CHAPTER 1: THE SELF FROM Socrates

VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE

Philosophy

 From the Greek words

- “Philos” which means love
- “Sophia” which means
wisdom
 In a broad sense, philosophy is
an activity people undertake
when they seek to understand
fundamental truths about
themselves, the world in which
they live, and their relationships
to the world and to each other.
 Way of thinking about
everything around us; about
the nature, the world, and the
society.  An ancient Greek, Philosopher,
 Seeking to know the truth Scholar, Teacher
 It is the study of the  One of the “big three”
fundamental nature of  Considered to be the main
knowledge source of Western Thought
 His works were only known
Philosophers through Plato’s writing (The
 Socrates Dialogues).
 Plato  Socrates Plato Aristotle
 St. Augustine of Hippo  A stonemason with sharp mind,
a brilliant debater and was
 Rene Descartes
idolized by many Athenians
 John Locke
 “The unexamined life is not
 David Hume
worth living”
 Immanuel Kant
 In the 5th century BCE, Athens
 Sigmund Freud
is a city state and democratic.
 Gilbert Ryle
 Athenians settle arguments by
 Patricia and Paul Churchland discussions and debate
 Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Socrate’s View of Human Nature

 The touching of the soul, may

mean helping the person to get
in touch with his true self.
  The true self is not the body nut  “Allegory of the Cave”
the soul.  “Love is the force that paves the
 Virtue is inner goodness, and way for all beings to ascend to
real beauty is that of the soul higher stages of self-realization
(Price, 2000). and perfection.”
 “Love is the way of knowing and
The Socratic Method
realizing the truth. Love is a
 Also called The Dialectic process of seeking higher
Method stages of being. The greater the
 This method involves asking a love, the more intellectual
series of questions seeking to component it will contain.”
find consistency and point out Theory of Forms
contradiction
 The search for the  Forms in the mind is the reality
correct/proper definition of a and object we sense is just a
thing manifestation of the “Forms”
 This allowed him to question  Forms refers to what are real,
people’s belief and ideas, they are not objects that are
exposing their misconceptions encountered with the senses
and get them to touch their but can only be gasped
souls. intellectually.

The Goal of Socratic Method Characteristics of Plato’s Forms

 To make people think, seek, 1. The Forms are ageless and

and ask again and again therefore are eternal.
 To make them realize that they 2. The Forms are unchanging and
do not know everything therefore permanent.
 Learn to accept ignorance and 3. The Forms are unmoving and
continue to learn and seek for indivisible.
answers
Plato’s Dualism
Plato
1. The Realm of the Shadows –
 Plato’s real name is Aristocles composed of changing, sensible
(428-348 BCE) which are lesser entities and
 He established a school known therefore imperfect and flawed
as “The Academy” 2. The Realm of Forms –
composed of eternal things
 He wrote more than 20
which are permanent and
Dialogues with Socrates as
perfect. It is the source of all
protagonist in most of them.
reality and true knowledge.
 Plato’s metaphysics id known
as the “Theory of Forms”

Plato’s Theory of Love and Becoming

Plato’s View of Human Nature  A Christian Philosopher
 Concerns mainly focuses with
 Plato made use of Socrates’
God and man’s relationship
dialectic method and
with God
considered it an important tool
in discovering knowledge. Difference Between Christian
 Plato also believed that Philosophy and Greek Philosophy
knowledge lies within the
person’s soul.  Christian Philosophy rely on
 He believed that humans have God’s commands and His
the immortal, rational soul which judgement determines what is
is created in the image of the good and what is evil.
divine.  Greek Philosophy believe that
 Plato described the soul as man is innately good and
having three components: becomes evil through ignorance
1. The Reason – rational and what is good.
is the motivation for St. Augustine’s View of Human
goodness and truth Nature
2. The Spirited – non-rational
and is the will or the thrive  His thoughts focused on two
toward action. (neutral but realms:
can be pulled to action) 1. God as the source of all
3. The Appetites – irrational reality and truth –
and lean towards the desire according to St.
for pleasures of the body Augustine without God
as the source of all truth,
St. Augustine of Hippo man could never
understand eternal
truths.
2. The sinfulness of man -
according to St.
Augustine, the causes of
sin or evil is an act of
man’s freewill. Moral
goodness can only be
achieved through the
grace of God.

