MODULE 1

The Self from Various

Perspectives
Understanding the Self

JOSE V. FAUSTINO
Topics
Overview of Philosophical
01 the Self 02 Self
What does
How well do you
Philosophy say about
know yourself?
the self?

The Social Summary

03 Self 04
What does Sociology
say about the Self?
 Intended Learning
Outcomes
At the end of this module, you should be able to:

● discuss the different representations and conceptualizations of

the self from various disciplinal perspectives;
● examine the different influences, factors, and forces that shape
the development of the self; and
● compare and contrast how the self has been represented across
the different disciplines and perspectives.
● recognize the different factors that contribute to the development
of the self;
 Concept Map of the Self
W h a t is t h e N a t u r e o f t h e S e lf?

Philosophical
perspective

An anthropological Sociological
conceptualization perspective:
of Self: The self The self as a
as embedded in Who am I?
product
culture
SELF
The Self in
What am I?
Psychological western and
Perspective eastern
thought
The Self from Various Perspectives
What is the Nature of Self?
Have you ever experienced being asked to write an autobiography that addresses the difficult question of “Who am I?” Attempts to
answer this question vary depending on the person’s age, beliefs, values, feelings, life’s circumstances, culture, and society. Some
people find it easy to answer the question while other people find it a daunting task to figure out who they really are. This module
explores the concept of the "self" or the thing called "identity" or the "I." and how is “the self” viewed in the context of
philosophy, psychology, anthropology, and sociology.

Knowing oneself is critical to being an effective team member as well as being successful in life, work, and relationships. Your
personal identity influences everything you do, and it changes and evolves over time.

The module will help us deepen our understanding and appreciation for who we are as a person, giving us the opportunity of
exploring how we see ourselves through the lenses of personal identity, your skills and talents, roles, values, personal core, and
how you meet your psychological needs. You will also be guided on how you respond to the pressures of changes and transitions
in your life.

Likewise, you'll discover how your personal identity has been shaped by a variety of people and experiences, and rethink your
values, interests, hopes for the future, as well as, your strengths and challenges. You will learn about how your psychological needs
are the primary source that motivates and drives your behavior and the critical knowledge about change and how important it is in
today’s workplace to be adaptive and to embrace change as a personal and professional growth experience.

Without us understanding ourselves first, we will always be like a boat without a paddle to navigate the vast waters being left in
the ocean. We are the only ones responsible for the consequences of our actions.

Our course, 'Understanding the Self' provides us with this sense of purpose.
 01
...and our sets of editable icons
OVERVIEW OF THE SELF
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You can change the stroke and fill color; just select the icon and click on the paint bucket/pen.
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Introduction to Understanding the Self
The course deals with the nature of identity, as well as the factors and forces that affect
the development and maintenance of personal identity.

Among the questions that everyone has had to grapple with at one time or another is
“Who am I?” At no other period that this question is asked more urgently than in
adolescence – traditionally believe to be a time of vulnerability and great possibilities.
Issues of self and identity are among the most critical for the young.

This course is intended to facilitate the exploration of the issues and concerns
regarding self and identity to arrive at a better understanding of one’s self. It strives to
meet this goal by stressing the integration of the personal with the academic –
contextualizing matters discussed in the classroom and in the everyday experiences of
students – making for better learning, generating a new appreciation for the learning
process, and developing a more critical and reflective attitude while enabling them to
manage and improve their selves to attain a better quality of life.

It seeks to understand the construct of the self from various disciplinal perspectives:
philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and psychology – as well as the more traditional
division between the East and West – each seeking to provide answers to the difficult
but essential question of “What is the self?” And raising, among others, the question: “Is
there even such thing as a construct as the self?”
 Know Thyself
Knowing yourself can be beneficial in so many different ways. When you
understand the way you react in certain moments, the way you talk to
yourself in your head, or a plethora of other traits that what makes you,
it can help you become a much happier person.

When you know who you are, you are more likely to specifically seek and
speak about what you want. You are more decisive with your decisions,
and are able to set boundaries for people or things that might not be
serving your happiness or health.

The conscious, social construction of the self is clearest in how people

portray themselves on social media. This is a context in which people
are required to describe themselves and thus create a self for others
to see.

