Mariano Marcos State University

College of Arts & Sciences

Department of Social Sciences

Girlie A. Obrero
Faculty
 CHAPTER I.
The Self From Various Perspectives
D. THE SELF IN WESTERN AND
ORIENTAL/EASTERN THOUGHT
 From the previous units, we have learned how the environment, such as our society and
culture, can influence our understanding of the Self. In the same way, our own biological/natural
makeup, developmental stage, and personal thought processes can influence the way we interpret the
events happening around us and the actions we do in response to these events.

In this unit, we will initially look into two major perspectives - or thoughts – that influence the
way we define the Self. By first understanding how these two broad categories of thoughts developed,
we get to recognize how these thoughts from early civilizations have developed cultural patterns such as
individualism and collectivism. These patterns show similarities and differences in the way the Self is
defined and manifested in the person’s values, beliefs, goals, cognitive processes (way of thinking), and
behavior.
The Self in the Western Thought
 Because religions usually dictate beliefs on origins of things, definitions of the Self in the Western
thought may be examined from the religions of early civilizations in the West such as the Sumerian, Judeo-
Christian, and Islam religions.

Sumerian mythology Babylonian mythology Judeo-Christian and Islamic beliefs

Sumerians were the first civilization to
occupy Mesopotamia. In their creation
story, they depicted the gods to be
toiling under the hot sun to make bread
to eat. The gods, then, decided to create
a servant – Man - out of clay from the
river, so Man would be the one laboring
in their place.
As the civilization that replaced the
Sumerians in 2500 BC, they adapted
some of the mythologies of the
Sumerians. In their creation story, Man
was created out of the blood of a slain
god so he could serve and satisfy the
other gods.
The Book of Genesis in the Bible,
which is still read until this present
time, spoke of God creating Man by
fashioning dust and breathing life into
it. Islam’s Quran also asserted Allah
(God) to have made Man out of clay
and breathed soul into the body.
 Those religions all assert the Self (Man) to be
distinct from his creator/creators. Man’s substance is
different from God, and Man was generally created to
serve God.

If we consider these religious beliefs together

with other Western philosophies and psychological
theories discussed in the previous chapter, we can figure
out how the Self is acknowledged to be a separate,
distinct entity. There is an assumption of the Self as the
thinker of thoughts, doer of deeds, and feeler of
feelings. The Self has his/her own conscious and
unconscious thoughts, own behaviors that may be
observed apart from other people’s behaviors, and
experiences that may differ from others. Efforts are,
then, directed towards the enhancement of the Self’s
existence, such as self-actualization.
The Self in the Eastern Thought
 By investigating also the established religions and philosophies from the East, we can learn how the Self
is conceived in the Eastern perspective.

Hinduism
The Hindu hymn Rig-Veda from the Vedas described the
beginning to be “non-existent nor existent,” no death nor immortality, and day and night to be
undivided.
In the Upanishads, the Self was narrated to be the only
one in the beginning. The Self in the shape of a person (Purusha) created another person for a wife out
of himself. When they embraced, Man was created. The wife tried to hide from Purusha by
transforming herself into a cow, but Purusha followed by transforming himself into a bull. Thus, cows
were created. The wife, then, transformed into a mare; Purusha transformed himself into a stallion.
Thus, horses were created. The hide-and-seek game consisted the rest of the creation story. Therefore,
all things created are made up of the same Self which was in the beginning. The Self, called the
Brahman, is inside everyone and everything. The creator and the created are unified, such that
worshiping one is worshiping the other (Wolter, 2013). The Atman, which is the non-material Self/soul
can be reincarnated and expressed into another being. With these held beliefs, Hinduism values respect,
tolerance, patience, acceptance, empathy, austerity, compassion, and transience.
 Buddhism

