Chapter 1.
The Self in Various Perspective
“Who I am? Not knowing this is the greatest death to the soul!
-Dada Bhagwan
philosophy, particularly the Greeks who seriously
questioned myths and moved away from them in
attempting to understand reality and respond to
perennial questions of curiosity, including the
question of SELF.
OBJECTIVES:
SOCRATES (KNOW THYSELF)
At the end of the chapter, the students are expected to:
Trivia: Socrates never wrote a book an most of the
things we know about him came from Xenophon and
his prized student – Plato. This is also the reason
why it sometimes difficult to differentiate Socrates’
idea from Plato’s.
 discuss the different representations and
conceptualizations of the self from various disciplinal
perspectives;
 compare and contrast how the self has been
represented across different disciplines and
perspective;
 examine the different influences, functions and forces
that shape the self;
 demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing
the development of one’s self and identity by
developing a theory of the self.
LESSON 1
WHO AM I? A PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW
OF THE SELF
WHAT IS SELF?
The self has many aspects. These aspects
make up self’s integral parts, such as awareness,
self-esteem, self-knowledge, and self-perception.
With these aspects, the person is able to alter,
change, add or
modify himself or
herself
for
the
purpose of gaining
social acceptance.
Self is the “person
of himself/herself.,”
meaning it is what
others didn’t see in
you, because this is
personal character;
this is what makes
up a person. The
self is either the
cognitive or the
affective
representation of
the individual.
Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selfconcept
WHAT IS IDENTITY?
Identities are
beliefs, opinions, etc.,
from others.” This is
others, or what they
actions.
“qualities, characteristics,
that make a person unique
what is distinguishable by
perceive to us though our
THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHERS
Born in Athens and married with several
children, he is also known as the market philosopher
because of his penchant for engaging youths in
philosophizing in public markets (Law, 2007). He
directed philosophy’s attention from the universe to
an examination of our existence in the universe.
He was the first philosopher who ever
engaged in a systematic questioning about the self.
He asserts that the true task of philosopher is to
know oneself. He posits the saying, “The
unexamined life is not worth living.”
He was known for his method of inquiry in
testing an idea. This is called Socratic Method
whereby idea was tested by asking a series of
questions to determine underlying beliefs and the
extent of knowledge to guide the person toward
better understanding.
He notes that every woman and man is
composed of body and soul and he also
explained that all individuals have an
imperfect, impermanent aspect, the body
while maintain that there is also a soul that is
perfect and permanent. Some of Socrates
ideas were: (1) the soul is immortal, (2) the
care of the soul is the task of philosophy, (3)
virtue is necessary to attain happiness.
Socrates believed that the goal of life is to be
happy. According to him, the virtuous man is
a happy man, and that virtue alone is the one
and only supreme good that will secure
his/her happiness. Virtue is defined as moral
excellence, and an individual is considered
virtuous if his/her character is made up of the moral
qualities that are accepted as virtues (courage,
temperance, prudence, and justice).
According to Socrates, even death is a trivial
matter for the only truly virtuous because he/she has
realized that the most important thing in life is the
state of his/her soul.
Socrates said existence is of two kinds: (1)
the visible, (2) the invisible. The visible changes
while the invisible existence remains constant.
When the body and the soul are together, nature
assigns our body to be a slave and to be ruled and
the soul to be the ruler and master.
Philosophy focuses on the fundamental
nature of “THE SELF.” In fact, THE SELF has
preoccupied the earliest thinkers in the history of
GE 1: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
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However, the body was a reluctant slave and
the soul gets dragged toward what is always
changing. This would leave the soul confused.
PLATO
Plato was an Athenian philosopher during
the Classical period in Ancient Greece, founder of
the Platonist school of thought and the Academy
which was the first institution of higher learning in the
Western world.
An important part of his philosophy is the
dichotomy of the Ideal World of the World of Forms
and the Material World. The world of forms is the
permanent, unchanging reality as opposed to the
world of materials which keeps on changing. The
material world is what we see around us, and for
Plato, this, where we live is a replica of the real world
found in the world of forms.
He believed that human beings are
composed of two things, a body and a soul. It is the
soul which is the true self, the permanent,
unchanging self. The changing body, however, or
what we see in the material world on the other hand,
is not the real self but only a replica of our true self.
We continue to exist even in the absence of our
bodies because we are souls only.
The three parts of the soul according to Plato
are: (1) the appetitive, (2) the rational, and (3) the
spirited. The appetitive is the elements that enjoys
sensual experiences. The rational is the element
that forbids the person to enjoy sensual
experiences; the part that loves the truth, hence,
should rule over the other parts of the soul through
the use of reason. The spirited is the element that is
inclined toward reason but understands the
demands of passion; the part that loves honor and
victory.
He agreed that man is of bifurcated nature.
He posits that the body is bound to die on Earth and
the soul is to anticipate living eternally in a realm of
spiritual bliss in communion with God. Further, he
asserts that the goal of every human person is to
attain this communion and bliss with the Divine by
living his life on earth in virtue.
He also differentiated what the real world is
and the temporary world. According to him, our world
is not our final home but just a temporary home
where we are just passing through. Our real world is
found in the world where there is permanence and
infinity, that is the world where God is. Only God is
fully real as the unchanging, permanent being and
he sees God as the ultimate expression of love.
