PSYCH 1100 St.

Augustine
Understanding The Self Also called as St. Augustine of Hippo.
His view of human person reflects the entire spirit of
Introduction: the medieval world when it comes to man.
The Concept of SELF According to MerriamWebster He was deeply influenced by Plato’s ideas.
Dictionary, self is defined as: He adopted Plato’s view that the self is immaterial
“the personality or character that makes a person (but rational) soul.
different from other people; the combination of He agreed that man is of bifurcated nature.
emotions, thoughts, feelings, etc., that make a An aspect of man dwells in the world and is
person different from others” imperfect and continuously yearn to be with the
divine and the other is incapable of reaching
Introduction: The Self in Various Perspectives immortality.
Philosophy His concept of the <self= was an inner, immaterial
that
PHILOSOPHY have self knowledge and selfawareness.
Philosophy came from the Greek word philos- (love) He believed that human being is both a soul and
and Sophia (knowledge, wisdom). At its simplest, body, and the bodypossessed senses.
Philosophy means <love of knowledge= or <love of
wisdom=. It is originally used by the Greeks meant Rene Descartes
<the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. •He is labeled as the Father of Modern Philosophy.
In terms of philosophical perspective, we have •He conceived of the human person as having a
different definitions of the <self=. From ancient to body and a mind.
modern time, various philosophers provided •He thought that the only thing that one cannot
different view regarding the presented concepts. doubt is the existence of self.
Cogito ergo sum, "think therefore, I am"
Socrates •For him, the self is also a combination of two
A Greek philosopher and one of the very few distinct entities:
individuals who shaped Western thoughts. -The cogito, the things that thinks, which is the
Known for his method of inquiry, the Socratic mind;The extenza, or the extension of the mind,
Method. which is the body.
He believed that philosophy plays a verynimportant •In his view, the body is nothing else but a machine
role in the lives of people. that attached
to the mind. The human person has it, but it is not
Some of Socrates’ ideas: what makes man a man. If at all, that is the mind.
The soul is immortal.
The care of the soul is the task of Philosophy. John Locke
Virtue is necessary to attain happiness. •He was a Philosopher and a Physician and was one
The unexamined life is not worth living. of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers.
•He believed that the <self= is identified with
According to him, the state of your inner being consciousness and this <self= consists of
(soul/self) sameness of consciousness.
determines the quality of your life •This is usually interpreted to mean that the <self=
Thetrue task of Philosopher is to know oneself. consists of memory; that the person existing now is
The goal of life is to be happy. the
same person yesterday because he/she remembers
the thoughts, experiences, or actions of the earlier
Plato self.
He was the student of Socrates. •For him, a person’s memories provide a continuity
He supported Socrates’ idea that a person is of experience that allows him/her identify
dualistic, composed of body and soul. himself/herself as the same personover time.
However, he added that the soul is composed of
three components: David Hume
a. The Rational soul (reason) •He was a Scottish Philosopher.
b. The Spirited soul (feeling) •He was an Empiricist.
c. The Appetitive soul (sensual) •Empiricism is the idea that the origin of all
In his book <The Republic=, he emphasized that knowledge is sense experience. It emphasized the
justice in the human person can only be role of experience and evidence in forming concepts,
attained if the 3 parts of the soul are working while discounting the notion of innate ideas
harmoniously with one other. •He argued that the <self= is
According to him, the <soul= is indeed the most not an entity over and beyond the physical body. To
divine aspect of thehuman being him, the self is nothing else but a bundle
of.impressions.
•By impression, these are the basic objects of our
experience and sensation. They form the core of our
thoughts. These are products of our direct contact • He was a Philosopher and a professor. He solved
to the world. the mindbody dichotomy. For him, what truly matters
•ToHume, is Self, according simply <a bundle or is the behavior that a person manifest in his day-to-
collection of day life.
different perceptions, which succeed each other with •He suggested that the self is not an entity one can
