UNDERSTANDING THE SELF Þ Physical Appetite – accounts for the

basic biological needs such as

THE SELF FROM VARIOUS hunger, thirst, and sexual desire.
PERSPECTIVES Þ Spirit/Passion – accounts for the
Þ “Who am I?” basic emotion such as love, anger,
ambition, aggressiveness, and
THE ANCIENT TRIUMVERATE empathy.
• Socrates
“Know thyself” • Aristotle
Þ Man must live and stand according Þ The mind (self) is tabula rasa – a
to nature. blank slate
Þ Man must look at himself Þ Self is composed of matter and
form
“An unexamined life is not worth living” Þ Matter is in a continuous process
of developing and becoming
TWO FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS: Þ the Process of Completion is
1. To find what? through experiences
Þ Invitation to introspection: Þ Self comes from a First Cause,
Platonic theory of the source of all changes
reminiscence although unchangeable itself
Þ Knowledge is within; Þ The goal of human self is
inherent in man; not outside reached in happiness through
Þ Wisdom is learning to reflect. moderation or balance of things.
2. By what means?
Þ Socratic Method THE POST ARISTOTELIANS
• Stoicism – apathy or indifference to
TWO ASPECTS OF REALITY pleasure
(Dualistic Reality = Body and Soul) • Hedonism – “Eat, drink, and be
Physical World Spiritual World happy. For tomorrow, you will die.”
Changeable, Unchanging, • Epicureanism – moderate pleasure
transient, imperfect. eternal, perfect
“World of “World of MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
Senses/Matter” Ideas/Form” (500 AD – 1350 AD)
Þ Theocentric (God-centered)
OUR SELF Þ “Is the self related to a supreme
Þ Strive for wisdom and perfection being or God?”
Þ Reason is the soul’s tool to achieve Þ “Who am I in relation to a supreme
such state. being/God?”
Þ From the scientific investigation on
• Plato nature and search of happiness
“3 Part Soul/Self (Psyche)” Þ More imposing than informing
Þ Reason – the divine essence that lets Þ To aim at Paganism and Barbarism
us think deeply (wisdom), make wise
choices, and achieve a true • St. Augustine
understanding of eternal truths. (Theologian, Philosopher)

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 Þ Integrates Platonic Ideas with the Þ Dualism
tenets of Christianity “Thinking self and the Physical body is
Þ Platonic Realm of Idea = Christian connected via the Pineal Gland.”
Philosophy of a transcendent God
Þ Self strives to achieve union with • David Hume
God through faith and reason. Þ Impressions: basic sensations of
experiences
• St. Thomas Aquinas Þ The self is a bundle of different
Þ Self knowledge is dependent on our perceptions
experience of the world around us.
Þ We don’t encounter ourselves as • Immanuel Kant
isolated minds or selves, but rather Þ A priori concepts
always as agents interacting with our Þ Self as subject, not object
environment. Þ The self organizes all the sensations
Þ The label we attribute to ourselves and thoughts into a picture that
are taken from the things we makes sense to each one of us.
encounter in our environment.
Þ “The things that we love tell us what • Sigmund Freud
we are” (Father of Psychoanalysis)
Þ Experiencing that something exists Þ The self is multi-tiered/multi-
doesn’t tell us what it is layered:
Þ Knowing and learning about a thing o Conscious – refers to thoughts
requires a long process of and feelings that we are aware
understanding; some with the mind of.
and the self – with experience and o Preconscious – experiences
reason. that are unconscious but could
become conscious with little
MODERN PHILOSOPHY effort.
(14th century to early 20th century) o Unconscious – contains all
Þ Anthropocentric (Man-centered) drives, urges or instincts that
are beyond our awareness but
• Rene Descartes motivate our feelings,
“Cogito ergo sum” thoughts, and behavior.
Þ I think, therefore I am.
Þ Self-awareness • Gilbert Ryle
Þ Self is a thinking thing which can Þ The self is defined in terms of
exist independently of the body behavior that is presented to the
world.
• John Locke Þ The self is a pattern of behavior, the
Þ The self endures because of memory tendency or disposition for a person
Þ Conscious awareness and memory of to behave in a certain way in certain
previous experiences are the keys to circumstances.
understanding the self
Þ Coined “tabula rasa” • Paul Churchland
Þ Eliminative Materialism

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 Þ Grounded in neuroscience EGO DEFENSE MECHANISM
Þ The mind/self is the brain. • Repression – when ego is
threatened, it unconsciously forgets
CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY or block unpleasant feelings.
(Late 19th century) • Displacement – redirecting
• Edmund Husserl unacceptable urges to less
Þ We experience our self as a unity threatening people or objects.
which in mental and physical are • Regression – the ego may revert
seamlessly woven together. back to an earlier stage during times
of stress or anxiety.
• Maurice Merleau-Ponty • Projection – attributing the
Þ Lived body unwanted impulse to another person.
Þ An entity that can never be • Sublimation – suppression of
objectified in a completely objective unwanted impulses by substituting it
sort of way, as opposed to the “body with a creative cultural
as object” of the dualist. accomplishment.
Þ “There is no duality of substance but • Denial – denying the existence of an
a dialectic of living being in its external threat or traumatic event.
biological milieu” • Rationalization – reinterpreting
our/others’ behavior to make it more
Sociological Perspective acceptable and less threatening to us.
Þ The self is a relatively stable set of
perceptions of who we are in FUNCTIONALISM
relation. • Focused on the operation of
Þ Not a passive participant. conscious activity
Þ Shaped through interaction with • Study of man’s adjustment to his
other people environment

