THE SELF, SOCIETY,

AND CULTURE
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF (BTVTED-D1)
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. It’s distinctness allows it to be self-
contained with its own thoughts, characteristics, and volition.
◦ Consistency means that a particular selfs 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 giveness.
◦ 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 the self is born into a particular society or culture, the self will have to adjust
according to it’s exposure.
THE SELF AND THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE SOCIAL WORLD
◦ More than his giveness (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.
◦ The unending terrain of metamorphosis of the self is mediated by
language.
MEAD AND VYGOTSKY
◦ For Mead and vygotsky, the way that human person’s develop is with
the use of language acquisition and interaction with other’s.
◦ 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 dialogues 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 it’s 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 person’s learn the ways of living and therefore their selfhood by being in a
family. It is what a family initiate a person to become that serve 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 alternation, change, and
development.
◦ The sense of self that is being taught make 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 personally discovered and asserted and not dictated by culture and the
society.
GROUP 2 MEMBERS:
NEBIAR, CRISTINE JOY LOVINO
SALMORIN, BEA ROMA BUENAFLOR
MARZAN, CAROLLYN MALAZO