an inconceivable rapidity, and are in perpetual flux locate and analyze but simply the convenient name
and movement.= In reality, what one thinks is a that people used to refer to all the behaviors that
unified self is simply a combination of all people make.
experiences with a particular person. •In his view, your actions define your own concept
of<self=.
Immanuel Kant
•He was the central figure of in the modern Paul Churchland
Philosophy. •He was a Philosopher and professor known for his
•His contributions to metaphysics, epistemology, studies in neurophilosophy and the philosophy of
ethics, and aesthetics have had mind.
profound impact on almost every philosophical •His philosophy stands on materialistic view or the
movement that followed him. belief that nothing but matter exists.
•He recognized the veracity of Hume’s account, that •If something can be seen, felt, heard, touched or
everything starts with perception and sensation of tasted, then it exists.
impression. •He insisted that the idea of a mind or soul is not in
•However, he thought that the things that men consonance with the physical changes that have
perceive around them are not just randomly infused occurred in the hereditary characteristics of the
to human person without an organizing principle that human species over successive generations.
regulates the relationship of these impressions. •Thus, he asserted the sense of <self= originated
•To him, there is necessarily a mind that organizes from the brain itself, and that this self is a product of
the impressions that menget from the external world. electrochemical signals produced by the brain.
Without the self, one cannot organize the different
impressions that one gets in relation to his own Maurice Merleau-Ponty
existence. •He was a Philosopher, author and phenomenologist.
•He suggested that it is an actively engaged •He asserted that the mindbody bifurcation is a futile
intelligence in man that synthesizes all knowledge endeavor and an invalid problem. He theorized that
and experience. Thus, the self is not just what gives the
one his personality. In addition, it is also the seat of mind and body are so intertwined that they cannot
knowledge acquisition for all human persons. be separated from one another.
•All experience is embodied. One’s body is his
Sigmund Freud opening toward his existence to the world.
•A Philosopher, Physiologist, and Psychologist.
•He was one of the most influential thinkers of the MODULE 1- TOPIC 1.2 & 1.3
20ᵗʰ century. His most known contribution in the SOCIOLOGICAL/ ANTHROPOLOGICAL
field PERSPECTIVE OF SELF
of Psychology was the Psychoanalysis.
•Unlike his predecessors, he didn’t accept of any Not only the self is entwined in society: it owes
single entity that could be put forward as the notion society its existence in the most literal sense
of the self. - Theodor Adorno
•His work in the field of Psychoanalysis was ground
breaking because it answer the question on human SOCIOLOGY
psyche. a scientific study of social groups and human
•In Psychology, psyche is the totality of human mind, relationships generates new insights into the
both conscious and unconscious. In his earlier interconnectedness between the self and other
structural people. Hence, sociologist offer theories to explain
division of psyche, Freud distinguished three levels how the self emerges as a product of social
of consciousness: experience.
Conscious
Preconscious/subconscious The looking glass self by Charles Horton Cooley
Unconcious Theory of the social self by George Herbert Mead are
Freud further structured the psyche/mind into three helpful in understanding how a person views himself
parts: or
Id – it operates the pleasure principle. herself as he or she interacts with the social
Ego – it operates according to reality principle. environment that includes family, school, peer
Superego – it incorporates the values and morals of groups, and mass media.
the society. It is consists of 2 systems: Conscience II. THE LOOKING GLASS SELF THEORY BY CHARLES
and Ideal self. COOLEY
Three main components:
Gilbert Ryle 1.) Self reflection study – We imagine how we must
appear to others
2.) Self-awareness manipulation – We imagine the Social Group is either organic or rational
judgment of that appearance Organic- naturally occurring and highly influenced by
3.) Individuation manipulation – We develop our self one’s family, gives feeling of rootedness, implies
through the judgments of others. less freedom and greater conformity.
Rational- made up of different people coming from
