Understanding the Self

Introduction

• The course explores identity, and the elements that influence an individual's personality.
• "Know Thyself" is a directive that has been approached in various ways.
• The question "Who am I?" is most pressing during adolescence.
• The course integrates personal experiences with academic concepts to promote understanding.
• Aims to cultivate critical thinking and improve one's quality of life.
• There are three parts to the course:
  • Understanding the self from different perspectives (philosophy, sociology, etc.).
  • Exploring aspects of the self (biological, digital self, etc.).
  • Identifying concerns for young students (learning, stress management).

Part 1: The Self from Various Philosophical Perspectives

• The goal of this section is to discuss representations of the self from different disciplines.
• Examine factors influencing the self.
• Compare perspectives across disciplines.
• Analyze development of self and identity through a personal theory.

Philosophy

• Philosophy guides the mind, promoting clear and analytical thinking.
• Studying philosophy allows for thoughtfulness and critical evaluation.
• Philosophy provides tools to live a fulfilling life.
• The definition of philosophy is using rational thinking to acquire knowledge and inquire about man and the world.
• Self is defined as a unified being, connected to consciousness and awareness.

Philosophers

• Socrates was an advocate for "knowing oneself" and was the first martyr of education, knowledge, and philosophy.
  • Acceptance of ignorance is the start of gaining knowledge.
  • Knowledge is a virtue, while ignorance is a vice.
  • Understanding involves introspection of strengths and weaknesses.
  • Teaching through the Socratic Method involves critical thinking through asking questions.
  • Pursuing happiness is men's goal in life.
• Plato was one of Socrates' students, believing truth and wisdom prevent temptation.
  • Believed in the separation of body and soul, dividing the soul into three parts: -Appetitive soul driven by desires. -Spirited soul is competitive and courageous. -Rational soul plans for the future.
• St. Augustine integrated faith with philosophy.
  • Believed in God's influence on life.
  • Understanding the self involves understanding our relationship with God.
  • Emphasized internal agreement.
• Rene Descartes believed in modern dualism between mind and body.
  • "Methodical doubt," or continuous questioning, is part of existence.
  • His notable statement is "cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am).
  • Focus on the mind to understand existence, as senses can be deceiving.
• John Locke believes experiences shape who we are.
  • His concept is "tabula rasa" (blank slate).
  • People are born without knowledge, shaped by experiences.
• David Hume believed self is the accumulation of impressions.
  • No permanent self exists, as impressions change.
• Immanuel Kant believes impressions define a person, and the awareness of them is only part of the self.
  • Individuals who fully understand themselves have consciousness and intuition.
  • Transcendental apperception synthesizes experiences and intuition.
• Sigmund Freud believed in different constructs of personality.
  • Three aspects of personality: -Id is child-like, seeking self-gratification. -Superego is conscience, upholding justice. -Ego mediates between id and superego.
  • Levels of consciousness: -Conscious consists of easily accessible memories. -Pre-conscious has memories accessible with some effort. -Unconscious contains deeply stored memories.
  • Actions are driven by avoiding pain and seeking pleasure.
• Gilbert Ryle views self through behavior.
  • Self is the pattern of behavior presented by a person.
  • Reflection of the mind is how a person's emotions and actions can be identified.
  • "Ghost in the machine" exemplifies man is an advanced machine with components that reflect its intelligence.
• Paul Churchland: Self is defined by brain movement.
  • Focuses on "eliminative materialism" and neural pathways.
• Maurice Jean Jacques Merleau-Ponty coined "phenomenology of perception."
  • The body and mind are not separate.
  • Perception guides actions based on experiences.
  • Action reflects unified perception of the world.
• Thomas Aquinas explains man as composed of two parts:
  • Matter (hyle) and form (morphe).
  • The essence, or soul, animates the body.

Summary

• The philosophical framework for understanding the self started with Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
• Socrates' "Know thyself" emphasizes self-understanding, a necessity for a happy and meaningful life.

Sociology

• Sociology examines how individuals see themselves in relation to society.
• Two questions can be asked: -How do you see yourself in the social world? -Do we need to interact with others to get the definition of ourselves?

Theory of Self

• George Herbert Mead contributed to the sociological views of the self.
  • He identified two parts of self: self-awareness and self-image.
  • Self evolves during social interaction through the reflection of how others view you.
  • Self-image develops by recognizing others' perceptions in the shoes of another.
  • Internalization of cultural norms are called generalized others.
  • "I" is one's actions, while "me" is the image derived from society.
• Henri de Saint-Simon believed reconstruction of society was conditioned by the French Revolution.
  • Positive reorganization of society is needed.
  • Industrial figures should lead society and the spiritual aspect must be led by scientists.
• Herbert Spencer described synthetic philosophy as encompassing physical, psychological, biological, sociological and ethical aspects.
  • His moral philosophy states humans can only achieve happiness when they can fulfill their needs/desires.
  • Principles of ethics extends natural laws.
  • Humans must obey them rather than trying to construct social forms that violate these laws.
    • Individuals must be free from external regulation.
• David Emile Durkheim focused on how societies maintain integrity in modernity.
  • Studied certain aspects of logical thought common to all humans.
  • Ideas include collective representations, symbols representing shared beliefs.

