GE1: Understanding the Self – UTS (Course Outline)

Chapter 1. The Self from Various Perspectives

Lesson 1. Philosophical Perspectives

• Western Philosophical Perspectives:

◦ Socrates. An Unexamined Life is not Worth Living
◦ Plato. The Soul is Immortal
◦ Aristotle. The Soul is the Essence of the Self
◦ St. Augustine. The Self has an Immortal Soul
◦ Rene Descartes. I Think, Therefore I am
◦ John Locke. The Self is Consciousness
◦ David Hume. There is no Self
◦ Immanuel Kant. We Construct Self
◦ Gilbert Ryle. The Self is the Way People Behave
◦ Paul Churchland. The Self is the Brain
◦ Maurice Merleau-Ponty. The self is embodied subjectivity
• Eastern Philosophical Perspectives:
◦ Buddhism
◦ Hinduism
◦ Confucianism
◦ Taoism

Lesson 2. Sociological Perspectives

• George Herbert Mead. The Social Self

• Charles Horton Cooley. The Looking-glass Self
• Erving Goofman. Constructing Situations and Drama

Lesson 3. Psychological Perspectives

• William Jones’ Concept of self

• Carl Rogers’ Self-theory
• David Lester’s Multiple versus Unified Self
• Donald Winnicott’s True vs False Self
• Sigmund Freud: The Importance of the Unconscious
• Albert Bandura’s Self as Proactive and Agentic
• Carl Jung’s Self as the central archetype

Chapter 2. Unpacking the Self

Lesson 1. Physical Self

• Stages of life span

◦ Development from conception to death
◦ Factors that affecting physical growth and development
• Body image
◦ Causes of poor body image
◦ Effects of poor body image
• Concept of beauty
◦ What is beauty?
◦ Standards of beauty

Lesson 2. Sexual Self

• Physical Development
• What turns people on?
• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases
• Triangular Theory of Love
• Responsible Parenthood

Lesson 3. Material Self

• We are what we have

◦ Body
◦ Clothes
◦ Immediate Family
◦ Home
• Effects of Material Possessions
◦ Materialism
◦ Compulsive Buying Disorder

Lesson 4. Spiritual Self

• Spirituality
◦ Characteristics of Religion
◦ Characteristics of Rituals
• Religious Beliefs around the world
◦ Buddhism
◦ Christianity
◦ Hinduism
◦ Islam
 ◦ Judaism

Lesson 5. Political Self

• Importance of Social Interaction in Political Self

• Who is a Filipino
◦ Symbols
◦ Heroes
◦ Rituals
◦ Values
• Strengths and weaknesses of the Filipino character

Lesson 6. Digital Self

• Philippines and Digital Technology
• Digital technology and the Self
• Setting Boundaries to your Online self: Smart Sharing
◦ Things consider before posting or sharing online
◦ Proper sharing of information and ethical use of the internet

Chapter 3. Managing and Caring for the Self

Lesson 1. Learning to be a better student

Lesson 2. Student goals for success

Lesson 3. Taking charge of one’s health