Thus, out of love, God created man. Man is in fact,
created in the image of God. He has an immortal
soul whose main pursuit is to have everlasting life,
but this can only be achieved in God alone.
He also goes on to say that moral law exists
and imposed on the mind. There is an eternal law
which should universally be followed because this is
coming from the external reason or God himself.
This eternal law is the law of conscience and this
conscience is the small voice that tells us
instinctively whether our actions are morally good or
bad.
He pointed out that a person is similar to God
as regards to the mind and its ability; that by ignoring
to use his/her mind he/she would lose his/her
possibility to reach real and everlasting happiness.
THOMAS AQUINAS
The doctor of the church and the most
eminent 13th century scholar and stalwart of the
medieval philosophy. He elucidates that man is
composed of two parts: (1) matter and (2) form.
In his magnum apres, The Republic, Plato
emphasizes that “justice in the human person can
only be attained if the three parts of the soul are
working harmoniously with one another.
Matter refers to the common stuff that makes
up everything in the universe while form refers to the
essence pf a substance of thing; it is what makes
what it is.
ST. AUGUSTINE
For Aquinas, the soul is what animates the
body, it is what makes us humans.
Augustine of Hippo, also known as Saint
Augustine, was a theologian, philosopher, and the
bishop of Hippo Regius in Numida, Roman North
Africa.
Source: https://quozio.com/quote/d988995e/1025/butmy-sin-was-this-that-i-looked-for-pleasure-beauty-and
GE 1: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
RENE DESCARTES
Trivia: Rene Descartes was hired to tutor Queen
Christina of Sweden but soon after, he died of
pneumonia because his health couldn’t take the 5
am start of lesson required by the queen.
Considered father of Modern Philosophy,
this Frenchman was also brilliant mathematician. He
conceived that the human person is having a body
and mind. He claims that there is so much that we
should doubt; in fact, he says that much of what we
think may turn out to be false because they are
infallible. He also thought that the only thing one
cannot doubt is the existence of the self for even if
one doubts oneself, that only proves that there is a
doubting self, a thing that thinks and therefore, that
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cannot be doubted. This resulted to his famous
Cogito Ergo Sum or “I THINK THEREFORE, I AM.”
Man is a thinking being. Descartes proposed that
doubt was a principal tool of disciplined inquiry. His
method was called hyperbolica/metaphysical
doubt, sometimes referred to as methodological
skepticism. It is a systematic process of being
skeptical about the truth of one’s beliefs in order to
determine which beliefs could be ascertained as
true.
For Descartes, the self is also a combination
of two district entities:
1. The cogito or the thing that thinks which is
the mind
2. The extenza or the extension of the mind,
which is the body
Descartes’ claims about the self are:
(1) It is constant; it is not prone to change and it is
not affected by time.
(2) Only the immaterial soul remains the same
throughout time.
(3) The immaterial soul is the source of our identity.
Some distinctions between the body and the
soul as pointed out by Descartes were:
(1) The soul is a conscious, thinking substance
that is unaffected by time.
(2) The body is a material substance that
changes through time.
(3) The soul is known only to itself.
(4) The body can be doubted. The public can
correct claims about the body.
(5) The soul is not made up of parts. It views
entirely
of
itself
with
no
hidden
compartments.
(6) The body is made up of physical, quantifiable
and divisible parts.
JOHN LOCKE
Trivia: He is known as the Father of Classical
Liberalism because of his contribution to the
formation of human rights.
He is the first of the great British empiricist
philosopher and is widely credited for laying the
foundation of human rights and his commitment to
the idea that the sovereign should be the people and
not the monarch.
It was Locke who developed the concept of
“Tabula Rasa.” He pointed out unto the theory that
at birth, the mind was a blank slate without innate
ideas, and it is experience that provides us
knowledge provided by sensory experiences and
reflections.
He thinks that our identity is not locked in
mind, soul or body only. He includes the concept of
a person’s memory in the definition of the self. He
subscribes to the memory theory that holds we are
GE 1: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
the same person as we were in the past for as long
as we can remember something from that past.
He also insisted that a person could only be
held accountable for her behaviors he/she can
remember.
DAVID HUME
Born in Scotland, he was a lawyer but is
known more for the history book that he wrote which
is The History of England.
Just like Locke, he is an empiricist and
regarded senses as our key source of knowledge.
He does believe in the existence of the mind and
what is inside the mind is divided into two: (a)
impression and (b) ideas. Impressions are those
things we perceive through our senses as we
experience them. Ideas are those things that we
create in our minds even though we are no longer
experiencing them.
He also argues that men and women can
only attain knowledge by experiencing.
To him, there is no permanent and
unchanging self. In conclusion, there is no self.
IMMANUEL KANT
“All our knowledge begins with the senses,
proceeds then to the understanding, and ends
with reason. There is nothing higher than
reason.”
A citizen of Konigsberg, East Prussia. He is
also considered as one of the giants of philosophy
though he barely stands five feet tall. He was purred
into philosophical activism when he encountered
Hume’s skepticism and took it upon himself to refute
it. He argued that it is possible to discover universal
truth about the world using our reason. He also
argued that it is possible to find the essence of the
self.
