Republic of the Philippines

Camarines Norte School of Law

COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Talisay, Camarines Norte

The Physical Self

Lesson 6

Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Explain the concept of physical self;
2. Discuss the importance of self-esteem;
3. Describe ways on how to perform/practice physical, mental and
emotional self-care;

Discussion

The Physical Self

 Physical Self refers to the body, this marvelous container and complex, finely tuned,
machine with which we interface with our environment and fellow beings.
 The Physical Self is the concrete dimension, the tangible aspect of the person that can
be directly observed and examined.
 The Physical self refers to the tangible aspect of the individual, the one with figure,
the one that can be seen and touched and the one that feels pain and vulnerable to
sickness.

The Scheme of Self Image Hierarchy by Shavelson

• Total self or general self is being made up of academic self and nonacademic self.
• Academic self is influenced by the learning process and the individual's emotions,
behavior, and experiences during the learning process.
• Nonacademic self is shaped by an individual's social self, emotional self, and
physical self.

People now days are too conscious on how they look. How they see themselves in
the mirror, how people will look at them and what will people say about them. Our concept
of our self and the perception of people around us will always have big effect on how we
 Republic of the Philippines
Camarines Norte School of Law
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Talisay, Camarines Norte

deal in a situation, cultural or not. This discussion of Physical Self has found place on
different Schools of Psychology, like psychoanalysis, behaviorism, humanism etc. For
example:

 William James considered body as initial source of sensation and necessary for
the origin and maintenance of personality. It is an element of spiritual hygiene of
supreme significance. For example, a boxer during a fight, do not notice/feels
his wounds until the intensity of fight has subside.
 Sigmund Freud, In Psychoanalytical school, construction of self and personality
makes the physical body the core of human experience.
 Wilhelm Reich argued that mind and body are one; all psychological processes,
he postulated, are a part of physical processes, and vice versa.
 According to Erik Erikson, the role of bodily organs is especially important in
early developmental stages of a person’s life. Later in life, the development of
physical as well as intellectual skills help determine whether the individual will
achieve a sense of competence and ability to choose demanding roles in a
complex society. For example, a child gets their confidence when they bigger,
stronger, faster and more capable of learning complex skills.
 Carl Jung, argued that the physical body and the external world can be known
only as psychological experiences.
 B.F. Skinner, says that the role of the body is of primary importance.

Maslow provided a very important lesson about our physical bodies when he laid down
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Once the physiological needs are met, the person becomes
 Republic of the Philippines
Camarines Norte School of Law
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Talisay, Camarines Norte

dedicated to attaining the higher-order needs. That is why he emphasized that we give due
attention to all the needs of the body. A well-nourished, loved, respected individual
experiences fulfillment. On the other hand, deliberate self-denial and rejection of the body's
basic needs will result to an inactive, crippled organism.

Psychologists have their own views of the physical body. But one thing is common
and that is the important role the physical body plays for the totality of our being. Without
the tangible, responsive physical body, we could not enjoy the pleasures of the world

Religious groups around the world also have varying concepts regarding the physical body;
• The Indian tradition views growth and enlightenment as the whole-body event,
which is not possible until one has a pure and strong body.
• The Buddhist tradition on Middle path tradition is vital in one's attitude toward the
body.

Which from this different orientation clearly show us and explains how people deals
with their physical self. Regardless of what culture or traditions he or she may be, his or her
interpretation of himself will be how people act in the community.
 As a biological entity, the body has a functional role, but as a social entity it is the
most visible way of expressing and presenting someone’s identity.
 It conveys important messages about social status and subculture membership;
in turn, it receives messages from the outside.

What Philosophers Think about beauty?

The nature of beauty is one of the most enduring and controversial themes in Western
philosophy being traditionally among the ultimate values together with goodness, truth, and
justice.
The two most-debated views about beauty are:
1. Beauty is objective
2. Beauty is subjective

As for objective beauty, we know that symmetry (or lack of it) and contrasts are the basic
ingredients of physical beauty… Some will add that natural patterns and other proportions
helped make someone or something look appealing.

The saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” suggests subjective.

