The Self from the

Anthropological
perspective
Ma'am A's lecture notes
Chapter 1
 What is Anthropology?

Discussion Flow Why do we need to learn this?

The Self and the Person in

Contemporary Anthropology

The Self embedded in Culture

What is Anthropology?
Anthropology is the the study of people, past and present. It is the systematic study
of humanity, with the goal of understanding our evolutionary origins, our
distinctiveness as a species, and the great diversity in our forms of social existence
across the world and through time. They consider the past, through archaeology, to
see how human groups lived hundreds or thousands of years ago and what was
important to them. They consider what makes up our biological bodies and genetics,
as well as our bones, diet, and health. It also tries to understand how people interact
and communicate in different societies.

We need to understand
this...
Understanding the field of Anthropology will help you
understand yourself better by giving you an idea how
humans continually evolved from the so-called
"primitive cave men" to civilized citizens, thus can help
explain our behaviors that is linked to our self-identity.

,
It is also through the study of anthropology that you
understand why you see similarities and difference
from animals because biological structures and
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genetics. Moreover, it is through this study that you
understand how we are all the same as human
beings but we are very much different and this
difference is because of how one's culture shapes
beca us
one's identity.
Reflect on this:
Anthropologists study the
human evolution. The earliest
human species was classified
as the "Homo Sapiens". In
your own research and idea,
what skills, actions or lifestyle
do you think the Homo
Sapiens have before that

helped them survive on a

daily basis?
The Anthropological Concepts
affecting the self
 The Self and the person in
Contemporary Anthropology
Joseph LeDoux's
"Implicit and Explicit
aspects of the Self"

Katherine Ewing's
"Self as a
Representation"
 t Mead
Herber
George
Joseph LeDoux is a contemporary neuroscientist.
According to LeDoux, the development of the self is
framed, maintained, and affected biologically,
mentally, and socially.
He believes that "the self is not static ; it is
added to and subtracted from by genetic
maturation, learning, forgetting, stress,
ageing, and disease."
He conceptualized the Implicit and Explicit
aspects of the self.
 LeDoux's aspect of the Self

Implicit
Explicit

Not immediately available to the You are consciously aware of this part of
consciousness. (Such as your the self (Such as your likes, dislikes,
personality, genes characteristics, and hobbies, etc.)
mood)

In a nutshell: LeDoux see the self (both implicit and explicit) as a product of the
changes in the (1) genetics of our body (genes from our ancestors, puberty),
(2) what we learn and unlearn from the environment and interactions,
what we consciously and unconsciously forget and remember (the past or
certain happenings), (3) the stress in our lives that affect our physical and
mental activity (if we are so stress we sometimes eat a lot or forget to eat
or we lose sleep so this affects our body chemicals and brain), (4) ageing
(we mature as we age), and (5) disease (when we have certain diseases
and illness, it will affect our body chemicals and systems does affecting
our self)
 e Ewing
therin
Ka Katherine Ewing is an Anthropologist and a Professor.
She asserted the definition that the self is a physical
organism "possessing psychological functioning and
social attributes."
She also asserted that "self" is illusory (deceptive or scam).
She said that people construct a series of self-
representation that are based on selected cultural concepts
of a person and selected "chains" personal memories.
Meaning --> Selected chain of Personal memories +
Selected cultural concepts = Self Representation
But these self-representation depends on the context or
situation
 Ewing's Self-Representation

Selected chain of Selected cultural
Personal memories concepts
(Ex. I know that, we ,Filipinos
(Ex. I was able to survive are known to be resilient
Sendong and Yolanda
Typhoon)
because even when we were
damaged by series of
typhoons, we still bounce back)
*But what if your problem is not the
Self-Representation typhoon but financial matters, or
heartbreak, or depression, or family-
(Therefore, I am a strong related problems, can you still
and resilient person) represent yourself as a strong &
resilient person?*

In a nutshell, Ewing said that the "self" is illusory or can be

a "scam" because individuals tend to present or define
themselves on selected life happenings and also selected
cultural concepts. Self-representation means that the Ewing said that NO. Another self-
representation may emerge
"self" is shaped and represented by the cultural mental
depending on the situation or
entities or cultural habits that we take in as we grow up, context you are facing
depending on the situation faced.
Ewing's Self-Representation We all know that our country is not typhoon proof.

Example Meaning almost every month, it is possible that we

are hit with another typhoon. Because of this
common calamity that happens from Luzon to
Mindanao, our ancestors, up until our generation
has been surviving and thriving every calamity that
arrives from Sendong, to Ondoy, to Yolanda. And
with that, it has embedded in our culture that the
ourselves as Filipino or the Filipino spirit is stronger
than any typhoon because we are able to witness
how we rise up every after calamity.

