UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

Module 1 • · The soul strives for wisdom and perfection and in

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF order to achieve this state of life, we use REASON as
What is Philosophy? our tool.
• from the Greek words" philos " and "sophia" PLATO

⚬ philos - love • Plato is a student of Socrates

Main Concept
⚬ sophia - wisdom
“THE SOUL IS IMMORTAL”
• PHILOSOPHY is the mother of all disciplines because
Overview
it uses inquisitive mind to discover the ultimate
• Self can b e exp lain ed as a process of self -
causes, reasons, and principles of everything.
knowledge and purification of the soul.
Philosophical View of the Self
• The philosophy of self seeks to describe essential ⚬ SELF - KNOWLEDGE - a practical task in life which
qualities that constitute a per son's uniqueness or consists of self - examination about what one is really
essential being. doing in life/ acknowledging the limit
3COMPONENTS OF SELF
SOCRATES
• RATIONAL S OUL
• Socrates is considered as Father of Western
⚬ divine essence that allows us to think deeply, make
Philosophy wise choices, and achieve a true understanding of
• Known for his Socratic Method eternal truths
Main Concept
⚬ governs reason
A. Know Thy Self
• APPETITIVE SOUL
• The goal of life is to know thyself and to
improve our souls through virtuous living” ⚬ pertains to PHYSICAL appetite which includes our
• An unexamined life is not worth living. basic biological needs (hunger, sleep, sexual desires,
B. Dualism etc.)
• SPIRITED SOUL
⚬ includes basic emotions such as love, empathy, and
anger.
ARISTOTLE
• Aristotle is a student of Plato.
• Considered man as a rational animal.
Main Concept
"THE SOUL IS THE ESSENCE O F THE SELF"
• Socrates as the first thinker in Western history Overview
under scored the full power of reason on the human • The body and the soul are not two separate elements
self: but just one.
⚬ who we are? • The soul is simply the form of the body. Without the
⚬ who we should be? body the soul cannot exist.
THREE KINDS OF SOUL
⚬ who we will become?
• VEGETATIVE
 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
⚬ includes the physical body that can grow IMMANUEL KANT
• SENTIENT Main Concept
⚬ includes our sensual desires, feelings, and emotions "WE CONSTRUCT THE SELF"
• RATIONAL • Our minds actively sort, organize, relate, and
⚬ includes the intellect that makes man know and synthesize the fragmented, fluctuating collection of
understand things. sense data that our sense organs take in.
ST. AUGUSTINE •Constructing activity is precisely what our minds are
• Regarded as saint in the Catholic church and doing all of the time: taking the raw data of
integrated the ideas of Plato to Christianity. experience and actively synthesizing it in to the
Main Concept familiar, orderly, meaningful world in which we live.
GILBERT RYLE
"I AM DOUBTING, THEREFORE I AM"
Overview Main Concept
• S E LF - created in the image of God "THE SELF IS THE WAY PEOPLE BEHAVE"
⚬ We can only know our self through knowing God – • The self is best understood as a pattern of behavior–
this can be done through FAITH an d REASON. the tendency of the person to act in certain
• Main goal of self: HAPPINESS circumstances.
MAURICE PONTY
RENE DESCARTES
• Rene Descartes is the father of modern philosophy. Main Concept
Main Concept "THE SELF IS EMBODIED SUBJECTIVITY"
"I THINK THEREFORE I AM" • All knowledge of ourselves and our world is based
Overview on subjective experience.
• DUALISM - a theory or system of thought that regards • The self can n ever be truly objectified.
a domain of reality in terms of two in dependent
principles, especially mind and matter
• SKEPTICISM - the theory that certain knowledge is
impossible
• Self is thinking not sensing - SELF -CONSCIOUS
DAVID HUME
Main Concept
"THERE IS NO SELF"
• Self is a bundle of impression or perceptions of
others (individual impression)
• The bundle of impression is just a collection of
variable and interrupted part.
• Identity – is just a union created in the imagination
 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
Module 2: Sociological Perspective of the Self
Sociology
• originated from
⚬ socius (Latin) - society, association, and
togetherness
⚬ logos (Greek) - study
• SOCIOLOGY is the study of society and human
interaction
AUGUSTE COMTE B. Looking Glass Self
• pioneered by American sociologist Charles Cooley
• father of Sociology
• a sociological concept wherein individuals develop
The self is socially constructed in the sense that it is
their self- concept by looking how others perceive
shaped through interaction with other people.
them.
A. Symbolic Interactionism
Process of the Looking Glass Self
According to George Mead the self is not there from
• We imagine how we appear to others.
birth but is developed over time from social
• We interpret how others judge that appearance and
experiences and activities.
then respond to that interpretation through behavior.
Symbolic Interaction - the language and gestures a
• We experience feelings of pride or shame based on
person uses in anticipation of how others respond.
this imagined appearance and judgement by others.
Symbolic Interactionism - an approach to
• We respond based on our interpretation
understanding the relationship between humans and
C. Dramaturgy
society.
A sociological perspective is a component of symbolic
• study of the patterns of meaningful communication
interactionism developed by Canadian sociologist
and symbols
Irving Goffman.
• humans are portrayed as acting
• According to this perspective, individuals perform
