Binalonan, Pangasinan

MODULE 3: The Self from the Anthropological Perspective

Course Title: Understanding the Self
Course Code: GE 1

Name: __________________________________________________________
Course and Year: _________________________________________________
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Introduction
This module entitled The Self from the Anthropological Perspective explains contributing factors of culture and
national identity in shaping one’s self.

I. Objectives
At the end of the end of this module, students should be able to:
1. Explain how culture affects shape one’s identity
2. Examine your sense of self through the different I-positions and the three fundamental selves
3. Reflect on your own identity struggles by writing essay

II. Lectures

In most dictionaries, the term “Filipino” is defined as belonging or relating to the Philippines, or to its people and
culture. In the context of citizenship, “Filipino” simply means membership in a nation-state. In the constitution, a citizen is
someone who legally resides in a country. Anthropologically, however, it is different. To belong to a people is not
necessarily implying a legal association to a country but it entails a responsibility to live and protect the country’s cherished
values.

To belong and relate to a culture means to adopt, accept, and treasure is entire way of life. Therefore, in order to be
called Filipino, you have to belong to the Filipino people and adopt their culture. In this perspective, the self must be
embedded in the culture.

Cultural Identity and National Identity

Culture is derived from the Latin word “cultura or cultus” meaning care or cultivation. Culture is analogous to caring
for an infant. Because an infant has prolonged dependency, he or she has to be taken care of by the people around him or
her. The infant has to learn from them so he or she can better adjust while growing up in his or her immediate cultural
environment (Leano & Corpuz, 2008). Throughout one’s life, he or she functions according to the cultural context where he
or she is situated. As one grows old, he or she learns many things about his or her environment and realizes what makes
him or her different from other people. As an individual interacts with people and make sense of how he or she functions in
the context of his or her social and cultural background, he or she learns that he or she has both personal identity (the way
he or she sees himself of herself as an individual) and collective identity (the way he or she sees himself or herself as
member of a certain group.

Identity refers to “who the person is”, or the qualities and traits of an individual that make him or her different from
others. There are many ways to distinguish people. An example is identifying them in a geographical context or based on
where they come from. People from the West are different from the people from the East because they are located in
opposite sides of the world. Identity also refers to how a person sees and express oneself.

Cultural identity refers to the identity or feeling of belongingness to a certain culture group It is an individual’s
perception about himself or herself anchored on race, gender, nationality, religion, ethnicity, and language. One might
identify himself or herself as Filipino because he or she embodies Filipino cultural ways and traditions to which he or she
has been exposed while growing up. While being a Filipino, one may also identify as a Catholic because it is his or her
religious background. The cultural categories that shape one’s overall cultural identity is meant to be multidimensional.

The cultural identity theory explains why a person acts and behaves the way he or she does. It makes sense of how
an individual is influenced by the cultural contexts he or she is situated in. A single person can possess multiple identities,
simultaneously making him or her part of many cultural groups. These identities overlap and form the identity of an
individual.

A nation is a group of people built on the premise of shared customs, traditions, religion, language, art, history, and
more. National identity refers to the identity or feeling of belongingness to one state or nation.
Rupert Emerson, apolitical scientist defines it as “a body of people who feel that they are a nation”. National identity is social
constructed. It is influenced and shaped by material and non-material cultures. Material culture such as the national flag,
emblem, or seal is representative of all the people who are part of a nation. Non-material culture, on the other hand,
embodies the shared understanding of a group of people which includes norms, beliefs, and traditions. National identity
requires the process of self-categorization. In self-categorization, one must identify himself or herself with an in-group
(identifying with one’s nation) and differentiate himself or herself from the out-groups (other nations). It brings out positive
emotions like pride, nationalism, patriotism, and the sense of responsibility one has to the nation he or she is part of. For
instance, when the national anthem is played, people are expected to sing and honor the flag since they are part of the
nation that honors that anthem.