Objective beauty
Before the 18th century, western philosophical views on beauty treated it as an objective
quality:
• St. Augustine – things were beautiful because it gave delight or whether it gave
delight because it is beautiful
• Plato – he connected beauty as a response to love and desire
 Republic of the Philippines
Camarines Norte School of Law
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Talisay, Camarines Norte

• Aristotle – asserted that chief forms of beauty are order, symmetry and definiteness

Subjective beauty
By the 18th century, beauty was associated with pleasure as a personal preference.
• David Hume – It exist merely in “Beauty is no quality in things themselves the mind
which contemplates them and each mind perceives a different beauty. One person
may even perceive deformity where another is sensible of beauty.
• Immanuel Kant – The judgment of taste is therefore not judgment of cognition and is
consequently not logical but aesthetical, by which we understand that whose
determining ground can be no other than subjective
• Francis Hutcheson – “The perception of beauty does not depend on the external
sense of sight; however, the internal sense of beauty operates as an internal or reflect
sense.

What Did Psychology Discover About Beauty?

Research found that a person who is perceived as attractive makes more money than a
person of below-average looks.
In politics, voters who are not actively engaged in social and political issues choose
candidates based on “looks” 90% of the time.
May be attributed to a cognitive bias called the “halo effect”.
A cognitive bias is an error in reasoning, evaluating, remembering, or any other mental
process that is often a result of holding on to one’s preferences and beliefs regardless of
contrary information.
The “halo effect” refers to the tendency of people to rate attractive individuals more
favorable for their personality traits or characteristics as compared to those who are less
attractive.

Standards of Beauty?
• Symmetry defined not with proportions, but rather with similarity between the left
and right sides of the face
• Biologists had also hypothesized that we prefer faces that epitomize the ‘manliness’
or ‘femininity’ of their gender
• It was only in the most urbanized regions that they found the strong attraction to
more masculine men and more feminine women; in the smaller, more remote
communities, many women actually preferred the more “feminine” looking men.

Beauty and Self- Expressions Across Cultures

Since birth, the socialized body is subjected to cultural norms. The attitude towards the body
and the bodily practices reflect the value constellation of each particular society.

Is Physical Beauty Important?

Body image is how you view your physical body, whether you feel you are attractive, and
whether you think other people like your looks.
 Republic of the Philippines
Camarines Norte School of Law
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Talisay, Camarines Norte

For many people (especially teenagers) body image is closely linked to self-esteem.
If you have a positive body image, you probably like and accept yourself the way you are,
even if you do not fit the popular notion of “beautiful” or “handsome”.

The Scheme of Physical Self Perception's Structure (Fox 2000)

K. R. Fox (2000) emphasized the factors encompassing physical self-esteem, which include
sports competence, attractive body, physical power, and physical condition, and how they
shape global self-esteem.

Self – Esteem

“We all know that self-esteem comes from what you think of
you, not what other people think of you” -Gloria Graynor

People from different cultures have opted to change their features in an attempt to
meet the cultural standards of beauty, as well as their religious and/or social obligations.
They modify and adorn their bodies as part of the part of complex process of creating and
re-creating their personal and social identity to be accepted by society and to be able to
accept them self. This includes body painting, tattooing, jewelry and adornments. Youth in
present time are too conscious of their physical attributes that they are not confident to face
the day without make-up.
As our physical self, dictates how we act in front of other people it also defines how
we will manage our self-esteem. Yet, this self-esteem is vital on how we form positive and
healthy relationships with people around us. We have different kinds of self-esteem; The
Inflated Self- Esteem (this people hold high regards of themselves. Better than the other to
the point of under estimating them), High Self-Esteem (this is a positive self-esteem, which
make the person be satisfied of themselves) and Low Self-Esteem (this person do not value
themselves and do not trust their possibilities).

Most of the times, this self-esteem are defined by what physical attributes they have.
Beauty as define by the society, culture, or traditions, is what matters to the person.

For many as their body changes, so does their image of themselves. So, it is very important to
re-frame the way we view, think, and talk about our physical selves.
 Republic of the Philippines
Camarines Norte School of Law
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Talisay, Camarines Norte

Recognize that your body is your own, no matter what shape or size it comes in.
Try to focus on how strong and healthy your body is and the things it can do, not what’s
wrong with it or what you feel you want to change about it. No one’s business but your own
what your body is like- ultimately, you have to be happy with yourself

Identify which aspects of your appearance you can realistically change and which you
can’t.
Humans by definition are imperfect. It’s what makes each of us unique and original.
Everyone has things they can’t change for instance their height, and shoe size.
Remind yourself that “real people aren’t perfect and perfect people aren’t real.

If there are things about yourself that you want to change and can, do this by making
goals for yourself.
For example, if you want to lose weight, make a plan to exercise every day and eat healthy.
Meeting a challenge, you set yourself is a great way to boost self-esteem

When you hear negative comments coming from within, tell yourself to stop. Appreciate
that each person is more than just how he or she looks on a given day. We are complex and
constantly changing. Try to focus on what’s unique and interesting about yourself.