Main Principles of SI
actions in everyday life as if we were performers on
1. Human action depends on the meaning we have
stage.
given to something;
2. These meanings arise out of social interaction; and ⚬ Front Stage - actions that are visible to the audience
3. Meanings humans assign to things can change. and are part of the performance
ME & I ⚬ Back Stage - actions that only occur when the
ME - considered as the socialized aspect of the audience is not around
individual. Represents learned behavior, attitudes and IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT
expectations of others and society. • Goffman contends that each performance is a
I - considered as present and future phase of the self. presentation of the self and that everyone seeks to
Represents individuals identity based on the response create specific impressions in the mind of others –
to the "me" this universal drive is called IMPRESSION
MANAGEMENT.
• Sign Vehicles - mechanisms people use to present
themselves
 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
Module 3: ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
What is Anthropology?
• derived form the Greek words
⚬ anthropos - human
⚬ logos - study
ANTHROPOLOGY - holds a holistic view of human
nature. It is concerned with how cultural and
biological processes interact to shape the self.
CULTURE - set of unwritten norms of conduct that
guide the behavior of a group.
CULTURAL IDENTITY
- refers to the identity or feeling of
belongingness to a certain culture group.
- individual’s perception about himself or
herself anchored on race, nationality,
religion, ethnicity, and language.
Types of Culture
- MATERIAL CULTURE: refers to the physical
objects, resources, and spaces that people
use to define their culture.
o Examples: Homes, neighborhoods, cities, schools,
churches, temples, mosques, offices, and so forth.
- NON-MATERIAL CULTURE: refers to the
nonphysical ideas that people have about
their culture.
o Examples: Beliefs, values, rules, norms, morals,
language, organizations, and institutions.
• Anthropology considers human experience as an
interplay of
- “nature” referring to genetic inheritance which sets
the individual’s potentials
- “nurture” which refers to sociocultural environment
• Both biological and cultural factors have significant
influence in the development of self.
TWO ANTHROPOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF
• Egocentric - are individuals with personalities
formed from within themselves and do not vary, not
matter the social atmosphere (INDEPENDENT)
• Sociocentric - a personality dependent on the social
atmosphere.
Example: The person that acts differently around
different groups of people.
MARCEL MAUSS
Self has two faces:
Moi
- refers to a person’s sense of who he is, his
body, and his basic identity, his biological
givenness.
- person’s basic identity
Personne
- composed of the social concepts of what it
means to be who he is.
- has to do with what it means to live in a
particular institution, family, religion, a
nationality, and how to behave given
expectations and influences from others
BRIAN MORRIS
the self is not an entity but a process that orchestrates
an individual’s personal experience – as a result a the
person becomes self-aware and self-reflective about
his or her place in the surrounding world.
- “self” - an individual’s mental representation
of his or her person, as kind of self-
representation.
- “other” - how one perceives the mental
representations of others
CLIFFORD GEERTZ
- The struggle for one's individuality is only
possible in modern society old traditions are
gradually replaced by rational and scientific
calculations
- with modernization, the self becomes a
"delocalized" self - which is free to seek its
own identity, free from customary constraints
hence, deviating from the traditional way of
life
 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
- stability of one's self-identity is the longer
based on pre-given traditional broad
definition of the self
Module 4: PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
FREUD’S PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
Based on three main assumptions:
1. Personality is governed by unconscious forces that
we cannot control.
2. Childhood experiences play a significant role in
determining adult personality.
3. Personality is shaped by the manner in which
children cope with sexual urges.
LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
According to him (Freud), the mind can be:
1. Conscious
- what you are aware of at any particular moment,
your present perceptions, memories, thoughts, and
feelings.
2. Preconscious
- anything that can easily be made conscious, such as
memories you’re not thinking about at the moment,
but can readily be brought to mind.
- smallest part of the psyche (mind)
3. Unconscious
- includes all the things that are not easily available to
awareness
- things that are put here because we can't bear to
look at them, such as the memories and emotions
associated with trauma.
- largest part of the psyche
STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY
Freud argued that the psyche is divided into three
components:
1. ID (Unconscious)
- the primitive or instinctive component of
personality that contains sexual and
aggressive drives and hidden memories
- operates according to the pleasure principle.
- seeks pleasure and demands the immediate
satisfaction of its desires. It is the id that
serves as the source of our wants and
impulses.
- id directs all of the body's actions and