The Role of Love

 St. Augustine is in
agreement with the Greeks
that man searches for
happiness.
  However, he stated that real 2. Deduction – the power to
happiness can only be found discover what is not known
in God. by progressing to an orderly
1. Love of physical objects – sin of way from what is already
greed known. Truth are arrived at
2. Love for other people – sin of using a step by step
jealousy process.
3. Love for the self – sin of pride
Descartes’ View of Human Nature
4. Love for God – real happiness

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)  “I think, therefore I am”.

 The cognitive aspect of human
nature is his basis for existence
of the self.

The Mind-Body Problem

 Soul/Mind (also the self) – a

substance that is separated
from the body.
 The body according to him, is
like a machine that is controlled
by the will and aided by the
mind.

John Locke (1632-1704)

 Known as the “Father of

Modern Philosophy”
 Introduced the Cartesian
Method
 Invented Analytic Geometry
 “Cogito ergo sum”

Descartes’ System

 He discovered that the human

mind has two powers:
1. Intuition – the ability to
apprehend direction of
certain truths.
  Born in Wrington, England  Born in Edinburgh, Scotland
 Son of a Puritan Lawyer  At the time he was enrolled at
 His interest is the acquisition of the University of Edinburgh, he
knowledge lost his faith.
 Posteriori – knowledge results  He discovered the limitations of
from ideas produced by the mind and his optimism turn
experiences into skepticism.
 “Tabula rasa” – blank slate
The Human Mind
Locke’s View of Human Nature
 The mind receives materials
 “Nothing exists in the mind that from the senses calls it
was not first in the senses” perceptions.
 Humans have no innate ideas,  Two types of perceptions:
morals, religious and political 1. Impressions – immediate
values and they come from sensations of external
sense experiences. reality
 Morality has to do with choosing 2. Ideas – recollections of
or willing to do good. impressions
 These two together make up
Three Law According to Locke the content of the human mind.
1. Law of Opinion – where actions Three Principles on How Ideas Relate
praiseworthy are virtues and to One Another
those are not called vice.
2. Civil Law – where right actions 1. The Principle of Resemblance –
are enforced by people in sensing the likeness of current
authority experience to previous
3. Divine Law – set by God on the experiences
actions of man. This is deemed 2. The Principle of Contiguity –
to be the true law for human associating an event to another
behavior. event
3. The Principle of Cause and
David Hume (17111-1776) Effect – principle that all events
have sufficient causes. This
idea arises only when people
experience certain relation
between object thus it cannot
be a basis for knowledge

Hume’s View of Human Nature

 The part of the human nature is

what other philosophers called
 the soul; Hume termed it “the  He defined knowledge as a
self”. result of human understanding
 The self is also product of the applied to sense experience
imagination
Kant’s View of Human Nature and the
 He also stated that there is no
Self
such thing as “personal identity”
behind perceptions and feeling  When the self sees an object, it
that come and go tends to remember its
 There is no characteristics and applies on it,
permanent/unchanging self the forms of time and space
 A self must exist or else there
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
could be no memory or
knowledge
 “Transcendental appreciation” –
the experience of the self and
its unity with objects
 People do not experience the
self directly but as a unity of all
impressions that are organized
by the mind through perceptions
 In the matter of God, Kant
stated the kingdom of God is
within man
 God is manifested in people’s
live therefore it is man’s duty to
move towards perfection