One they call ‘context driven’ in which individuals only reveal aspects of
themselves relevant to the particular medium they are using.
 The S.E.L.F.
The sum total of your personality is your S.E.L.F. What you are is a product of your Social,
Environmental and other Life Factors. What is personality? It is defined one that is made up of the
characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make a person unique.
Personality came from the Greek word 'persona' which means mask worn by actors in theater. We
are all actors in the theater called life. As an actor, we wear mask. As an actor, we have roles to
play. How many masks do you wear?

Your past makes up a big portion of what makes you what you are now. But it doesn’t define who you
are today. You might have come to certain conclusions because of your parents, or have a
deeper appreciation for something that you didn’t have as a child. Your future can shape what
motivates you in life. What are your goals personally or professionally?

How do you want to be treated, or how do you want to treat others? Knowing yourself can make those
relationships around you deeper and more genuine. It can also show you which relationships can
be toxic and should probably end. The root of all change starts with self-understanding. If you
don’t understand yourself, your efforts will be lost, and spent on things that are actually not under
you control.

Self-understanding is a journey. There will always be new things to discover about yourself—and
new paths to success as a result of that understanding
Who you are is your Self-identity.
The way you look at yourself and your relationship to the world
defines the kind of person you are. In understanding this, it
allows you to examine who you are and more importantly
create who you want to be.

Lets start with a basic definition of some of the key players

that altogether mold us into what we are right now and thus,
eventually examine how to create ourselves…

To gauge the awareness of and ability to understand one's own

actions, ‘self-understanding is the only key to the successful
resolution of any emotional problem.

There are several issues that address the question ‘How do

we become who we are?’ Such issues explained why we are
what we are.
.
 Nature vs. Nature
The nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest philosophical issues within
psychology. So what exactly is it all about? Traditionally, people’s answers
have placed them in one of two camps: nature or nurture.

The one says genes determine an individual while the other claims the
environment is the linchpin for development. 

Nature is often defined as genetic or hormone-based behaviors, traits,

and dispositions, while nurture is most commonly defined as
environment, culture, and experience. It refers to all of the genes and
hereditary factors that influence who we are—from our physical
appearance to our personality characteristics.

Nurture refers to all the environmental variables that impact who we

are, including our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our
social relationships, and our surrounding culture.

While arguments about the predominance of either nature or nurture are

still unresolved, we could settle for an eclectic standpoint of the issue:
We can safely assume that the Self is BOTH a product of Nature and
Nurture.
 Self vs. Identity
While some insist that the self is predominantly a product of natural processes to
which people are inherently predisposed, some argue that the self is largely
influenced and principally constructed by one’s social environment.

Self and Identity are topics that remain popular not only among psychologists
(authors of psychology articles) but also to other social scientist like sociologists,
cultural anthropologists, economists, among others. Noticeably, the term self and
identity in various literatures have been loosely interchanged by many authors. For
many, there is a very thin conceptual and functional distinction between the two
concepts and many people perceive them as synonymous

Identity: Based on lexical definition, refers to “the qualities, beliefs, etc., that make
a particular person or group different from others… or the distinguishing character
or personality of an individual”
Self: Based on lexical definition, “the person that someone normally or truly
is… or the entire person of an individual”.
 02
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THE SELF FROM THE
PHILOSOPHICAL
PERSPECTIVE

Different philosophers have come up with more specific characteristics of the Self, and over time, these meanings have
transformed from pure abstractions to explanations that hold scientific evidences.
What is Philosophy?
Some may argue that philosophy is the essence of education and without knowing your
philosophy how can you learn, how can you teach, how can you live?
In this module, philosophy be discussed as an overview to aid in understanding the
importance of philosophy as a teacher, educator, parent, or student.

The word philosophy is derived from two Greek words. The first word, Philo, means “love.”
The second, sophy, means “wisdom.” Literally, then, philosophy means “love of wisdom”.
Each individual has an attitude toward life, children, politics, learning, and previous personal
experiences that informs and shapes their set of beliefs. Although you may not be conscious
of it, this set of beliefs, or personal philosophy, informs how you live, work, and interact with
others. What you believe is directly reflected in both your teaching and learning processes.

