PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELVES  He believed that the “self” is identified with
Superego – corporates the values and morals of
Socrates
 Known for his method of inquiry called the Socratic
Method.
 According to him, the state of your inner being
(soul/self) determines the quality of your life.
 His ideas were:
 The soul is immortal;
 The care of the soul is the task of philosophy; and
 Virtue is necessary to attain happiness.
 Two kinds of existence: visible and invisible.
Plato
 His philosophical method is called “collection and
division”.
 He is best known for his theory of forms that asserted
the physical world is not really the “real” world because
the ultimate reality exists beyond physical world.
 Three parts of soul:
 The appetitive (sensual) – enjoys sensual experiences
 The rational (reasoning) – the part that loves truth,
hence, should rule over the other parts of the soul
through the use of reason
 The spirited (feeling) – inclined toward reason but
understands the demands of passion
Saint Agustine
 His concept of the “self” was an inner, immaterial “I”
that had self-knowledge and self-awareness.
 He believed that the human being was both soul and
body, and the body possessed senses, such as
imagination, memory, reason, and mind through which
the soul experienced the world.
Rene Descartes
 His method was called hyperbolical/ metaphysical
doubt.
 He claims that the “self” is constant and not affected by
time.
 The immaterial soul is the source of our identity and
remains the same throughout time.
John Locke
3.
consciousness and this “self” consists of sameness of society
consciousness.
 A person’s memories provide a continuity of experience Gilbert Ryle
that allows him/ her to identify himself/ herself as the  Ryle called the distinction between mind and matter a
same person over time. “category-mistake” because of its attempt to analyze the
relation between “mind” and “body” as if the two terms
David Hume of the same categories.
 He described the “self” as a collection of different  The relation between mind and body are not isolated
perceptions that are moving in a very fast and successive processes.
manner, it is in a “perpetual flux”  Mental processes are intelligent acts, and are not
 Rationalism : reason :: Empiricism : experience distinct from each other.
 Mind perceptions:
 Impressions – the perceptions that are the strongest, Paul Churchland
and directly experienced.  The immaterial, unchanging soul/self does not exist
 Ideas – the less forcible and less lively counterparts of because it cannot be experienced by the senses (1998).
impressions.  Churchland’s idea is called eliminative materialism or
the claim that people’s common-sense understanding of
Immanuel Kant the mind is false.
 His view of the “self” is transcendental, which means  The sense of “self” originated from the brain itself, and
the “self” is related to spiritual realm. that this “self” is a product of electrochemical signals
 He proposed that it is knowledge that bridges the “self” produced by the brain.
and the material things together.
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
 Two kinds of consciousness of “self”:
 His idea of “self” is an embodied subjectivity.
 Consciousness of oneself and one’s psychological
 Subjectivity, is the state of being a subject an entity that
states in inner sense
possesses conscious experiences.
 Consciousness of oneself and one’s states by
 He asserted that human beings are embodied
performing acts of apperception.
subjectivities, and that the understanding of the “self”
 Two components of self: inner self and outer self
should begin from this fundamental act.
 Self organizes information in 3 ways:
1. Raw Perceptual input
2. Recognizing the concept, and
3. Reproducing in the imagination
Sigmund Freud
 The “self” was an entity in itself characterized as the
subject the focal point: the topic, the doer of the action.
 Three levels of consciousness:
1. Conscious
2. Pre-conscious/Subconscious
3. Unconscious
 Psychoanalytic Theory – based on the notion that an
individual gets motivated by unseen forces.
 Psyche/mind structure:
1. Id – it operates on the pleasure principle
2. Ego – operates according to the reality principle MODERNIZATION
 Modernization has significantly changed society,
and this has affected how an individual builds and
develops his or her self-identity.
Key Characteristics of Modernity
 Industrial – The social relations implied in the
extensive use of material power and machinery in
all processes of production
 Capitalism – A production system involving both
competitive product markets and the
commodification (putting a price tag)
 Institutions of Surveillance – The massive increase
of power and reach by institutions, especially in
government
 Dynamism – It is characterized as having vigorous
activity and progress. In a modern society, life is not
a predetermined path with limited options based
on location, family or gender, it is a society full of
possibilities
Social Groups and Social Network
 Organic Group – This is usually formed in
traditional societies because there is little diversity
in these communities, and it is highly influenced by
your family
 Rational Group – Modern society societies are
made up of different people coming from different
places
 Developing the Self – Self-development and
language are intimately tied through shared
understanding of symbols, gestures, and sound,
language gives the individual capacity to express
himself\herself while at the same time
comprehending
What is Anthropology?
