UNDERSTANDING THE

SELF
LESSON 1 THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE
SELF
PHILOSOPHY IS ABOUT:
Finding answers to serious questions about ourselves and about the
world we live in:
• What is morally right and wrong? And why?
• What is good life?
• Does God exist?
• What is the mind?
Questioning existing knowledge and intuitions to get closer to truth
Socrates – “KNOW THY SELF”
Philosophers agree that self-
knowledge is a prerequisite to a happy
and meaningful life.
Socrates:

AN UNEXAMINED
LIFE IS NOT
WORTH LIVING
Socrates:
• Every man is dualistic
• Composed of body and soul
• Two important aspect of his personhood
Body
• Imperfect and impermanent
Soul
• Perfect and permanent
Socrates’ two dichotomous realms
• Physical realm
Changeable, transient and imperfect
The body belongs to this realm

• Ideal realm
Unchanging, eternal, and immortal
The soul belong to this realm
Socrates:
• Was the first thinker to focuses on
the full power of reason on the
human itself: who we are, who we
should be, and who we will become.
• The soul strives for wisdom and
perfection, and reason is the soul’s
tool to achieve an exalted state of
life.
Socrates:

• Our preoccupation with bodily

needs such as food, drink, sex,
pleasure, material
possessions, and wealth keep
us from attaining wisdom
Socrates:
• A person can have a happy life only if he
becomes virtuous and knows the value of
himself that can be achieved through
constant soul-searching.
• For him, this the best achieved when one
tries to separate the body from the soul as
much as possible
PLATO :
• A student of Socrates
• Philosophy of the self can be explained as
process of self-knowledge and purification of the
soul
• He believed that in the existence of the mind
and soul
• Mind and soul is given in perfection with God
PLATO: SOUL HAS THREE PARTS
1. Rational Soul
Reason and intellect
Divine essence that enables us to
think deeply, make wise choices, and
achieve a true understanding of
eternal truths
PLATO: SOUL HAS THREE PARTS
2. Spirited Soul
Emotion and passion
Basic emotions such as love,
anger, ambition, empathy, and
agressiveness
PLATO: SOUL HAS THREE PARTS
3. Appetitive soul
Basic needs
Includes our basic biological
need such as hunger, hunger,
and sexual desire.
PLATO:
• These three elements of ourselves in a
dynamic relationship with one another,
sometimes in conflict.
• When conflict occurs, Plato believes that it is
the responsibility of our reason to sort things
out and exert control, restoring a
harmonious relationship among the three
elements of ourselves.
Aristotle:
THE SOUL IS THE
ESSENCE OF THE
SELF
Aristotle:
• A student of Plato
• The body and soul are not two separate
elements but are one thing.
• The soul is simply the form of the body,
and not capable of existing without the
body
Aristotle:
• The soul is that which makes a person a
person. The soul is the essence of the self
• Aristotle suggest that the rational nature of
the self is to lead a good, flourishing, and
fulfilling life.
• Without the body the soul cannot exist. The
soul dies along with the body.
Aristotle:
• Aristotle suggest that anything with life has
soul.
• His discussion about the self centers on the
kind of soul possessed by a man.
• He introduced the three kinds of soul.
Aristotle: KINDS OF SOUL
1. Vegetative
• Includes the physical body that can grow.
2. Sentient
• Includes the sensual drives, feelings, and
emotions
3. Rational
• Is what makes a man human. It includes
the intellect that makes man know and
understand
ST. AUGUSTINE:

I AM DOUBTING
THEREFORE I
AM
ST. AUGUSTINE:
• Integrated the ideas of Plato and
Christianity
• Augustine’s view of the human person
reflects the entire spirit of the medieval
world
• The soul is united with the body so that
man may be entire and complete.
• Believed humankind is created in the image
and likeness of God
ST. AUGUSTINE:
• Therefore, the human person being a
creation of God is always geared
towards the good
• The self is know only through knowing
God
• Self-knowledge is a consequence of
knowledge of God
 “Knowledge can only
come by seeing the truth
that dwells within us”
-St. Augustine
RENE DESCARTES:

The act of thinking about self

of being self-conscious is in
itself proof that there is self
Descartes’ two distinct entities
1. Cogito
• The thing that thinks
• Mind

