UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
actions and thoughts in life.
REVIEWER
PRELIM
Section 1: Social, Environmental,
and other Life Factors (S.E.L.F.)
Nature vs. Nurture
 In Nature, a person develops his/her
characteristics biologically
(something that has developed
starting from the birth of the child),
 In Nurture a person develops
his/her characteristics through
external factors, such as the
environment and society (family,
friends, relatives, etc.).
Identity vs. Self
 Identities are “qualities,
characteristics, beliefs, opinions,
etc., that make a person unique from
others.” These are what is
distinguishable by others, or what
they perceive to us through our
actions.
 Self is the “person of
himself/herself,” meaning, it is what
others didn’t see in you because this
is personal character; this is what
makes up a person.
Dimensionalities of the Self/Identity
 There are 4 different
dimensionalities of self, namely
social factor, environmental factor,
hereditary factor, and person-volition
factor.
 Social factors are the factors in the
development of a person which
includes all the person around us,
like our family members, and even
strangers, that might create an
impression on you or affects your
 Environmental factors are the
factors in the development of a
person that includes the
environmental structure, events, and
such, which might give an impact on
how a person could grow in all
aspects of his/her life.
 Hereditary factors are the factors in
the development of the person that
includes biological changes and
events, such as growth in height,
puberty (growing of pubic hair,
deeper voices for male, broadening
of hips, and the start of menstruation
for female, etc.) that usually affects
the physical characteristics of a
person.
 Person-volition factors are the
inclination of a person creates a
social construct which sets him apart
to others.
Section 2: What Philosophy says
about Self?
 Self is defined to as “a unified being,
essentially connected to
consciousness, awareness, and
agency (or, at least, with the faculty
of rational choice).
 Greek philosophy was started by
Socrates, with his aphorism/principle
of “known thyself,” which is also
inscribed in the temple of Apollo at
Delphi.
 Socrates believed that the real self
is not the physical body, but rather
the psyche, or the soul.
Plato
 Plato, a student of Socrates, also
studied and explained thoroughly
what is the true essence of self,
which is then founded by his mentor.
 Plato suggested that the “self is
fundamentally an intellectual entity
whose nature exists independent
from physical world.”
Aristotle
 Student of Plato, explained
thoroughly how we could see the
essence of self. Aristotle called the
ideal as essence and the
phenomena as the matter.
 He emphasized that these two co-
exist, and is dependent with one
another.
Two lens of philosophy of self in
Greek Times:
 Rationalism – explains self from the
standpoint of what is ideal and true,
and what is not rooted with senses.
 Empiricism – according to it, there is
no such thing as innate knowledge;
all knowledge are derived from
experience – through five senses or
what is perceived by our brain.
Towards Modern Philosophy:
 Immanuel Kant: Respect for self
 Man is the only creature who
governs and directs himself and his
actions, who sets up ends for
himself and his purpose, and who
freely order means for the
attainment of his aims.
 Persons are said to respect
themselves when they have an
appropriate sense of their own worth
either as persons generally or as
individuals occupying particular
roles.
 In respecting themselves as
persons, people may recognize their
worth as persons (‘recognition’ self-
respect) or value the positive
aspects of their character
(‘evaluative’ or ‘appraisal’ self-
respect)
 Rene Descartes: “I think,
therefore I am”
 Descartes states that the self is the
thinking entity distinct from the body.
 . His first famous principle was
"Cogito, ergo sum" which means " I
think, therefore I am"
 The mind and the body are
independent from each other and
serve their own function, man must
use his own mind and thinking
abilities to investigate, analyze,
experiment and develop himself.
 "If you think you can, you can. If you
think you can't, then you're right "
 John Locke: Personality Identity
 "Personal Identity is the matter of
psychological continuity"
 Locke’s treatment of personal
identity is one of the most
discussed and debated aspects
of his course.
 Locke’s discussion of persons
received much attention from his
contemporaries, ignited a heated
debate over personal identity,
and continues to influence and
inform the debate over persons
and their persistence conditions.
  David Hume: The Self is the
bundle theory of mind
 Hume suggests that the self is just a
bundle of perceptions, like links in a
chain.
 Hume argues that our concept of the
self is a result of our natural habit of
attributing unified existence to any
collection of associated parts.
 This belief is natural, but there is no
logical support for it. This theory
owes its name to Hume, who
described the self or person which
he assumed to be the mind as
’nothing but a bundle or collection of
different perceptions, which succeed
each other with an inconceivable
rapidity, and are in a perpetual flux
and movement
What is life? According to
philosophynow.org, That’s a real tough one.
But I think that the meaning of life is the
ideals we impose upon it, what we demand
of it. I’ve come to reaffirm my Boy Scout
motto, give or take a few words that the
meaning of life is to: “Do good, Be Good,
but also to receive Good.” The foggy term in
this advice, of course, is ‘good’; but I leave
that to the intuitive powers that we all share.
The Three “Must Be” in Life
 Life must be valued.
 Life must be protected.
 Life must be respected.
Section 3: What Science says
about the Self

 St. Augustine: Love and justice as

the foundation of the individual
self
 St Augustine believes that a virtues
life is a dynamism of love.
 It is a constant following of and
turning towards love while a wicked
life is a constant turning away from
love.
 Loving God means loving one’s
fellowmen and loving one’s
fellowmen denotes never doing any
harm to another or as the golden
principle of justice states “doing unto
others as you would have them unto
you

 The Bible: The Christian or

Biblical View of Self

The three “Must Be” in Life