Kant believes that man is a free agent,
capable of making a decision for himself. His
philosophy centers and revolves around the inherent
dignity of a human being. As a free agent, man is
gifted with reason and free will. The necessity of his
being free is tested in his decision to be moral. An
individual has the free will to be moral or not.
According to him, there are two components
of the self. The inner self by which you are aware of
alterations in your own state. This includes your
rational intellect and your psychological state, such
as moods, feelings and sensations, pleasure and
pain. The outer self which includes your senses and
the physical world. It is the common boundary
between the external world and the inner self. It
gathers information from the external world through
the senses, which the inner self interprets and
coherently expresses.
SIGMUND FREUD
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Trivia: It is claimed that one of the proofs for the
unconscious is what we call “slip of the tongue.” This
happens when instead of saying Shaun, we blurted
out Paolo. This means that subconsciously, we are
thinking of Paolo.
Born in Frieberg, Moravia, this Jewish
neurologist later on moved to Vienna. This proved
good for Vienna because Freud became famous and
was considered as the Father of Psychoanalysis.
His works center on the mind and development. In
his earlier structural division of the psyche, Freud
distinguished three levels of consciousness. These
are conscious, pre-conscious/subconscious and
unconscious. The conscious deals with awareness
of present perceptions, feelings, thoughts and
memories at any particular moment. The preconscious/subconscious is related to data that can
be readily brough to consciousness. The
unconscious refers to the data retained but not easily
available to the individua’s conscious awareness or
scrutiny.
Furthermore, one of his famous ideas was
the tripartite division of man’s mind. These are the
id, the ego and the superego. The id represents
man’s biological nature, the impulses and the bodily
desires. The superego represents the ethical
component of personality and provides the moral
standards by which the ego operates. The id and the
superego will find themselves clashing against each
other, with the superego trying to control the
impulses of the id and the id trying to satisfy its
urges. The winner of this inner battle will be
manifested in the ego, which is the self. Things are
not in control of the ego, but the ego only manifests
the winner between the two. If ego behaves, the
superego won. If ego misbehaves, the id won.
GILBERT RYLE
He studied and taught in Oxford University.
This Englishman’s philosophy centers on language.
He claims that the problems of philosophy were
brought about only because of the confusion due to
misinterpretation, misunderstanding of the words.
The goal of this philosophy should be clear this
confusion through linguistic analysis.
emotions, actions, consciousness and deeply
affected by the state of our brain. That by
manipulating certain parts of our brain, our feelings,
actions, and physical state are successfully altered.
It is only a matter of time before we can fully
comprehend how the brain works for us to
understand how it creates the self. He proposes that
a new conceptual framework should be made which
is based on neuroscience.
MAURICE MERLEAU – PONTY
“We know not through our intellect but
through our experience.”
This French philosopher is known more for
his existentialist philosophy. This naturally reflects
on his idea of the self. For him, a person is defined
by virtue of movement and expression. To be a self
is more than one’s body. It includes all the things that
I will do with my body, how will I act on it and how I
will act it in consonance with other human beings. I
am the sum total of all that I make my body do. This
includes the interpretation of the past and how I
actually make decisions in the present. The self is
grounded on the experiences from the past, the
possibilities for the future and the present cognition.
He approaches the idea of self as a
continuous flow of movement and expression from
infancy to adulthood. Our perception of who we are
is strictly tied to our own bodily development.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Body – the physical presence of a person
Dualism – In philosophy of the mind, dualism is the
position that mental phenomena are, in some
respects, nonphysical, and that as a result the mind
and the physical body are not identical.
Matter – refers to the common “stuff” that makes up
the material
Mind – considered as a separate part of the body
which is unseen
Soul – interchanged at times with the concept of the
mind; it is considered as that part of the body that
transcends the death of the body
According to him, the mind is a part of the
body therefore, your actions define your own
concept of the self. What truly matters is the
behavior that a person manifests in his day-to-day
life.
Rationalism – the theory that reason, rather than
experience, is the foundation of all knowledge
PAUL CHURCHLAND
Methodological Skepticism - a systematic process
of being skeptical about (or doubting) the truth of one's
beliefs, which has become a characteristic method
in philosophy.
“We do have an organ for understanding and
recognizing moral facts. It is called the brain.”
Empiricism – the idea that the origin of all
knowledge is sense experience
Known for his Eliminative Materialism, this
American professor from the university of California,
in partnership with his wife, believes that the self is
the brain. With the advent of science and learning
more about the nuances of the brain, it becomes
clear to Churchland that the term “mind”, our moods,
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LESSON 2
THE SELF IN THE ALLIED SCIENCES:
ANTHROPOLOGY, PSYCHOLOGY AND
SOCIOLOGY
meaning of significant events in life and in society,
those tools and symbols become an integral part of
the culture. The burial sites, ancestral homes,
landmarks of significant and historical events,
rituals. Customary actions and even some natural
phenomena are all part of one’s culture.
Culture is learned and is very much
integrated in one’s customs and beliefs. It is
engrained in the patterns and systems of one’s life.
Hence, if culture considers all aspects and elements
of the self, people must be on guard that culture can
be adaptive or maladaptive.