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

 An Austrian neurologist
 From Konisberg in East Prussia
 Considered to be one of the
(presently Western Russia)
pioneering figures in the field of
 The philosophy of David Hume
Psychology
awakened and motivated him to
 Focuses on the working of the
be the founder of German
unconscious mind
Idealism
(Psychoanalysis)
Kant’s View of the Mind
Structures of the Mind
 Kant argued that the mind
 Psychodynamic theory of Freud
actively participates in knowing
tell that the workings of the
the objects it experiences
mind or one’s mental life
 Instead of the mind conforming
impacts strongly on the body
to the world, it is the external
resulting in either emotional
world that conforms to the mind
 stability of psychological  Freud’s psychoanalysis sees a
dysfunctions man as a product of his past
 Freud presented the that lies within his subconscious
topography of the mind  Man lives his life balancing the
 Three levels of the mind:
1. Id – pleasure principles
2. Ego – reality principle
3. Superego – moral principle

forces of life and death

Gilbert Ryle (1900-1976)

 An English Philosopher
 Contradicted the Cartesian
Dualism
 In his book entitled, The
Concept of the Mind, he argues
 two kinds of instincts that drive that dualism “involves category
individual behavior: mistakes and is a philosophical
1. Eros or instinct – energy of nonsense”
eros is called “libido”
2. Thanatos or death instinct – Ryle’s View of Human Nature
behavior towards destruction
in a form of aggression and  Man is endowed with freewill
violence  He thought that freewill was
invented to answer the question
Freud’s View of Human Nature of whether an action deserves
praise or blame
 Repressed thought and
 Freewill involves a moral
memories have enough psychic
responsibility which further
energy to impose control on the
assumes that man’s action must
person’s consciousness
be moral for it to be free
 Two types of knowledge:
 1. Knowing-that – an “empty from abnormalities in the brain’s
intellectualism” as it refers to anatomy and physiology
only knowing facts
2. Knowing-how – using facts
and perform it using skill or
technical abilities Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961)
 “Knowing” involves an ability  A French Phenomenological
and not just intellect Philosopher
Patricia and Paul Churchland  He wrote books on perception,
art and political thought
 A Canadian Philosopher  His philosophy emphasized the
 Uses the application of human body as the primary site
neurology to problems such as of knowing the world
the mind-body problem
Merleau-Ponty’s View of Human
 Man’s brain is responsible for
Nature
the identity known as the “self”
 Coined the term  He has been known as a
“Neurophilosophy” philosopher of the body
 The focus is on the relationship
Neurophilosophy
between self-experience and
 It is the study of philosophy of the experience of other people
the mind, the philosophy of  He developed the concept of
science, neuroscience and body-subject and contented that
psychology perceptions occur existentially
 Aims to explore the relevance of  The consciousness, the world
neuroscientific and the human body are all
experiments/studies to the interconnected as they mutually
philosophy of the mind perceive the world
 Brain-mind issue is the center of  The world is a field of
this study perception and human
consciousness assigns
Churchland’s View of Human Nature meaning to the world
 Claims that man’s brain is  The meaning assigned for a
responsible for the identity particular object is subject to
known as the self change depending on the
 The biochemical properties of perspective upon which it is
the brain is really responsible seen
for man’s thoughts, feelings and  It is possible that one subject
behavior may be perceived from various
 Individual’s deviant thoughts, perspectives
feelings and actions comes
  Children imitate the behaviors if
people around them
 At this age, children start to
know the symbols
 The symbols are the bases of
CHAPTER 2: FROM THE communication. Ex. Language,
PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIOLOGY gestures, objects
Sociology 2. The Play Stage
3 to 7 years of age
 The scientific study of human  Skills at knowing and
social relations or group life understanding the symbols of
 Is a study of human communication is important for
interactions, the relationships socialization
that occur within the group and  Children begin to role play and
the results of these interactions pretend to be other people
 Role-taking is the process of
George Herbert Mead
mentally assuming the
 Born February 1863 in perspective of another and see
Massachusetts, USA how the person respond in a
 Graduated and taught grade given situation
school in Oberlin College 3. The Game Stage
 In 1887, he enrolled at Harvard 8 to 9 years of age
University and his main  The children begin to consider
interests were Philosophy and several tasks and various types
Psychology of relationships simultaneously
 Died of heart failure in 1931  Begins to see not only the own
perspective but also the
Mead’s Social Self perspective of other people
 “Generalized other” is the
Social Behaviorism
behavior of the person when he
 The power of the environment sees/considers other people in
in shaping human behavior the course of his actions
 Described the self as a Existence
“dimension of personality that is Stage Characteristics
of Self
made-up of the individual’s self- Preparatory Imitates
Stage
None
awareness and self-image” another
 Self cannot be separated from Play Stage Developing Role-taking
the society Game Generalized
Present
Stage other
Stages of Self Formation