The Looking Glass Self SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

Þ How we believe others see us. • Putting meaning in certain words

The Johari Window IMAGINARY AUDIENCE

Þ Technique used to enhance the • Thought to believe that others are
individual’s perception on self and always watching and evaluating
others. them; and they are special and
unique.
FREUD’S THEORY OF THE ID,
SUPEREGO, AND EGO SELF-CONCEPT
• Id – natural part of self; animalistic • Mental representation of the entire
nature of man; focus is to be happy you.
and satisfied.
• Superego – morals and values; ANTHROPOLOGY
social self; idealistic principle Western Self Non-Western Self
• Ego – psychological self; reality Autonomous and Identity shared with
principle. ego-centric others

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INDIVIDUALISM Þ Buddha denies the self; no self, no
Þ Individualistic nature individual
Þ Independent part of the universe and Þ To study the self is to deny the self
the society. Þ When self becomes anxiety-free, one
can act spontaneously
Characteristics of Individualism Þ Everything is impermanent in the
• Individual rights take center stage continuous becoming of lived
• Independence is highly valued experience.
• Being dependent upon others is often
considered shameful or embarrassing • Hinduism
• People tend to be self-reliant (fusion of various Indian cultures and
• The rights of individuals tend to take traditions)
a higher prescedent Þ Karma: good or bad
• People often place a greater Þ Actions that the individual
emphasis on standing out and being performed in a previous life
unique determines his/her caste
• Monotheism belief on one God Þ Law of Karma suggests that a
• Materialism person’s mental and physical actions
are binding
COLLECTIVISM Þ “We reap what we sow”
Þ Human as integral part of the Þ Our successes and failures are mostly
universe and society products of our own thoughts and
Þ People are fundamentally connected actions.
Þ Duty to others
• Taoism
Characteristics of Collectivism (Lao-Tzu)
• Social rules focus on promoting Þ Relativity of opposites (yin and
selflessness and putting the yang)
community needs ahead of Þ Self as a separate identity is
individual needs supported by equal and opposite
• Working as a group and supporting sensation of otherness
others is essential Þ Self does not exist without the
• People are encouraged to do what’s existence of the other
best for society
• Families and communities have a • Confucianism
central role. (Confucius)
Þ The self is the starting point of a
THE SELF IN ORIENTAL/EASTERN constructive process
THOUGHT Þ A person who is not responsive to
• Buddhism others is self-centered.
(Siddharta Gautama) Þ Self is relational and interdependent
Þ Experience in the transformations of Þ Filial piety is a foundational concept
consciousness and stages of in the thought of Confucius
meditation

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SEXUAL SELF Þ Hypothalamus regulates the function
Biological Perspective of the pituitary gland to secrete
Þ 22 pairs of autosomes; last pair hormones.
known as sex chromosomes
Genetic Basis SEX vs. GENDER
Þ X and Y Chromosomes Sex
Human Reproductive System Þ Biological, anatomical, physical
Þ Male and Female Reproductive Þ Male: Penis
System Female: Vagina
Intersex: chromosomes/hormones
Erogenous Zones but external genital is either male or
Þ According to Freud, it is where the female
libido is centered Þ Refers to sexual acts, “having sex”
Þ Needs stimulation by engaging the
person in gratifying activities Gender
Þ Parts of the body that experience Þ Structure of social relations that
heightened sensitivity and/or signal centers on reproductive area
sexual arousal of some kind. Þ Gender-normative: adhering to or
Þ Most sensitive erogenous zone is the reinforcing ideal standards of
Brain masculinity or femininity.
Gender non-conformity: behavior
Sexual Response Cycle or gender expression by an
Þ Model that describes the individual that does not match
physiological responses, that occur masculine or feminine gender norms.
during sexual activity Cisgender: gender identity matches
Þ Hypothalamus – most important part his/her assigned sex
of the brain for sexual functioning; Transgender: do not match their
produces important sexual hormones assigned sex
that are then secreted by the pituitary
gland. Sexual Intercourse
1. Desire (Libido) a. Unitive – to unite the couple
2. Excitement (Arousal) b. Procreative – to create more people
3. Plateau
4. Orgasm (Climax) Sexually Transmitted Infections
5. Resolution Þ 1 million STI cases everyday
worldwide
Lust Attraction Attachment Þ HPV (Human Papilloma Virus)
(Genitals) Þ HIV (Human Immunodeficiency
Testosterone Dopamine, Oxytocin Virus)
and Estrogen Serotonin, and and
Norepinephrine Vasopressin

Þ Lust and attraction shuts off

prefrontal cortex

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