 It is the study of people, past and present. It
focuses on understanding the human condition in
its cultural aspect.
 It is concerned with understanding how humans showing your feelings in public or keeping it
evolved and how they differ from one another. private.
 It is a very dynamic field, and anthropology
literature offers several different definitions of
“self”.
Explicit Self
 Explicit self is the aspects of the self that you are
consciously aware of.
Implicit Aspects
 Implicit self is not immediately available to the
consciousness; not aware.
Self as Representation
 People create self-presentations based on cultural
concepts, which are continuous and have their own
history and memories. These self-representations
emerge in specific contexts and are replaced by
new ones when the context changes, referring to
the mental entities that represent the self.
Relationship
 Culture influences how you enter into and maintain
relationships.
Personality Traits
 Culture influences whether (and) you value traits,
like humility, self-esteem, politeness, assertiveness,
and so on, as well as how you perceive hardship or
how you feel about relying on others.
Achievement
 Cultures influences how you define success and
whether you value certain types of individual and
group achievement.
Expressing Emotions
 Culture influences what will affect you emotionally,
as well as how you express yourself, such as
PSYCHOLOGY
 Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and  William James said “The art of being wise is knowing  Ideal self is the person that you would like yourself to
behavior. what to overlook” in his masterpiece. He created the be; it is your concept of the "best me" who is worthy of
 Psychology helps you in many ways: concept of me-self and I-self. admiration.
 Self-awareness  Real self is the person you actually are. It is who you are
 Personality Assessment I-Self in reality – how you think, feel, or act.
 Coping Mechanisms  It is the pure ego. It is the subjective self. It is the "self"
that is aware of its own actions The importance of alignment
 Motivation and Goals
1. A sense of being the agent or initiator of behavior  Congruence – when your real self and ideal self are very
 Therapy and Counseling
2. A sense of being unique similar
Piaget’s Cognitive Theory 3. A sense of continuity  Incongruence – when there is inconsistency between
1. Schemas/Schemes. These are the building blocks of 4. A sense of awareness about being aware the two
knowledge. It is the mental organizations that
Me-Self Multiple vs Unified Selves
individuals use to understand their environments and
 It is the self that is the object. It is the “self” that you can  William James said, "Properly speaking, a man has as
designate action.
describe, such relationships, thoughts, empirical many social selves as there are individuals who
2. Adaptation. It involves the child’s learning process to
1. Material – physical appearance and extensions of it recognize him and carry an image of him in their head."
meet situational demands.
such as clothing  Roy Baumeister said, "But the concept of the self loses
3. Stages of Cognitive Development. They reflect the
2. Social – social skills and significant interpersonal its meaning if a person has multiple selves. The essence
increasing sophistication of the child’s thought process.
relationships of self involves integration of diverse experiences into a
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development 3. Spiritual – personality, character, defining values. unity. In short, unity is one of the defining features of
Stages Age Characteristics Real and Ideal self-concepts selfhood and identity.
Sensorimotor 0-2
Children uses language, symbols, and show Humanistic Psychology The Unity of Consciousness
Preoperational 2-7 egocentrism. Conservation marks the
transition to concrete operation.
 It is founded by Carl Ransom Rogers. It is a psychological  Immanuel Kant described it as "I am conscious not only
Concrete The child demonstrates conservation,

7-11 reversibility, serial ordering, and a mature

understanding of cause-and-effect perspective that rose to prominence in the mid-20th of single experiences but of a great many experiences at
Operation relationship.
century. the same time. The same is true of actions; I can do and
Formal
12+  This approach highlighted the individual’s innate drive be conscious of doing a number of actions at the same
Operation
toward self-actualization and the process of realizing time"
and expressing one’s own capabilities and creativity.
Harter’s Self-development Concept Allport's Personality Theory
1. Early Childhood. The child describes the “self” in terms Personality development and the self-concept  Gordon Allport proposed his "personality trait" theory
of concrete, observable characteristics, such as  According to Rogers, all behavior is motivated by self- asserting that every person possesses "traits". The mind
physical attributes. actualizing tendencies and these tendencies drive you to is made up of several sub-selves.
2. Middle to Later Childhood. The self is described in reach your full potential.
 He believes that the world a person exists in is the The Ego States
terms of trait like constructs that would require the
center of constant changes, and the person reacts to  In 1960, psychiatrist Eric Berne began to develop
type of hierarchal organizational skills characteristic of
these changes. his transactional analysis model as basis for
logical thought development.