1. The Preparatory Stage Mead’s Theory of the Self

0 to 2 years old
  The self is not present at birth But the “me self” expresses how to
but begins as a central choose to express that pain and your
character in a child’s world reaction will be conditioned by:
 Children see themselves as the
a. Who you are: male or female;
center of their “universe”
adult or child
 As the child grow and mature,
b. Where you are: at home or
they begin to see other people
public place, alone or with
and now concerned about
friends or strangers
people’s reactions
 Significant others is the family Charles Horton Cooley
who play a major role in the
formation of the self  Was an American Sociologist
 Made use of the
The “I” and “Me” sociopsychological approach to
understanding how societies
I self
work
 When the person initiates or  People learn who they are
performs a social action, the through their social interaction
self functions as a subject with people
 It represents the individual  Our view of ourselves comes
identity based on the response from contemplation of personal
in his own experience qualities and by the impression
 Ex.: and perception of others
- I am 20 years old  Looking-glass self or the self
- I am this. I am that that is a product of social
interaction
Me self
Three Phases of Developing a Self
 When the person takes the role
of the other, the self function as 1. People imagine how they
an object present themselves to other
 It represents learned behaviors, 2. People imagine how others
attitudes and expectations of evaluate them
others and of society 3. People develop some sort of
 Ex.: feeling about themselves as a
- Students around school result of those impressions
voted for me I am not what I think I am
- They chose me as class
president I am not what You think I am

Ex. If you accidentally put your hand to I am what I think You think I am
the fire then your “I self” express how
Erving Goffman
you react to the pain
  A Canadian-American
sociologist
 Known for his development of
Modern American Sociology
 One of his popular work was
The Presentation of the Self in
Everyday Life
 He observed that people learn
to slant their presentation of
themselves in order to create
preferred appearances and
satisfy particular audience

Impression Management

 The process of altering how the

person presents himself to other
 Similarities of social interaction
to a theatrical presentation
 Also termed as dramaturgical
approach
 Ex. A food waiter conceal his
anger towards rude customer