THEORY OF THE SOCIAL SELF BY GEORGE different places, formed as a matter of shared-
HERBERT MEAD interest
– According to Mead, three activities develop the
self: language, play, and games. III. SELF IN SOCIETY AND SOCIETY IN SELF
No one can stand apart from the social world.
– In the preparatory stage (0-3 years old) Language Everyone is influenced by society and it makes its
develops self by allowing individuals to respond to indelible mark on us. It’s a great error to think that
each there is no such thing as society or that we are
other through symbols, gestures, words, and sounds. separate, selfsufficient individuals.
Language conveys others' attitudes and opinions .
toward a I. HOW CULTURE AFFECTS THE SEL
subject or the person. Emotions, such as anger, lSir Edward B. Taylor, founder of cultural
happiness, and confusion, are conveyed through anthropology, classically defined culture as “that
language. complex
whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts,
– During the play stage (3 to 5 years old) Play morals, law, customs, and any other capabilities and
develops self by allowing individuals to take on habits acquired by (a human) as a member of
different roles, pretend, and express expectation of society.
others. Play develops one's self-consciousness
through role-playing. During role-play, a person is ACCORDING TO DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGIST
able to internalize the perspective of others and CATHERINE RAEFF (2010), CULTURE CAN
develop an understanding of how others feel about INFLUENCE HOW YOU, YOUR COWORKERS, AND
themselves and others in a variety of social THE FAMILIES YOU SERVE VIEW THE SELF:
situations. • Relationships- Culture influences how you enter
into and maintain relationships. (choosing friends)
• – In the game stage (begins in the early school • Personality Traits- Culture influences your
years; above 8 or 9 years old) Games develop self by personality and how it’s displayed, such as if and
allowing individuals to understand and adhere to the how you value traits like humility, self-esteem,
rules of the activity. Self is developed by politeness, and assertiveness.
understanding that there • Achievements- Culture influences how you define
are rules in which one must abide by in order to win success and whether you value certain types of
the game or be successful at an activity. individual and group achievements.
• Expressing Emotions- Culture influences what will
TWO SIDES OF SELF affect you emotionally as well as how you express
yourself, such as showing your feelings in public or
“I” How the person sees himself keeping it private.
“Me” How others see us
IV. ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE SELF AS
III. THE SELF AS A PRODUCT OF MODERN SOCIETY REPRESENTATION•
(SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE) • According to Ewing (1990), people from all cultures
Modernization has significantly changed society, have been observed to be able to rapidly project
and this influences how the individual develops his different self-representations, depending on the
or her identity. context of the situation.
From Maria Clara to Juana • By self-representation, Ewing meant culturally
From Sex to LGBTQIA+ shaped “self” concepts that one applies to oneself.
From sulat kamay/telegrama to online messaging • How individuals see themselves, how they relate to
-Real changes in personal identity emerge out of the other people, and how they relate to the environment
creative interplay between social circumstances and are deeply defined by culture.
events and the way you as an individual respond to • If one finds the view that the “self” is a product of
them. society, then that is plausible that the ways of how
the self is developed are bound to cultural
SOCIAL GROUPS AND SOCIAL NETWORK differences as well.
•Social Group- is characterized by having two or • The basic idea is that the principles of how the
more people interacting with one another, sharing mind works cannot be conceived of as universal, but
similar characteristics and whose members identify that it is as varied as the culture and tradition that
themselves as part of the group. people practice all over the world.
•Social Networkties that connect you to the social • Cultural psychologists distinguished two ways of
group. how the self is constructed.
• Independent construal= is an interpretation of
meaning of something; hence in this sense, the
meaning of the self.
• The interdependent construct is typical of the
collectivist culture in East Asia stressing the
essential connection between individual to other
people.