Try building your self-esteem by giving yourself three compliments every day. By
focusing on the good things, you do and the positive aspects of your life, you can change how
you feel about yourself.
“Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself” – Coco Chanel

Taking Care of our Physical Body

The physical body has been considered as the "real home," "temple," or "vehicle.“." It is the
only one that we have throughout our entire lives and is also the one most intimate to us.

SELF-CARE
• It is the intentional, planned, and actual act of taking the time to attend to our basic
physical, mental, and emotional needs (Brzosko 2018).
• It is the quality rest that we offer to our bodies to replenish the lost energy utilized in
performing our daily activities
• It is an act of love and kindness for ourselves.
• Self-care occurs in three levels: physical, mental, and emotional.
• We cannot be physically fit and healthy, yet emotionally unstable and mentally
disturbed. We should be healthy in all three aspects.

Physical Self-Care
• This aspect of self-care is the simplest one and is very common nowadays.
• There are three basic aspects of physical self-care, and these include good nutrition,
sufficient amount of recovery time (rest and sleep), and necessary exercise.
 Republic of the Philippines
Camarines Norte School of Law
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Talisay, Camarines Norte

• Others might have other ways to care for the body depending on the specific need and
preferences, like breathing exercises, massages, long baths, saunas, physiotheraphy,
biking, hiking, skin care, and more.

Mental self-care
• Mental self-care is a two-fold process, according to Brzosko (2018).
• The first step is taking time to consistently break down what you are thinking and
why you are thinking that, because the moment you manage to notice your thoughts,
they will not have the power to direct your life without you even noticing.
• The second step is to cultivate those mental habits and thoughts that benefit us.
Here are other tips for improving our mental habits suggested by Brzosko (2018):
• Focus your attention on the present moment.
• Practice gratitude
• Exercise patience.
• Learn to accept what is already happening

Moreover, our relationship with others can also be improved if we keep in mind that it is
actually better to give something to others than to receive. As the golden rule teaches us, let
us do to others what we want others to do to us. If these thoughts will be engraved in our
minds, our lives will be a lot better.

Emotional Self-Care
“all emotions are essentially energy in motion"
Michael Brown, The Presence Process
They are not good nor bad. They are just energy. (Brzosko 2018)
• We have come up with standardized names for those emotions or energies in motion,
such as fear, anger, anxiety, sadness, happiness, excitement, and thrill among others.
• We also classified them as “desired” for the positive emotions and “unwanted” for the
negative ones.
• Because we can feel or experience all these kinds of emotions, it is unfair to be
“right” or “wrong” based on the way we feel.
• A very important step in dealing with our emotional self is to recognize the validity of
our emotional state.
After recognizing the emotion, we can either alter the emotional state or we do not.
• Second option tells us that we can actually detach the mental interpretation from the
emotion itself
Consequently, we integrate the emotions as a valid part of our experience, not being
worse nor better than others.
We will surely benefit from this initial step, because it is something that is already happening.
An attempt to hide or disregard the current emotional state will just bring additional tension.
 Republic of the Philippines
Camarines Norte School of Law
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION
Talisay, Camarines Norte

It is, of course, easier to accept some feelings over others. Most of the time, it is easy for us to
recognize and embrace emotions like peace, love, excitement, happiness, gratitude, and hope.
However, it takes more time and effort to accept fear, regret, sadness, anxiety, and the like.
1. For example, you might be feeling sad or lonely because an unexpected event just
happened. Because you do not want to stay sad, you change your circumstance so you
can also change the emotion and decided to invite your friends for a movie or dinner,
take a stroll in the park, or eat your favorite dish.
2. (for example, it is my friend's fault why I feel angry today, because she did not join
me in the party), we can gradually get to the root of the feeling.
With these, we will no longer seek some feelings over others. We simply believe that all
emotions have their root cause and that they are valid. Sometimes, we just need to be cautious
and mindful of these emotions, so that they will not cause negative impact to our daily
activities and to the way we interrelate with other people around us.

Evaluation
Answer the following questions: (see assessment 6 attached)

References:

Alata, Eden Joy, et. al. 2021. A Course Module for Understanding the Self. Manila: Rex
Bookstore Inc.

Alata, Eden Joy, et. al. 2018. Understanding the Self. Manila: Rex Bookstore Inc.

Prepared by:

CARLO A. RAZONABLE
Instructor