Self in Western & Eastern Thought PDF

Self is not static. The self is always in participation with social life, and its identity is subjected to influence here and there. This perspective should lead one to conclude that the self is truly multifaceted. Lesson 3 : Anthropology Anthropos Human bei...

Self is not static. The self is always in participation with social life, and its identity is subjected to influence here and there. This perspective should lead one to conclude that the self is truly multifaceted. Lesson 3 : Anthropology Anthropos Human being Study of Humanity Anthropology Anthropologia Logos Study of Anthropology is the study of the origin and development of human societies and cultures.  Anthropology expresses a unique view on the issue of selfhood that its approach starts and finishes with the “group”. The self needs to be seen as a socially defined phenomenon, created by both the impression of the group upon an individual and the individual upon the group. Social constructionists argued that the view on the person and social context cannot easily be separated from the boundaries of the other (Stevens, 1996). Marcel Muss, French Anthropologist Self has two Faces: 1. Personne - composed of social concepts, it has much to do with what it means to live in a particular situation. (persona = mask) 2. Moi - a person's sense of who he is, a body, and basic identity. Total Social Phenomenon – a social fact that organizes seemingly distinct practices.  Language has to do with culture. It has a tremendous effect on crafting ourselves. This might also be why cultural divides spell out differences in how one regards oneself. Language usually points out a specific group of people. Mahal Kita I love you Mahal – expensive, valuable, precious Love – interest and affection Lubh - desire Culture as a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic Clifford Geertz forms by means of which American Anthropologist men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge and attitudes toward life.  The self as a product of modern society among other construction. Georg Simmel, German Philosopher and sociologist. The human nature is innate to the individual. It is intrinsic. The social interactions are individual motivation regulated by the culture. Two types of culture: Subjective – the intangible aspects of culture that can internalize by the people (beliefs, custom, values) Objective – the shared products of people that can exist independently (craft, arts, goods) It empowers by means of diff. forces (Urbanization, money, and consumption of products) The complex web group affiliations produces role conflicts, that urge someone to assume multiple roles—less emotion for people as a result. Lesson 4 : Psychology Psyche Soul/mind Study of mind Psychology and soul Logos Study of Psychology is the study concerned with specific study of behavior and mental processes, and other factors that influence one’s behavior. Activity 2: My SELF Through the Years Paste a picture of you when you were in elementary, in high school, and now in college. Below the picture, list down your salient characteristics that you remember. My Elementary Self My High School Self My College Self YOUR TEXT Activity 2: My SELF Through the Years After that, After listing your perceived qualities, ask your friends, family members, or any random person to describe you. Compare and analyze the descriptions you received and your listed qualities. Guide Questions: 1. What aspects are similar, and which are not? 2. What aspects are always true to you? 3. What aspects are sometimes true or circumstantial? 4. What aspects do you think are not really part of your personality?  Self – the sense of personal identity and of who we are as individuals (Jhangiani and Tarry, 2014). Identity – personal characteristics, social roles, and responsibilities that define who one is. Self-identity – is the belief of what the individuals thinks and feels about self and can be influenced by how others perceive as an individual. Self-development – a continuous process throughout the lifespan; the sense of self may change, at least somewhat, throughout one’s life. Self-representation – how has your self defined and represented itself in relation to other people.  Self is proactive. An individual has control over things and situations. Albert Bandura  The True vs. False Self False self – used to protect an individual’s true identity or one’s real identity to maintain social relationship. True Self – connected to the wholeness rooted to infancy. An infant created a sense of reality and a sense of worth living. This can be achieved by good parenting. Donald Winnicott William James (1890) There are approaches to know the self. I – thinking, acting, and feeling self (knower) Me – physical characteristics as well psychological capabilities that makes who you are (known)– material, social, and spiritual. Carl Rogers (1890) I – the one who acts and decides Me – what you think or feel about yourself as an object Don’t wait for ME, I will be gone for a long time. My dog ran to me. “I” “Me” - Self in process at the moment - Self as an object in the world - Part of the self that produces - A product of interaction and individuality. conscious reflection.  