GEN 002-UNDERSTANDING THE SELF: A REVIEW NOTES

For Socrates, the goal of philosophy was to "Know thyself". Knowing others is wisdom.
Knowing the self is enlightenment.

“ THE UNREFLECTED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING”

Plato- The dualist: immaterial mind (soul) and material body. and it is the soul that knows the
forms. Plato believed the soul exists before birth and after death. Thus he believed that the soul or mind
attains knowledge of the forms, as opposed to the senses. The
soul (mind) itself is
divided into 3 parts: reason; appetite (physical urges); and will
(emotion, passion, spirit.)
Aristotle defined the soul as the core essence of a living being, but argued against its having a
separate existence. For instance, if a knife had a soul, the act of cutting would be that soul, because
'cutting' is the essence of what it is to be a knife

St. Augustine in his Confessions takes this idea and expands it into an entire genre that critically
inquires what it means to be a person. This identity is achieved through a two-fold process: self-
presentation, which leads to self-realization. Only in the presence of the Omnipotent and the
Omniscient can the self attain happiness and completeness.

Descartes thought that the self is a thinking thing distinct from the body. His first famous principle
was” Cogito, ergo sum", which means “I think, therefore I am."

Classical sociological perspective, the Self is a relatively stable set of perceptions of who
we are in relation to ourselves, others, and to social systems.

George Herbert Mead----

Mind arises out of the social act of communication. His theory of "mind, self, and society" is, in effect, a
philosophy of the act from the standpoint of a social process involving the interaction of many
individuals, just as his theory of knowledge and value is a philosophy of the act from the standpoint of
the experiencing individual in interaction with an environment.[15]

Irving Goffman--- His best-known contribution to social theory is his study of symbolic
interaction.. His major areas of study included the sociology of everyday life, social interaction, the
social construction of self, social organization (framing) of experience, and particular elements of
social life such as total institutions and stigmas.
Charles Horton Cooley--- Introduced a social psychological concept : “ Looking glass Self”.
The development of one’s self and one’s identity through one interpersonal interaction within the
context of society.

Three activities develop the self:

1.Language develops self by allowing individuals to respond to each other through symbols,
gestures, words, and sounds.

2. Play develops self by allowing individuals to take on different roles, pretend, and express
expectation of others.

3. Games .Self is developed by understanding that there are rules in which one must abide by in
order to win the game or be successful at an activity.

Mead develops William James' distinction between

the "I" and the "me." The "me" is the accumulated understanding of "the generalized other"
i.e. how one thinks one's group perceives oneself etc. The "I" is the individual's impulses. The "I" is
self as subject; the "me" is self as object. The "I" is the knower; the "me" is the known

Anthropology is the scientific study of the origins of humans, how we have changed over the
years, and how we relate to each other, both within our own culture and with people from other
cultures.Anthropology is the study of what makes us human.

William James: Self from the Perspective of Psychology

James described two aspects of the self that he termed the “I Self” and “Me Self.”

The I Self reflects what people see or perceive themselves doing in the physical world
(e.g., recognizing that one is walking, eating, writing),

The Me Self is a more subjective and psychological phenomenon, referring to individuals’

reflections about themselves (e.g. characterizing oneself as athletic, smart, cooperative).

Three components of the Me Self.

(1) the material self (e.g., tangible objects or possessions we collect for ourselves);
(2) the social self (e.g., how we interact and portray ourselves within different groups,
situations, or persons); and
(3) the spiritual self (e.g., internal dispositions).
Duality of Self:
A. Me-Self- Self as object of knowledge

B. I-Self- Self as knower and actor

C. Real Self ----Who we actually are.

It is how we think, how we feel, look and act.

D. Ideal Self--- This is how we want to be.

Cognitive view of personality by Albert Bandura.

He viewed people as AGENT or originator of experience
He conceived HUMAN AGENCY as the ability to act and make things in to reality
He views people as self organizing, proactive, self-reflective and self-regulating as times c
times change.
Bandura defined human agency as “the human capability to exert influence over one’s
functioning and the course of events by one’s actions”.

Four core properties of human agency:

1. Intentionality deals with the forming of intentions that “include action plans and
strategies for realizing them”.

2. Forethought involves “the temporal extension of agency” by setting goals and

anticipating future events: It includes more than future-directed plans. People set
goals for themselves and foresee likely outcomes of prospective actions to guide and
motivate their efforts anticipatorily.
3. Self-reactiveness broadens the role of the agent to be more than just “planners
and fore thinkers” and includes processes of self-management and self-motivation, as
well as emotional states that can undermine self-regulation:
4. Self-reflection refers to the self-examining nature of human agents. “Through
self-awareness, they reflect on their personal efficacy, the soundness of their thoughts
and actions, the meaning of their pursuits, and… [if needed] change existing life
course patterns”.
Western Thought of the Self

Individualist Self
● The individual identifies primarily with Self, with the needs of the individual being
satisfied before those of the group.
● Looking after and taking care of oneself, being self-sufficient, guarantees the well-
being of the group.
● Independence and self-reliance are greatly stressed and valued.

For Carl Jung, individuation is a process of transformation, whereby the personal and
collective unconscious is brought into consciousness (by means of dreams, active imagination
or free association to take examples) to be assimilated into the whole personality. It is a
completely natural process necessary for the integration of the psyche to take place. Jung
considered individuation to be the central process of human development. In individuation
psychique et collective,

Gilbert Simond on developed a theory of individual and collective individuation in which

the individual subject is considered as an effect of individuation rather than a cause. Thus, the
individual atom is replaced by a never-ending ontological process of individuation.
Individuation is an always incomplete process, always leaving a "pre-individual" left-over,
itself making possible future individuations.