processes to achieve the greatest amount of
pleasure possible.
- present at birth
- Example: Jack is walking down the street
and he is very hungry. He only has an id so
when he sees an apple pie cooling in a
window, he takes it for himself
2. EGO (Conscious)
- governed by reality principle
- considers social realities, norms, etiquette,
rules, and customs when it makes a decision
on how to behave. It seeks to delay
gratification of the id's urges until
appropriate outlets can be found.
- develop within the next 3 years of life
- go’s job to meet the needs of the id, while
taking into consideration the reality of the
situation.
- Example: Using the example, Jack's ego
would tell him that he should not take the
pie from the windowsill, but instead he can
buy some pie right up the street at the local
grocery store.
3. SUPEREGO (Preconscious)
- composed of ego-ideal and conscience
- is our morals, principals, and ethics.
- considers the social standards for social
behavior and guides us on what is right and
wrong.
- mostly shaped by what we learn as young
children from adults.
 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
- partially unconscious and partially conscious
(preconscious)
- begins to develop between 3 and 5 years of
age.
- Example: Example: Jack is walking down the
street and he is very hungry. He only has a
superego so when he sees an apple pie
cooling in a window, he does nothing. His
superego tells him that it is someone's pie
and that it is not acceptable to trespass on
someone’s property and take their pie.
• In a healthy person, according to Freud, the ego is
the strongest so that it can satisfy the needs of the id,
not upset the superego, and still take into
consideration the reality of every situation.
• Such conflicts arouse anxiety and we use defense
mechanisms – “largely unconscious reactions that
protect a person from painful emotions such as
anxiety and guilt”.
FREUD’S PSYCHOSEXUAL THEORY
- Freud believed that personality developed
through a series of childhood stages in which
the pleasure-seeking energies of the id
become focused on certain erogenous areas.
This psychosexual energy, or libido, was
described as the driving force behind
behavior.
- According to Freud, personality is mostly
established by the age of five. Early
experiences play a large role in personality
development and continue to influence
behavior later in life. And in each stages,
there is a conflict.
Erogenous zone – part of the human body that
when stimulated, it produces pleasure/satisfaction.
Libido – sexual drive or instinct; driving force
behind behavior
Fixation – occurs when needs in each stage is not
met
1. ORAL STAGE
• Erogenous zone: mouth
• Age Range: from birth to 1 year old
• Infant’s primary source of interaction is through the
mouth: sucking, eating, cooing, burping, etc.
• Conflict: weaning process – the child must become
less dependent to their caretakers which is usually the
mother
• Fixation in this stage may result in issues with
dependency and aggression. This fixation can lead to
issues with eating, drinking, smoking, and even
obsessive habits like nail-biting
2. ANAL STAGE
• Erogenous zone: Anus
• Age range: 2 – 3 years old
• Here individuals have their first encounter with
rules and regulations, as they have to learn to be toilet
trained.
• Conflict: toilet – training - the child has to learn to
control his or her bodily needs
• Developing this control leads to a sense of
accomplishment and independence.
• Success at this stage is dependent upon the way in
which parents approach toilet training.
- Anal – expulsive personality (too lenient) –
messy, wasteful, destructive personality
- Anal – retentive personality (too strict) –
obsessively organized, rigid, subservient to
authority.
3. Phallic Stage
• Erogenous zone: genitals
• Age Range: 4 – 5 years old
• At this age, children also begin to discover the
differences between males and females.
 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
• Freud also believed that boys begin to view their • Deficiency causes a clear adverse outcome: a
fathers as a rival for the mother’s affections dysfunction or death
- Oedipus Complex - describes these feelings of
wanting to possess the mother and the desire • Two types
to replace the father. However, the child also
fears that he will be punished by the father 1. Objective/Physical
for these feelings, a fear Freud termed
E.g. Food, Shelter etc..
castration anxiety.
- Electra Complex - used to described a similar 2. Subjective/ Psychological
set of feelings experienced by young girls.
Freud, however, believed that girls instead E.g. Self-esteem, Affection etc..
experience penis envy.
4. LATENCY STAGE
- Sexual Feelings are Inactive
- Age Range: 6 years old – puberty
- Libido is inactive since stage begins around the time
that children enter into school and become more
concerned with peer relationships, hobbies, and other
interests.
- The child spends all her energy to excel and prove
herself.
Abraham Maslow
- Child’s energy is diverted towards developing a sense
of competence. • American psychologist
5. GENITAL STAGE
- Erogenous zone: Genitals • Professor at Brooklyn College
- Age Range: Adolescence
-The individual develops a strong sexual interest in • Creator of Maslow's hierarchy of needs
the opposite sex; sexual feelings reappear with new
• Stressed the importance of focusing on the positive
intensity and in more mature form.
- Interest in the welfare of others grows during this qualities in people
stage.
MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF HUMAN NEEDS

