UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

SUBJECT
A person's self-concept is
their understanding of who they are and
what makes them unique. This can include
the physical self, the social self, the
competent self and the inner, or
psychological, self. Meanwhile, a
person's self-understanding is about
knowing what motivates his or her actions.

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WHY UNDERSTANDING THE SELF IS IMPORTANT?
✓ Self awareness is important because when we
have a better understanding of ourselves, we are
able to experience ourselves as unique and
separate individuals. We are then empowered to
make changes and to build on our areas of
strength as well as identify areas where we would
like to make improvements.

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 Lesson Overview
• Philosophical Perspective
• Sociological Perspective: The Self as a Product of Society
• An Anthropological Conceptualization of the Self as Embedded in Culture
• Psychological Perspective of the Self
• The Western and Eastern Concepts of Self
 Learning Outcomes
At the end of the chapter, you should be able to:
• Demonstrate understanding of the range of representations and conceptualizations of
the self from various disciplinal perspectives;
• Compare and contrast how the concept of self has been represented across
disciplines and perspectives;
• Examine the different influences, factors, and forces that contribute to the
development of self; and
• Analyze the development of one’s self and identity by creating a theory of self
 The book
Our primary reference is:
• Understanding the Self by Ma. Joycelyn A. Go-Monilla and Normaliza C.
Ramirez (2018)
The book
 The Self from Various Perspectives
1. Philosophical
Perspective

4. Psychological 2. Sociological
Perspective Perspective

Who am I
SELF
What am I?

5. Western &
3. Anthropological
Eastern
Perspectivve
Perspective

The Concept Map

Understanding The self

PHILOSOPHICAL
PERSPECTIVE
 Philosophical Perspective

Conceptual Definition
• Philosophy means “love of wisdom”
• Employs the inquisitive mind to discover the ultimate causes, reasons
and principles of everything.
• Philosophy goes beyond scientific investigation by exploring all areas of
knowledge such as religion, psychology, politics, physics, and even
medicine
What is Philosophy?
Philosophy is…
…the study of general and fundamental problems
concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values,
reason, mind, and language.

…the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge,

reality, and existence, especially when considered as an
academic discipline.

…the discipline that looks for reasoned answers to certain

very abstract questions, usually left unasked in everyday
life

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Sample Questions in Philosophy
Examples of the questions being asked in Philosophy are:

▪Is there an objective difference between right and wrong?

▪Is the universe sustained in existence by a god?

▪Can we know about things that we cannot see or touch?

▪What is a mind?

▪Why do words mean what they do?

▪Why should we obey the state?

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Etymology
Philosophy

from the Greek words:

PHILOS – “love” or “to love”

SOPHIA – “wisdom”

Philosophy literally means “love of wisdom”

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 Philosophical perspective
Socrates: “Know thyself”
• For Socrates the self is synonymous with the
soul.
• He was the first to focus on the full power of
reason on the human self “who we are, who
we should be, and who will become.”
• He explains that the soul uses the body as “an
instrument of perception,” and that the soul
“rules” the body in the same way that the
divine rules the mortals.
 Philosophical perspective

Two Realms:
1. Physical Realm – changeable, transient, and imperfect
2. Ideal Realm – unchanging, eternal, and immortal
 Philosophical perspective
Physical Realm: Our physical body
 Philosophical perspective
Ideal Realm: Intellectual essences of the universe,
concepts of truth, goodness, and beauty. The soul
belongs to this realm
 Philosophical perspective
Ideal Realm:
• The soul is the immortal entity
• It strives for wisdom and perfection
• The REASON is the main tool of the soul
• Now the SOUL is tied to the body – the quest
for wisdom is inhibited by the imperfection of
the physical realm, where it wanders and is
confused.
 Philosophical perspective
Socrates suggests that WE must live an examined life
and a life of purpose and value
• An unexamined life is not worth living – we can have a
meaningful and happy life ONLY if we can become
virtuous and value ourselves. (BUT HOW?)
• We must begin at the source of all knowledge and
significance – THE SELF
• The Socratic Method – the so-called introspection, a
method of carefully examining one’s thought and
emotions – to gain SELF-KNOWLEDGE
 Philosophical perspective
Plato: “The Self is an Immortal Soul”
• He also believes that the self is synonymous
with the soul – elaborates on Socrates’ concept
of the soul.
• His philosophy can be explained as a process of
self-knowledge and purification of the soul.
• He introduces three-part of the soul: reason,
physical appetite, and spirit or passion.
 Philosophical perspective
Spirit

DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIP

Reason SOUL Physical

 Philosophical perspective
TRIPARTITE SOUL

• Reason – divine essence that enable us to think

deeply, make wise choices, and achieve a true
understanding of eternal truths.
• Physical appetite – includes our basic biological
needs such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire.
• Spirit – include basic emotions such as love,
anger, ambition, aggressiveness, and empathy.
Self : Plato

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 Philosophical perspective
CONFLICT
Spirit Physical

REASON
 Philosophical perspective
• Reason must maintain a harmonious
relationship between the physical appetite and
the spirit
• Reason should always be in control – to ensure
HAPPINESS
• Under control of Reason is Plato’s concept of
JUSTICE.
• “As such, if man lives in accordance to his
nature, then he is giving justice to his existence”.
To elaborate his vision of Soul:
• Theory of Forms – What is it?

• The World of Forms (non-physical ideas) – real

and permanent

• The World of Sense (reality) – temporary and

only a replica of an IDEAL WORLD.

Therefore, the REAL WORLD is only dependent on

the IDEAL WORLD – where the concept of the soul
belongs, and the SOUL is regarded as something
PERMANENT.

Hence, we should give more importance to it

rather than the physical body which resides in the
WORLD OF SENSE.
 Philosophical perspective

Aristotle: “The Soul is the Essence of the

Self”
• For him, the soul is merely a set of defining
features and does not consider the body and
the soul as separate entities.
• Anything with life has a soul – soul is the
essence of all living things, thus, the SOUL is the
essence of the SELF
• However, humans differ from other living
creatures because of our capacity for rational
thinking.
 Philosophical perspective
Aristotle’s discussion of the self centers on the kind of soul possessed
by a person:
• Vegetative Soul – includes physical body that can grow
 Philosophical perspective
• Sentient Soul – includes sensual desires, feelings, and emotions
 Philosophical perspective
• Rational Soul – is what makes man human – includes the intellect
that allows man to know and understand things.
 Philosophical perspective
Aristotle suggests:

Rational
Lead to a good, flourishing and
Nature
fulfilling life
(SELF)

Self-
Actualization
 Philosophical perspective
Aristotle: “The Soul is the Essence of the
Self”
How to achieve happiness?
• The pursuit of happiness is a search for a good
life that includes doing virtuous actions
• Therefore, a part of the rational soul is
characterized by moral virtues such as justice
and courage
 The Concept of
“Self” According
to the
Philosophers

Middle Ages (Neo-Platonism)

 Philosophical perspective
St. Augustine – The Self has an Immortal
Soul
• He integrates the ideas of Plato and teachings of
Christianity
• He believes that the physical body is radically
different from and inferior to its inhabitant, the
IMMORTAL SOUL.
• As his thinking matured, he developed a more
unified perspective on the body and soul.
 Philosophical perspective
• St. Augustine viewed the body as the spouse of the
soul.
• He also believes that the body is united with the soul so
that people will become complete.
• Therefore, the soul is an important element of a person.
 Philosophical perspective
For St. Augustine – humankind is created in the
image and likeness of God, thus, humans are
always geared towards the good.
• He is also convinced that the self is known only
through knowing God.
• Self-knowledge = Knowledge of God
• The TRUTH of which Augustine speaks refers to
the truth of knowing God.
St.Augustine
He considers the body a “slave” to the soul, and sees their
relation as contentious: “The soul makes war with the
body.”

