Understanding the Self: Philosophy

Understanding the Self

• This is the essential being that distinguishes a person from others
• This “being” evolves through experiences and time

Philosophical Self

• It examines the fundamental nature of the self
• This concept preoccupied early Greek philosophers
• Views of the self are understood by revisiting prime movers and important philosophical conjectures

Socrates

• Knowing that you know nothing is the only true wisdom
• He used the Socratic Method to stimulate critical thinking and derive ideas from students
• "An unexamined life is not worth living"

Plato

• DUALISM declares man is dual in nature, composed of body and soul

Tripartite Soul

• Rational Part (Ruling Class): Uses reasons, logos - or literally translates to "pag-iisip"
• Spirited Part (Military Class): Governed by emotions, willpower, and courage
• Appetite Part (Commoner): Guided by pleasures, wealth, and physical satisfaction
• Human behavior stems from desire, emotion, and knowledge

Aristotle

• He contributed to the foundation of scientific and symbolic logic
• Knowledge is best gained through "natural philosophy", now known as science
• All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, and desire

Seven Causes of Action

• Chance: Refers to moments with undetermined causes
• Nature: Refers to natural human tendencies
• Compulsions: Refers to irresistible urges against one's conscious will
• Habit: Actions repeatedly done over a long period
• Reasoning: Actions based on logical conclusions
• Passion: Responses that satisfy one's feelings
• Desire: Inclination to things that are pleasant

St. Augustine

• His philosophy combines Greek wisdom and truths contained in scripture
• The absolute and immutable is the Living God, creator of the entire universe
• Treat others as you want to be treated

René Descartes

• The self is a thinking subject
• The self has full competence in the powers of human reason
• The self finds truth within its capacity to think, distancing from authority and tradition
• "Dubito ergo cogito, cogito ergo sum," meaning "I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am"

John Locke

• TABULA RASA defines mind as an "empty mind” which is shaped by experience, sensations, and reflections as the sources of ideas
• Personal identity is founded on consciousness and psychological continuity
• Awareness of the past fixes personal identity over time
• "Our concept of personal identity must derive from inner experience"

David Hume

• There are no “persons” that exist over time, only impressions
• One cannot think about oneself, only of individual impressions or perceptions
• "The self is a bundle of impressions"

Immanuel Kant

• Consciousness is divided into inner and outer self

Inner Self

• Inner Self (Sariling Panloob) includes:
  • Psychological states
  • Rational intellect

Outer Self

• Outer Self (Sariling Panlabas) includes:
  • Senses
  • Physical world
• "To be is to do" means call for action
• "Consciousness is the central feature of the self"

What is Psychology?

• Psychology is the science of behavior derived from the Greek words PSYCHE (soul) and logos (study)
• Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes and behavior

Nature of the Psychological Self

• The self has facets such as self-awareness, self-esteem, self-knowledge, and self-perception
• These facets enable people to alter, change, add, and modify aspects of themselves to gain social acceptance

William James’ View of Self

• The self can be derived from the distinction between the self as I, the subjective knower, and the self as ME, the object that is known
• ME - A person's knowledge of themself, or self-concept
• I - The act of a person thinking about themselves, or self-awareness

Sigmund Freud’s View of Self

• The self is the outcome of the interaction between three provinces of the mind, which can be represented with an iceberg
• Three provinces of the mind
  • Id: Governed by the "Pleasure Principle," seeks immediate gratification, and ignores consequences
  • Ego: Governed by the "Reality Principle," it is rational, thoughtful, and balances the Id and Superego
  • Superego: Governed by the "Morality Principle," it is responsible for society's moral standards and evokes guilt if rules are disobeyed

Defense Mechanisms

• Unconscious techniques the ego uses to avoid confronting aggressive or sexual urges, or to defend itself when anxiety becomes intolerable

Common Defense Mechanisms

Repression

• Blocks unacceptable thoughts and feelings

Projection

• Attributes unacceptable thoughts/feelings to someone else

Displacement

• Shifts feelings/actions toward a more vulnerable target

Reaction Formation

• Adopts beliefs/attitudes directly opposite to own

Rationalization

• Justifies actions to dismiss unpleasant feelings

Regression

• Reverts to less mature, childish behavior

Sublimation

• Redirects unacceptable behaviors into acceptable channels

Introjection

• Incorporates positive qualities of another into one's ego

Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Development

• Self-identity progresses in eight stages, each with a specific psychosocial dilemma or crisis
• Each life stage has an interaction between harmonious (syntonic) and disruptive (dystonic) elements

