Learning Objectives:

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

1. explain why it is essential to understand the self;
2. Describe and discuss the different notions of the
self from the points-of-view of the various
philosophers across time and place;
3. compare and contrast how the self has been
represented in the different philosophical
schools; and
4. examine one’s self against the different view
of self that were discussed in class.
 Lesson 1:
The Self from
Various
Philosophical
Perspectives
 Do You Truly
Know Yourself?
1. How would you characterize yourself?
2. What makes you stand out from the
rest? What makes your self special?
3. How has your self transformed itself?
4. How is your self connected to your
body?
5. How is yourself related to other selves?
 “Knowing Oneself”
✓ The first man who ever engaged in a
systematic questioning about the self.
✓ According to him, the true task of a philosopher
is to know one self.
✓ Every man is composed of body and soul.
Every human person is dualistic.
✓ He considers man from the point of view of
his inner life.
✓ He constantly looks for imperfections in the
ideas of others, which is actually the heart of
his philosophy.
✓ Socrates knows that he knows nothing, more
importantly, he knows that he knows
nothing, while everyone else is under the
flawed impression that they know
something (Vlastos & Graham, 1971).
Socrates
SOCRATES
 “Knowing Oneself”
• The highest form of human excellence,
according to Socrates, is to question oneself
and others (Maxwell, 2013).

• Socrates asserts that one should examine

more closely the things we call ‘true,’
considering that there are vast concepts
that are not easily defined.

• “an unexamined life is not worth living”

(Vlastos & Graham, 1971).

• The most horrible thing that can happen to

anybody is to “live but die inside” (Alata, et.

Socrates
SOCRATES
Al 2018).
 “Knowing Oneself”
• an individual’s personhood is composed of the
body and soul.
The soul, for him, is immortal.

• death is not the end of existence; it is simply

the separation of the soul from the body.

• it just because something seems true does not

mean it is true (Rowe, 2007).

• Socrates made a distinction between

knowledge (always and universally true) and
belief (only true in certain circumstances).

Socrates
SOCRATES
 “The Ideal Self, the Perfect Self
✓ Plato sustained the idea that
man is composed of a dual
nature of body and soul.
✓ Plato sustained the idea that
man is composed of a dual
nature of body and soul.
✓ the soul was eternal
✓ the soul does not exist with
the body. It exists prior to being
joined to the body.
✓ Resembling the idea of
reincarnation.
Plato
SOCRATES
✓ The body is the prison of soul.
 “The Ideal Self, the Perfect Self
Human soul or the psyche is divided
into three parts:
1. Appetitive Soul
2. Spirited Soul
3. Rational Soul

True human perfection could be

attained through living a life of virtue.

Happiness is the fruit of virtue—it can be

attained by the constant imitation of the
divine exemplar of virtue, embodied
Plato
SOCRATES
in man’s former perfect self.
 “Respect for Self”
rationalism, a theory which states that
reason is the foundation of all knowledge,
rather than experience.

inner and outer self

Apperception

Representation

Kant
SOCRATES
 “Cogito, Ergo Sum”
“Father of Modern Philosophy” and one of the
most famous dualistic thinkers of all time
(Rozemond, 1998).

Dualism is the concept that reality or existence

is divided into two parts: the mind and the
physical body.

Descartes asserted that one cannot rely on his

senses because they are sometimes
misleading.
mind is the seat of our
ReneSOCRATES
Descartes consciousness
 Personal Identity
Locke simply tells us that our memories give us
our identity (Ayers, 1993).

John Locke holds that personal identity is a

matter of psychological continuity. He considered
personal identity (or the self) to be founded on
consciousness (viz. memory), and not on the
substance of either the soul or the body.

‘Tabula Rasa’ or Blank Slate

John Locke
SOCRATES
 The Self is the Bundle Theory of Mind
David Hume is known for his lack of self theory.

He believes that it is only through our physical

experiences using our sense of sight, sound,
touch, taste, and smell that we know what we
know.

There is no permanent self because impressions

of things are based on our experiences where we
can create our ideas and knowledge. Thus, it may
be replaced or improved.