“Soul and body are two things, and cannot be called a

“man” if the other did not exist”

The absolute and immutable is the Living God, the Creator

of the entire universe. To love God means to love one’s
fellowmen, and to love one’s fellowmen means never to
do any harm to another.

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 Philosophical perspective
Rene Descartes: I think therefore I am
• French philosopher, considered the father of modern
philosophy – brought an entirely new perspective to
philosophy and the self.
• Cogito ergo sum, - the act of thinking about the self – of
being self-conscious – is in itself proof that there is a
SELF, therefore, we exist.
• The essence of the human self – is a thinking entity that
doubts, understands, analyzes, questions, and reasons.
 The Soul – the thinking self, non-
material, immortal, conscious being, and
independent of the physical laws of the
universe.
 The Physical Self – the physical body,
material, mortal, non-thinking entity, fully
governed by the physical laws of nature.
 Philosophical perspective

Therefore, the soul and the body are

different/independent from one another,
and each can exist and function without the
other
Rene Descartes
The Self is defined as a subject that thinks.

The self that has full competence in the powers

of human reason.

Having distanced the self from all sources of

truth from authority and tradition, the self
can only find its truth and authenticity within
its own capacity to think.

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 Philosophical perspective
John Locke - The Self is Consciousness
• English Philosopher, the humankind at birth is
tabula rasa or a blank slate.
• The self or personal identity, is constructed
primarily from sense experiences shape and
mold the self throughout a person’s life.
 Philosophical perspective
Visual Representation of Locke’s philosophy
 Philosophical perspective

Memories of
previous
experiences
Conscious Understanding
awareness the Self

• The essence of the self is its conscious awareness of

itself as a thinking, reasoning, and reflecting identity.
• Locke contends that consciousness accompanies thinking
and makes possible the concept people have of a self.
• Self-consciousness = self/identity or knowledge of the
self as a person
 Philosophical perspective
John Locke - The Self is Consciousness

• THEREFORE, USING THE POWER OF REASON

AND INTROSPECTION ENABLES ONE TO
UNDERSTAND AND ACHIEVE ACCURATE
CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE SELF (PERSONAL
IDENTITY)
John Locke
Personal identity is a matter of psychological
continuity.

Personal identity (or the self) is founded on

consciousness.

Locke posits an “empty” mind, a tabula rasa,

which is shaped by experience, and
sensations and reflections being the two
sources of all our ideas.

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 Philosophical perspective
David Hume – There is no self
• He suggests that if people carefully examine
their sense of experience through the process
of introspection, they will discover that there is
no self.
• What people experience is just a bundle or
collection of different perceptions.
 Philosophical perspective
IF people will carefully examine the contents of
their experience, they will find that there are only
two distinct entities:

Ideas
Impression
 Philosophical perspective
• Impression – are the basic sensations of
people’s experience such as hate, love, joy,
grief, pain, cold, and heat.
• It is also considered as vivid perceptions and are
strong and lively.
 Philosophical perspective
• Ideas – are thoughts and images from
impressions so they are less lively and vivid.
 Philosophical perspective

• Hume argues that it cannot be from these

impressions that the idea of self is derived, hence,
there is no self.
• There is no simple experience or single impression
that they can call the self where the self is the
totality of a person’s conscious life.
• Subsequently, the idea of personal identity is a
result of imagination.
David Hume
He rejects the notion of identity over time.
There are no “persons” that continue to exist
over time, there are merely impressions.

✗ Hume notes, there is no basis for the belief

that there is any self and believed that there
is no self or immortal soul in the traditional
sense.

