GEC001 NOTES

Understanding the Self

Prelim

The Self from Various Perspectives

MANY VIEWS OF THE SELF

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF

PHILOSOPHY

• philosophy employs inquisitive mind to discover the ultimate causes, reasons, and
principles of everything

• goes beyond scientific investigation by exploring all areas of knowledge such as religion,
psychology, politics, physics, and even medicine

• “love of wisdom ” – desire for truth by formulating never ending questions to provide
answers to every inquiry about the nature of human existence
• philosophical framework was first introduced by the ancient Greek philosophers
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

Socrates:

An unexamined life is not worth living

• self is synonymous with the soul

• first to focus on the full power of reason on the human self: who we are, who we should
be, and who we will become

• reality consists of two dichotomous realms: – physical – ideal

• physical is changeable, impermanent, and imperfect

– this is where man lives

– body

• ideal is unchanging, eternal, and perfect

–includes intellectual essences of –goodness

the universe
–beauty
–truth
–soul

• soul, the essence of the self is the immortal (last forever) entity

• it strives for wisdom and perfection by utilizing reason

• quest for wisdom is inhibited by the imperfection of the physical realm

• suggests that man must live an examined life and a life of purpose and value

• an individual can have a meaningful and happy life only if he becomes virtuous and
knows the value of himself which can be achieved through soul-searching

• Socratic method, the so-called introspection is a method of carefully examining one’s

thoughts and emotions

- to gain self- knowledge

Plato:

The Self is an Immortal Soul

• also believes that self is synonymous with the soul

• introduces the 3 part of the soul:

–reason

–physical or appetite

–spirit or passion

• Reason –divine essence that enables us to think deeply, m akes wise choices, and achieve
a true understanding of eternal truths

• Physical / Appetite –includes our basic biological needs

–hunger

–thirst

–sexual desire
• Spirit / Passion –includes basic emotions

–love –aggressiveness

–anger –empathy

–ambition

• these 3 elements are in a dynamic relationship with one another, sometimes in conflict
especially when reason is not in control of their spirits and appetites

• harmonious integration under the control of reason is the essence of Plato’s concept of
justice

• Plato also introduces his Theory of Forms (concept of 2 worlds)

– world of forms (nonphysical ideas)

• real and permanent

– world of sense (reality)

• temporary and only a replica of the ideal world

• dependent on the ideal world where the concept of soul belongs

Aristotle:

The Soul is the Essence of the Self

• consider the body and soul as inseparable

• human differs from other living things because of their capacity for rational thinking

• introduces 3 kinds of soul:

– vegetative

– sentient

– rational

• Vegetative soul – includes the physical body that can grow

• Sentient soul – sensual desires, feelings, and emotions

• Rational soul – what makes man human

– intellectual capacity

– “man is rational animal”

• suggests that the rational nature of the self is to lead a good, flourishing, fulfilling life

• in pursuit of happiness it requires doing virtuous actions such as justice and courage

ST. AUGUSTINE

The Self has an Immortal Soul

• integrates the ideas of Plato and teachings of Christianity

• view body as “spouse” of the soul, both attached to one another by a “natural appetite”

• soul is an important element, governs, and define a man

• humankind is created in the image and likeness of God thus everything created by God
who is all good is good

• self is known only through knowing God

• emphasizes the significance of reflection and prayers

• self seeks to be united with God through faith and reason

RENE DESCARTES:

I Think Therefore I Am

• Father of Modern Philosophy

• give emphasis to the nature of reasoning process and understand its relationship to the
human self

• Cogito ergo sum (I think therefore I am)

• essence of human self – a thinking entity that doubts, understands, analyzes, questions,
and reasons

• 2 dimensions of human self:

– idea of thinking self as non- material, immortal, conscious being, independent of physical
laws of universe
–physical body as a material, mortal, nonthinking entity, fully governed by physical laws of
nature

• soul and body are independent from one another and can function without the other

JOHN LOCKE:

The Self is Consciousness

• human mind at birth is tabula rasa or blank slate

• self and personal identity is constructed from sense experiences

• essence of self is its conscious awareness of itself as a thinking, reasoning, and reflecting
identity

• knowledge is based on careful observation of experiences

• using the power of reason and introspection enables one to understand and achieve
accurate conclusions about the self

DAVID HUME:
There is No Self

• through sense experience and introspection, individual will discover that there is no self

• what people experience is just a bundle or collection of different perceptions

• there are only distinct entities: – impressions and ideas

• impressions are basic sensations of people’s experience (hate, love, joy, pain, cold)

– vivid perceptions, strong, and lively

• ideas are thoughts and images from impressions

– less lively and vivid

• people have no experience of a simple and individual impression that they can call the self

• idea of personal identity is a result of imagination

IMMANUEL KANT:

We Construct the Self

• it is the self that makes experiencing an intelligible world possible because it is the self
that is actively organizing and synthesizing all of our thoughts and perceptions

• self construct its own reality, actively creating a world that is familiar, predictable, and
most significantly mine

• self regulates experience by making unified experiences possible

SIGMUND FREUD:

The Self is Multilayered

• a psychoanalyst, not a philosopher

- Unconscious & childhood trauma

• self consists of 3 layers: –conscious –unconscious –preconscious

• conscious self

– governed by reality principle

– rational, practical, appropriate to the environment

– takes into account the realistic demands of situation and preserve the equilibrium
(balance) of entire psychodynamic system of the self

• unconscious self – contains basic instinctual drives including sexuality, aggressiveness,

self-destruction, traumatic, memories, unfulfilled wishes, childhood fantasies

– governed by pleasure principle

• Freud argues that much of the self is determined by the unconscious

• preconscious self –contains material that is not threatening and easily brought to mind

–located between the conscious and the unconscious part of self

 The Self is Multilayered

GILBERT RYLE:

The Self is the Way People Behave

• self is best understood as a pattern of behavior

• “I act therefore I am”

• mind and body are intrinsically linked in complex and intimate ways

• mind expresses the entire system of thoughts, emotions, and actions that make up the
human self
PAUL CHURCHLAND:

The Self is the Brain

• self is inseparable from brain and the physiology of the body

• all a person has is the brain, so if the brain is gone, there is no self

MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY:

The Self is Embodied Subjectivity

• all the knowledge about the self is based on the phenomena of experience

• everything that people are aware of is contained within the consciousness - responsible
for actively structuring conscious ideas and physical behavior

• perception is a conscious experience

Sociological Perspective: The Self as a Product of Society

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF SELF

• based on the assumption that human behavior is influenced by group life

• formed through interactions with other people, groups, or social institutions

• self does not depend on biological predispositions

Sociology

• scientific study of social groups and human relationships

• suggests the interconnectedness between self and other people

CHARLES HORTON COOLEY

looking glass self

• people whom a person interacts with become a mirror in which he or she views
himself or herself

SELF-IMAGE IS ACHIEVED THROUGH A THREEFOLD EVENT

• conceiving an idea of how a person presents himself or herself to others

• how he/she analyzes how others perceive him/her

• how he/she creates an image of himself or herself

• could have a negative self-image since this is subjective

GEORGE HERBERT MEAD

theory of the social self

• person develops a sense of self through social interaction and not the biological
preconditions of that interactions

SELF HAS 2 DIVISIONS:

the “I”

• subjective element and active side of the self

 • represents spontaneous and unique traits of a person

the “ME”

• objective element of the self

• represents the internalized attitudes and demands of other people and individual’s
awareness of those demands

•full development of self is attained when ”I and me” are united

GEORGE HERBERT MEAD

• since there is a meaning in human actions, a person infers people’s intentions or

direction of action, which may lead him or her to understand the world from other’s
point of view-a process called role-taking

• self continues to change along with his/her social experience

• no matter how much the world shapes a person, he/she will always remain a
creative being and react to the world around him/her

DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF IN 3-STAGE PROCESS (MEAD)