Stages of Psychosocial Development

Adolescence (12-18 years)

• Basic conflict: Identity vs. Confusion
• Important event: Social relationship
• Virtue: Fidelity

Early Adulthood (19-40 years)

• Basic conflict: Intimacy vs. Isolation
• Important event: Relationship
• Virtue: Love

Middle Adulthood (40-65 years)

• Basic conflict: Generativity vs. Stagnation
  • Work and Parenthood
  • Virtue: Care

Old Age (65 and above)

• Basic conflict: Integrity vs. Despair
• Important event: Reflection on life
• Virtue: Wisdom

Jeffrey Jensen Arnett - Emerging Adulthood

• A distinct developmental stage between 18 and 25
• It is characterized by exploration, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between, and possibilities
• A transitional period of identity exploration before full adulthood

Self - Donald Winnicott

• Some view Winnicott's idea as binary (true self = good, false self = bad) while others classify the false self:
  • Healthy False Self: Enables politeness and courtesy, even when not felt
  • Unhealthy False Self: Fits into society through forced compliance rather than adaptation

Eric Berne’s View on Ego States

• States that behaviors, thoughts, and feelings which copied from parental figures.
• ADULT: is direct response to the here and now.
• CHILD: replayed from childhood.

Carl Rogers' View of Self

• Three components of self:
  • Self-Image: You see yourself at this moment in time
  • Self-Esteem: How much you like, accept, and value yourself
  • Ideal Self: Who you envision yourself to be if everything was exactly aligned to your desires
• A person experiences incongruence when their ideal self is inconsistent with reality

Sociological Perspective

• Sociologists examine societies and their interactions and dynamics (Form & Faris, 2020)

Self as Product of Modern Society

• Modernization offers opportunities to delocalize from societal limitations (racism, discrimination, etc), according to Gerry Lanuza
• Modern society gives freedom to choose identity

Friedrich Nietzsche and Self as Necessary Fiction

• Nietzsche viewed self as the sum of an individual's action, thoughts, and feelings
• Necessary Fiction: Belief that everyone needs some fiction to avoid chaos of a changing world
  • Necessary beliefs are always vital to unify oneself

Post-Modern View of The Self

• In postmodern societies, self-identity changes due to social contexts, technologies, and globalization
• Self is a narrative that can be rewritten; choose identity for self-cultivation i.e. global migration produces multicultural identities

Self as Artistic Creation

• The self is an active agent that strategizes to define oneself
• Artistic creation of oneself gives life meaning beyond established norms; art is found in conforming styles of living

Self Creation and Collective Identity

It's also influenced by our collective identity

Collective Identity

• Refers to defining oneself in relation to others, identities socially influenced (Ashmore, Deaux, & Mclaughlin-Volpe, 2004)

Self Creation and Cultural Identity

• Pluralized selves and collective identity contribute to sense of self
• Cultural identity can create issues concerning personal identity/belonging
• Self-creation is formed within imagined communities

George Herbert Mead View of the Social Life

• Mead is known for his theory of the social self, based on the argument that the self is socially emergent
• Individual selves are products of social interaction

Three Activities Through Which The Self Develops

• LANGUAGE allows individuals to take on the role of the other and respond to his/her own gestures in terms of the symbolized attitudes of others
• PLAY individuals take on the roles of other people and pretend to be those other people in order to express the expectations of others.
• GAME the individual internalizes roles; involved with them they must comprehend the rules of the game

Meaning of “I” and “ME”

• I - The spontaneous driving force; it fosters all that's novel, unpredictable, and unorganized in the self.
• ME - The objective self; the image of self seen when one takes the role of the other.

How Mead Matters Today

• We think of ourselves as individuals, but we are only able to do so within a larger social community

Self in Families

• Sociologists focus on family as the most prominent institution playing out within society
• The kind of family someone is born into, the resources, and the available kind of development will affect their life
• Family forms the basis of a person’s progress
• One is who he is because of his family for the most part

Anthropological Self

• Anthropology: The study of people, their evolutionary history, behavior, adaptation, communication, and socialization

Anthropological Insights

• Anthropology provides lens understanding diversity of societies and how individuals/communities live
• Employing generations helps understand social change, relationships within families, principles of organization, and variations within (Lamb, 2005)

Mark McCrindle View on Self

• Mark McCrindle created the term Generation Alpha in 2008
• There was an conducted study about comparing/contrasting aspects of Gen Alpha like social markers, iconic technologies, and attitudes towards careers (Mccrindle, 2021)