2. Extenza
• The extension
• body
 Cogito ergo sum
“I think therefore, I am”
-Rene Descartes
JOHN LOCKE:
THE SELF IS
CONSCIOUSNESS
JOHN LOCKE:
• The human mind at birth is
tabula rasa or blank state
• He felt that the self is
constructed primarily from
sense experiences
THE SELF IS CONSCIOUSNESS
• CONSCIOUSNES
Necessary to have a coherent personal
identity or knowledge of the self as a
person.
What makes possible our belief that we
are the same identity in different
situations
DAVID HUME:

THERE IS NO SELF
DAVID HUME:
• Self is simply a bundle or collection of
different perceptions, which succeed each
other with an inconceivable rapidly and
are in perpetual flux and movement
• The idea of personal identity is a result of
imagination
• There is no self
IMMANUEL KANT:
WE CONSTRUCT
THE SELF
IMMANUEL KANT:
• Self is not just what gives one his
personality but also the seat of
knowledge acquisition for all human
persons
• The self construct its own reality creating
a world that is familiar and predictable
• Through our rationality, the self
transcends sense experience
GILBERT RYLE:
THE SELF IS THE WAY
PEOPLE BEHAVE
GILBERT RYLE:
• Self is not an entity one can locate and
analyze but simply the convenient name
that people use to refer to all the behavior
that people make
• “I act therefore I am”, in short the self is
the same as bodily behavior
• The self is the way people behave
PAUL CHURCHLAND:
The self is the
brain
PAUL CHURCHLAND:
• The self is inseparable from the brain and
the physiology of the body
• All we have is the brain and so, if the brain is
gone, there is no self
• The physical brain and not the imaginary
mind, gives us our sense of self
• The mind does not really exist
• It is the brain and not the imaginary mind
that gives us our sense of self
• The self is the brain
 -

MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY:

The self is embodied

subjectivity
MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY:
• The mind-body bifurcation that has been going on for a long time is a
futile endeavor and an invalid problem
• All knowledge of our selves and our world is based on subjective
experience
• The self can never be truly objectified or known in a completely
objective sort of way
• The self is embodied subjectivity
A group of scientists placed 5 monkeys in a cage and in the middle, a
ladder with bananas on the top.
Every time a monkey went up the ladder, the scientists
soaked the rest of the monkeys with cold water
After a while, every time a monkey went up the
ladder, the others attack the one on the ladder.
A while later, no monkey dare to go up the
ladder regardless of the temptation.
Scientists then decided to substitute one of the
monkeys. The 1st thing this new monkey did was to
go up the ladder. Immediately the other monkeys
attack him.
After several attacks, the new member learned not
to climb the ladder even though he never knew why.
A 2nd monkey was substituted and the same occurred. The 1st monkey
participated on the beating for the 2nd monkey. A 3rd monkey was changed
and the same was repeated (beating). The 4th was substituted and the
beating was repeated and finally the 5th monkey was replaced. What was left
was a group of 5 monkeys that even though never received a cold shower,
continued to beat up any monkey who attempted to climb the ladder.
If it was possible to ask the monkeys why they would beat up all
those who attempted to go up the ladder … I bet you the answer
would be … “I don’t know — that’s how things are done around
here”
An experiment conducted by G.R Stephenson
in 1997
“Cultural Acquisition of a specific
learned response among rhesus
monkey”
LESSON 2
THE SOCIOLOGY AND
ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE SELF
What is IDENTITY?
• Your perceptions, attitudes,
values, and beliefs and those
around you all play an
important role
SELF-IDENTITY VS SOCIAL IDENTITY
SELF IDENTY
• Your self identity shapes your
perceptions, or the way you see
the world. Your attitude about life,
the way you think or feel about
something, depends on how you
identify yourself.
SOCIAL IDENTITY