1. Preparatory stage (0-3 years old)

• children imitate people around them especially family members with who they
have daily interaction

• BUT they copy behavior without understanding underlying intentions

• have no sense of self

• preparing for role-taking

2. Play stage (3-5 years old)

• children start to view themselves in relation to others as they learn to

communicate through language and other symbols

• role-taking is exhibited however, children do not perceive role-taking as

something expected of them

• self is developing as children pretend to take the roles of specific people or

significant others (individuals who are important agents of socialization)
3. Game stage (school years)

• children understand not only their own social position but also those of others
around them

• become concerned about and take into account in their behavior the generalized
others which refer to attitudes, viewpoints, demands, and expectations of the
society which include cultural norms and values that serve as references in
evaluating oneself

• have a more sophisticated look of people

• have an ability to respond to numerous members of the social environment

• self is now present

THE SELF AS A PRODUCT OF MODERN AND POSTMODERN SOCIETIES

GERRY LANUZA

• discusses the relationship between society and the individual

• self-identity continuously changes due to the demands of multitude of social

contexts, new information technologies and globalization

JEAN BAUDRILLARD

• postmodern individuals achieve self-identity through prestige symbols that they

consume

• cultural practices of advertising and mass media greatly influence individuals to

consume goods not for their primary value and utility BUT for the feeling of
goodness and power when compared with others

• postmodern person has become an insatiable consumer and may never be

satisfied in his or her life

• example: buying latest mobile phones, cars, trendy clothes

• self is a never-ending search for prestige in the postmodern society

PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
CARL ROGERS

SIGMUND FREUD

Demon/ID – pleasure principle; seek pleasure & satisfaction ex. party(walwal)

You/EGO - (person) or you, the one who decides to have a balance outcome

Angel/SUPEREGO – monolostic(right & wrong – guilt &conscience)/idealistic principle ex.

study

Psychosexual Stages of Development

1. Oral Stage (Birth 2 years old)

- Mouth is the primary erogenous zone;pleasure derived from sucking: id is
dominant
- fixation (overeating, cursing, smoking, alcoholism)
2. Anal Stage (2-3 yrs old)
- Anus
- Toilet training (external reality) interfereswith gratification received
fromdefecation
o Anal Retentive (obsessed with dimliness, alcoholism etc.)
o Anal Expulsive (disorganized/burara)
3. Phallic Stage (3-6 yrs old)
 - Genitals
- Sexuality
- Incestuous fantasies; Oedipus complex; anxiety; superego development
4. Latency Stage (6-12 yrs old)
- sexual energy is dormant
- sexual interactivity inactive
- Period of sublimation of sex instinct
5. Genitals Stage (Adolescence/Adulthood)
- Genitals
- Sexual of nonrelative
- Development of sex-role identity and adult social relationships

MIDTERM
Unpacking The Self

The Physical Self

• this chapter explores the process of physical growth and development

• it requires an analysis of the life span and the physical development that happens in each
stage

• physical changes that occur at the start of adolescence result largely from the secretion of
various hormones which affects every aspect of an adolescent’s life, especially the way they
view themselves

• generally, girls are more dissatisfied than boys with their physical appearance and their
overall body image

• for girls, self-consciousness and dissatisfaction with their appearance reach their peak
between the ages 13 and 15

• body’s ability to perform its functions gradually changes through an individual’s aging

–in general, body performs least during infancy and old age

–physical efficiency peaks in early adulthood between ages of 20 and 30, and slowly
declines into the middle age

ADOLESCENCE
• transition between childhood and adulthood entailing major physical, cognitive, and
psychosocial changes

–puberty - person attains sexual maturity and the ability to reproduce (fertility)

• signal the end of childhood

• 8 y/o for girls ; 9 for boys

• characterized by rapid physical changes that include the maturation of the reproductive
system

• each individual goes through a succession of developmental stages throughout his/her

life span

•life span - refers to the development from conception to death

ELIZABETH HURLOCK outlines the stages in the life span:

1. Prenatal - fertilization/conception to birth

2. Infancy - birth to 2 weeks

3. Babyhood - 2 weeks to 2nd year

4. Early childhood - 2 to 6 y/o

5. Late childhood - 6 to 10/12 y/o

6. Puberty - 10/12 to 14 y/o

7. Adolescence - 14 to 18 y/o

8. Early adulthood - 18 to 40 y/o

9. Middle adulthood - 40 to 60 y/o

10. Late adulthood or senescence - 60 to death

 Period Characteristics Age
• sperm penetrates egg
Prenatal fertilization to birth
• zygote to embryo to fetus
• shortest period in the
lifespan
Infancy birth to 2 weeks
• time of radical adjustments
• hazardous period
• true foundation age
(behavioral, emotional, etc are
being established/rystalized)
• beginning of socialization
Babyhood 2 weeks to 2nd year
• beginning of sex-role typing
(dress, toys
preference)
• appealing stage
• problem or troublesome age
• pre-school age
Early childhood • exploratory or questioning 2 to 6 y/o
stage
• imitative stage
• sloppy age
Late childhood • elementary school age 6 to 10/12 y/o
• gang age
• time of rapid growth and
change
Puberty 10/12 to 13/14 y/o
(secondary sex characteristics)
• occurs at variable age
• time of search for identity
• a problem age (vises are
Adolescence present, selection of peers) 13/14 to 18 y/o
• time of unrealism
(fantasizing)
• settling-down age (with a line
of work, marriage partner)
Early adulthood 18 to 40 y/o
• reproduction age
• time of value change
• time of boredome
Middle adulthood • time of achievement 40 to 60 y/o
• time of evaluation
Late adulthood or • period of decline (physical
60 and older
senescence abilities)
2 FACTORS AFFECTING PHYSICAL GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT

• physical growth and development is the product of heredity and environment

–heredity - biological process of the inheritance of traits from parents to offspring

– environment - factors an individual is exposed to throughout life including

learning and experiences

• diet, nutrition, and diseases play an important role in an individual’s physical

development

• sex and other physical characteristics are determined by the combination of

chromosomes and genes during fertilization when the egg and sperm cells unite

• there are 23 pairs of chromosomes

– 22 pairs are called autosomes (trait chromosomes)

– 23rd pair from father and mother is called the sex chromosomes or gonosomes

• which chromosome usually determines the sex of an individual?

• genes are basic carrier of hereditary traits and can be classified as dominant (strong
genes) or recessive genes (weak genes)
THEORIES OF PHYSICAL SELF

theory of physiognomy

– suggests that person’s physical characteristics (facial features, expressions, body

structures could be related to person’s character/personality

– face is a three-dimensional reflection of “who we are and how life has affected us”
according to ancient Chinese practice which rooted from Five Element Theory which makes
use of elements of water, wood, fire, earth, and metal as archetypes for everything occuring
in the natural world

– face readers observe how facial features and markings correspond to a person’s mental,
emotional, and physical makeup

• in ancient Greece, Hippocrates developed a theory based on the prominence of body

fluids

– an excess of or deficiency in any of the 4 bodily fluids (or humors) in a person influences
their personality, temperament, and well-being

– sanguine type (red bile) - impulsive, cheerful, happy, and optimistic

– melancholic (black bile) - depressed and pessimistic

– choleric (yellow bile) - easily get angry and temperamental (excessive sensitivity)

– phlegmatic (phlegm) - sluggish, dull, and slow

• William Sheldon’s body-type theory (1940) based on physical characteristics

–3 body types are:

• endomorphic - soft and plump; easy going and sociable

• mesomorphic - strong and muscular body; energetic, adventurous, assertive,

courageous, competitive, and tend to be dominant

• ectomorphic - tall and thin; restrained, quiet, introverted, and artistic

• Jean Haner in her work The Wisdom of Your Face, suggests that:

– oval-shaped faces - hospitable and tactful

– round-shaped - friendly, kindhearted, and selfless

– square faces - witty, analytical, and great leaders

– heart-shaped - patient and intuitive by nature

– long-shaped - perfectionists and tend to be aggressive

– triangle-shaped - creative, artistic, sensitive, determined

– diamond faces - very detailed-oriented, like to be in control

– people with full and thick eyebrows tend to be confident, assertive, and goal-oriented

– person with large or highly defined jaws have strong values and firm beliefs

– Squier and Mew (1981) persons with long and angular-shaped faces tend to be more
responsive, assertive, and genuine

– square-shaped faces - restrained and conforming

BODY IMAGE

body image

• how individuals perceive, think, and feel about their body and physical appearance

appearance

• refers to everything about a person that others can observe such as height, weight, skin
color, clothes, and hairstyle

• body image is related to self-esteem which is a person’s overall evaluation of his or her
own worth

• adolescents tend to experience negative self-image because they are in a stage of

development that is confusing to them

• girls are more concerned than boys about their physical appearance and overall body
image

– the greatest concern that girls express about their bodies is how they conform to
idealized notions of beauty

• reaction of adolescents to their physical appearance depend on sociocultural factors

– emphasis that peers, parents, or the media put on ideal body types which is slim
and thin lead girls to experience body dissatisfaction
• for both boys and girls, bullying and peer pressure are associated with greater body
dissatisfaction

• tv, advertising, and movies are full of women who are thin, thus constructing the notion
that the ideal body shape is slim

–the result is they try to change their physical appearance either through cosmetic surgery,
dieting, or excessive exercise

–too much concern with thinness and ideal body shape may result in body dissatisfaction

• girls who have higher body dissatisfaction are likely to experience depression, low self-
esteem, and eating disorders

– anorexia nervosa - an eating disorder wherein the person refuses to eat for fear of gaining
weight which can result in severe starvation and death

– mostly affects females between ages of 12 and 40

– bulimia nervosa in which a person induces purging after binging on large quantities of
food

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEAUTY

• in Egypt art, beauty is perceived in women with slim, high waist, narrow hips, and long
black hair

• women with a full figure and rounded hips were considered beautiful during the
Renaissance period

• during Medieval age, chubby, fat, or plump women are considered beautiful

• people in Malaysia, Philippines, and Indonesia, consider flat noses to be attractive

• genereally individuals who have clean and unblemished skin, thick shiny hair, well-
proportioned bodies, and symmetrical faces are traditionally considered the most beautiful

• beauty has always been considered important throughout the history since these features
indicate youth, health, good genes, and fertility

• advertisements, magazines, and televisions are filled with good-looking faces which
emphasize the value of physical attractiveness
• the reality however is beauty standards presented in media are so unrealistic, that even
the most beautiful and handsome supermodels cannot achieve it

– some change their physical appearance through body modification

• one form is tattoing - which injects ink onto the skin to draw a design

• body piercing - lets people wear jewelry through different piercings in their body
(ears, nose, tongue)

• traditionally, these two forms of body modification were considered signs of one’s
strength, bravery, and social status

• another form is cosmetic surgery - includes surgical and non-surgical procedures

to restore, reconstruct, or alter body parts

• whether beauty is biologically programmed or culturally constructed, it remains

important in all societies

• attractive people have a lot of advantges in life

– studies have shown that men and women who are physically attractive have more
opportunities in finding jobs, getting promotions, and having higher income

– some people also view attractive people as happier, smarter, and better people

– generally, unattractive people are less liked and assisted

• different cultures have different definitions and perceptions of beauty

– beauty is in the eye of the beholder

• people tend to juddge others based on physical appearance, however, physical

appearance alone is not enough to know a person’s true character

– it’s important to see into a person’s inner thoughts and feelings--one’s inner self

SOME WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR BODY IMAGE AND INNER SELF

• take good care of your health

• live a well-balanced life

• dress well and be neat

• spend some time alone to reflect

• be creative and do something new all the time

• develop a wholesome attitude toward sex

• respectt individuality

• make friends

• face your fears

• be independent

• accept things as they are (espcially those you can’t control)

• pray

• count your blessings more than your problems