Self-concept is what basically comes to your mind when you are asked about who you are (Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith, 2012). The self-concept includes two different experiences of the self: The existential self – the concept that you are unique/different from others (I) The categorical self – concept tends to focus on own’s visible characteristics (Me) Self-awareness – is the awareness for the self-concepts. Carver & Scheier (1981) identified 2 types of self that we can be aware of: Private self – internal standards and private thoughts and feelings Public self – public image that commonly geared toward having a good representation of the self to others  Self-awareness also presents us with at least three other self-schema Actual self – who you are at the moment Ideal self – who you like to be Ought self – who you think you should be Carl Rogers, Self-Schema – is the organized system or collection of knowledge about who we are Nationality Family SELF hobbies Religion  To Sigmund Freud, self and its associated mental processes and behaviors are the results of the interaction between the id, ego, and superego. According to George Herbert Mead, self is created and developed through human interaction. 3 reasons why self and identity are social products: 1. We do not create ourselves out of nothing. Our culture and society force us to be the persons of today and tomorrow. 2. We actually need others to affirm and reinforce who we think we are. We also need points about our identity. 3. What we think is important to us may also have been influenced by what is important in our social or historical context.  Social interaction and group affiliation are vital factors in creating our self-concept especially in providing us with our social identity or our perception of who we are based on our membership to certain groups. Self-awareness may be positive or negative depending on the circumstances. It can be too much if we are concerned about being observed and criticized by others—Self-conscious. Self-consciousness by: Looking outside – seeing better people and dreaming to be the same. Looking inside – reflecting on what the heart desires, you attend to your feelings and motives. Deindividuation – the loss of individual self-awareness and individual accountability in groups (Festinger, Pepitone, and Newcomb, 1952; Zimbardo, 1969 in Jhangiani and Tarry, 2014).  Self-awareness has great impact on our self-esteem, the most commonly associated with SELF.. Self-esteem – one’s positive or negative perception or evaluation toward the SELF. Social relationships affect our self-esteem through social comparison. Social Comparison Theory - we learn about ourselves the appropriateness of our behaviors as well as the social status by comparing aspects of ourselves to other people. 2 Types of Social Comparison: Downward Social Comparison – comparing the self with those who are worse off than the self. It can raise self-esteem because of gained advantage. Upward Social Comparison - comparing the self with those who are better off than the self.  Social comparison also entails SELF-EVALUATION MAINTENANCE THEORY The self can feel threatened when someone out-performs the self especially when that person is close to the self. There are three reactions: 1. Distance the self or redefine the relationship with them a. Silent treatment b. Change of friends c. Redefining the closeness with that person, to still give an acknowledgement about the skills being outperformed. 2. Reconsider the importance of the skill in which being outperformed 3. Strengthen the resolved to improve that certain aspect of the self  However, in attempt to increase or maintain self-esteem some people become have narcissism. Narcissism – a trait characterized by overly high self-esteem, self-admiration, and self-centeredness (Jhangiani and Tarry, 2014). They are often charismatic because of how they take care of their image that includes: Trying to look better partners To be with better acquaintances To be around with people who will appreciate them a lot. A healthy self-esteem may result to an overall good personality, but it is not, and should not be the only source of a person’s healthy perspective about the self.  Commonly, people with high self-esteem described as outgoing, adventurous, and adaptable in a lot of situations. They also initiate relationships and activities with other people. However, they may also dismiss activities that tend to not conform to the self-concept. They may be bullies on abusive behaviors with drugs, alcohol, and sex. To boost self-esteem, programs including healthy parenting and other activities should be designed on the basis of rewarding their behavior not to making them feel good or to appease them when they are angry. ASSIGNMENT 1: BOOST YOUR SELF- ESTEEM Things that lower my How and why it Things that I’ll like to do to Instruction: List things that you feel self-esteem lowers my boost my self-esteem you are inadequate and seem it self-esteem? caused you to have lower 1. I am not good at 1. My scores every 1. I must study more to self-esteem in the first column. Mathematics. quiz ruin my self- get a score that I want. Analyze and tell how and why those image in school And no matter what as a smart the result of the quiz, I things lower your self-esteem at the student. am beyond my middle column. At the third column, expectation for myself. create a program or activity that It’s okay to can change your perception be an average student. intending to boost your self-esteem. 