Face-work

 Another aspect of the self

 Is the need to maintain proper
image of the self to continue
social interaction
 Helps achieve success in
interpersonal communication
 Ex. Poise
  Also called physical
anthropology
 Is the study of the past and
present evolution of the human
species and is especially
concerned with understanding
the causes of present human
CHAPTER 3: FROM THE
diversity
PERSPECTIVE OF
ANTHROPOLOGY Linguistic Anthropology
Anthropology  Studies the role of language in
the social lives of individuals
 Is a field of social sciences that
and communities
focuses on the study of man
 Explores how language shapes
 This field includes man’s
communication and how
physical/biological
language and modes of
characteristics, his social
communication change over
relationships and the influences
time
of his culture from the dawn of
civilization up to the present  An essential part of human
communication is language
 Makes the person aware that
what he is maybe determined  Language is a system of
by his past and present communication used by a
condition particular country or community
 Archaeology, Biological  Language identifies a group of
Anthropology, Linguistic people
Anthropology and Cultural  Linguistic Anthropologist’s
Anthropology – subfields interest focuses on using
language as a means to
Archaeology discover a group’s manner of
social interaction and his
 The study of the ancient and
worldview
recent human past through
 English is the universal
material remains
language
 Archaeological records consists
of artifacts, architecture, Cultural Anthropology
biofacts, and cultural
landscapes  It is the study of human
 Focus on the past and how it cultures, their beliefs, practices,
may have contributed to the values, ideas, technologies,
present economies and other domains
of social and cognitive
Biological organization
 Culture is described as a group
of people’s way of life. It
 includes their behaviors, culture when compared to
beliefs, values and symbols systems of morality, law,
that they accept (usually politics, etc.
unconsciously) that are socially
transmitted through Cultures may manifest itself in
communication and imitation people through:
from generation to generation 1. Symbols
Theory of Cultural Determinism - Are the words, gestures,
pictures or objects that have
 A belief that the culture in a recognized/accepted
which we are raised meaning in a particular
determines who we are at culture
emotional and behavioral - Symbols are considered the
levels most superficial level of
 Positive implication of this culture
theory suggests that human - Symbols can be shared or
beings can be shaped/formed copied by other cultures
to have the kind of life they who find them also fitting
prefer it further means that their own culture
there is no limit placed on the 2. Heroes
human ability to be or to do - Are persons form the past
whatever they set their minds or present who have
and hearts into characteristics that are
 Negative implication is that important in a culture
people have no control over - They may be real or
what they learn. They blindly fictitious and are models for
accept the learning their behavior
cultures exposed them to. 3. Rituals
Human beings are seen as - Are activities (may be
helpless and so only what their religious or social)
culture instructs them to do participated in by a group of
people for the fulfillment of
Theory of Cultural Relativism desired objectives and are
considered to be socially
 Is the ability to understand a
essential
culture on its own terms and not
4. Values
to make judgements using the
- Are considered to be the
standards of one’s own
core of every culture
 The goal of this is promote
- Values are unconscious
understanding of cultural
and can neither be
practices that are not typically
discussed nor be directly
part of one’s own culture.
observed but only be
 It leads to the view that no one
inferred from the way
culture is superior than another
 people act and react to
circumstances and
situations
- Values involve human
tendencies/preferences
towards good or bad, right
or wrong
 3. There is a continuity of thoughts
as its focus shift from one object
to another.
CHAPTER 4: FROM THE 4. Thoughts deal with objects that
PERSPECTIVE OF PSYCHOLOGY are different from and
independent of consciousness
Psychology itself.
5. Consciousness can focus on
 A filed of social sciences that
particular objects and not
deals with the description,
others.
explanation, prediction, and
control of behavior (Ciccareli James believed that the self is made
and Meyer, 2006) up of two parts: the I self and the Me
 It further believes that the world self
of material things including
people exists independently of  Me Self – a separate object or
the perceiving human mind individual that the person refers
 Nature vs Nature Controversy to when discussing or
describing their personal
 Concept of the Self
experiences. The Empirical
Willian James (1842-1910) Self.
 I Self – is the self that knows
 American Philosopher and and recognizes who they are
Psychologist and what they have done. The
 He was professor of psychology Pure Ego or the thinking self.
and philosophy at Harvard
University and was known for 3 Components of the Me Self
being one of the great
1. Material Self
pragmatists.
 Consists of things and
 He is also known for his Theory
objects that belong to the
of the Self. He wrote many
