THE SELF SOCIETY

AND CULTURE

GROUP 4
LESSON OBJECTIVES: At the end of this lesson, you should
be able to:

1. Explain the relationship between and among

the self, society, and culture;

2. Describe and discuss the different ways by

which society and culture shape the self;
3. Compare and contrast how the self can be
influenced by the different institutions in the
society; and
 
4. Examine one's self against the different
views of self that were discussed in the class.
 WHAT IS THE SELF?

 The self, in contemporary literature and even common sense, is commonly defined by
the following characteristics:
 Separate means that the self is distinct from other selves.
 The self is always unique and has its own identity.

 Self-contained and independent because in itself it can exist. Its distinctness allows it to be
self-contained with its own thoughts, characteristics, and volition.

 Consistency means that a particular self traits, characteristics, tendencies, and potentialities
are more or less the same.
 Unitary in that it is the center of all experiences and thoughts that run through a certain
person

 Private means that each person sorts out information, feelings and emotions, and thought
processes within the self. This whole process is never accessible to anyone but the self.
 THE SELF AND CULTURE

 According to Marcel Mauss, every self has two faces:

 
 Moi refers to a person's sense of who he is, his body, and his basic identity, his biological
given ness.

 Personne - is composed of the social concepts of what it means to be who he is.

 
 Language is another interesting aspect of this social constructivism; it is a salient part of
culture and ultimately, has a tremendous effect in our crafting of the self.
 
 If a self is born into a particular society or culture, the self will have to adjust according to
its exposure.
 
 THE SELF AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIAL
WORLD:
 More than his givenness (personality, tendencies, and propensities, among others),
one is believed to be in active participation in the shaping of the self.
 
 Men and women in their growth and development engage actively in the shaping of
the self. o The unending terrain of metamorphosis of the self is mediated by language.
 
o Mead and Vygotsky
 
 For Mead and Vygotsky, the way that human persons develop is with the use of
language acquisition and m interaction with others.
 
 Both Vygotsky and Mead treat the human mind as something that is made, constituted
through language as experienced in the external world and as encountered in dialogs
with others.
 
 SELF IN FAMILIES
 The kind of family that we are born in, the resources available to us (human,
spiritual, economic), and the kind of development that we will have will certainly
affect us.
 
 Human beings are born virtually helpless and the dependency period of a human
baby to its parents for nurturing is relatively longer than most other animals.

 In trying to achieve the goal of becoming a fully realized human, a child enters a
system of relationships, most important of which is the family.

   Human persons learn the ways of living and therefore their selfhood by being
in a family. It is what a family initiates a person to become that serves as the
basis for this person's progress.
 GENDER AND THE SELF

 - Gender is one of those loci of the self that is subject to alteration, change,
and development.
 
 - The sense of self that is being taught makes sure that an individual fits in a
particular environment, is dangerous and detrimental in the goal of truly
finding one's self, self determination, and growth of the self.
 
 - It is important to give one the leeway to find, express, and live his identity.
 
 - Gender has to be personally discovered and asserted and not dictated by
culture and the society.
 
 Any
Question?
Thank You!