Understanding the Self Exercise 1 Name/Section: Erica Joy B. Escopete Ateneo de Naga University First Semester S/Y 2019-20 AM11 Date: July 8, 2019 1. What are the circumstances that force a person to question oneself about his/her identity? According to Merriam-Webster, identity is the distinguishing character of an individual. Majority of the people think that they already know their selves fully, but when circumstances become odd, that is when they question if they truly know who they are. One of the situations that can make a person question him/herself is when they experience grave disappointment. Disappointment happens when the result is greatly unforeseen considering the effort, time, money, et cetera a person has invested that it would normally result to a favorable outcome. A person questions him/herself in this situation since he/she was certain about his/her mindset, approach, and motivation from the start to the process, until the outcome showed up bad or at its worst —because of the person’s emotional engagement to the situation, he/she would be unsure of him/herself. Another situation is that majority-of-this-generation’s great admiration to celebrities. Our generation has been too inclined to showbiz nowadays to the point that they are copying their idols, not realizing that the things they have been seeing are just the image of what the celebrities are wanting to show. Like for example, some Filipino teenagers are imitating their Korean idols from the language to the way they dress and act. This may force them to question their identity in a sense that their deed does not have at least a little of resemblance to their original nationality. How ironic that we are proud to say that we are Filipinos, but what our heart wants are rather different. Another circumstance can be of great jealousy. We easily see the achievement or happiness of other people, making us jealous that sometimes we question ourselves or become too blinded to see our worth. 2. What forms do these questions about self-identity take? Because of the aforementioned circumstances, a person tends to question about his/her place, life, and most especially, his/her self. Huge disappointments can make a person doubt his/her ability and too much of admiration and great jealousy can force a person to question his/her own reality and/or identity. These questions can be “Why am I like this?”, “What is wrong with me?”, “How can I improve myself?”, “What is the truth about me?”, “How should I act?”, “What can I really do best?”, “What am I really good Understanding the Self Exercise 1 Ateneo de Naga University First Semester S/Y 2019-20 Name/Section: Erica Joy B. Escopete AM11 Date: July 8, 2019 at?”, “Am I really like this?”, “Do I really like this?”, “Am I doing the right decision this time?”, “Will I be able to make it?”, “What is ‘me’ and what is ‘not me’?”, and et cetera. 3. Based on survey of ideas, what answers are usually given to these questions? In solitude, one can always genuinely reflect about something or find clear answers to certain questions. The funny thing is, the hardest questions to answer are the ones that are about ourselves, when it should be the easiest. For the questions that are listed in the previous number, the answers for the ones about ability is usually about realization for improvement, change, and positivity. But the answers regarding self-identity is mostly inconsistent and requires deep thinking and reflection. The process of answering the questions about self-identity is complex, but the answers are really powerful. Genuine answers for such questions can make a person stronger in a sense that he/she knows him/herself in a higher level, but shallow answers might make it more confusing or might derail the person from knowing his/her worth or full potential. The answers can let the person know the things that he/she is and is not, what he/she could be and could not be, which are helpful and not in reaching his/her potential, what type of love he/she deserves to get, what would make him/her happy, or anything that can unravel her identity from inside and out. By having answers, a person can feel internal satisfaction. 4. On a personal level, what answer can you give about the search for the nature of self? What makes us, human beings, different is that we are unique. We vary in a way that we think or seek differently from each other. So, from a personal standpoint, the search for the nature of the self should start with what we feel right and we think appropriate. It does not matter whether we believe in Socrates that the soul is immortal, or in Plato’s bodyis-the-prison-of-the-soul idea, or Locke’s notion that the existence of our self is dependent on our memory of it, because for me there is one aspect in which we are all the same — we are driven by our self-satisfaction. We want do things that will make us happy. We help other people, not mainly because we want them to be happy, but that we want to feel the fulfillment of helping others. We want to help our parents, not only because they deserve it, but also because they are our own family. That is our nature, we think that we are helping others for their satisfaction but little do we know that we are only pleasing our self-interests. Understanding the Self Exercise 1 Name/Section: Erica Joy B. Escopete Ateneo de Naga University First Semester S/Y 2019-20 AM11 Date: July 8, 2019 5. Which do you think applies better to you at this point in time? The Avocado view or the Artichoke view? Between the Avocado View and Artichoke View of human nature, what applies better to me is the Artichoke View of human nature because I have always believed in Sartre’s idea that existence precedes essence. I don’t quite believe that a human is programmed or boxed by his essence, I believe we are more than that. According to Bus Mitchell in the book, Roots of Wisdom: A Tapestry of Philosophical Traditions, the Artichoke view says that the self is consisted of small pictures, making up a collage rather than a single big image which enables it to adapt to changing realities in this world — showing flexibility. Flexibility is what I need right now, especially in this unpredictable and complicated world. I may add different layers every day or whenever I see fit. I may not have a hard core but my different layer would mean improvement and adaptation. I have a chance to be better and not repeat my mistakes.