person or entities that a
articles on both philosophy and
person belongs to.
psychology and published
 Bodily Self – parts of the
several books, one of which is
body
The Principles of Psychology in
 Extracorporeal Self – any
1980. It is in this book where his
material possessions that
theory of the self is explained.
extends our body
The “Me” and the “I”  The more attached and
identified the person is to
Five Characteristics of Thoughts
his material things, the
1. All human thoughts are owned more he will be affected
by some personal self. if any of them changes.
2. All thoughts are constantly 2. Social Self
changing or are never static.
  Refers to who the person creates conflict and
is in particular situation. prevents the
 The person chooses the development of the
self that would smoothly person’s sense of self
adapt to the social  Individuality – too much
situation for him to fit in. individuality results in
3. Spiritual Self distant and estrange
 Refers to the self that is feelings towards family
more concrete or and other people.
permanent when  In this theory, Murray
compared to the material stated a balance should
and social selves. be maintained between
 This self is the most these two forces.
subjective and intimate - Differentiated Self
part of the self.  Has the ability to
 Includes introspection separate feelings and
(self-observation) thoughts
 Person recognizes he
Other Selves in Psychology has his own personality
1. Global and Differentiated Self- therefore he endowed
Models with unique
 Global self is the product characteristics not
of all experiences that found in other members
of the group
person had in the
society which shows  A person can attain
what kind of person he self-fulfillment by
is. separating himself from
- Murray Bowen (1913-1990) the group, live his own
 American Psychiatrist life and fulfill his destiny
and Professor of  Being free from the
Psychiatry influence of other a
 He was among those person allows him to
who developed the define himself
Family Therapy/  A person can be who
Systematic Therapy truly he is by
 Came up with the differentiating himself
concept of Differentiated from unwanted
influences in from
Self by observing his
own family others and taking an
identity that is
- 2 Forces Affecting the
Person prescribed by family or
society
 Togetherness – too
much togetherness
  Enables the person to associated with
develop and sustain his emotional discomforts.
unique identity, makes Self-discrepancy is the
his own decision and gap between two of
accept responsibility for these self-
his behavior and still be representations that lead
able to stay emotionally to negative emotions.
connected with his 3. Multiple and Unified Selves
family and friends.  Multiple Selves Theory
2. Real and Idea Self Concept suggests that there
- Carl Rogers (1902-1987) exists in the individual
 American psychologists different aspects of the
who proposed the self. It makes sense that
personality theory the self is a while made
known as the Person- up of the parts.
Centered Theory  Unified Self-Identity of a
 He stated that the term person consists in the
self-concept is used to continuity of
refer to how a person consciousness. What
thinks about or makes me “me” is the
perceives himself network of the
- 2 Types of Self-Concept memories, hopes,
 Real Self-Concept – expectations, fantasies,
refers to all information convictions and other
and perception the thoughts that constitute
person has about my own consciousness.
himself. 4. True and False Selves
 Ideal Self-Concept – is  True self – the self is
the model version the seen as creative,
person has of himself spontaneously
- Self-Discrepancy Theory experiencing each day of
 Individuals compare their lives, appreciating
their “actual” self to being alive, real,
internalized standards or integrated and connected
the “ideal/ought self”. to the whole of existence
Inconsistencies between  Aware of who he is
“actual”, “ideal”  False self – a mask that
(idealized version of hides the true person for
yourself created from life fear of the pain of
experiences) and rejection and failure.
“ought” (who persons  It enables the person to
feel they should be or form superficial but
should become) are
 productive social with full awareness of his
relationships. behavior.
5. Self as Proactive and Agentic 2. Forethought person’s
 Alberta Bandura (1925- anticipation of likely outcomes
present) is the proponent of his behavior.
of the personality theory 3. Self-Reactiveness process in
as The Social Cognitive which the person is motivated
Theory and regulates his behavior as
 In his theory, the person he observes his progress in
is seen as proactive and achieving his goals.
agentic which means that 4. Self-Reflectiveness person
he has capacity to looking inward and evaluating
exercise control over his his motivations, values, life
life goals and other people’s effect
 Is acting in advance of a on him.
future situation, rather 5. Self-regulation allows the
than just reacting. person to set goals that are
 It means taking control better and higher than the
and making things former, challenging his
happen rather than just capabilities and making him a
adjusting to a situation or wiser and self-actualized
waiting for something to individual.
happen.
 Behaves like an agent,
assuming no
responsibility for actions
or their consequences
only following the orders
of someone in authority.

