COURSE OUTLINE

I. Course Title: Understanding the Self

II. Course Number: GEC 111

III. Credit Units: 3

IV: Course Description:

The course deals with the nature of identity, as well as the forces that affect the
development and maintenance of personal identity. This course intends to facilitate the
exploration of the Issues and concerns regarding self and identity to arrive at a better
understanding of oneself. It strives to meet this goal by stressing the integration of the
personal and the academic experiences of the students resulting to better learning,
generating a new appreciation for the learning process, and developing a more critical
and reflective attitude while enabling self-management and self- improvement, to attain
a better quality of life.
This course is divided into three major parts. The first part seeks to understand the
construct of the self from the various disciplinal perspective namely, philosophy, sociology,
anthropology, and psychology, as well as the Eastern and Western views on the self. The
second part explores some of the various aspects that make up the self- such as the
biological/physical, material, and digital self. The third identifies three areas of concern for
young students namely, learning goal setting, and managing stress. It also includes mandatory
topics on Family Planning and Population Education.

V. Course Outcomes :

The students can:

1. Compare and contrast how the self has been represented across different disciplines
and perspectives.
2. Demonstrate critical, reflective thought in integrating the various aspects of self and
identity.
3. Acquire and hone new skills and learnings for better managing of oneself and behaviors.
4. Apply the new skills to oneself functioning for a better quality of life.

VI. Grading System

2 1
Midterm Grade = x Class Standing + X Midterm Exam
3 3
2 1
Tentative FG = x Class Standing + X Final Exam
3 3
2 1
Final Grade = x TFG + x MG
3 3

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 Percentage Numerical PE NE
Equivalent (PE) Equivalent (NE)
98-100 1.00 83-85 2.25
95-97 1.25 80-82 2.50
92-94 1.50 77-79 2.75
89-91 1.75 75-76 3.00
86-88 2.00 74-below 5.00 (Failed)

Note:
Students may expect the following remarks:
Passed – student surpassed the failing grade after final computation
Incomplete (INC) – student has passing class standing throughout the Term but fails to appear
for the final examination or fails to complete other requirements.
Officially Dropped (OD) – student processed dropping form to DRAS
Dropped – student never participated in class activities and did not process/submit dropping
form to DRAS
Failed – student was not able to reach the passing grade despite remedials flexibilities
facilitated by the teacher.

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IX. Course Content:
Chapter I: The Self in Different Perspective
Lesson 1: Philosophical Perspective of the self
Lesson 2: Sociological & Anthropological Views of the Self
Lesson 3: Psychological Views of the Self
Lesson 4: The self in Western and Eastern thought
Chapter II: Unpacking the Self
Lesson 5: Physical and Sexual Self
Lesson 6: Material Self
Lesson 7: Spiritual Self
Lesson 8: Political Self
Lesson 9: Digital Self
Chapter III: Managing and Caring for the Self
Lesson 10: Intelligent Behaviors
Lesson 11: Emotional Self
Lesson 12: Responsible Self
Lesson 13: Goal Settings Theory

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Lesson I: The Self in Different Perspectives
Learning Outcomes:
1. Define the nature, concept, and meaning of the self
2. Examine the different influences, factors that shape the self
3. Compare and contrast how the self has been represented in different philosophical
schools
Philosophy
Philosophy is from the Greek word “Philos” and “Sophia” which means “love of Wisdom”.
In a broad sense Philosophy is the activity people undertake when they seek to understand
fundamental truths about themselves, the world in which they live, and their relationships to the
world in which they live in. Those who study Philosophy are perpetually engaged in asking,
answering, and arguing for their answers to life’s most basic questions.
Socrates: Know yourself
Socrates was more concerned with “the problem of the self”. He is the first philosopher
who ever engaged in a systematic questioning about the self. To Socrates, the true task of the
philosopher is to know oneself.
For Socrates, every man is composed of body and soul. This means that every human
person is dualistic, that is, he is composed of two important aspects of his personhood. This
means all individuals have an imperfect, impermanent aspect of the body, while maintaining that
there is also a soul that is perfect and permanent.
Plato: The Ideal self, perfect self
Plato, Socrates students basically took off from his master and supported the idea that man is a
dual nature of body and soul. In addition to Socrates, Plato added that there are three
components of the self:

1. Appetitive Soul -- Plato’s idea of the appetitive soul is the part of the person that is driven
by desire and need to satisfy oneself. This satisfaction both involves physical needs and
pleasures and desires. If the person finds an object or situation good or satisfying, the
Appetitive soul can drive the person to lean towards those objects and situations.
2. Spirited Soul – this part of the soul can be attributed to the courageous part of a person;
one wants to do something or to right the wrongs that they observe. Spirited souls are
very competitive and is very active, his competitiveness drives one to expect positive
results and winning.
3. Rational Soul – The last part of the soul could be said is the driver of our lives, this is the
part that thinks and plan “the conscious mind” it decides what to do, when to do it and
the possible results one could have depending on their actions.
In his most important work, The Republic, Plato emphasizes that justice in the human
person can only be attained if the three parts of the soul are working harmoniously with one
another. He included that the world can only be led by a philosopher king, a person who is
virtuous as well as intelligent. According to Plato, a person who is a follower of truth and wisdom
will not be tempted by vices and will always be just.

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St. Augustine
Augustine’s view of the human person reflects the entire spirit of the medieval world when it
comes to man. He combined the platonic ideas into Christianity perspective.
Augustine agreed that man is of a bifurcated/ dual nature. There is an aspect of man, which
dwells in the world, that is imperfect and continuously yearns to be with the divine while the
other is capable of reaching immortality.
The body is bound to die on earth and the soul is to anticipate living eternally in a realm of
spiritual bliss in communion with God.
He believes that a virtuous life is the dynamism of love. Loving God means loving one’s
fellowmen; and loving one’s fellowmen denotes never doing any harm to another.
Rene Descartes: Cogito, ergo sum/ I think, therefore I am
He conceived of the human person as having a body and a mind. He claims that there is
so much that we should doubt since much of what we think and believe is not infallible, they
may turn out to be safe.
Rene thought that the only thing that one cannot doubt is the existence of the self, for
even if one doubts oneself, that only proves that there is a doubting self, a thing that thinks and
therefore, that cannot be doubted.
The self then for Rene is also a combination of two distinct entities, the COGITO, the
thing that thinks, which is the mins, and the EXTENZA of the mind, which is the body.
To sum, although the mind and the body are independent of each other and serve their
own function, man must use his own mind and thinking abilities to investigate, analyze,
experiment, and develop himself.
John Locke: Tabula Rasa/ Blank Slate
His work on the self is most represented by the concept “Tabula Rasa” which means
Blank Slate. He believed that the experiences and perceptions of a person is important in the
establishment of who the person can become.
John Locke does not disregard the experiences of the person in the identification and
establishment of who we are as a person. He stated that a person is born with knowing nothing
and that a person is born with knowing nothing and that is susceptible to stimulation and
accumulation of learning from the experiences, failures, references, and observation of the
person.
David Hume: the self is the bundle theory of mind
He is an empiricist who believes that one can know only what comes from the senses
and experience.
Hume posits that self is nothing else but a bundle of impressions. Impressions can be
categorized into two:
a. Impressions: it is the basic objects of our experience or sensation, so it forms the core of
thoughts.

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 b. Ideas: are copies of our impressions. They are not as lively as and clear as our
impressions
Immanuel Kant: respect for self
Every man is thus an end in himself and should never be treated merely as a means as
per the order of the Creator and the natural order of things.
To Kant, there is necessarily a mind that organizes the impressions that men get from
the external world. Time and Space are ideas that one cannot find in the world but built-in our
human mind. Kant calls these the apparatus of the mind.
Along with the different apparatuses of the mind goes the self. Without the self, one
cannot organize the different impressions that one gets in relation to his own existence. Thus,
the self is not just what gives one his personality. It is also the seat of knowledge acquisition for
all human person.
Gilbert Ryle: the mind-Body dichotomy
For Ryle, what truly matters is the behavior that a person manifests in his day-to-day life.
For him, looking for and trying to understand the self as it really exists is like visiting your
friend’s university and looking for the university.
Ryle says that self is not an entity one can locate and analyze but simply the convenient
name that people use to refer to all the behaviors that people make.
Merleau Ponty: Phenomenologist
He insisted that body and mind are so intertwined from one another. One cannot find
any experience that is not an embodied experience. All experience is embodied. One’s body is
his opening towards his existence to the world. Because men are in the world. For him, the
Cartesian problem is nothing but plain misunderstanding. The living body, his thoughts, and
experiences are all one.