Source:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comment
s/mcfsyc/meet_whangod_oggay_a_103_year_old_tattoo
_artist/
I. ANTHROPOLOGY
The transmission of culture from one
generation to another is called enculturation.
Unlike biological transmission, cultural transmission
is done through observation, use of language,
adaptation
to
environment,
rituals
and
formal/informal education.
Anthropology was derived from two Greek
words: anthropos which means human being and
logos which means study.
It is the study of all aspects of human
condition. This includes human history, the present
human condition, and even the future possibilities. It
also examines the biology, interactions in society,
language and especially culture (Kottak, 2009).
Anthropology
explores
the
interconnectedness and interdependence of human
cultural experiences in all places and ages. This kind
of broad and holistic perspective of anthropological
inquiry equips the anthropologists the ascendancy in
explaining human nature (Havilland, 2014).
Source:
https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/339388521924241273/
Elements of Culture
What is Self in Anthropological View?
The self is both a biological ad cultural entity.
The traditional anthropological understanding of the
self is that the self is an animal species which
underwent the process of biological evolution that
has shared characteristics with other living animals.
The self is a living animal but superior to
other animals due to certain factors such as physical
aspects, the only animal that can stand straight
allowing himself to have a better mobility in doing
thigs, social aspects, can cooperate with others in a
systematic manner and invents new things for
survival.
Basic Concepts in Anthropology
Culture
Sir Edward Tylor, founder of cultural
anthropology, classically defined culture as “that
complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs,
arts, morals, law, customs, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by a human as a
member of society.”
Culture is symbolic. When our ancestors
learned to used tools and symbols to originate
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1. Language. This refers to the set of symbols
use to assign and communicate meaning.
2. Norms. It dictates our behavior in the
society. The acceptability of an act, the
approval and the disapproval of which, is
dependent on social standards which are
product of our people’s commitment to
uphold the very essence of our cultural
values.
 Folkways. Sometimes known as
“conventions” or “customs,” are
standard of behavior that are socially
approved but not morally significant.
 Mores. These are norms of morality.
 Taboos. These are behaviors that
are absolutely forbidden in a certain
culture.
 Laws. They are ordinance of reason
enacted to protect the people from
the bad effects of outdated mores.
3. Values. Anything members of a culture
aspire to or hold in high esteem.
4. Beliefs. Collective social agreement
produced during interaction and refined
overtime.
5. Ideologies. Sets of beliefs and assumptions
connected by a common theme or focus.
6. Status. A slot or position within a group or
society.
INSTRUCTOR: MARGIE V. LEANDRO
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7. Roles. Norms specifying the rights and
responsibilities associated with a particular
status.
Components of Culture
perceive hardship or how we feel about
relying on others.
3. Achievement. Culture influences how we
define success and whether we value certain
types of individual and group achievements.
4. Expressing emotions. Culture influences
what will affect us emotionally, as well as
how we express ourself, such as showing our
feelings in public or keeping it private.
1. Material Culture
Material culture consists of human
technology, all the things that people make and use.
This is the physical manifestation of culture itself.
Material culture changes overtime.
Examples:
 Goods we buy
 Products we use
 Everything we see around us
2. Non-Material Culture
This refers to the intangible human beliefs,
values, norms, and symbols. These non-material
culture helps shape our perspective of the society,
of ourselves, and even of the material world. Nonmaterial culture may or may not change depending
on the influence of outside factors in the society, and
the changes that societal values go through.
Example: Same sex marriage
On December 06, 2017, the Australian
parliament finally passed the law legalizing same
sex marriage in their country. This decision
prompted Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to
explain the decision, proudly saying that “This is
Australia: fair, diverse, loving and filled with respect
for everyone.” At the moment, same sex marriage is
seen as lawful in some portions of the world. In the
Philippines, however, it is yet to be seen whether this
change of heart will take place.
Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/same-sex-marriage
The Self Embedded in Culture
Developmental psychologist Catherine Raeff
(2010), believed that culture can influence how we
view relationships, personality traits, achievements,
and expressing emotions.
Geertz and His Concept of the Self as an
Unfinished Animal
Geertz (1973) elucidated that culture should
not be seen as a complex behavioral pattern but as
a set of control mechanism, an engineered program
in directing human behavior. It is necessary for a
human being to be governed by rules to guide them
in making sure that his actions will make him a better
member of society.
The Self in The Western and Oriental Thought
1. Individualistic Vs. Collectivist
It is important to emphasize that selfconstruction is a form of cultural activity. In order to
understand how these societies, differ in their
attempt to understand the self, we will look first in the
concept of individualism and collectivism. As
Traindis (2011) explained, this individualismcollectivism syndrome could be the most noteworthy
difference among cultures.
The Western mindset is that of individualism
while Easterners or Orientals are known as to be
more collectivists.
In the individualistic societies, the self is a
separate entity in the community who decides based
on his own logic, sans the influence of the communal
group to his decisions. The self here concentrates
on self-actualization.
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mIGIS_OblE
A. Individualism
1. Relationships. Culture influences how we
enter into and maintain relationships.
2. Personality. Culture influences whether and
how we value traits like self-esteem, humility,
politeness, assertiveness as well as how we
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1. Care Giving. Everyone is supposed to take
care of himself or herself and his or her
immediate family only
2. Communication. Speaking one’s mind is
healthy.