TOPIC 3
THE SELF IN THE LENS OF PSYCHOLOGY

I. SELFHOOD AND PERSONALITY: THE

PSYCHOLOGY OF IDENTITY
Scientific study of human behavior and mental
processes and how they are affected by an
organism’s
physical state, mental state, and external
environment

GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY
1. Describe- what the person is doing?
2. Explain- Why is he/she doing it?
3. Predict- What he/ she is going to do?
4. Modify- How can we change the behavior?

SIGMUND FREUD VIEW OF PERSONALITY

• Founder of Psychoanalysis
• Propose the complete theory of personality
• Much of the thoughts and behavior of an individual
is rooted on the inner forces, memories, and
conflicts of which a person has little awareness or
no control.

FREUD’S MODEL OF THE MIND

On the surface is consciousness, which consists of

those thoughts that are the focus of our attention
WILLIAM JAMES’ “ME-SELF” AND “I-SELF”
now,
The “I Self” reflects what people see or perceive
and this is seen as the tip of the iceberg. The
themselves doing in the physical world (e.g.,
preconscious consists of all which can be retrieved
recognizing that one is walking, eating, writing)
from
memory. The third and most significant region is the
“Me Self” is a more subjective and psychological
unconscious. Here lie the processes that are the real
phenomenon, referring to individuals’ reflections
cause of most behaviour. Like an iceberg, the most
about themselves (e.g. characterizing oneself as
important part of the mind is the part you cannot see.
athletic, smart, cooperative).
•Although the “I” self cannot be further divided, the
“Me” can be further broken down into three sub-
categories: a material, social, and spiritual self.
The material self tangible objects or possessions we
collect for ourselves
The social self marks who you are in a specific
social situation. We tend to change our actions,
thoughts, emotions, words, and mannerisms based
on the current social situation or the people with
whom we are interacting.
Finally, our spiritual self is who we are at our core,
including our personality, values, and conscience.
Our spiritual self typically remains relatively stable
throughout our lifetime (Green, 1997).

CARL ROGER’S VIEW OF SELF

•He believed that all people possess an inherent
need to grow and achieve their potential. This need
to achieve self-actualization, he believed, was one of we experienced growing up.
the primary motives driving behavior. • Developing our own values, ideals, and beliefs
rather than automatically accepting the beliefs that
Ideal Self- who or what you want we grew up with or those of our culture.
Real Self- who you actually are
Self-esteem-how much worth and value you believe SELF-CONCEPT AND SCHOOL PERFORMANCE
you have Self-concept is generally thought of as our individual
Congruence- the alignment of the two self perceptions of our behavior, abilities, and unique
Incongruence- happens when there is inconsistency characteristics—a mental picture of who you are as
between the real self and the ideal self. a person.