• the way others see you, is also influenced by

others’ perceptions, attitudes, values, and
beliefs.
Social identity and self-
identity are not always on
the same page, which can
actually cause conflict in a
person's life.
SENSE OF SELF
AND SELF-
SOCIALIZATION
sense of self
• a collection of beliefs that we hold about
ourselves. We put together these beliefs based
upon our social interactions with others
(Sedikides & Spencer, 2007).
 self-socialization
a developmental process that allows
us to reflect upon and argue with
ourselves for us to develop an
accurate self -image. It is important to
note that this process begins in early
childhood and has many influencing
factors such as the family, peers,
teachers and the media.
George Herbert
Mead - Social Self
Theory
• believed that the sense of self is
developed through social interactions,
such as observing and interacting with
others (Ritzer, 2008). According to
Mead, the self is not yet present at
birth. Rather, it is developed over
time from social experiences and
activities. Simply put, When a baby is
first born, he does not seem to have a
sense of who he is, but that changes
as he grows.
•He also identified three
activities that develop the
self: language, play, and
games (Mead & Morris,
1967).
Charles Cooley –
Looking-Glass Self
He explained how people develop a
sense of self. Having three elements:
• First element is how we imagine we
appear to others.
• The second element is the judgment we
imagine that other people may be
making about us, and the
• Third element is our self-image based
upon the evaluations of others.
Three stages of behavioral and personality
development of the Looking-Glass Self.
• Imagining occurs when an individual
judges the way he or she acts and appears
from the points of view of family and
friends. Perhaps your mom sees you as
someone who is shy and quiet, your
friends see you as cheeky and confident,
while your teachers see you as friendly.
Primarily, these views make-up a self-
concept. In fact, this can be understood
as, ‘this is how I must appear to others’
stage.
• The second stage is a learned ability
called interpreting, which occurs
when a person elicits conclusions
coming not only from past
experiences but from what others
think as well, and then reacts to the
judgement of other people’s views.
• As the individual combines everything
from his or her past experiences,
including others’ perspectives, he or
she approaches the final stage, which
is developing self-concept. This is
where a sense of self-image is formed
and seen as the ‘this is who I am’ stage.
LESSON 3
THE PSYCHOLOGY
OF THE SELF
Psychology
•the scientific study of the
human mind and its
functions, especially those
affecting behavior in a
given context (English
Oxford Living Dictionaries).
•In psychology, the sense of
self is defined as “the way a
person thinks about and views
his or her traits, beliefs, and
purpose within the world”
(Dash & Tripathy, 2012)
William James
• “Father of American
Psychology” was one of the
first to propose a theory of
the ‘self’ in the Principles of
Psychology (James, 1983).
• According to James, the self has two
aspects: the “I Self” and the “Me
Self.” The ‘I Self’ is a reflection of
what people see in one’s actions in
the physical world (e.g., recognizing
that one is reading, running or
drinking). The ‘Me Self,’ on the
other hand, represents an
individual’s reflections about
himself or herself (e.g. branding
oneself as risk-taker, intelligent,
kind)
Carl Rogers
• a Humanist Psychologist who
contributed a great deal about
the development of the self. He
believed that there are three
contributing components to the
development of the sense of self:
self-image, self-esteem and the
ideal self (Rogers, 1959).
 development of the sense of self
• self-image which includes personality
traits and physical descriptions

• ideal self is the person that you aspire

to be

• real self this is who you actually are and

not who you strive to be.
Sigmund Freud
• founder of Psychoanalysis
• He postulated that there are
three layers of self within us all:
the id, the ego and the superego
(Stevens, 1996).
three layers of self
• id known as the seat of all our
desires and wants.

• ego is the part of us that functions

in reality

• superego seeks to attain the ideal

of a perfect ego.
 unified self vs multiple self
• unified self
we think of ourselves as one
person, whose thoughts, hopes,
expectations and feelings are just a
part of who we are (Baumeister, et.
Al., 2011).
• multiple self
a complex of multiple definitions
and parts
our sense of identity has developed
out of our past experiences.
LESSON 4