This module explores the various philosophical views that influence the teaching
profession. It also investigates the legitimacy of concepts by rational arguments concerning
their implications, relationships as well as moral judgment. The philosophical framework for
Understanding the Self was first introduced by the ancient great Greek philosophers
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Likewise, the different views of other prominent philosophers
regarding the nature of the self were discussed in this module. Noticeably, they were one in
saying that self-knowledge is actually the prerequisite to a happy and meaningful life.
The Nature of Philosophy   
Philosophy is a way of thinking about anything in the world, the universe. It works by
asking very basic questions about the nature of human thought, the nature of the universe,
and the connections between them. One philosophical question that we will be focusing
on is this: "What is the self?".

Philosophy is a training guide for your mind, showing how you think in clear, analytic,
and powerful ways. Studying philosophy in a serious and reflective way will change you
as a person. Learning to think philosophically will inspire you to be more thoughtful,
more open-minded, more attuned to the complexities and subtleties of life, more willing
to think critically about yourself and all of life’s important issues, and less willing to
accept superficial interpretations and simplistic answers. 

This is the special power of philosophy: to provide the conceptual tools required to craft a
life inspiring in its challenges and rich in its fulfillment. Philosophy is not intended to
limit your options or dictate your choices. Your responsibility as a student is to explore, to
reflect, to think critically- and then to create yourself in the image you have
envisioned.This part of the module is about the ideas discussed by philosophers (who
think and write about ways of thinking) about the Self
 Philosophy of the Self
Philosophy of the self has been defined through two distinct philosophical lens:
• Empiricism - derives explanations of the self from sensory and bodily
responses. We know things because we have experienced it through our
bodily senses.

• Rationalism - there is innate knowledge; they differ in that they choose

different objects of innate knowledge. Rationalism explains self from the
standpoint of what is “ideal” and the “truth”, not rooted in what is felt by
the senses nor our body.

What are the different philosophical views of the Self?

There is abundance in literature that highlights the similarities and contrasting

standpoints of the self. Socrates and Plato have explained the Self from a theoretical and
logical orientation; Aristotle was an empiricist, deriving views of the self from physical
and scientific underpinnings. St. Augustine adopted the views of Plato and infused it to
his religious philosophy. John Locke, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant were empiricist
philosophers; Rene Descartes was a dominant philosopher in the Middle Ages and so
with the g contemporary philosophers, majority are empiricists: Gilbert Ryle, Patricia
Churchland, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty have incorporated biological and neuroscience
in their philosophies.
Ancient Philosophers: Socrates
Socrates- is the most famous philosopher of Ancient Greece and is
considered as the original founder of Western Philosophy.

The ancient philosophy of self can be traced back from the

ancient Greek aphorism (one of 147 aphorisms prominently
inscribed in the temple of Apollo at Delphi), “know thyself” (Greek:
γνῶθι σεαυτόν, transliterated: gnōthi seauton).

The aphorism (or principle) was used by Socrates as his guiding

principle that he passed on to his students. Since Socrates as a
guru preferred to engage his students in endless discussion, it is
said that he had never written down any of his ideas but instead
untiringly discussed concepts and principles with his students.
Socrates believed that the real self is not the physical body, but
rather the psyche (or soul). He further posited that the appearance
of the body is inferior to its functions.
 Ancient Philosophers : Plato
It was Plato, Socrates’ prized student who thoroughly expound on
Socrates ideas of self. Plato’s conceptualization of the Self was
profoundly introduced in his dialogue Phaedrus, which has been a
popular text for many decades in the subject of Philosophy

The main idea in this dialogue is about truth-seeking, and that the truth
can be can be distinguished in two forms: the metaphysical realm
(mind) and the physical world (body). Plato suggested that the
existence or the truth about the human self is fundamentally an
intellectual entity whose nature exists independent from the physical
world.

Plato bifurcated the truth or reality into two: the “ontos” (ideal), the
ultimate reality which tend to be permanent and spiritual, and the
“phenomena” which refers to the manifestation of the ideal. In contrast
with ontos, phenomena is imperfect, impermanent and inferior to the
latter.
Ancient Philosophers: Aristotle
• Plato’s idea of truth about the human self was even
more expounded and formalized by his prized student,
Aristotle.

