Chapter 1 - Self is nothing else but a bundle of impressions.

Lesson 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL Experiences can be categorized into 2:
PERSPECTIVES 1. Impressions- basic object of our experiences or
sensations
Socrates- the first philosopher who ever engaged in a systematic 2. Idea- copies of impressions
questioning about the self. He agreed in DUALISM.
“Know Yourself” Immanuel Kant- suggests that self is an actively engaged
Every man is composed of: (Dualistic) intelligence in a man that synthesizes all knowledge and
-body experiences.
-soul
Gilbert Ryle- self is not an entity one can locate and analyze
Plato- supported DUALISM. but simply the convenient name that people use to refer to
3 components of the soul: all the behaviours that people make.
1. Rational self
2. Spirited self Merleau- Ponty- a phenomenologist who asserts that the
3. Appetitive self mind-body bifurcation is a futile endeavor and an invalid
problem. He said that the mind and the body are so
Augustine- agreed that man is bifurcated in nature. He also intertwined and cant be separated from one another.
agreed in Dualism too.

Thomas Aquinas- he agreed that man is composed of two parts.

Rene Descartes- “Cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am) Self- commonly defined by the following characteristics:
2 Distinct entities of self a. Separate- self is unique and has its own identity. One is
1. Cogito distinct from other selves.
2. Extenza b. Self-contained and independent- its distinctness allows it
to be self-contained with its own thoughts, characteristics
David Hume- believes that one can know only what comes and volition. It does not require any other self to exist.
from the senses and experience.
 c. Consistent- it has personality that is enduring and therefore*If the self is born into a particular culture or society, the self will
can be expected to persist for quite sometime have to adjust according to its exposure.
d. Unitary- center of all experiences and thoughts that run
through a certain person The Self and the Development of the Social World
e. Private- sorts out information, feelings and emotions and Most often, we think that human persons are just passive
thoughts processes with in the self. It can never be actors in the whole process of the shaping of selves. However,
accesible to anyone but self. recent studies indicated that men and women in their growth and
- This also suggests that self is isolated from development engage actively in the shaping of the self.
the external world. However, there will
always be a potential clash between the self Mead and Vygotsky- they agreed that human persons develop
and the external reality, with the use of language acquisition and interaction with others. It
Understanding the Vibrant Relationship between the Self and the could be through internal dialogue).
External Reality For Mead, a child assumes the ‘other’ throug language and
Social constructionists argue for a merged view of ‘the roleplay. It is through this that a child delineates the ‘I’ from the
person’ and ‘their social context’ where the boundaries of one rest.
cannot easily be separated from the boundaries of the other. For Vygotsky, a child internalizes real-life dialogues that he
had with others, family, primary caregivers and playmates. They
The self is always in participation with social life and its identity become what they watch.
subjected to influences here and there, Self is multifaceted.
Self in Families
The Self and Culture Our family can affect us and the kind of development that
Marcel Mauss - (French anthropologist) assumes that every self we will have as we go through life.
has 2 faces: We learn the ways of living by being in a family. Babies
2 faces of self: internalize ways and styles that they view from their family.
1. Moi- person’s basic identity, sense of who he is, his bpdy
and his biological givenness. Gender and Self
2. Personne- composed of the social concepts of what it Gender is one of those loci of the self that is subject to alteration,
mean to be who he is. It has much to do with what it change and development. It partly determines how we see
means to live in a particular institution, family, religion and ourselves in the world.
nationality.
Gender has to personally discovered and asserted and not
directed by culture and society.
 2. We actually need others to affirm and reinforce who we
think we are.
Lesson 3: THE SELF AS A COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT 3. What we think is important to us may also have been
influenced by what is important in our social or historical
Self- the sense of personal identity and of who we are as context.
individuals. * Social interaction and group affiliation are vital factors in creating
our self-concept.
William James (1890)- one of the earliest psychologists to study
the self. He conceptualized the self as having 2 aspects. Self-awareness- being aware of our self-concept.
2 aspects of self: 2 types of self that we need to be aware of (Carver and Scheier):
1. I- the thinking, acting and feeling self 1. Private self- internal standards and private thoughts and
2. Me- physical characteristics as well as psychological feelings.
capabilities that makes who you are. 2. Public self- public image commonly geared toward having
a good presentation of yourself to others.
Carl Rogers 3 other self-schema presented in self-awareness:
I- the one who acts and decides 1. Actual self- who you are at the moment
Me- what you think or feel about yourself as an object. 2. Ideal self- who you like to be
3. Ought self- who you think you should be.
Other concepts similar to self: Self-awareness may be positive or negative depending on the
Identity- composed of one’s personal characteristics, social roles circumstances and our next course of action.
and responsibilities, as well as affiliations that defines who you Self-consciousness- being concerned about being observed and
are. criticized by others.
Self-concept- what comes to your mind when you are asked about Deindividuation- the loss of individual self-awareness and
who you are. individual accountability in groups.
Self-esteem- defined as our own positive or negative perception or
Self- schema- our own organized system or collection of evaluation of ourselves.
knowledge about who we are. Although, it changes as you grow According to social comparison theory, we learn about ourselves,
up and it actively shape and affect how you see, think and feel the appropriateness of our behaviour, as well as our social status
about things. by comparing aspects of ourselves with other people.
Self- evaluation maintenance theory- states that we can feel
3 reasons why self and identity are considered as social products: threatened when someone outperform us, especially when that
1. We do not create ourselves out of nothing. person is close to us.
Narcissism- a trait characterized by overly high self- esteem, self-
admiration and self-centeredness. Eastern Perspective:
-sees other person as part of yourself as well as the things you
may create, a drama in which everyone is interconnected with
Lesson 4: THE SELF IN WESTERN AND EASTERN their specific roles.
THOUGHTS -talk about social roles or their social situations that invoked
certain traits that they deem positive for their selves and would
Confucianism- can be seen as a code of ethical conduct, of how keep a low profile.
one should properly act according to their relationship with other -collectivistic culture
people. -look after the welfare of their groups and values cooperation
Chun-tzu- a man of virtue or noble character - emphasis on hierarchy as culture wants to keep things in
Taoism- living in the way of the Tao is or the universe. harmony and order.
The ideal self is selflessness but not forgetting about self
but living a balanced-life with society and nature, being open and *Even though conflict is inevitable in diversity, peace is also
accepting to change, forgetting about the prejudices and possible through the understanding of where each of us is coming
egocentric ideas and thinking about equality as well as from.
complementarity among humans as well as other beings.

Buddhism- the self is seen as an illusion, born out of ignorance, of

Western perspective:
-does not discount the role of environment and society in the
formation of the self but the focus is always looking toward self.
-looks at the world in dualities
-talk more about their personal attributes when describing
themselves and would highlight their personal achievements.
-individualistic culture.
-may seem to have loose associations or even loyalty to their
group.
-emphasize more on the value of equality.