So everywhere you go, whichever country you may

be in the future, you bring with you the sense of self
that you are "Resilient", because it is shaped by your
memory and culture.

But are we really resilient? or are we just tolerating the same

problem that has been happening up until now without any
concrete solutions?
Reflect and comment on this:
What are your thoughts about
this picture?

Do you agree that your Filipino

Spirit is stronger than any
typhoon or challenges in life?
Why so? Do you agree with this?

LeDoux and Ewing

These anthropological concepts of the self

developed by Ewing and LeDoux emphasizes
that we are products of our genes that has
been passed down from our ancestors,
moreover, our self is a organism with physical,
emotional, psychological, and social functioning
distinct from other organisms. We also learned
that how we present ourselves to others can
be determined by our culture and tradition.
The Self embedded in Culture
The Self and the Culture

Culture

Cultural anthropologists argued that the self is culturally shaped and infinitely variable.

"Cultural traditions and social practices

Anthropology sees the "self" as not universal, but
rather very different and unique from one another
because of the culture and traditions practiced all
over the world.
regulate, express, and transform the
human psyche, resulting less in psychic
unity for human kind than in ethnic
divergences in mind, self, and emotions."

There are two ways of how the self is constructed.

Independent constructs
Interdependent constructs
These constructs are also known as "Self-Construals".
Construal is an interpretation of the meaning of something; so when we say self-construal it
means, the meaning of the "self"
 Self-Construal

Independent Constructs Interdependent Constructs

Characterized by "Individualistic Typical of the "Collectivist Culture" and

Culture", such as in North America and
Europe.
They represent the self as separate,
distinct, with emphasis on internal
attributes or traits, skills, and values.
evident in Asian countries
Stressing the important connection
between the individual to other people.
Reflect and comment on this:
We know from history books that we
have been colonized by the Spaniards
and Americans, what aspect of the
Filipino culture that we have right
now do you think that we got from
these colonizers? And how do you
think this affect our self-identity?

Comment below your answer with a

GIF.
 e Raeff
Catherin
Even psychologists like Catherine Raeff believed
that culture can influence how you view
relationships, personality traits, achievement,
and expressing emotions.
 Culture influences the following:
Relationships Achievement
Culture influences how you enter
Culture influences how you
into and maintain relationships.
define success and whether you
For example, relationships may
value certain types of individual
be seen as voluntary or as duty-
and group achievements.
based in some societies. In
Western societies, it is essential
for a person to choose whom to
marry while some Eastern
societies still practice arranged
marriage.

Personality Traits Expressing Emotions

Culture influences whether
(and how) you value traits, like
humility, self-esteem,
politeness, assertiveness, and
so on, as well as how you
perceive hardship or how you
feel about relying others.
Culture influences what will
affect you emotionally, as
well as how you express
yourself, such as showing
your feelings in public or
keeping it private.
Reflect and comment on this:
What is one Filipino
trait/tradition that you would
want to pass on and teach to
your future family?

Is it the the act of Mano po?

The going to church every
sunday? The Pa spaghetti
every birthday? or what else?

Share your answer and

explain why. Comment in your answer

below with a picture of that

Filipino Trait/ Tradition
Reflect and comment on this:
They say that "Love" can be learned. What
do you think about arranged marriages?
Do you think you can learn to love
someone forced to you by society?
Or "Sabi nila, balang araw, darating, Ang
iyong tanging hinihiling At noong
dumating ang aking panalangin Ay hindi
na maikubli" mindset?

*Pasok Moira!* Comment in your answer

below
Reflect and comment on this:
Briefly comment below your thoughts
on how our Filipino culture taught us
about what success is. (Is it by having a
degree? Pass a board exam? Getting
married at a certain age? Have a stable
job even if it is not your passion? What
else?) And how does this affect who we
are as a person?

Comment your thoughts and

comment with a GIF to
explain how you feel about
it.
Culture

The study of anthropology emphasizes that the

different culture in different communities and
society plays a big role in shaping one's self. It
may not be obvious but the way we behave,
how we react to certain situations, how we
express our feelings are largely influenced by
our culture - and these contributes to how we
are able to answer the question "Who Am I?"
What's

The self in the Psychological

next? Perspective

Reminders
Stay tune for the Summative Test
and Project Assignment for the
Anthropological perspective
Lecture Notes for the next topic will
be posted this week so stay tuned!
Thank you!
For questions and clarifications,
don't hesitate to give me a chat