• While Plato emphasized the separation of ideal and

phenomenal existence (or being), Aristotle suggested that
the ideal is subsumed in the phenomena.

• Aristotle called ideal as “essence” and the phenomena

as “matter”.

• He also emphasized that the two co-exist and are co-

dependent, the essence provides meaning and purpose
to the matter, and the matter provides substance and
solidity to essence.
The Middle Ages: St. Augustine
“Accepting God is the path to know thyself.”  

Augustine believes that man is created in the image and

likeness of God, and he is essentially a soul whose goal is to
be with God. 

Augustine's sense of self is his relation to God, both in his

recognition of God's love, and his response to it. It is achieved
through self-presentation then self-realization.

Augustine believed one could not achieve inner peace without

finding God's love and through faith and reason, our self seeks
to be united with God.

Augustine believes that God is transcendent, and everything

created by God, who is all good, is good.
 
Rennaisance: Rene Descartes
“Cogito ergo sum (I think; therefore I am.)”.

René Descartes is the "founder of modern philosophy." Descartes'

principle, cogito ergo sum (Latin), is the keystone of his concept of self.
For Descartes, this is the essence of self— you are a "thinking thing" (I
exist because I think: I think, therefore I exist). The mind is what
matters. But what about your body?

Descartes believes that our physical body is secondary to our personal

identity. Descartes declares that the essential self, or the self as a
thinking entity, is radically different from the self as a physical body.
The thinking self—or soul—is a non-material, immortal, conscious being,
independent of the physical laws of the universe. The physical body is a
mortal, non-thinking material that is fully governed by the physical laws
of nature.

Further, your soul and your body are independent of one another. Each
one can exist and function without the other. This, in a way, echoes the
dualism of Plato.
Renaissance: Sigmund Freud
'There Are Two Selves, One Conscious, One  Unconscious’
Sigmund Freud is not a philosopher, but his views on the nature of the self
have had a far-reaching impact on philosophical thinking. He is a great
influence in the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis, the theory he
founded. Freud believes that there are two levels of human functioning: the
conscious and the unconscious. In his psychoanalytic theory, the conscious
refers to all mental processes of which we are aware; the unconscious
refers to mental processes that are not easily accessible to our awareness.
Freud believes that even if the conscious self plays an important role in our
lives, it is the unconscious "self that has the dominant influence on our
personalities.

The unconscious contains basic instinctual drives that include

aggressiveness, sexuality, and self-destruction; traumatic memories;
childhood fantasies and unfulfilled wishes; thoughts and feelings that would
be considered socially taboo. This unconscious level is characterized by the
most primitive level of human motivation and functioning. Our most basic
instinctual drives in the unconscious level seek immediate gratification or
discharge. The impulses at this level are governed solely by the “pleasure
principle.”
Rennaisance: John Locke
"The Self Is Consciousness"

John Locke is known for his theory that the mind is a tabula
rasa, a blank slate. Locke believed that we are born without
thoughts, or our mind was empty and that knowledge is instead
determined only by experience.

According to Locke, our memory plays a key role in our definition

of the self. He theorized that we are the same person as we were
in the past for as long as we can remember memories from that
past. It is our memory or our consciousness of our past that
makes us that same person as we were in the past.

Thus, to Locke, our conscious awareness and memory of

previous experiences are the keys to understanding the self. It is
our consciousness that makes possible our belief that we are the
same identity at different times and different places
Rennaisance: David Hume
"There Is No “Self”

David Hume believed that the source of all genuine knowledge is our direct sense
experience. He believes in the existence of the mind, and what’s inside the mind is
divided into two: impressions and ideas.

Impressions are those things we perceive through our senses as we experience them.
Like when I see the sky, and my sense of sight tells me I am looking at a blue sky. That
is now my impression.
Ideas, on the other hand, are those things that we create in our minds even though
we are no longer experiencing them. For example, even when I’m already inside my
room and can no longer see the sky, I can still think of the idea of the sky, like it’s a nice
day, it’s not likely to rain, maybe I can do the laundry, or maybe I can go out to the park.
Whenever we think of simple ideas, it must have as a basis a simple impression.