3. Consciousness. “I” consciousness
4. Education. Purpose of education is learning
how to learn
5. Group Identity. Right of privacy
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6. Language. Languages in which the word “I”
is indispensable.
7. Opinion. Personal opinion expected: one
person, one vote
8. Others. Other people are classified as
individuals.
9. Task Orientation. Task prevails over
relationship.
10. Transgression. Transgression of norms
leads to guilt feelings.
B. Collectivism
1. Care Giving. People are born into extended
families or clans which protect them in
exchange for loyalty
2. Communication. Harmony should always be
maintained.
3. Consciousness. “We” consciousness
4. Education. Purpose of education is learning
how to do.
5. Group Identity. Stress on belonging
6. Language. Languages in which the word “I”
avoided.
7. Opinion. Personal opinion and votes
predetermined by in-group
8. Others. Other people are classified as ingroup or out-group.
9. Task Orientation. Relationship prevails over
task.
10. Transgression. Transgression of norms
leads to shame feelings.
observations or interactions with other people. “Am I
beautiful?” “Do my eyebrow look like Liza Soberano
na?” These questions can be answered by looking
at those people around. The self has meaning only
within the social context, and it is not wrong to say
that the social situation defines our self-concept and
our self-esteem. We rely on others to provide “social
reality” – to help us determine what to think, feel, and
do (Hardin & Higgins, 1996).
The Self as a Product of Modern Society among
Others
With modernization, the self becomes a
“delocalized” self which is free to seek its own
identity; defining religion, theological tradition; free
customary constraints hence, deviating from the
traditional way of life. Stability of one’s self-identity is
no longer based on pre-given traditional broad
definition of self.
Clifford Geertz (1973) believes that the
struggle for one’s individuality is only possible in
modern society where lingo-theological traditions
are gradually replaced by rational and scientific
calculations; and the intimate personal affiliations
are
replaced
by
exceedingly
impersonal
associations brought about by urbanized way of life.
Modernization or the destruction of the traditional
way of life “delocalizes” the self. This poses certain
problem as:
 The newfound freedom threatens the very
authenticity of the self (e.g. love)
 Alienation (Marx) – human beings haunted
by the very images they have created
 Objectification of the body (e.g. medical
practice)
 Dehumanization of the self
II. SOCIOLOGY
Post-Modern View of the Self
Self is a narrative, a text written and
rewritten. Self in the post modernity is complicated
by the electronic mediated virtual interaction of cyber
self, such as change in appearance. The self is
digitalized. It is seen in websites or social media –
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
Source: https://localrootchicago.com/integrationsociological-knowledge/
Sociology (socius – groups/partners, logos –
study) is defined as the scientific study of human
race, social groups, whole societies and the human
world whose subject matter is our own behavior as
social beings in relationship with many other people.
The word sociology was coined by a French
philosopher August Comte.
The Sociological View of the Self
The social aspect of the self is explored in
many ways, in which social situations influence
one’s view of self. The self is not created in isolation,
and people are not born with perceptions of oneself
in sports, make-up artistry, dancing or business.
Such
perceptions
are
identified
through
GE 1: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
 Information technology dislocates the self
thus, self is “digitalized” in cyberspace.
 Global migration produces multicultural
identities
 Post-modern selves are “pluralized” selves.
Self-Creation and Collective Identity
Memories (photographs, videos) play
significant role in creating the self and identity.
Memory and forgetting are most important powers in
recreating a person’s identity. Such memories of the
past include pain, triumph, etc. Such experiences of
the past can be linked with social transformation.
Globalization, as a product of the modern world,
has affected the way we view our self. The internet
age brought an understanding of the self, as part of
TERM: FIRST SEMESTER, AY 2022-2023
INSTRUCTOR: MARGIE V. LEANDRO
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the global world, and not of the micro-society. With
this, the values, traditions and beliefs that the self
holds dear, are met with challenges, criticism, and
its authenticity is likewise questioned. The
transformation of the social world resulted further in
the fragmentation of the self, as our cultural values
become fragmented as well. Technologies has
become vital in the transformation of the social
world, totally giving make-over of the social self.
The Self (ie) Generation as Culture Creators
The effect of culture in today’s younger
generation must be highlighted since the Generation
Z, also known as the self(ie) generation, is not
considered as a passive user of culture. In fact, they
have become culture creators, who practically live
their lives and present themselves in the virtual
world.
the expectations and attitudes of others organized
into a social self. The individual defines his/her own
behavior with reference to the generalized attitude of
the social group/s he/she occupies.
The “I” is the response to the “me” or the
person’s individuality. It is the essence of agency in
human action. So, in effect, “me” is the self as object,
while the “I” is the self as subject (Crossman, 2017).
According to George Herbert Mead, the
individual sees himself as the focus of everything
until such time that the self emerges because of the
influence of those who play a significant role in their
self-development.
Three Stages of the Self According to Mead
1. Preparatory Stage – engaging in imitation,
the individual considers a group of people
before he acts; being aware of the norms,
culture, traditions and beliefs acting in
consideration of everything that the society
holds dear.
2. Play Stage – engaging in play, the individual
invokes the rules of the game he is playing;
focus of the individual is the actions of the
significant people around him.