Bandura’s (1989) Theory of

Reciprocal Causation

 In his Triadic Reciprocal

Causation Paradigm, he
explains further how human
beings are affected by the
interaction among environment,
events, behavior and personal
factors (Feist & Feist, 2008)

Features of Human Agency

1. Intentionality actions performed

by the person intentionally or
CHAPTER 5: THE SELF IN is still embedded in his/her
WESTERN AND EASTERN social relationship
THOUGHT  The cultivated self is a subdued
self – it is conditioned to
Individualist Self
respond to perceptions, not of
 A person sees himself as its own needs and aspirations,
capable of living his own life, but of SOCIAL
doing the things that he would REQUIREMENTS AND
love to do, making his own OBLIGATIONS wherein the
mistakes and learning from his personal needs are repressed
experiences. for the good of many, making
 This is the individual who is maintaining order and balance
aware of his rights and the in society.
limitations of his freedom in the Taoism
extant society.
 It is living in the way of the Tao
Collective Self or the universe. However,
 In the culture of the East, the Taoism rejects having one
development of a collective self definition of what is the Tao is.
is ingrained into the individual.  The self is not just an extension
 Collective self is the group self of the family or the community;
to which the person belongs to. it is a part of the universe, one
of the forms and manifestation
Cultural Perceptions of Self of the Tao.
 The ideal self is selflessness
 Eastern and Western dichotomy
but this is not forgetting about
wherein eastern is called
the self, it is living a balanced-
Orientals represents ASIA and
life with society and nature,
western represents the
being open and accepting the
EUROPE and NORTHERN
change.
AMERICA.
Buddhism
Eastern Thoughts of Self
 The self is seen as an illusion,
Confucianism
born out of ignorance, of trying
 Code of conduct, of how one to hold and control things, or
should properly act according to human-centeredness, thus the
their relationship with other self is also the source of all
people harmonious social life. these suffering;
 Self-cultivation is seen as the  It is therefore our quest to forget
ultimate purpose of life, but the about the self, forget the
characteristics of a chun-tzu, a cravings of the self, break the
man of virtue or noble character attachments you have with the
world, and to renounce the self
 which is the cause of all well as the things you may
suffering and in doing so attain create, a drama in which
the stater of Nirvana. everyone is interconnected with
their specific roles.
Confucianism and Taoism – the
 Americans, for example, talk
person, in striving to a better person,
more about their personal
does not create a self above the other
attributes when describing
people or nature but a self that is
themselves while Asians in
beneficial to his/her community as well
general would talk about their
as in order and in harmony with
social roles or the social
everything else.
situations that invoked certain
As for Buddhism, the self, with all its traits that the deem positive for
connection and selfish ideas, is totally their self.
taken, not just out of the center of the  Evaluation of the self also
picture, but out of the whole picture as differs as Americans would
a whole. highlight their personal
achievements while Asians
Western Thoughts of Self would rather keep a low profile
as promoting the self can be
 Western perspective does not
seen as boastfulness that
discount the role of environment
disrupts social relationships;
and society in the formation of
 The Western culture then is
the self but the focus is always
what we would call an
looking towards the self. You
individualistic culture since their
compare yourself in order to be
focus is on the person;
better, you create associations
and bask in the glory of that  Asian culture, on the other
group for your self-esteem; you hand, is called collectivism
put PROMACY IN culture as the group and social
DEVELOPING YOURSELF. relations is given more
importance than individual
 Western thought looks at the
needs and wants.
worlds in dualities wherein you
are distinct from the other  By valuing the individual,
person, the creator is separate Westerners may seem to have
from the object he/she created. loose associations or even
loyalty to their groups.
Differences of Western and Eastern  Competition is the name of the
Thoughts game and they are more likely
straightforward and forceful in
In which the self is distinguished and
their communication as well as
acknowledge.
decision-making;
 On the other hand, the Eastern  Eastern or oriental persons look
perspectives sees the other after the welfare of their groups
person as part of yourself as and values cooperation. They
 would also be more
compromising and they would
also be more compromising and
they tend to go around the bush
in explaining things, hoping that
the other person would “feel”
what they really want to say.
 Westerners also emphasize
more on the value of the
equality even if they see that
the individual can rise above
everything else; they also
promote ideals “fair” competition
and protect the individual;
 As Asians, with their collective
regard, puts more emphasis on
hierarchy- as the culture wants
to keep things in harmony and
in order.

As for the Philippines

 Filipinos can also consider the

colonization experience for
differences and similarities with
our Asian neighbors;
 We might also find variation
among provinces and regions
due to geographical conditions;
 With social media, migration,
and intermarriages, variety
between the Westerners and
Asian perceptions may either be
blurred or highlighted, whereas
conflict is inevitable in diversity,
peace is also possible through
the understanding of where
each of us is coming from.