For Hume, the self keeps on changing, like how one looks, one feels, one thinks they
constantly change. There is no permanent and unchanging self. A person is a bundle of
perceptions. Thus, we cannot observe any permanent self because we continuously
undergo change. In conclusion, there is no self.
Rennaisance: Immanuel Kant
"We Construct the Self‘

Immanuel Kant refutes Hume’s theory that there is no “self” and

argues that it is possible to find the essence of the self. For Kant,
man is a free agent, capable of making a decision for himself.

Man is a free agent, for he is gifted with reason and free will to
enable him to organize the data gathered by the senses. From
these data and the way we organize them, we can build an idea of
who we are.  According to him, reason is the final authority of
morality.

Every human being has his the inner self and outer self. The inner
self includes rational reasoning and psychological state wile the
outer self includes the body and physical mind, where
representation occurs.
 
Modern Times: Gilbert Ryle
"The Self Is How You Behave".
Gilbert Ryle simply focused on observable behavior in defining the self. No
more inner selves, immortal soul, states of consciousness, or unconscious
self: instead, the self is defined in terms of the behavior that is presented to
the world.

From Ryle's point of view, the self is best understood as a pattern of

behavior, a person’s tendency or disposition to behave in a certain way in
certain circumstances. In short, the self is defined by the observable
behaviors we project to the world around us.

He contends that every human being has both a physical body and a non-
physical mind which are ordinarily “harnessed together” while we are alive.
However, after the death of the body, our minds may continue to exist and
function. This “dualistic” conception of the mind and body is analogous to the
dualism of Socrates and Plato who viewed the self as being comprised of a
mortal body and an immortal soul,

According to him,  “The self is the way people behave”. The self is
basically our behavior. This concept provided the philosophical principle, “I
act therefore I am”.  In short, the concept means the self is the brain
Modern Times: Paul Churchland
"The Self Is the Brain".
When it comes to learning of human experience, the concept of dualism is that
the mind and the body are separate. In other words, we do have a single brain
and have a separate mind, too. Paul Churchland disagrees with the concept of
dualism.

Churchland asserts that since the mind cannot be experienced by the senses, it
does not exist. It is the physical brain, not the imaginary mind, that gives us our
sense of self. To him, the self is the brain. He focused on the brain states rather
than the mental states. Neuroscience is into the fore of understanding the self. 

When people want to ask what is going on with themselves, they might go for an
MRI scan or CT scan to understand the condition of the brain and how it works.
Churchland believes that the term “mind,” our moods, emotions, actions,
consciousness are deeply affected by the state of our brain that altered our
actions, and physical state when they are manipulated, 
 Modern Times: Maurice Merleau-Ponty
“The Self is An Embodied Subjectivity”
Maurice Merleau-Ponty takes a very different approach to the self. His ideas
suggest that there is unity in our mental, physical, and emotional disposition,
and they all affect how we experience our selves.

For instance, when you wake up in the morning and experience your
gradually becoming aware of where you are or how you feel, what are your
first thoughts of the day? Perhaps something like, “Oh no, it’s time to get up,
but I’m still sleepy, but I have a class that I can’t be late for.” Note that at no
point do you doubt that the “I” you refer to is a single integrated entity, but a
blending of mental, physical, and emotional structure around a core identity:
your self.

Our self is a product of our conscious human experience. The definition of

self is all about one’s perception of one’s experience and the interpretation of
those experiences.

To Merleau-Ponty, the self is an embodied subjectivity. He entirely rejected

the idea of mind and body dichotomy because, for him, man is all about how
and what he sees.
Who you are is your Self-identity.
02
The way you look at yourself and your relationship to the world
defines the kind of person you are. In understanding this, it
allows you to examine who you are and more importantly
create who you want to be.
THE SELF FROM THE
Lets start with a basic definition of some of the key players
SOCIOLOGICAL
that altogether mold us into what we are right now and thus,
eventually examine how to create ourselves…

PERSPECTIVE
To gauge the awareness of and ability to understand one's own
actions, ‘self-understanding is the only key to the successful
resolution of any emotional problem.