FOUR CONCEPTS OF THE SELF- SOCIAL •In psychology, the term self-esteem is used to
PSYCHOLOGISTS describe a person's overall subjective sense of
In self-presentation theory- It implies that how you personal worth or value—in other words, how much
perceive yourself affects how your actions can serve you appreciate and like yourself.
as means of expressing who you are to others. According to Albert Bandura, self-efficacy is "the
• Public self: your view of yourself as defined by belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute
other people’s public knowledge of you the courses of action required to manage
• Self-concept: who you believe you are prospective situations."
• Actual or behavioral self: the self created by your
actions and habits PSYCH 1100 Understanding the Self
• Ideal self: the self you aspire to be
Explain
TRUE VS. FALSE SELVES BY DONALD WINNICOTT INDIVIDUALIST VS. COLLECTIVIST
English psychoanalyst and child psychiatrist The °An individualist is motivated by personal rewards
true self refers to a sense of self based on authentic and benefits. Individualist persons set personal
experience, and the feeling of being truly present and goals and objectives based on self. Individualistic
alive. The false self is a defensive façade, behind workers are very comfortable working with
which the person can feel empty, it’s behaviors being autonomy and not part of a team.
learnt and controlled rather than spontaneous and -The collectivist is motivated by group goals. Long-
genuine. term relationships are very important. Collectivistic
persons easily sacrifice individual benefit or praise
MULTIPLE VS. UNIFIED SELVES BY DAVID LESTER to recognize and honor the team’s success. In fact,
The unified self is a means of referring to the being singled out and honored as an individual from
"composite" persona, or to the "self" that contains all the rest of the team may be embarrassing to the
of the other personas that exist within a person's
interactional style. THE SELF IN EASTERN THOUGHT
Confucius- was a Chinese philosopher, politician,
Multiple selves (or multiple personas)refer to the and teacher whose message of knowledge,
different ways that individuals interact with the benevolence, loyalty, and virtue were the main
different situations and circumstances in their lives. guiding philosophy of China for thousands of years.
CONFUCIANISM can be seen as a code of ethical
PSYCHOLOGICAL DIFFERENTIATION conduct on how one should properly act according
• Psychological differentiation is an important to their relationship with other people, thus, it is also
aspect of selfdevelopment. As Dr. Robert Firestone focused on having harmonious social life.
writes in his book The Self-Under Siege: A • The identity and self-concept of the individual are
Therapeutic Model for Differentiation,“ interwoven with the identity and status of his/her
• In order for people to live their own lives and fulfill community or culture, sharing its pride as well as its
their destinies, they must differentiate from failures.
destructive environmental influences.” So, you • Self-cultivation is seen as the ultimate purpose of
should ask yourself: Whose life am I really living? Am life but the characteristics of a chun-tzu, a man of
I basing my life on my own personal beliefs, values virtue or
and desires? noble character, is still embedded in his social
relationship.
THE FOUR STEPS OF DIFFERENTIATION • The cultivated self in Confucianism is what some
• Breaking with destructive thoughts and attitudes scholars call a “subdued self” wherein personal
towards ourselves that we internalize based on needs are repressed (subdued) for the good of many,
painful early life experiences. making Confucian society also hierarchal for the
• Recognizing and changing negative personality purpose of maintaining order and balance in society.
traits in ourselves that are an incorporation of the
negative traits of our parents, caregivers, or other Some Quotations from Confucianism
influential figures. * “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it
• Looking into the psychological defenses we complicated.”
developed as an adaptation to the pain and distress * “The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the
better will be his world at large.” judgment; speech; action; effort; concentration; etc.
* “When anger rises, think of the consequences.”
* We have two lives and the second begins when we Some Quotations:
realize we only have one.f * With our thoughts, we make the world,”
* “You will not be punished for your anger, you will be
TAOISM is living in the way of the Tao or the punished by your anger.”
universe and was founded by Lao Tzu. * “A painful truth is always better than a hidden lie.”
•However, Taoism rejects having one definition of * “Happy people build their inner world. Unhappy
what the Tao is, and one can only state clues of people blame their outer world.”
what it is as they adopt a free-flowing, relative,
unitary, as well as ironic view of everything. THE SELF IN WESTERN THOUGHT Wolter (2012)
•Taoism rejects the hierarchy and strictness brought and Qingxue (2003):
by Confucianism and would prefer a simple lifestyle • Looks at the world in dualities wherein you are
and its teachings thus aim to describe how to attain distinct from the other person, the creator is
life. separate from the object he created, in which the
•In Taoism, the relativity of opposites is present in self is distinguished and acknowledged
other aspects of the universe, such as yin and yang: • The Western culture is what we would call an
yin is all that is feminine, gentle, dark, and meek; individualistic culture since their focus is on the
yang is all that is masculine, forceful, light, and person. By focusing on the self, they may seem to
active. Yin and yang exist in a mutual relationship have loose associations or even loyalty to their
and reinforce each other. Life arises from death and groups. Competition is the name of the game and
vice versa. they are more likely straightforward and forceful in
•In Taoism, self does not exist without the existence their communication as well as decision making.
of the other; self as a separate identity is supported • Western perspective does not discount the role of
by the "equal and opposite sensation of otherness" environment and society in the formation of the self
but the focus is always looking toward the self.
The ideal self is SELFLESSNESS, but NOT forgetting
the self but rather living a well-balanced life with Western and Eastern Differences
society and nature, being open and accepting
change, forgetting prejudices and egocentric ideas,
and thinking about equality.
The ‘Three Jewels of Tao’ refer to the three virtues
of taoism:
1) compassion, kindness, love
2) moderation, simplicity, frugality
3) humility, modest

Some Quotations:
“Clay is shaped into a bowl, but it is the empty space
that makes it useful.”
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one
Western and Eastern Similarities
step.”
• Both approach share a concept that a deeper
understanding of reality is possible.
BUDDHISM
• Influenced by the notion that there is a supreme
• The self is seen as illusion, born out of ignorance,
being who guides the mankind and provides for all
of trying to hold and control things, or human-
he created.
centered needs; thus, the self is also the source of
• Believes in the concept of "god as the king of
all these sufferings.
universe"
• It is, therefore, our quest to forget about the self,
forget about the cravings of the self, break the
attachments you have with the world, and to
renounce the self which is the cause of all suffering
and in doing so, attain the state of Nirvana.
•Nirvana (liberation)- blowing out the flames of
desire, hence the end of suffering.
THE 4 NOBLE TRUTHS OF BUDDHISM
1. The Truth of Suffering – old age, sickness, death,
failed expectations.
2. The Truth of the Origin of Suffering – roots of evil:
Greed, Ignorance, Hatred
3. The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering – to end
suffering, one must be liberated from attachment.
4. The Truth of the Path to the cessation of Suffering
– identifying the way to right understanding;