as the meanings in every event that happens in their life.

He made objection on absolute freedom of Sartre, stating that if

freedom is absolute, always and everywhere, then freedom is
impossible and nowhere.
The Middle Ground:

Merleau-Ponty – used the terms “Situated Freedom” – as the middle

ground between extreme freedom and absolute determinism.

He stated, “Freedom could never be divorced from the individual’s

insertion in a world; ( it is interwoven with the field of existence)

Human is free to make choices despite the limited condition of the

physical and psychological dimensions

“Man’s beingness in the world”. The essence of a person’s existence

is only possible with the concept of freedom, otherwise no one is
different from animals which are governed by their instincts.

Absolute freedom implies that there would be no distinction between

freedom and unfreedom.

If there is possibility of that very person to change the world based on

one’s will, then nothing will be predictable even the freedom itself.

Freedom is Related to Person:

Gabriel Marcel (1889-1973) a French philosopher and a leading

Christian existentialist, stated that the existence grows out as an ego
(in the context of having freedom) and grows into becoming
(beingness) person.

The possession of freedom by all human beings enables us to exist in

the world which allows us to nurture our essence, the purpose of our
beingness in this world.
He elaborates the two realms of freedom:

The realm of having and the realm of being:

In the realm of having- he characterized it as “Freedom that is external to

me”; it does not commune with me; a problem apart from me and its
applicability to ideas, implying possession (not open for sharing with
others).

The concept of freedom is outside the beingness of a person, it may be

possessed and be used only in a limited sense.

In the realm of being, he characterizes it as, “Freedom that pertains to

person; open to others to commune; it is not a problem but a mystery that
is part of me and this is applicable also to things like I am my ideas, I am
free.

A person is free as long as the person exists, and possesses awareness

Of such existence.

Understanding Freedom and Responsibility:

The possibility of responsibility lies in the existence of freedom.

If human beings are free; then we must be responsible for all our
actions and their consequences

If freedom is impossible, then everything is just none of us is

responsible to the results of our actions.

Alexander Spirkin (1918 – 2004) was a Soviet and Russian philosopher

– introduced the two meanings of responsibility.
The two meanings of Responsibility:

Accountability – he stated , “I am accountable for an action that is

free, whose source is the “I”. . . . I acted on my own; I decided on my
own; I am free from external constraints.

All persons are accountable towards the result/s of their actions, and
Taking the sanctions is a must and not a choice or willingness.

A person is morally responsible for an injury if the person caused the

injury or failed to prevent it when he or she could have or should
have prevented it.
Second: Response – ability:

Means the ability to give an account, the ability to justify actions that
are truly responsive to the objective demands of the situation; a
response that meets the object demands of the situation that meets
the demand of justice.

Greater freedom is not just being to do what I want to do but being

to do wanting to do (wills it) what the situation objectively obliged
me to do.

Thus freedom is not purely a subject mechanism of doing what an

individual wish and wants to do but to choose freely, what action
must be done objectively in every situation.

Freedom and Justice:

Justice – the maintenance or administration of what is just especially

by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of
merited rewards or punishment.

Justice is giving to others what is due.

Human beings are neutral and just with the absence of freedom
because the person is not responsible in his/her actions or in its
consequence.

But human beings become more fair and just if human freedom exists.

Relationship between freedom and justice can be recognized in the

relationships among people and the goods.

Freedom and Values:

Max Scheller (1874-1928) German philosopher stated that freedom is

always associated with values.

He defined freedom in accordance to his hierarchy of values; since

freedom is associated with choice, every choice is based on a value.

Value is never taken in isolation from what the total self aspires to
become.
This concepts of value further elaborated in the hierarchy are as
follows:

Sensory Value (pleasant/unpleasant) – are the lowest level in hierarchy of

values. This is the value that is the object of sensory feelings; their
corresponding subjective states are pleasure and pain.

Vital Values (Noble/vulgar) – these values are connected with general

well-being; according to Scheller, the corresponding states of vital values
are feelings of health and sickness, aging, exhausting, energy and
vigorousness. These values are completely independent and irreducible to
the pleasant or unpleasant values.

Spiritual Values – are independent of the body and the environment. They
correspond to spiritual feelings, more appropriately to the spiritual acts of
love and hatred, spiritual joy and sorrow. Those feelings affect human
decisions and choices.

The Holy and unholy(Sacraments/Biblical truths/faith, traditions)- are

values that appear only on object given intentionally as “absolute
objects”. These values are independent of things and powers.
Derivatives values of this kind are values of the sacrament, cults and
other forms of worship.

Subjective feelings states are bliss and despair; and their responses
are faith, lack of faith and adoration.

The existence of values allows the individual to make choices

The quantity and quality of choices made by an individual is based on

the level of values that has been adopted.

The higher values attained by an individual, the better quality of

choices are made.

Freedom is important in making a moral choice. Even if we are not

absolutely free to do what we want to do, we are still free to make a
choice on our own, because we are not absolutely determined .

Choices that we make will define our life. It can either make or break
us.

Deuteronomy 30:15 Choose Life