3. Adolescence. This is the emergence of more abstract  As a result, an individual forms a structure of the self or understanding behavior. Transactional analysis is
self-definitions, such as inner thoughts, emotions, self-concept, an organized, fluid, conceptual pattern of anchored on two notions:
attitudes, and motives. concepts and values related to the self. 1. Every person has three parts called "ego states"
4. Merging Adult. It is the “age of possibilities”. Ideal Self vs Real Self in his or her personality.

William James and The Me-Self and I-Self

 2. People communicate with one another
assuming roles of any of these ego states.
 Ego States:
1. Parent. The voice of authority
2. Adult. The rational person
3. Child. There are 3 child ego states:
i. Natural Child who loves to play but is sensitive
ii. Little Professor who wants to try everything
iii. Adaptive Child who reacts to the world
Domains of the Self
 Gregg Henriques proposed that the human self has
three related, but separable, domains:
1. Experiential Self. The theater of consciousness
because it is the first to experience its beingness
2. Private self-conscious. It is described as the narrator
or interpreter. It is the self that narrates the
unfolding events and at the same time tries to make
sense of the experience.
3. Public self/persona. It is the image you project to the
public. This is the image that interacts with others
and will influence how others see you.
True vs False Selves
 Most of us need our false selves as protection to survive
childhood, and we carry these layers with us through our
adult lives because these protective layers help us
endure.
 In 1960, D. W. Winnicott introduced his concept of
"false self" and "true self". He also proposed that the
healthy core of a healthy person's self is hidden from the
outside world, uninfluenced by external (harsh) realities.
 False self. The product of early experience. It is a
defensive organization formed by the infant because of
inadequate mothering or failures in empathy.
 True self. It is as a sense of "self" based on "spontaneous
authentic experience". It is an awareness that bodily
functions are working.
WESTERN AND EASTERN SELF
Concept of Self
 “People are shaped by their culture, and their culture is
also shaped by them.” from Fiske, Kitayama, Markus,
and Nisbett (1998)
 “Cultural traditions and social practices regulate,
express, and transform the human psyche, resulting less
in psychic unity for humankind than in ethnic
divergences in mind, self, and emotion." from Richard
Shweder (1991)
Western Concept of Self
 In medieval times, the philosopher and saint, Thomas
Aquinas, believed that the body constitutes
individuality.
 During the renaissance, the individual became the focal
point of thought as demonstrated by Rene Descartes'
famous statement "I think, therefore I am."
 Four categories by Frank Johnson:
1. Analytical – me vs other; tendency to see reality as
an aggregate of parts
2. Monotheistic – man was created by God, in His
image; involved the tendency toward unitary
explanations of phenomena and a closed-system
view of "self" as modeled after a unitary, omnipotent
power
3. Individualistic – who one is; a quality of western
thinking where self-expression and self-actualization
are important ways of establishing who one is, as
well as in finding satisfaction in the world
4. Materialistic /Rationalistic – no analytic-deductive
modes of thinking; tends to discredit explanations
that do not use analytic-deductive modes of thinking
Eastern Concept of Self
 In Hinduism, the self is referred to as "Brahman" which
is the divine universal consciousness present in all
beings.
 In Buddhism, the concept of "self" is a dynamic process,
interdependent and ever-changing rather than a fixed
entity.
 In Confucianism perceives the "self" from a different
angle, focusing on personality and character rather than
inherent substance or essence.
 These four beginnings are:
 Heart of compassion that leads to Jen.
 Heart of righteousness that leads to Yi.
 Heart of propriety that leads to Li.
 Heart of wisdom that leads to Chih.
Individualistic vs Collective Self
 Individualistic self is a concept that emphasizes the
uniqueness and individuality of each person.
 Collective self is the concept of collective self refers to
the collective effort and effort put into a task or task.
 Individualism – refers to the extent that you value
independence and personal uniqueness
 Collectivism – refers to the extent that we value our
duty to groups to which we belong
The Self as Embedded in Relationships and Through
Spiritual Development in Confucian Thought
 East Asian Societies has its own way of thinking and
lifestyle and their inspiration with that is The
Confucian Tradition.
 The concept of Li in the Confucian is often rendered
as the proper conduct or propriety went beyond
simple respect or etiquette in the present. Since
then, it has played a crucial role in Confucian
human-focused religiousness.
 Confucianism is the way of life that Confucius that
is taught between the sixth and fifth centuries BCE
and it is adhered by the Chinese people for more
than two millennia.
 In the Confucian concept, self-development is also
dedication to lifelong learning; however, Confucian
learning goes beyond book study and taking
examinations to include ritual practice. The single
most important concept of the self in Confucian
thought is the idea that the "self" is the center of
relationships.