Albert Bandura

• Albert Bandura's social learning theory explains socialization and the development of self.
  • Emphasizes learning process in individuals and society's influence.
  • Identity is a learned response to social stimuli.
  • Modeling oneself is through the expectation of others.
• Self-efficacy is people's faith in their abilities, influencing behavior.
  • Those with high self-assurance tackle tasks as challenges.
• Four main sources of self-efficacy are:
  • Mastery experience builds a robust belief in self.
  • Vicarious experience is succeeding through sustained effort.
  • Social persuasion is capability mastering leads to increased effort.
  • Psychological responses somatic impacts and emotional states.
• Karl Marx's theory of self-estrangement is the alienation of man's essence.
  • People may feel estranged from others and have no meaning to the work therefore they're losing sense of self at the workplace.
• Max Weber discusses capitalism within a Protestant ethic.
  • Exercise self-help imagination.
• Lewis Morgan states that the structure of social institutions changes.
• Kinship relations are a basis of society.

Anthropology

• Anthropology studies human beings and how they create societies.
• Two questions it tries to answer are:
  • What does it mean to be human?
  • How do we create identities?
• Marcel Mauss states that every self has two faces.
  • Moi refers to biology-based identity.
  • Personne refers constructed social concepts
• Culture impacts the self in language and how one regards oneself.
• Language presents a certain group of people.
• Clifford Geertz defines culture as inherited concepts expressed in symbolic forms.
  • An effective analysis looks that the differences between cultures.

Psychology

• Examines the self through both biological and cognitive perspectives.
• Aims to provide a better understanding of behavior through insight.

Concepts

• Self is the sense of personal identity.
• Identity is an individual's concept of themself.
• Self-development is the ongoing change of one's sense of self throughout life.
• William James was one of the first psychologists to conceptualize the self.
  • Described self as having two aspects: "I" and "me".
  • "Me" is the physical attributes that an individual possesses.
  • "I" is the thinking/feeling self.
• Carl Rogers also applies the terms I and me for self development.
  • He stated "me" is what feels/thinks about self, and "I" actively experiences/decides.
• Self-schema is a collection of knowledge about ourselves.
• Unconditional positive regard is acceptance of others.
• Concept of identity- how an individual categorizes and perceives themselves- is not determined in one time frame.

Psychological States

• Experiences of self:
  • Existential self (uniqueness).
  • Categorical self (visible characteristics).
• Self-concept.
  • How someone looks, and thinks.
• Self-concept/self-schema has 3 componenets. -Self-image (one's current state). -Ideal Self (how one wants to be). -Ought Self (how one should be).
• Self-esteem and self-worth involve evaluation of value.
• Self-consciousness relates to worry about being observed.
• Carver/Scheier identified different types of self that we can be aware of.
  • Private Self is personal thoughts/internal standards.
  • Public Self relates to presenting selves.

Freud

• Sigmund Freud analyzed through dialogue.
• Society affects psychology, it revealed another facet of society.
• Dreams reflect disguised unconscious wishes.
• Human nature is motivated by bodily needs.
• The concept of true self and false self can be found in psychological and spiritual circles.

The Self in Western and Oriental/Eastern Thought

• Culture shapes our identity.
• Looking at Western and Eastern cultures helps us examine assumptions we have.

Concepts of self

• There are many ways to view the perspectives of each culture.
  • Western thoughts emphasize "find and prove the truth".
  • Eastern thoughts involve social responsibility and well-being.
  • Both Western and Eastern are different viewpoints.

Values

• Westerners: emphasize equality, fairness, and competition.
• Easterners: emphasize the culture's harmony.

Self-Descriptions

• Western: More focused on personal attributes.
• Eastern: talk about situations that involve positive personalities related to them.

Philosophical Standpoints

Confucianism

• Focused on harmonious social life.
• individual identity and self-concept are interwoven with social identities.
• Personal needs are repressed for the good of many.
  • 3 essential core values. -Honoring family. -Ritual. -Humans. -5 Basic Virtues consist of goodness, wisdom, justice, knowledge, and integrity.

Taoism

• Taoism is how to live life!
• Self is part of the universe.
• 3 Jewels are "energy", "spirit", and "essence."
• Harmony with nature.

Buddhism

• Main goal is to overcome desire and death!
• 3 Marks of Existence: -Impermanent nature will not last forever. -Suffering will be everywhere you walk. -No-Self - nothing can be called the self.
• Individuals must forget about the self and its cravings can only attain Nirvana.