3. Game Stage – engaging in games; being
able to identify other group members that
have expectations on how he should act and
behave in different situations; the individual
sees himself as a member of the group.
Generation Z is composed of those born
between 1995 and 2010. In the Philippine context,
individuals who are included in this generation are
practically in their senior high school, or probably in
their college years at present, while many of them
can be considered the youngest in today’s
workforce.
In Jose Villa’s research (2016), entitled
Cross-cultural Gen Z, he found out that a majority of
Gen Z will define their cultural identity in basically
diverse means, an exact opposite from the
generations who came before them.
The same research showed that this
generation has embraced and balanced multiple
cultures that they are moving their cultural identity
beyond simple definitions of race and ethnicity.
Mead’s Stages of the Self
George Herbert Mead is an American
sociologist best known as the founder of American
pragmatism, a pioneer of symbolic interaction
theory, and as one of the founders of social
psychology.
The self-according to Mead is made of two
components: the “I” and “me.” The “me” represents
GE 1: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
The Looking-Glass Self: Our Sense of Self is
Affected by Other’s Views of Us
According to the American sociologist
Charles Horton Cooley, who is the proponent of the
Looking Glass Self, the degree of personal
insecurity we display in social context is what we
believe other people think of us.
A person’s self grows out of a person’s social
interactions with others. How we see ourselves does
not come from who we really are, but rather from
how we believe others see us (Isaken, 2013).
TERM: FIRST SEMESTER, AY 2022-2023
INSTRUCTOR: MARGIE V. LEANDRO
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Sometimes, the influence of other’s
appraisals of our self-concept may be so strong that
we end up internalizing them.
For example, we are often labeled in a
particular way by others, perhaps informally in terms
of our ethnic background, or more formally in terms
of a physical or psychological diagnosis. The
labeling bias occurs when we are labeled, and
other’s views and expectations of us are affected by
that labelling (Fox & Stinnett, 1996).
If we are labeled and evaluated by others,
then self-labeling may occur, which happens when
we adopt others’ labels explicitly into our selfconcept. The effects of this self-labeling on our selfesteem appear to depend very much on the nature
of the labels. Labels used in relation to diagnosis of
psychological disorders can be detrimental to people
who then internalize them.
Those who self-label may come to
experience internalized prejudice, which occurs
when individuals turn prejudice directed forward
them by others onto themselves. Internalized
prejudice has been found to predict more negative
self-concept and poorer psychological adjustments
in members of various groups, including sexual
minorities and racial minorities (Szymanski & Obiri,
2011).
C. PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology as a traditional belief in
Philosophy - during the older days, psychology was
based on traditions and superstitious; natural events
and phenomena are attributed with animism
because of superstitious beliefs.
became “mind”; from then on, psychology was
defined – as study of the mind (Arriola, 2012).
Psychology is the scientific study of how
people behave, think and feel. It includes topics,
such as how the brain works, how our memory is
organized, how people interact in groups, and how
children learn about the world. In fact, everything
that concerns human being is the concern of
psychology.
By studying psychology, an individual can
have awareness and understanding, emotions,
sensations, thinking, personality, etc. so that one
can adjust more feasibly with other people. He can
understand other people’s behavior and their
motivations, feelings, interest, emotions, thinking,
personality, etc. If one can understand oneself, one
must also understand others.
The psychology of self focuses on the
representation of an individual based on his/her
experiences. These experiences are either from the
home, school and other groups, organizations or
affiliations he/she engaged in. Seemingly, the “self”
is one of the most heavily researched areas in social
and personality psychology, where concepts are
introduced that beyond our physical attributes, lies
our psychological identity. Questions of “Who I am?”
or “What am I beyond my looks?” are thoughts of
many that continuously search for a deeper sense of
self which can be traced back from some time of
human history.
THE SELF IN PSYCHOLOGICAL VIEW
The Self as a Cognitive Construction
Cognitive construction is a cognitive
approach that focuses on the mental processes
rather than the observable behavior. This approach
will assist individuals in assimilating new information
to the existing knowledge and will enable to make
the appropriate modification to their existing
intellectual framework to accommodate their new
information.
Source: https://miuc.org/why-we-love-socialpsychology/
Psychology was derived from two Greek
words, psyche (soul), and logos (study); in short, it
is the study of the soul thus the term has a religious
implication, such as a form of motion and inner flame
or a function of bodily process (Arriola, 2012).
Later, psychology was based on philosophy
– the Greek philosophers had abandoned its
superstitious foundation in favor of philosophical
meaning of speculation. Thus, the term psyche
GE 1: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
Jean Piaget is a Swiss clinical psychologist
known for pioneering work in child development. He
pioneered the Theory of Cognitive Development,
a comprehensive theory about the development of
human intelligence.
The theory deals with the nature of
knowledge itself; and how humans gradually come
to acquire, construct, and use it. According to Piaget,
cognitive
development
is
a
progressive
reorganization of mental processes resulting from
biological maturation and environmental experience.
He believes that children construct an understanding
of
the
world
around
them,
experience
inconsistencies between what they already know
and what they discover in their environment, and
TERM: FIRST SEMESTER, AY 2022-2023
INSTRUCTOR: MARGIE V. LEANDRO
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 Animism refers to the tendency of the child to
attribute human traits or characteristics to
inanimate objects.
then adjust their ideas accordingly. Moreover, Piaget
claims that cognitive development is at the center of
the human organism.