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 Philosophical perspective

Immanuel Kant – We Construct the Self

• A German philosopher, argues that the self makes
experiencing an intelligible world possible
• It is the self that actively organizing and synthesizing all
of our thoughts and perceptions.
• The self – in the form of consciousness, utilizes
conceptual categories which he calls transcendental
deduction of categories.
 Philosophical perspective
Immanuel Kant – Transcendental
deduction of categories
• Construct an orderly and objective world that is stable
and can be investigated scientifically.
Philosophical perspective
Environmental Stimuli

Sensation/s

Filter, order, relate,

organize and synthesize
sensation

SELF (REALITY)
(Familiar, predictable, and
most significantly, MINE)
Immanuel Kant
Consciousness is the central feature of the self.

The consciousness is divided into:

1. Internal Self - composed of psychological states and

informed decisions; remembering our own state, how
can we combine the new and old ideas with our mind

2. External Self - made up of ourselves and the physical

world where the representation of objects

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 Philosophical perspective
Sigmund Freud - The Self is Multilayered

• The self consists of three layers:

conscious, unconscious, preconscious
 Philosophical perspective
Freud’s Representation of our mind
Philosophical perspective
 Philosophical perspective
• Conscious Self – governed by the reality principle
• It is organized to be rational, practical, and
appropriate to the environment
• It also takes into account the realistic demands of
the situation, the consequences of various actions,
and the overriding need to preserve the balance
within.
 Philosophical perspective
• Unconscious Self – contains the basic instinctual
drives including sexuality, aggressiveness, and the
self-destruction; traumatic memories; unfulfilled
wishes and childhood fantasies; and thought and
feelings that would be considered socially taboo.
• Most primitive level of human motivation
governed by “pleasure principle”
• Freud also believes that much of the self is
determined by the unconscious.
 Philosophical perspective

• Preconscious Self – contains the material that is

not threatening and is easily brought to mind.
• This level of consciousness is located between
the conscious and unconscious level.
Sigmund Freud
The self continues from childhood to adulthood

Personality is determined by childhood experiences

Structure of the Self:

1. Id: animalistic self; pleasure principle
2. Ego: executive self; reality principle
3. Superego: conscience; morality principle

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 Philosophical perspective
Gilbert Ryle – The Self is the way people
behave
• The self is best understood as a pattern of behavior, the
tendency or disposition of a person to behave in certain way in
certain circumstances.
• The mind and body are intrinsically linked in complex and
intimate ways.
• The mind expresses the entire system of thoughts, emotions,
and actions that make up the human self.
Gilbert Ryle
Rejects the theory that mental states are separable from
physical states.

He concluded that adequate descriptions of human

behaviour need never refer to anything but the
operations of human bodies

His form of Philosophical Behaviourism (the belief that all

mental phenomena can be explained by reference to
publicly observable behaviour) became a standard view
for several decades.

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 Philosophical perspective
Paul Churchland – The Self is the Brain
• He advocates the idea of eliminative materialism – or the
idea that the self is inseparable from the brain and the
physiology of the body.
• His simple logic in the Self is – All person has a brain,
therefore, no brain means no self.
• The physical brain and not the IMAGINARY MIND gives
people the sense of self.
• The MIND does not really exist because it cannot be
experienced by the senses.
 Philosophical perspective
Maurice Merleau-Ponty – The Self is
embodied subjectivity
• Ponty argues that all knowledge about the self is based
on the phenomena of experience.
• The I is a single integrated core identity, a combination of
mental, physical, and emotional structures around a core
identity of the self.
• Furthermore, Ponty emphasized that when people
examine the self at the fundamental level of direct
human experience, we will discover that the mind and
the body are unified, and not separated.
 Philosophical perspective

Maurice Merleau-Ponty – The Self is

embodied subjectivity
• Phenomenology of Perception – everything that people
are aware of is contained within the consciousness.
• Consciousness – a dynamic form responsible for actively
structuring conscious ideas and physical behavior
• Therefore perception is not merely a result of sensory
experience; rather, it is a conscious experience. Thus, the
self is embodied subjectivity.