I N T R O D U C T I ON

Greetings to all the Tarlac Agricultural University students out there who are currently
taking up the GEED 01: Understanding the Self (UTS)!

This is intended for the students to have a better understanding of the subject matter. What
is in here will discuss different areas for you to know who you are, where you are coming from
and maybe this will also give you an idea on how to be the better version of yourself.

Hopefully what you are about to learn from this subject will have a great impact on your
life and will serve as your basis for better decisions and goals that you want to attain for yourself.
The diagram below shows how the course will progress throughout the semester.

Being aware of oneself is a prerequisite in understanding the self, hence, we prepared

some activities for you to know yourself better. After being aware of the various aspects of the
self, the course (UTS) will help you understand/ explain the factors leading to the development of
that certain aspect. Then, self-awareness and self-understanding should lead to self-improvement.

But before starting the lesson proper I want you to get a sheet of paper. Once you have it
with you, I want you to start writing a letter for yourself now. You may write who you think you
are right now, your present situation, the emotions you are feeling, what you want to happen to
you, whatever you want to say to your future self or other things that come to your mind. Once
you are done writing put it in an envelope and keep it. You are only allowed to read that letter by
the end of the semester.

So, going back now, what are we all waiting here for? Let‟s now start discovering how to
understand ourselves better.
 LESSON 1: PHILOSOPHY:
THE SELF FROM PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES

Target Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. explain the reason why it is important to understand the self;
2. discuss the different concepts and standpoints of the self-based from the various
disciplinal perspectives;
3. assess the different aspects that shape the self;
4. share how the self can relate to different philosophical views; and
5. demonstrate critical and reflective thought on the development of the self.

Abstraction

In this unit, self will be described using perspectives from different fields such as
philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and psychology. But before we discuss the aforementioned
perspectives on the self, it is just proper that we talk about first its definition.

According to Corpuz et al. (2019), SELF is commonly defined by the following characteristics:

1. SEPARATE - self is unique or distinct from others.

2. SELF CONTAINED and INDEPENDENT - independent and contained with its thoughts,
characteristics, and volition.
3. CONSISTENT - has a personality that is enduring and persistent which allows it to be
examined, described, and measured. It also means that self traits, characteristics, tendencies, and
potentialities are more or less the same.
4. UNITARY- self is the center of all experiences and thoughts where all processes, emotions,
and thoughts converge or in command.
5. PRIVATE - each person sorts out information, feelings, and emotions within the self that is
not accessible to others.

The definition given by Stevens (1996) shows us a comprehensive characterization of the

self. Additionally, it is also important to identify the factors affecting the development of the self.
Macayan et al. (2018) outlined four factors affecting one‟s being; these are:

1. Heredity
Heredity plays a significant role in the development of the various aspects of the self. In
this process, parents „characteristics/ traits are transmitted to their offspring. For instance, you
have a dark complexion because you inherit the complexion of one or both of your parents.
Aside from physical, you may also inherit psychological conditions like being emotionally
unstable.
2. Environment
Another factor affecting our development is the environment. For instance, you learned to
smoke because you are surrounded by family members who smoke. You are aggressive because
you are exposed to a hostile environment.

3. Biological
Biological factors like the functioning of the brain, hormones, and neurotransmitter
substances also affect the development of the self. For instance, you are depressed because of the
imbalance of neurotransmitter substances such as serotonin and dopamine.

4. Personal choice
Another factor is personal choice with emphasis on the role of free will or free choice.
For instance, instead of saying that you smoke because of the influence of your friends
(environmental), it should be “I smoke because I choose to smoke.”

After knowing what are the characteristics of the self and the factors affecting its
development. Let us now proceed to the philosophical perspective of the self.

Have you ever asked yourself about who you are? This question may seem too easy to
ask but so hard to grasp. If we will go back in time it was said that “philosophy focuses on the
fundamentals nature of the self”. The earliest thinkers were known to have been continuously
fixated on knowing one‟s self. Early thinkers particularly the Greeks were recognized to be the
ones who seriously questioned myths and moved away from them in attempting to understand
reality and respond to the lasting questions of curiosity on the subject of the self.

The following philosophers below have found out different perspectives with regards to
understanding one‟s self. So, let‟s explore their belief and understanding about the mystery
behind one‟s self.

PERSPECTIVE ON THE SELF

PHILOSOPHER
 The first one became more
concerned about the problem
of the self.
 His lifelong mission is to know
oneself.
 He emphasized that the true
task of a philosopher is to
“know oneself”.
 He stated that the true task of
the unexamined life is not
worth living.
 He thought that the worst that
Socrates can happen to anyone is to live
but die inside.
  Socrates believed that every
man is composed of body and
soul.
 He explained that all
individuals have an imperfect,
impermanent aspect which is
the body and while
maintaining that there is also a
soul that is perfect and
permanent.

 Plato is Socrates‟ student who

supported his teacher‟s idea.
 He added that there are three
components of the soul. The
rational soul, spirited and
appetitive soul.
a. The rational soul is the
combination of reason and
intellect that governs the
affairs of the human person.
b. The spirited part is in
charge of emotions.
c. The appetitive soul is
in charge of one‟s desire.
 Plato stressed that “justice in
the human person can only be
attained if the three (3) parts of
the soul are working
harmoniously with one
Plato another”.
 Augustine‟s view of the human
person reflects the entire spirit
of the medieval world when it
comes to man.
 Following the ancient view of
Plato and infusing it with a
newfound doctrine of
Christianity.
 He speculated that man is of
bifurcated nature.
 He believed that the body is
bound to die on earth and the
Augustine
soul is to anticipate living
eternally in a realm of spiritual
bliss in communion with God.
  He asserted that the goal of
every human person is to attain
this communion and bliss with
the Divine by living his life on
earth in virtue.