Basic Components
Development Theory
of
Piaget’s
Cognitive
1. Schemas/Schemes. These are the building
blocks of knowledge. Schemas are mental
organizations that individuals use to
understand
their
environments
and
designate action.
Stage 3. Concrete-Operational Stage (8-11 years
old)
The child demonstrates conservation,
reversibility,
serial
ordering,
and
mature
understanding of cause-effect relationship. Thinking
at this stage is still concrete.
 Conservation is the ability of the child to
know that certain properties of object like
number and mass volume do not change
even if there is a change in appearance.
2. Assimilation. This is the process of fitting a
new experience into an existing or previously
created cognitive structure or schema.
 Seriation is the ability of the child to order or
arrange things in series based on one
dimension such as weight, volume or mass.
3. Accommodation. This is the process of
creating a new schema.
4. Equilibration. It means achieving proper
balance
between
assimilation
and
accommodation. When or experiences do
not match our schemata, we experience
cognitive disequilibration.
Stage 4. Formal Operational Stage (12 +)
The individual
thinking at this stage.
demonstrates
abstract
 Hypothetical Reasoning is the ability to come
up with different hypothesis about a problem
and to gather and weigh in order to make a
final decision or judgment.
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Stage 1. Sensori-motor Stage (0-2 years old)
The child learns by doing, looking, sucking.
The child also has a primitive understanding of
cause-effect relationships. Object permanence
appears around 9 months.
 Analogical Reasoning is the ability to
perceive the relationship in one instance and
use that relationship to narrow down possible
answers in another similar situation or
problem.
Object permanence refers to the ability of the
child to know that an object still exists even when out
of sight.
 Deductive Reasoning is the ability to think
logically by applying a general rule to a
particular instance or situation.
Stage 2. Pre-Operational Stage (2-7 years old)
Susan Harter’s Self-Development Concept
The child uses language and symbols
including letters and numbers. Egocentrism is also
evident. Conservation marks the end of the preoperational stage and the beginning of concrete
operations.
 Symbolic function refers to the ability to
represent objects and events A symbol is
something that represents something else.
 Egocentrism is the tendency of the child to
only see his point of view and assume that
everyone also has the same point of view.
 Centration refers to the tendency of the child
to only focus on one aspect of a thing or
event and exclude other aspects.
 Irreversibility refers to the inability of the child
to reverse his thinking.
GE 1: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
TERM: FIRST SEMESTER, AY 2022-2023
1. Early Childhood
The child describes the self in terms
of concrete, observational characteristics,
such as physical attributes, material
possessions, behaviors and preferences.
2. Middle to Later Childhood
The self is described in terms of trainlike
constructs that would require the type of
hierarchical
organizational
skills
characteristic
of
logical
thought
development.
3. Adolescence
This is the emergence of more
abstract self-definitions, such as inner
thoughts, emotions, attitudes and motives.
4. Emerging Adults
INSTRUCTOR: MARGIE V. LEANDRO
10
 People’s own decisions are the right ones
and we should trust ourselves to make the
right choices.
The marked characteristic of self for
emerging adults is having a vision of a
possible self. It is the age of possibilities.
Carl Roger’s Theory on Self-Concept
Carl Rogers was a humanistic psychologist
who agreed with the main assumptions of Abraham
Maslow, but added that for a person to “grow,” they
need an environment that provides them with
genuineness (openness and self-disclosure),
acceptance (being seen with unconditional positive
regard), and empathy (being listened to and
understood).
According to Carl Rogers, the self or our selfconcepts is an organized, consistent set of
perceptions of beliefs about oneself. These
perceptions and beliefs that comprise our selfconcept are called self-schemas. Self-schemas are
formed by numerous factors that we may be aware
or unaware of, some of which are past experience,
personality traits, abilities, physical features, values,
goals, social roles, or observations and feedbacks
from others.
He also asserted that we have two selves: (1)
ideal and (2) real self. Ideal self is the self that we
want to be, the idealized version of ourselves and
how we should become. The real self is who we
actually are, how I see ourselves, and it is also our
actual self.
Rogers believed that every person could
achieve their goals, wishes and desires in life. When,
or rather if they did so, self-actualization took place.
This was one of Rogers’ most important
contributions to psychology, and for a person to
reach his potential, a number of factors must be
satisfied.
Open to experience:
 Both positive and negative emotions are
accepted.
 Negative feelings are not denied, but worked
through rather than resorting the ego to
defense mechanisms.
Existential living:
 In touch with different experiences as they
occur in life, avoiding prejudging and
preconceptions.
 Being able to live and fully appreciate the
present, not always looking back to the past
or forward to the future (living for the
moment)
Trust feelings:
 Feeling, instincts and gut- reactions are paid
attention to and trusted
GE 1: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
Creativity:
 Creative thinking and risk-taking are features
of a person’s life.
 A person does not play safe all the time. This
involves the ability to adjust, change and
seek new experiences.
Fulfilled life:
 A person is happy and satisfied with life, and
always looking for new challenges and
experiences.