THE WESTERN AND

EASTERN THOUGHTS
ABOUT THE SELF
 Western Thought
• The ‘self’ has been defined by in a
variety of ways by European and
American theorists that have
impacted the whole Western culture.
As mentioned in the previous lessons,
the ‘self’ based on the western
thought is focused on individualism.
Western Thought Eastern Thought
 Confucianism
• It can be seen as a code of ethical conduct, of
how one should properly act according to their
relationship with other people; thus it is also
focused on having a harmonious social life. Thus,
identity and self-concept of the individual are
interwoven with the identity and status of his/her
community or culture, sharing its pride as well as
its failures.
Taoism
• Taoism was founded by Lao Tzu.
Taoism is living to the way of the Tao
(Universe). However, they reject the
hierarchy and strictness of
Confucianism. Taoism prefers to live
a simple life. Self is not an extension
of family or community. Self is part
of the universe, one of the forms and
manifestations of the Tao.
• The ideal self is selflessness but this is
not forgetting about the self, it is living
a balanced-about prejudices and
egocentric ideas and thinking about
equality as well as complementarily
among humans as well as other
beings
Buddhism
• The self is seen as an illusion, born
out of ignorance, of trying to hold
and control things, or human
centered needs; thus, the self is also
the source of all these suffering. Life
is full of suffering and it is made up of
a cycle of birth, decay, illness, death.
• It is therefore our quest to forget
about the self, forget the craving of
the self, break the attachments you
have with the world, and to renounce
the self w/c is the cause of suffering
and in doing so, attain the state of
nirvana. Nirvana (liberation)- blowing
out the flames of desire.
UNIT 3: SPIRITUAL SELF:
BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
• Spiritual self is one of the four (4)
constituents of the “self” according to
William James in his book, The Principles of
Psychology in 1890. The spiritual self is the
most intimate, inner subjective part of self –
the most intimate version of the self because
of the satisfaction experienced when
thinking of one‟s ability to argue and
discriminate, of one‟s moral sensibility and
conscience, and our unconquerable will is
purer than all other sentiments of
satisfaction.
 Religion
• Rebecca Stein (Stein 2011) works
on the definition of religion "as a
set of beliefs and practices that
usually includes some or all of
basic characteristics.
These characteristics are:
• 1) A belief in anthropomorphic supernatural
being, such as spirit and gods
• 2) A focus on the sacred supernatural, where
sacred refers to a feeling of reverence and
awe
• 3) The presence of supernatural power or
energy that is found on supernatural beings
as well as physical beings and objects
4) The performance of ritual activities that involves
the manipulation of sacred object to communicate
to supernatural beings and/or to influence or
control events

5) The articulation of worldview and moral codes

through narratives and other means

6) Provide the creation and maintenance of social

bonds and mechanism of social control within a
community; provide explanation for unknown and
a sense of control for individuals.
• An individual lives in a society
where there are many practices
of religion. The choice of religious
belief lies within the spiritual self
although the choice may be
influenced by the society and its
culture.
Ritual
 There are three fundamental characteristics of rituals according to
Penner (Britannica 2017).

There are three fundamental characteristics of rituals

according to Penner (Britannica 2017). Ritual has the
characteristics of:
1) A feeling or emotion of respect, awe, fascination,
or dread in relation to the sacred

2) Dependence upon a belief system that is usually

expressed in the language of myth

3) Is symbolic in relation to its reference

• The self can be described as a ritual
being who exhibits a striking parallel
between their ritual and verbal
behavior. Just as language is a system of
symbols that is based upon arbitrary
rules, ritual may be viewed as a system
of symbolic acts that is based upon
arbitrary rules. Participation to rituals is
expressions of religious beliefs
Some World Religious Beliefs and Practices
Hinduism
• Considered as the oldest and the third
largest religion in the world, Hinduism is
based on the belief on the belief that the
soul, upon death of the body, comes back
to earth in another body or form. This is
known as reincarnation (also called
samsara or rebirth). The belief in
reincarnation leads to the next Hindu
belief called Karma, which means that a
person’s actions in life will determine their
fate in the next life
Custom and practices

• Diwali and Navratri are the most

celebrated festivals of the Hindus.
Diwali is the festival of lights while
Navratri is the festival of nine nights,
which celebrate the triumph of good
over evil. Hindus have set dates to
honor particular manifestations of God.
Marked with firework displays and family feasts, Diwali, is a
five-day festival celebrated by millions of people across the
world every Autumn.
Navratri is a time when Hindus celebrate the
goddess Durga for killing the demon, Mahishasura.
greeting each other by putting together the palms of
both hands while saying “Namaste” or “Namaskar;”
Buddhism
• Buddhists do not believe in the
existence of gods. They also do not
worship Buddha (Siddhartha
Gautama). Instead, they view Buddha
as someone who has attained
Buddhism’s ultimate goal and that is,
spiritual enlightenment (or Nirvana)
which entails freedom from the never-
ending cycle of life and death.
 Customs and Practices

•Samatha is practiced as
mindfulness of
breathing and
development of loving
kindness (Metta
Bhavana).
• Vipassana practices aim
developing insight into reality.
Acquiring wisdom is by
studying Buddha's teaching,
the Dharma. Through the
reflection of Dharma,
Buddhist can achieve a deeper
understanding of life.
Buddhists believe in
nonviolence principle.
Christianity