Brian Morris’s Anthropology of the Self

According to Brian Morris, the self is not an entity but a process that orchestrates an individual’s personal
experience. As a result of this process, the person becomes self-aware and self-reflective about his or her place in the
surrounding world. The concept of “self” for him is defined as an individual’s mental representation of his or her person, as a
kind of self-representation. The concept of “other” in relation to the self, on the other hand, refers to how one perceives the
mental representation of others. A clear separation between self and others seems to be universal, but the meaning of this
distinction varies from person to person (Van Meijl, 2008 citing Spiro, 1993). At the same time, it seems obvious that the
relationship between the self and others is also a function of culture. (Van Meijl, 2008 citing Shweder & Bourne, 1984).
Morris (1994) stated that the most crucial form of interaction and exchange takes place neither between the psyche and
culture, but instead between the self and his or her cultural environment as mediated by social practices.
In view of the dialectical relationship between the self and the cultural milieu, which is assumed to be different depending
on the dynamics of a society, a dichotomy between western and non-western notions of self has long been embedded in
western philosophical and psychological traditions of thinking.

This idea about the self was long conceived by Marcel Mauss. Implicitly, he focused on the notion of the person as a
cultural category while reserving the conception of the self for the psychological dimension of personhood. He added that
the person or personality was considered primarily a cultural conception, or a category of a particular community.

Dialogical Self

The dialogical self theory was introduced by Hubert Hermans in 1992. The theory regarded “self” as the “society of
Mind”. He posited the idea that the self is considered as extended to significant others in the environment that populate the
self as a dynamic multiplicity of I-positions in which dialogical or monological relationships may emerge. In this theory, an
individual’s sense of self is established through how one identifies himself or herself with the different positions he or she
holds, internally or externally, to himself or herself. For instance one may say “I as educator”, “I as hardworking”, “I as
looking for contentment”, which are positions that can be in sync all together. An internal I-position refers to how one
functions in himself or herself while external I-position refers on how one identifies himself or herself based on particular
external factors. (e.g., internal: “I as empathic,” I as diligent”; external: “I as brother”, “I as part of an organization”). All these
constitute the functionality of the self.
The dialogic self approach calls for the need for the I-positions to come in contact with each other – to be in a
dialogue with one another in order for an individual to become fully aware of the different dimensions that constitute his or
her self.

Culture can be seen as the collective voices that shape the social positions of the self. Such positions or voices are
expressions of historically situated selves that are, particularly on the interface of different cultures, constantly involved in
dialogic relationships with other voices (Hermans, 2003).

Individual Self, Relational Self, and Collective Self

There are three fundamental selves namely the individual self, the relational self, and the collective self. The
individual self reflects the cognitions related to traits, states, and behaviors that are stored in memory (e.g. “I am religious”,
“I feel cold”, “I am ambidextrous”). The relational self reflects cognitions that are related to one’s relationships (“I am the
father”, “I am the godfather”, or “I am the son-inl-law”). The collective self reflects cognitions that are related to one’s group.
(“I am an Ilocano” or “I am a Filipino”) (Zhum, Wu, Yang & Gu, 2016)
 Each self in inherently social. Each self involves assimilations and contrasts, which respectively occur between and
within person, dyads, and groups for the individual, relational, and collective self. Furthermore, each self is important and
meaningful to human experience (Gaertner et al., 2012)

Identity Struggles

Identity Struggle is a term introduced by Anthony Wallace and Raymond Fogelson. It characterizes the discrepancy
between the identity a person claims to possess and the identity attributed to that person by others. When an individual
perceives that he or she is assigned a wrong impression, he or she will probably always defend his or her identity. The best
possible solution to this situation is to talk to the person and establish a mutual understanding regarding one’s way of
perceiving himself or herself opposed to how he or she is perceived by others. It has to be done as soon as possible in
order to prevent future conflicts. The confrontation, however, must be done in a calm and respectful manner.

III. ACTIVITY

Act. 3.1
Complete your cultural identity checklist. Write your answers at the right column
NOTE: On the latter part of this activity, come up with your own cultural identity you want add and share it to the class.

Gender

Age

Marital Status

Sexual Orientation
(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender, Heterosexual,
etc.)
Skin Color
(e.g. black, brown, etc.)
Religion

Citizenship

Language

Regional Identity
(e.g., Kapampangan,
Ilocano)
Economic Status
(e.g., poor, middle-class,
rich)
Generation
(Generation X, Millenial,
Generation Z)
Personality
 (Introvert, Extrovert,
Ambivert)
Act. 3.2

Write an essay about what it means to be Filipino

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Act. 3.3

Have you experienced identity struggles? How did you defend yourself?
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IV. ASSESSMENT

Give a situational example of Cultural Identity Theory

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Prepared by:

REZZIE P. MENSALVAS, CHRA

Instructor

Submitted to:

RAYMOND N. CLARO, PhD.

Asst. Dean, College of Teacher Education