David Hume
SOCRATES
Impressions
Ideas
 “I act, therefore I am”
✓ He used a behavioristic approach to self.
✓ The self is the behavior presented by the
person.
✓ The behavior that we show, emotions, and
actions are the reflection of our mind and
as such is the manifestation of who we are.
✓ Does not believe that the mind and the
body are two separate entities which is said
to be evident in the unexplainable
phenomenon or abilities of the mind where
the soul is considered; however, to some
they can coexist.
Ryle
 “I act, therefore I am”

✓ To him, once we encounter others,

their perceptions of what we do, how
do we act, and the way we behave will
then result to the understanding of
other people and establishing who we
are.

✓ His idea is saying that the things that

we do, the way we behave and react
and all other components like the
way we talk, walk, and look is
generally who we are.
Ryle
 “I act, therefore I am”

✓ To him, once we encounter others, their

perceptions of what we do, how do we
act, and the way we behave will then
result to the understanding of other
people and establishing who we are.

✓ His idea is saying that the things that

we do, the way we behave and react and
all other components like the way we
talk, walk, and look is generally who we
are.

Ryle
 “The Brain as the Self”

✓ A Canadian Philosopher
✓ The Self is defined by the movement of
our brain.
✓ The brain as the self
✓ Mind is the seat of the self

Churchland
 “I sense, therefore I am”
✓ Maurice Merleau-Ponty believed the
physical body to be an important part of
what makes up the subjective self
(Carbone, 2004).
✓ Rationalism asserts that reason and
mental perception, rather than physical
senses and experience, are the basis of
knowledge and self (Alloa, 2017).
✓ Merleau-Ponty believed that the mind is
the seat of our consciousness (Barbaras,
2014).

Merleau-Ponty
 “I sense, therefore I am”
✓ Maurice Merleau-Ponty believed the
physical body to be an important part of
what makes up the subjective self
(Carbone, 2004).
✓ Rationalism asserts that reason and
mental perception, rather than physical
senses and experience, are the basis of
knowledge and self (Alloa, 2017).
✓ Merleau-Ponty believed that the mind is
the seat of our consciousness (Barbaras,
2014).

Merleau-Ponty
 “I sense, therefore I am”
✓ He coined the idea of Phenomenology of
Perception which divided into three
divisions:
1. The Body
2. The Perceived World
3. The People and the world
✓ Perceptions guide our actions based on
our experiences
✓ One’s actions, behavior, and language
used could be said to be the reflection of
our united perception of the world.

Merleau-Ponty
 Lesson 2:
The Christian
or Biblical
Views of Self
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Discuss the different representations and

conceptualizations of the self from biblical
perspective.
 ✓ For Aquinas, we don't encounter ourselves
as isolated minds or selves, but rather
always as agents interacting with our
environment.
✓ Aquinas begins his theory of self-knowledge
from the claim that all our self-knowledge is
dependent on our experience of the world
around us.
✓ Theory of Self Knowledge
✓ Our experiences greatly shapes self-
awareness.
✓ Deeper Sense of Self

Thomas Aquinas
SOCRATES
 ✓ Like Plato, he also asserted that the soul is
immortal. However, he believed that the soul
AND the body make up a human.

✓ He does not believe that the soul jumps from

one body to another. Instead, one person is
made up of one body and one soul.

✓ The purpose, therefore, of every human

person is to attain this spiritual union with
God by living his life according to virtues.

St. SOCRATES
Augustine
 Lesson 3:
The Sociology
and Anthropology
of the Self
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Describe the connection between the self,
society and culture.
2. Recognize the social and cultural factors that
shape the self.
3. Examine the comparisons of the self based on
the different societies.
4. Reflect on one’s development of the self based
on one’s cultural and societal backgrounds.
 What is Self?
The sociological and anthropological
perspectives of the self tell us that the ‘self’
is a by-product of one’s interaction
with the environment, and not because
of the mind or the soul infused into us.
 Identity
Identity is the concept that we have of our
roles in the world around us (James, 2015).