Bernard Stiegler focuses on "the I, as a psychic individual, can only be thought in

relationship to we, which is a collective individual. The constituted in adopting a collective
tradition, which it inherits and in which a plurality of acknowledge each other's existence."

The Social Construction of the Self in Western Thought

1. The self is nothing but a bundle of perceptions, thoughts, and interactions, which our
environment molds into an identity.
2. Our identities are defined by our culture and the society in which we are raised.
3. A social construct is the intended or unintended product of social practices and cultural
paradigms.
4. Therefore, the Self must be nothing but a social construct.
Eastern/Oriental Thought of the Self

Collectivist Self
One’s identity is, in large part, a function of one’s membership and role in a group, e.g.,
the family or work team.
● The survival and success of the group ensures the well-being of the individual, so that
by considering the needs and feelings of others, one protects oneself.
● Harmony and the interdependence of group members are stressed and valued.

Collectivism is a value that is characterized by emphasis on cohesiveness among

individuals and prioritization of the group over the self.

According to collectivism, the group or society is the basic unit of moral concern, and
the individual is of value only insofar as he serves the group.
How well Do I know my Physical Self?

Physical self-concept is the individual's perception of themselves in areas of physical

ability and appearance
Body image is how you view your physical self — including whether you feel you are
attractive and whether others like your looks.
Self-esteem is how you value and respect yourself as a person. Self-esteem affects how
you take care of yourself, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Body image and self-esteem
directly influence one another.
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MATERIAL/ECONOMIC SELF
Economic self-sufficiency is the ability of individuals and families to maintain sufficient
income to consistently meet their basic needs – including food, housing, utilities, health care,
transportation, taxes, dependent care, and clothing – with no or minimal financial assistance
or subsidies from private or public.
 Spiritual Self is "a persistent sense of self that addresses ultimate questions about
the nature, purpose, and meaning of life, resulting in behaviors that are consonant with the
individual's core values.

Role of the Spiritual Self:

1. Entire mind-body-emotion connection.
2. Personal growth
3. Self-awareness.
4. Compassion.
5. Altruism

Sexual Self - definition comprised of three aspects: gender identity, gender role and
gender orientation.
Primary sex characteristics (or body structures directly concerned with
reproduction) that allows us to tell males from females, such as the penis in men and the
vagina in women.

Secondary sex characteristics are physical features which appear at puberty

(though they later become equally as prominent).

Freud (1905) proposed that psychological development in childhood takes place in a series
of fixed psychosexual stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. Freud also believed that
all tension was due to the build-up of libido (sexual energy) and that all pleasure came from
its discharge.

Healthy interaction with others

1. The SELF and family
2. The SELF and friends
3. The SELF and “strangers”

The Political Self- refers to how self is part of the community, become political active on
social issues and lastly become aware of his/her rights as he/she is a member of a
community.
How Self-determination is affected during Martial Law:
• Marcos inflicted immeasurable damage on democratic values. He offered the Filipino
people economic progress and national dignity, but the results were dictatorship, poverty,
militarized politics and a politicized military, and greatly increased dependence on foreign
Digital self” is the idea that people often consider things and other people to be
possessions, almost like tools to help define their identity. They use technology to redefine
themselves. It is the way people engage technology and the role technology plays in their
lives.
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Freedom is the ability to set your schedule, to decide on the work you do, to make
decisions.
Responsibility is being held accountable for your actions. It might involve figuring out
how to get paid for your work, owning your mistakes or having others count on you.

Eleanor Roosevelt wrote; “Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being.
With freedom comes responsibility.
Responsible behavior is made up of five essential elements—
honesty, compassion/respect, fairness, accountability, and courage.

Personal Freedom
• The power or right of an individual to act, speak, or think without hindrance or
restraint.
• The state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.
• Unrestricted use of something.

Responsibility
• A duty or obligation to satisfactorily perform or complete a task (assigned by
someone, or created by one's own promise or circumstances) that one must fulfill, and which
has a consequent penalty for failure.

Relationship of Personal Freedom and Responsibility:

Responsibility assumes that the individual can have freedom of action and decision.
Therefore, freedom necessarily leads to responsibility.

So, in other words, Freedom means you will have to be responsible for every act, for
every breath; whatever you do or don't do, you will be responsible. Freedom is inseparable
from responsibility.

SELF-KNOWLEDGE
In Philosophy, it refers to knowledge of one's own sensation, thoughts, belief, and other
mental states.
In psychology, this refers to how well or accurate we are in determining our own internal
such as our emotion, personality, and atiitudes.

SELF-MASTERY ----the ability to take control of one's life. It is the condition whereby
your body is your servant and not your master.
It comes through developing certain personal core strengths. To be master of your own self is
to fully understand who you really are

Self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in his or her capacity to execute behaviors

necessary to produce specific performance attainments (Bandura, 1977, 1986, 1997).
According to Bandura, there are four main sources of self-efficacy beliefs:
• Mastery experiences;
• Vicarious experiences;
• Verbal persuasion;
• Emotional and physiological states (Akhtar, 2008).

Mindset Theory proposes that people hold different beliefs about whether people can
or cannot change basic psychological attributes, such as their intelligence or personality.

Two types of mindsets: Fixed mindset and growth mindset( Psychologist

Dweck)