Humans have the ability to reconstruct self-understanding, an

ability expressed in their self-narratives. It is a neatly
convenient justification - that even if participants are unhappy
in the short term, the experience may enhance self-
understanding.’ Please click on the video for more learning.
 What is Sociology?
Sociology is the study of the role of society in shaping behavior. The
sociological perspective of the self looks into self as a social construction,
which means that who you are as a person is developed all through your
lifetime under the influence of people. The self is shaped through interaction
with other people. Through socialization, we develop our personalities and
potentialities with the influence of our culture and society. Socialization takes
place through the interaction with various agents of socialization, like peer
groups and families, plus both formal and informal social institutions, like
schools and clubs.

While we were born with a genetic makeup and biological traits, who we are
as human beings, however, develops through social interaction. Sociology is
the study of the role of society in shaping behavior. It focuses on how
different aspects of society contribute to an individual’s relationship with his
world. It tends to look outward (social institutions, cultural norms,
interactions with others) to understand human behavior. This part of the
module will be focused on the self as perceived by sociologists. We will look
into the role of society in how we were shaped as to who we are today.
William James: The Me-Self /I-Self Theory
It is not difficult for anybody to become captivated by James' conception of
"self as knower and self as known." After all, the distinction of self in terms
of I and me is, in some fashion, common-sensical. On the other level,  it is
also charming and amusing. However, Bandura (in press) has pointed out
that "reflecting on one's own functioning entails shifting the perspective of
the same agent rather than reifying different internal agents or selves
regulating each other." Bandura argues that people think, act, and reflect on
their actions, James suggests that "the total self of me, being as it
were duplex," is composed of "partly object and partly subject." He is
careful to point out that they are discriminated aspects of self rather than
"separate things," but the truth is that they come off rather separate in his
description of them. Who's missing what here?

William James was one of the earliest psychologists to study the self and
conceptualized the self as having 2 aspects – the “I” and the “me”. Both
“me” and “I” are 1st person singular pronouns, which means that they are
used by one person to refer to himself or herself. The difference is: ... While
“me” is the object pronoun, which means that it is used as the object of the
verb.
 He suggests that the self is divided into two categories: the I-Self and the Me-
Self. The I-Self refers to the self that knows who he or she is, which is also
called the thinking self. This is Self Image on how we interpret the things
around us. The I-Self reflects the soul of a person or the mind, which is also
called the pure ego.

The Me-Self, on the other hand, is the empirical self, which refers to the
person's personal experiences and is further divided into subcategories: the
material self (clothes, foods, and other things), social self (relationship with
other people), and spiritual self (cannot be seen in our physical self that
needs a depth understanding of our self and relationship with God). The
" material self is attributed to an individual's physical attributes and material
possessions, contributing to their self-image. James believes that the path to
understanding the spiritual self requires introspection (Go-Monilla & Ramirez,
2018).

According to Mead, the “I” is himself or herself doing things without the
opinion of other people. On the other hand, the “Me” is the awareness of how
people might be thinking about you or the expectation of people around you.
For instance, in a workplace, your boss suggests something that you will
definitely disagree with. Your I-self would like to tell your boss just to leave the
place or disappear, but your Me-self would show how your boss and people
around expect you to respond to that situation.
 Looking Glass Theory
One of the pioneer contributors to sociological perspectives was Charles Horton Cooley. He asserted that
people’s self-understanding is constructed, in part, by their perception of how others view them—a process
termed “the looking glass self.”

For Cooley, we gradually figure out who we are as we grow up. You figure out what you look like by looking
in a mirror. However, you figure out who you are through social interactions. The people you interact with
become your “mirrors.” You see what they think of you when you interact with them, and it changes the way
you think of yourself.

The process of discovering and experiencing the looking-glass self occurs in three steps:
First, we imagine how we appear to others. Second, we imagine the judgment of that Corporate Coaching:
Build Your International Career: Perception: How Others See Us Abroad appearance.
Third, we develop our self (identity) through the judgments of others.