2. 3. RECAP: Ice Breaker: Give the common differences between Western and Eastern society, culture and individuals. Lesson 5 : The Self in Western and Eastern Thought Different cultures and varying environment tend to create different perceptions of the “self” and one of the most common distinctions between cultures and people is the Western-Eastern dichotomy. It must also be reiterated that countries who are geographically closer to each other may share commonalities and differences. CONFUCIANISM A tradition, philosophy, and/or humanistic or rationalistic religion that was developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher—Confucius (1551-479 BCE). Confucius considered himself a re-codifier and re-transmitter of the theology and values inherited from the Shang and Zhou dynasty. It is focused on having a harmonious social life. Code of ethical conduct – how one should properly act according to their relationship with other people; thus, it is also focused on having a harmonious social life (Ho, 1995). Therefore, the sense of self and identity of an individual who share with this value and culture, their individuality rests on the status of their community, failure or pride. CONFUCIANISM Confucianism centers the Ren = the person’s understanding of humanity. Ren is manifested through: Li – propriety Father and son Rules and subject Elder and young Husband and wife Friend and friend Xiao – filiality Yi – rightness CONFUCIANISM Self-cultivation - is the ultimate purpose in life; or Has a characteristic of Chun-tzu, a noble virtue embedded in his/her social relationships are heartedness, gentleman, and humanness. Subdued self, personal needs are repressed for the purpose of maintaining order and balance in society. TAOISM Daoism Tao = Universe Chinese philosophy based on the writings of Lao Tzu (6th Century BC), advocating humility and religious piety. Taoism values the simple lifestyle and its teachings to attain that life. One of the main ideas of this philosophy is the belief about balance of forces—yin and yang. Matching pairs of light and darkness, hot and cold, action and inaction, life and death. The one is nothing without the other. There is life because of death. Yin and yang when combined provide the energy in our life, called Qi. TAOISM Three Treasures (3 Essential Energies Sustaining Life) 1. Jing – essence, the foundational, from birth 2. Qi – energy, breath, attitude, day-to-day 3. Shen – spirit, awareness, mental health, the heart BUDDHISM Originated from India, founded by Siddharta Gautama in the late 6th Century B.C The self is seen as an illusion, born out of ignorance, of trying to hold and control things, or human-centered needs; thus, the self is also the source of all the sufferings (Ho, 1995). BUDDHISM Three Marks of Existence 1. Suffering (Dukkha) – all things are not experienced; everything is conditioned and conditioning. Things are not isolated, they are interconnected and interdependent. [If dissatisfaction felt, maybe because of the absence of a thing]. 1. Impermanence (Anicca) – all things are in constant state of flux; nothing lasts; and everything decays. 1. Non-self (Anatta) – denies that there is anything called a SELF. [It can can be a strategy to detach the self from everything as impermanent]  Western Eastern ∙ The self is distinguished and ∙ See other person as part of the self as acknowledged, not focused on the well as a thing being created. created object. ∙ Highlight personal achievements. ∙ Stay being a low-profile so as not to make the self boastful. ∙ Loose associations; competitive. ∙ Value social affiliations; use words that are not hurtful. ∙ Forceful in communication as well as in ∙ Using words for respect. decision-making. ∙ Emphasize the value of equality to ∙ Value hierarchy. protect the sense of individuality.  Self is multi-faceted, it encompasses many sides of spiritual, material, social, physical, etc. What makes people different? Personality - a relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior. (Persona = mask) Individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving (APA) Factors and forces behind an individual’s motivation. Traits – individual differences in behavior, consistency of behavior over time, and stability of behavior across situations. It may be unique, common to some group, but different in pattern for each individual. (predisposed/heredity/genetics) Ex. Honesty, cheating, talkative Characteristics – unique qualities of an individual that include such attributes as temperament, physique, and intelligence. (molded, combined with the environ-ment) Ex. Patience, height, skin color PESONALITY IS CONSISTENT PATTERNS OF AFFECT, BEHAVIOR, AND COGNITION (ABC) Maramdamin ka ba? How do you react?  Determinants of Personality 1. Biological. Heredity; brain structure and physiology. 2. Environmental. Surrounding of individual compose of family, neighborhood, peer, school, workplace, etc. 3. Situational. Alters a person’s behavior and response from time to time, behaving in contrast to his traits and characteristics. 4. Cultural. A set of complex beliefs, values, and practices that pass from one generation to another.  Traits are important and interesting because they reveal more about a person’s becoming. WHO ARE YOU? - THE ANSWER YOU SUPPLY IS WHAT WE CALL SELF-CONCEPT. -End-