Identity is a socially constructed

phenomenon. It is an individual or collective
representation of social categories such as
class, gender, age, ethnicity, etc. An
individual's identity can be clubbed under
two categories: ascribed and achieved.
www.studysmarter.us
Self-Identity Vs. Social Identity
• The way you see yourself is your • Social identity—the way others see you, is
self-identity (Shoemaker, 2015). also influenced by others’ perceptions,
• Your self identity shapes your attitudes, values, and beliefs.
perceptions, or the way you see the
world.
• Your attitude about life, the way
you think or feel about something,
depends on how you identify
yourself.
• Also, the way you see yourself is
also manipulated by your values,
what you think is right or wrong,
and beliefs, what you see as true
and untrue.
 Stereotypes
These are assumptions that are made about
individuals because they belong to a particular
social group.
Sense of Self vs. Self-Socialization
Our sense of self is defined as a
collection of beliefs that we hold
about ourselves. We put together
these beliefs based upon our social
interactions with others (Sedikides
& Spencer, 2007).
Self-socialization—a
developmental process that allows
us to reflect upon and argue with
ourselves for us to develop an
accurate self-image.
 Social-Self Theory
George Herbert Mead, in his Social Self Theory, believed that
the sense of self is developed through social interactions, such
as observing and interacting with others (Ritzer, 2008).

He also identified three activities that develop the self:

language, play, and games (Mead & Morris, 1967).

By means of symbols, gestures, words, and sounds, which

enables individuals to communicate with and respond to each
other, the self is developed through language.
Social-Self Theory
It is through play that the self is developed since it
allows us to take on different roles, pretend, and
express expectation of others.

Games develop the self by allowing individuals to

understand and adhere to the rules of the activity,
teaching them the value of accountability. The self is
developed by understanding that there are rules that
one must follow in order to win the game or be
successful in an activity (Miller, 2009).
 Social-Self Theory
‘I’ is the representation of the person’s
identity based on the response to the
‘me.’ In other words, the ‘I’ says, “If the
society dictates that I should behave
nicely, then I should act the same (or
The TWO SIDES of SELF: perhaps differently)” - this notion

‘I’
becomes the self.

“me” is considered the socialized aspect

of the individual, which represents the

‘Me’
learned behaviors, attitudes and
expectations of others and of the society.
This is known as the “generalized other,”
where children and young adults
interact with the society and adopt to
other people’s expectations (Gillespie,
2006).
Looking-Glass Self
Charles Cooley built on the work of Mead
with his theory called the Looking-Glass
Self (Cooley, 1998).

Three elements, the first element is how we

imagine we appear to others. The second element is
the judgment we imagine that other people may be
making about us, and the third element is our self-
image based upon the evaluations of others.
 Looking-Glass Self
Beginning after birth, the self continues to develop throughout a person's life through the
following stages: imagining, interpreting, and developing self-concept.

Imagining occurs when an individual judges the way he or she acts and appears from the
points of view of family and friends.

Interpreting, which occurs when a person elicits conclusions coming not only from past
experiences but from what others think as well, and then reacts to the judgement of other
people’s views.
As the individual combines everything from his or her past experiences, including others’
perspectives, he or she approaches the final stage, which is developing self-concept.
 ‘I’ vs. ‘We’
Individualism- the ‘I’ idea that describes the self as
existingindependently of others and includes own traits.

Collectivism, the ’we’ idea, views the self in relation to

others, emphasizing the interdependence of the self as
part of a larger network of people who all help shape each
other.
 Family, Age, Gender
Family plays a crucial role in our development
(Banaag & Cruz, 2016). Being the primary agent of
socialization, we first learn to interact with our
parents and other family members — we are a child
to our parents and a brother or sister to our siblings.

As we age, our identities and position in the family

network transform. Beginning from being a baby, you
grow as a child, then as an adult child of your
parents and sooner or later, you may have your own
children and your significant other, and have nieces
and nephews (David, 2002).
 Family, Age, Gender
Gender is how a person expresses
his or her biological sex according
to cultural definitions (Udry, 1994).

Sex is a biological term for a

person's genetic condition of being
male or female.
Ethnicity, Nationality, and
Socio-Economic Class
Ethnicity is a social construct determined by a
person's ancestral origins, culture, and physical
attributes inherited from their ancestors (Banaag
& Cruz, 2016).

Nationality combines with ethnicity to further

define a person's identity within his or her larger
community. Filipinos have a distinct identity of
being hospitable, making sure that something is
offered to visitors in the house (Garcia, 2015).
Ethnicity, Nationality, and
Socio-Economic Class

Socio-economic Class determines where we live,

the benefits and shortcomings we experienced
during our upbringing, the kind of education that
we have, the kind of language that we learn, and
even the choice of social groups.