In practice, the process might look like this: Someone meets a group of new work colleagues for the first
time. This individual believes she can easily demonstrate professionalism and competence to others. During
this interaction with her new co-workers, the individual pays attention to her colleagues’ body language, word
choices, and reactions to the conversation. If these coworkers provide positive feedback, such as maintaining
eye contact or offering a firm handshake, the individual’s belief in her own professionalism will be upheld.
However, if the colleagues provide negative feedback, such as looking away or leaving the conversation
quickly, the individual might question how professional they truly are
THE SELF EMBEDDED
IN CULTURE
The Self Embedded in Culture
Clifford Geertz (1973) , American Anthropologist, aim of most of his work is to provide an understanding and acknowledgment of “thick
description” that exists within cultures; understanding other peoples understandings of things. Cognitive Anthropology sees that culture is
made of “psychological structures by means of which individuals or groups guide their behavior”

Culture is public because the meaning behind the actions is public Culture is a context, where the behaviors that occur can be described
thickly Geertz supported a semiotic approach that would aim to connect and gain access into other forms of cultures He ultimately wanted
to try and make thick description possible, Geertz argued that in order to interpret culture’s symbols, we need to: 1.  isolate its
elements 2. find the relationships between those elements 3. characterize the whole system in a general way.  

When studying a case using a semiotic concept of culture and an interpretive approach it is necessary to take on a view of “ethnographic
assentation as ‘essentially contestable’”. Developmental Psychologists Catherine Raeff (2010), believed that culture can influence how
you view: relationships, personality traits, achievement, and expressing emotions.

Relationships
Culture influences how you enter into and maintain relationships. For example, relationships may be seen as voluntary or as duty-based.
In western societies, it is essential for a person to choose whom to marry while some eastern societies still practice arranged marriage.
Personality traits
Culture influences whether (and how) you value traits, like humility, self-esteem, politeness, assertiveness, and so on, as well as how you
perceive hardships or how you feel about relying on others.
Achievement
Culture influences how you define and whether you value certain types of individual and group achievements.
Expressing emotions
Culture influences what will affect you emotionally, as well as how you express yourself, such as showing your feelings in public or
keeping it private.
Expressing Emotions
Culture influences
. what will affect you emotionally, as well as how you express yourself, such as showing
your feelings in public or keeping it private. Anthropologists believe that culture is the full range of learned
behavior patterns. Culture, as defined by Sir Edward B. Taylor, founder of cultural anthropology, is a
complex whole that includes knowledge, beliefs, morals, law, customs, arts, and any other capabilities and
habits acquired by a human as a member of society.

Culture is everything that makes up the way a group of people lives. It includes their beliefs, values, and
traditions. The experiences we go through in life are facilitated by the culture we live in because culture
provides the environment which allows all these experiences to take place. There are two components of
culture that are essential in understanding how the self is being influenced by it.

Material culture consists of human technology - all the things that people make and use. These are the
physical manifestations of culture. The goods and products we buy and the products we use are also included
here.

Non-material culture includes intangible human creations like beliefs, values, norms, morals, rules,
language, and organizations. This also helps shape our perspective of the society, of ourselves, and even of
the material world.

Culture helps us define how we see ourselves and how we relate to others. Remember that we differ in many
ways: language diversity, cultural diversity, gender diversity, religious diversity, and economic diversity. All
these aspects of diversity work together to form our sense of self. .
Elements of Culture
What are the components of Culture?
Culture is made up of many elements which are interrelated and unified in order for all its aspects to
function effectively:
• Knowledge - The total range of what has been learned or perceived as true. This body of information is
accumulated through experience, study or investigation.  Culture includes natural, supernatural,
technical (technological) and magical knowledge.
• Social Norms - Norms are rules or group expectations of how one should behave or act in certain
situations. They define what behavior is required, acceptable, or appropriate in particular situations.
Any departure from the norm is followed by some kinds of punishment or sanction.
• Folkways -  Folkways are commonly known as the customs, traditions and conventions of society. They
are the general rules, customary and habitual ways, and patterns of expected behavior within the society
where they are followed, without much thought given to the matter. Folkways include innumerable
group expectations like rules of eating, drinking, dressing, sleeping, dancing, and working, forms of
greetings, rituals, and polite behavior in institutional settings.
• Mores - Mores are special folkways which are important to the welfare of the people and their values.
 They are social norms associated with strong moral sanctions, they are the “must” and “should” of a
society.  Observance of mores is compulsory. They embody the codes of ethics and standards of
morality in a society.  Most of the mores have been enacted into laws.
•  Laws - Laws are formalized norms, enacted by people who are vested with government power and
enforced by political and legal authorities designated by the government.  Laws are enforced by formal
sanctions like fines, imprisonment, or death.