Founded on the life, teachings, and

death of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
Christianity has become the largest of
the world’s religions, whose largest
groups are the Roman Catholic Church,
the Eastern Orthodox churches, and the
Protestant churches. Christians believe
in one God that exists as three beings:
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
 Customs and Practices
• Sacrament of Baptism and Sacrament of
Communion are practiced by Christian
churches. The sacrament of Baptism
symbolizes the birth in Christian world,
while the sacrament of communion is an act
of remembrance of Jesus Christ 's sacrificial
love. Jesus Christ teaching in unconditional
love that is expressed in loving the poor,
oppressed, and outcast of the society
 Islam
• Similar to Christianity, Islam is a
monotheistic religion that believes in
only one God, known as Allah. On
the other hand, Muhammad, the last
prophet, is called the messenger of
God. Believers of Islam are called
Muslims who surrenders to the will
of Allah by through the Qurʾān (also
called Koran). This sacred scripture is
said to be the verbatim speech of
God delivered to Muhammad by the
archangel Gabriel.
 Customs and practices
Muslims believe in the five pillars of Islam,
which are the foundation of Muslim life:

1) Shahadah - statement of faith: "There is

no God but the one true God and
Mohammed is his messenger".
2) Salat - the prayer that is practiced five times a day.

3) Zakat - the monetary offering for the benefit of

the poor. It comprises the 2.5% of a Muslim's assets.
4) Haji – the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca.
Muslims who can afford are asked to do the
pilgrimage at last once in their lifetime.

5) Sawm – the fasting. Muslims do fasting from

food, drink, and sexual act during the
celebration of Ramadan s the ninth month of
the Islamic lunar calendar. The fast is from dawn
to sunset.
 Judaism
• Judaism is one of the world's dominant
religions and like Christianity and Islam, it is
also based on the monotheistic belief in a
single God. The beliefs and practices of
Judaism are centered on two writings: the
Torah and the Talmud. The Torah is the
Jewish holy book that is made up of the
first five books of the Bible, the counterpart
of what Christians call 'the Old Testament.
 Customs and Practices: There are five major
festivals observed by the Jews:
1. Rosh Hashanah - the New Year
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year.
It is the anniversary of the creation of
Adam and Eve, and a day of judgment
and coronation of G‑d as king.
2. Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement

The holiest day of the Jewish year,

Yom Kippur means “day of
atonement.”
 3. Pesach - Passover

Passover, Hebrew Pesaḥ or Pesach, in

Judaism, holiday commemorating the
Hebrews' liberation from slavery in Egypt and
the “passing over” of the forces of
destruction, or the sparing of the firstborn of
the Israelites, when the Lord “smote the land
of Egypt” on the eve of the Exodus.
 4. Shavuot - Pentecost

known as “feast of weeks” which

commemorates the revelation of the Torah
on Mt. Sinai to the Jewish people.
 5. Sukkot - Tabernacles

The Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday

evening at sunset and is an important
time when families gather for the Shabbat
meal.
Logotherapy - Dr. Viktor E. Frankl
• “man‟s primary motivational
force is search for meaning.”
• can be discovered by creating a
work or doing deed,
experiencing something or
encountering someone and the
attitude toward unavoidable
suffering.
 Logotherapy - Dr. Viktor E. Frankl
• it uses the philosophy of optimism
in the face of tragedy, where
people are capable of turning
suffering into human achievement
and accomplishment deriving
from guilt the opportunity to
change oneself for the better; and
deriving from life‟s transitoriness
an incentive to take responsible
action.
 The basic philosophical premises of
Logotherapy
1) Humans have freedom of
will
which means that we all
have the ability to make
choices in our life.
2) We all have a will to meaning.
Aside from having free will to make
choices, we need to be striving for
something as well. We need to have goals
that we can accomplish.

3) there is always meaning in life.

In other words, he meant that meaning
exists objectively. It might look different in
each of our lives, but it is always there. We
just need to try and find it.
Sources of meaning
(1) in work (doing something
significant gives us a goal to work on.
When we build a task for us to
accomplish, it becomes the meaning of
our life);
(2) in love (caring for another person gives
meaning to our life. As Frankl puts it, “the
salvation of man is through love and in love.” For
him, “Love goes very far beyond the physical
person of the beloved. It finds its deepest
meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self.");
and

(3) in courage (suffering itself is meaningless, but

our response to it gives meaning. By enduring
our sufferings in the right and honorable way, we
can achieve fulfillment).