The Buddhists believe that incompleted transactions and actions in the past can be
accumulated and are carried forward to present experience. This “karma” or accumulated
past events includes past actions of the person, the group, or the community. The present
Self is, then, understood to be interconnected with the past. What the Self has in the present
are just strongly held beliefs of the past that the person delusionally thinks to be his/her own
(Page & Berkow, 1991). There is in reality “no Self” in that what exists to be a person in the
present time is just a combination of five groups of elements or skandhas: form, feelings,
perceptions, impulses, and consciousness. The “Self” is just a convenient label of how one
can call the current arrangement of skandhas that may be dismantled and rearranged again in
the future. The “Self” of the present, therefore, needs not to struggle against the rest of the
world because it is integrally interconnected with the universe. Buddhism aims to free the
Self from the illusion of being an individual separate from the universe.
 Taoism
Tao is believed to be the ultimate life source of the whole universe;
the pattern and substance of everything that exists. While Tao may be
described in this manner, it cannot be clearly defined but only understood as
a person adopts a free-flowing, relative, unitary and paradoxical view on all
things. The concept of Yin and Yang depict harmony and complementarity of
different forces, with one being dependent on the other. With the Self being a
part of the universe, an ideal Self is the selfless Self – one that is in harmony
and balance with the nature and others by embracing simplicity and
acceptance of things as they are.
 Confucianism
Confucianism places high regard for harmony and status of the
community. The Self is closely knit with the identity/status of his/her
family/community such that one’s failure is the failure of the family and the
family’s accomplishments are considered to be one’s own. The family/community
educates the person through rituals on how to behave and understand the Self as
Confucianism
part of the group. Filial piety or the respect for parents and ancestors is one of the
most important virtues inculcated on the person. This involves a recognition of
the hierarchy within the family and a recognition also of the family’s status in a
broader community. Self-cultivation is regarded as a way to bring harmony within
the family/community because the accomplishment of one’s Self brings honor to
the family.
 Given those perspectives, it may be gleaned
that Eastern thought propagates a sense of oneness of
the Self with others. There is an existence of thoughts
without a thinker, deeds without a doer, and feelings
without a feeler. The world is likened into a drama
with all of the things in the world as not made but as
acted in the same way as a player acts parts. There is
an emphasis of the Self to be a part of and in harmony
with others.
Individualism and Collectivism
 Individualism
refers to societies where relationships are
loosely connected and everyone is expected
to look after oneself and one’s immediate
family. This culture may be usually
observed where the Western perspective is
largely embodied.
Collectivism
on the other hand, refers to societies where
relationship bonds within a group are
strongly cultivated since birth and people
are expected to loyally continue protecting
the group’s welfare throughout one’s
lifetime. This closely takes after the Eastern
perspective where collectivistic cultures
may be usually observed.
Here are the attributes that can be commonly found in individualistic and in collectivistic cultures:
Attributes Individualism Collectivism
Self as independent from others. The Self is more or Self as interdependent with others. Self may change
View of Self
less stable. depending on situations.
Goals Individual goals are prioritized. Group goals are prioritized.
Behavior is determined by one’s attitudes, personal Behavior is determined by norms, obligations, and
Behavior
needs, individual rights, and established contracts. duties.
Communal relationships are most frequent.
Small, private relationships are maintained. One
Relationships Individuals stay even when relationships are
usually leaves unsatisfactory relationships.
unpleasant.
Holistic and dialectical. Attention is focused on
Cognitions (way Analytic, linear and dualistic. Attention is focused on
themes and contextual information. Two seemingly
of thinking) objects, details, and categories.
opposite forces may coexist.
Dispositional. Traits and attributes of individuals Situational. External forces, context, and situations
Attributions
determine events. determine events.
Norms Competition; self-enhancement; self-expression Cooperation; group loyalty and social order
Emotions Disengaged from others Engaged and moderate in expression
 Vertical Collectivism Vertical
• Self as part of the Individualism
collective/group • Self is autonomous /
• Believes and accepts independent
inequality and hierarchy • Acknowledges that
In 1995, Triandis added vertical and within the collective inequality will exist
among individuals and
horizontal dimension of individualism and accepts this inequality

collectivism. He argued that individualism

and collectivism can both be horizontal and
vertical. Here are the common features, as Horizontal Horizontal
described by Triandis. Collectivism Individualism
• Self as part of the • Self as autonomous
collective • Believes that equality
• Perceives all the among individuals is the
members of the ideal
collective to be equal
 While Eastern and Western thoughts may seem exact opposites of each
other, similarities can still be observed. For one, there is a general
understanding of the person as the same across time and space, such as a
person for the Western thought is an individual entity whether the person
lives in China or in Spain or whether the person lived 500 years ago or at
the present time in history. Similarly for the Eastern perspective such as the
Buddhist’s, a person is a combination of skandhas whether the person be in
China or Spain, or lived 500 years ago or at the present time.
 Furthermore, there are aspects of Eastern thoughts that may be
observed also on Western thoughts, vice versa. Relationships also
perpetuate in the Western thoughts in the form of equality and respect for
the rights of others. Recognition of a mystic/Supreme Being or Cosmos is
also present in the Western thought. Judeo-Christian and Islamic beliefs
(particularly its earlier form - Sufism), acknowledges Man to be breathed by
the Spirit of God, in that God has breathed his spirit into Man, thus making
Man not distinctly different from God. On the other hand, a recognition of
individuality may also be perceived in the Eastern perspective in the form
of inner nature for Taoism, self-cultivation for Confucianism, and Atman
for Hinduism. Eastern perspective also acknowledges personal
responsibility.
 Indeed, in places where a certain perspective propagates – whether it be
Eastern or Western, there still could be detected mixtures of individualistic
and collectivistic attributes. As there are similarities that may be seen
between the Eastern and Western thoughts, other aspects aside from these
two broad perspectives can also impact a person’s individualistic or
collectivistic inclinations. These include ecological context (agricultural
societies as more collectivistic), wealth distribution (wealthy being more
individualistic), and demographics (persons of color to be higher in
collectivism) among others. With all these factors coming into play, it
should also be emphasized that the Self cannot be entirely
individualistic/private or entirely collectivistic. The Self remains to be in
constant interaction with the context the Self is a part of.