According to Rogers, we want to feel, experience
and behave in ways which are consistent with our
self-image and which reflect what we would like to
be like, our ideal self.
Rogers also believed that the self is the
humanistic term for who we really are as a person.
The self is our inner personality.
Three Components of the Self
1. Self-Worth. Self-worth or self-esteem comprises
what we think about ourselves. It refers to one’s
overall assessment of one’s worth as a person,
one’s self-worth. People with high self-esteem
cussed more, have better relationships and are
happier compared to those with low self-esteem.
Our self-esteem refers to how we value our selves
and perceive our worth as a person. Rogers
believes feelings of self-worth developed in early
childhood and are formed from the interaction of the
child with the mother and father.
Self-worth may be seen as a continuum from
very high to very low. For Carl Rogers, a person who
has high self-worth, that is, has confidence and
positive feelings about him or herself, faces
challenges in life, accepts failure and unhappiness
at time, and is open with people.
A person with low esteem may avoid
challenges in life, not accept that life can be painful
and unhappy at times, and will be defensive and
guarded with other people.
2. Self-Image. How we see ourselves, which is
important to good psychological health. Self-image
includes the influence of our body image on inner
personality.
At a simple level, we might perceive ourselves
as good or bad person, beautiful or ugly. Self-image
affects how a person thinks, feels and behaves in
the world.
3. Ideal Self. This is the person who we would like to
be. It consists of our goals and ambitions in life, and
is dynamic.
TERM: FIRST SEMESTER, AY 2022-2023
INSTRUCTOR: MARGIE V. LEANDRO
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Unconditional Positive Regard and Conditional
Positive Regards
Unconditional Positive Regard
Parents, significant others accept and loves
the person for what he or she is. Positive regard is
not withdrawn if the person does something wrong
or makes mistakes.
It might not turn out exactly the way we planned it to
be but it will be a great and awesome. Just hang in
there. Continue persevering and keeping the faith.
Characteristics of People with a Healthy Level of
Self-Esteem
 Firmly believes in a certain values and
principles, and are ready to defend them
even when finding opposition, feelings
secure enough to modify them in light of
experience.
 Are able to act according to what they think
to be the best choice, trusting their own
judgement, and not feeling guilty when
others do not like their choice
 Do not lose time worrying excessively about
what happened in the past, not about what
could happen in the future. They learn from
the past and plan for the future, but live in the
present intensely.
 Fully trust in their capacity to solve problems,
not hesitating after failures and difficulties.
They ask others for help when they need it.
 Consider themselves equal in dignity with
others, rather than inferior or superior, while
accepting differences in certain talents,
personal prestige or financial standing.
 Understand how they are an interesting and
valuable person for others, at least for those
with whom they have a friendship.
 Resist manipulation, collaborate with others
only if it seems appropriate and convenient.
 Admit and accept different internal feelings
and drives either positive or negative
revealing those drives to others only when
they choose.
 Are able to enjoy a great variety of activities.
The consequences of unconditional positive
regard are that the person feels free to try things out
and make mistakes, even though this may lead to
getting worse at times.
Conditional Positive Regard
Positive regard, praise and approval depend
upon the child, for example, behaving in ways that
the parents think correct.
Hence, the child is not loved for the person
he or she is, but on condition that he or she behaves
only in ways approved by the parents.
Congruence and Incongruence
Congruence happens when a person feels
good about himself. There is a small gap between
the real self and the ideal self. It gives satisfaction,
confidence, and a sense of self-actualization or
fulfillment
leading to a
high
selfesteem.
A
person’s ideal
self may not be
consistent with
what
actually
happens in life
and
experiences of
the person. Hence, a difference may exist between
a person’s ideal self and actual experience. This is
called incongruence.
When a person’s ideal self and actual
experience are consistent or very similar, a state of
congruence exists. Rarely, if ever, does a total state
of congruence exist, all people experience a certain
amount of incongruence. Whether we feel it or not,
we have to understand and accept that we are very
capable to help ourselves and attain the ideal self
that we intend to become. Ideal does not always
have to mean perfect. Life may be imperfect but we
can work with that and use it to our advantage. We
need to decide and choose to stop comparing
ourselves with other people especially to those we
see on social media.
We need to continue investing and valuing
ourselves by learning something relevant every day.
We have the ability to improve ourselves. No
matter what happened in the past, no matter what is
happening now, we can do something, no matter
how little, to contribute to the future we hope to have.
GE 1: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
Low self-esteem can result from various
factors, including genetic factors, physical
appearance or weight, mental health issues,
socioeconomic
status,
significant
emotional
experiences, peer pressure or bullying. A person
with low self-esteem may show some of the following
characteristics:
 Heavy self-criticism and dissatisfaction
 Hypersensitivity to criticism with resentment
against critics and feelings of being attacked
 Chronic indecision and an exaggerated fear
of mistakes
 Excessive will to please and unwillingness to
displease any petitioner
End of Prelim
References:
Magalona, E. et.al. (2018). Understanding
the self. Intramuros, Manila: Mindshapers Co., Inc.
Bangeo, S. (2018). Understanding the self.
Malabon City: Mutya Publishing House, Inc.
TERM: FIRST SEMESTER, AY 2022-2023
INSTRUCTOR: MARGIE V. LEANDRO
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