 Father of Modern Philosophy.

 He claims that there is so much
that we should doubt.
 The only thing one cannot
doubt is the existence of the
self.
 His famous Cogito ergo sums
“I think therefore I am”.
 Descartes believed we are
composed of the cogito (the
mind) and the extenza
(extension of the mind which
is the body).
 The body is nothing else but a
machine that is attached to the
Rene Descartes mind.
 He says “but what then, am I?
A thinking thing. It has been
said. But what is a thinking
thing? It is a thing that doubts,
understands (conceives),
affirms, denies, wills refuse;
imagine also and perceives.
 For Descartes, the self is
nothing but a mind-body
dichotomy. Thought (mind)
always precedes action
(body).
 It is the thought that sets the
direction to human actions but
humans are always free to
choose.
 Scottish Philosopher
 An empiricist who believes
that one can know only what
comes from the senses and
experiences.
 Empiricism is the school of
thought that espouses the idea
that knowledge can only be
 possible if it is sensed and
experienced.
 He believed that the self is
nothing else but a bundle of
impressions which is
categorized into two:
impressions and ideas.
 He believed that the self is a
bundle or collections of
different perceptions, which
succeed each other with an
inconceivable rapidity, and are
in perpetual flux and
movement.
David Hume
 He believed that there is no
self as a mental entity for
“what we call a mind is
nothing but a heap or
collection of different
perceptions…”
 He reduced personality and
cognition to a machine that
may be activated or
deactivated. Death, according
to him obliterates the
perception one has.
 Kant thinks that the things that
men perceive around them are
not just randomly infused into
the human person without an
organizing principle that
regulates the relationship of
these impressions.
 There is necessarily a mind
that organizes the impression
that men get from the external
world.
 He suggests that the self is an
Immanuel Kant
actively engaged intelligence
in man that synthesizes all
knowledge and experience.
 The self is not just what gives
one his personality. It is also
the seat of knowledge
acquisition for human persons.
  Gilbert Ryle solves the mind-
body dichotomy.
 In searching for the self, one
cannot simultaneously be the
hunter and the hunted.
 For him, what truly matters is
the behavior that a person
manifests in his day-to-day
life.
 Ryle suggests that the “self” is
not an entity one can locate
and analyze but simply the
convenient name that people
use to refer to all the behaviors
Gilbert Ryle that people make.
 His theory is called logical
behaviorism or analytical
behaviorism- a theory of mind
which states that mental
concepts can be understood
through observable events.
 He believed that the self is a
combination of the mind and
the body. For him, self is taken
as a whole.
 He also posited the maxim, “I
act, therefore I am.”
 A phenomenologist asserts that
the mind-body bifurcation is a
futile endeavor and an invalid
problem.
 He believed in “I am my
body”.
 He says that the mind and
body are so intertwined that
they cannot be separated from
one another.
 He believed that the living
body, his thoughts, emotions,
and experiences are all one.
 He believed that the body has
Merleau-Ponty
its intelligence and it perceived
it based on its senses.
 We know not through our
intellect but our experience.
  His main philosophy on
personal identity is founded on
consciousness or memory.
 For him, consciousness is the
perception of what passes a
man‟s mind. He rejected that
brain has something to do with
consciousness as the brain and
the body may change, while
consciousness remains the
same.
 He concluded that personal
identity is not in the brain but
one‟s consciousness.
 He believed that consciousness
John Locke may transfer from one
substance to other (body and
soul).
 He believed in tabula rasa
which discusses that everyone
started with a blank slate and
the content is provided by
one‟s experiences over time.
 He believed that the self is
multi-layered.
 The human mind is composed
of three structures- id, ego, and
superego.
 Id- exists since birth, about
instincts.
 The ego operates
according to the reality
principle.
 Superego operates
according to the morality
principle. It has two
systems: conscience; and
ideal self.
Sigmund Freud
  Both neuroscientist that
introduced the eliminative
materialism- “a radical claim
that ordinary, common-sense
understanding of the mind is
deeply wrong and that some or
all of the mental states posited
by common-sense do not
exist”.
 For them, self is nothing else
but the brain, or simply the self
is contained entirely within the
physical brain.
Paul and Patricia Churchland

APPLICATION AND ASSESSMENT

In your own words, state what is the meaning of “self” for each of the following
philosophers. After doing so, explain how your concept of self is compatible with how they
conceived of the self.

1. Socrates 7. Plato

2. Augustine 8. Rene Descartes

3. David Hume 9. Immanuel Kant

4. Gilbert Ryle 10. Merleau-Ponty

5. John Locke 11. Sigmund Freud

6. Paul and Patricia Churchland

Utilization of Learning

Reference/s:
Alata, E., Caslib, B., Serafica, J., & Pawilen, R. (2018). Understanding the self. (First Edition). Rex
Bookstore Inc.
Corpuz, R., Estoque, R., & Tabotabo, C. (2019). Understanding the self. C & E Pubishing Inc.
Macayan, J.V., Pinugu, JN.J., & Castillo, JC.D. (2018). Understanding the self: outcome based module.
C & E Publishing, Inc.