Needs

• Needs are something that are necessary for an

organism to live a healthy life

• Distinguished from wants

 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
• Lower - respect of others, the need for status,
recognition, fame, prestige, and attention
PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS
• Mostly, literal requirements for human survival • Higher - self-respect, the need for strength,
competence, mastery, self- confidence, independence
• If not met, the human body cannot function and freedom
• Could be classified as basic animal needs Self Actualization Needs
Safety Needs • What a man can be, he must be
• Once physical needs are met, safety needs take over • Intrinsic growth of what is already in a person
• Safety of property against natural disasters, • Growth-motivated rather than deficiency- motivated
calamities, wars, etc.
• Cannot normally be reached until other lower order
• Health and well-being
needs are met
• Financial and job security • Rarely happens - < 1%
• Law and order • Acceptance of facts, spontaneous, focused on
SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL NEEDS problems outside self, without prejudice
• Next level to the safety needs PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (ERIK ERIKSON)

• Need to love and be loved by someone Erik Erikson’s Life History

• Facilitate outside social activities • Born: 15 June 1902

• Encourage social interaction create team spirit • Developmental Psychologist

• Need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance • Known for his theory on psychosocial development

• Allow participation • Served as professor at Harvard and Yale

ESTEEM NEEDS 1. Born in Germany, an illegitimate child of Danish

• Need to be respected by others and in turn respect parents
them 2. This fact bothered him all his life
• Sense of contribution, to feel self-valued, in 3. Dropped out of high school and spent time traveling
profession or hobby in Europe and studying art
 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
4. Met Sigmund Freud and studied Psychoanalysis
with Freud’s daughter, Anna Freud
5. Studied young people in different cultures
6. Became interested in how young people acquire a
personal identity and how society helps shape it
• Erikson believed that personality emerges from an
inner and outer conflicts
• The crises arise at each of the eight stages of life.
STAGE 1: TRUST VERSUS MISTRUST
• Children are completely dependent on others (Birth-
1 yr)
– Trust: Established when babies given adequate
warmth, touching, love, and physical care
– Mistrust: Caused by inadequate or unpredictable
care and by cold, indifferent, and rejecting parents
STAGE TWO: AUTONOMY VERSUS SHAME AND
DOUBT INFANCY (1-3 YRS OLD)
• Autonomy: Doing things for themselves
• Overprotective or ridiculing parents may cause
children to doubt abilities and feel shameful about
their actions
STAGE THREE: INITIATIVE VERSUS GUILT (3–
5)
• Initiative: Parents reinforce via giving children
freedom to play, use imagination, and ask questions
• Guilt: May occur if parents criticize, prevent play, or
discourage a child’s questions
STAGE FOUR: INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY
(6–12)
• Industry: Occurs when child is praised for
productive activities, such as painting and building
• Inferiority: Occurs if child’s efforts are regarded as
messy or inadequate
STAGE FIVE (ADOLESCENCE): IDENTITY VERSUS
ROLE CONFUSION
• Identity: For adolescents; problems answering,
“Who am I?”
• Role Confusion: Occurs when adolescents are unsure
of where they are going and who they are
STAGE SIX (YOUNG ADULTHOOD): INTIMACY
VERSUS ISOLATION
• Intimacy: Ability to care about others and to share
experiences with them
• Isolation: Feeling alone and uncared for in life
 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
STAGE SEVEN (MIDDLE ADULTHOOD):
GENERATIVITY VERSUS STAGNATION
• Generativity: Interest in guiding the next generation

• Stagnation: When one is only concerned with one’s

own needs and comforts

STAGE EIGHT (LATE ADULTHOOD): INTEGRITY

VERSUS DESPAIR
• Integrity: Self-respect; developed when people have
lived richly and responsibly

• Despair: Occurs when previous life events are viewed

with regret; experiences heartache and remorse

1. This phase occurs during old age and is focused on

reflecting back on life.

2. Those who are unsuccessful during this phase will

feel that their life has been wasted and will experience
many regrets. The individual will be left with feelings
of bitterness and despair.