GED-101-Understanding-the-Self_240904_093858.pdf
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1 GED 101 Understanding the Self UNDERSTANDING THE SELF Module iconfinder.com Bersoto, M.A., Arcega, A.M., & Cullar, D. S. GED 101...
1 GED 101 Understanding the Self UNDERSTANDING THE SELF Module iconfinder.com Bersoto, M.A., Arcega, A.M., & Cullar, D. S. GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 2 Course Title UNDERSTANDING THE SELF Course Code GED 101 Course Category GENERAL EDUCATION Prerequisite(s) NONE Semester/ year FIRST SEMESTER/ YEAR 1 Credit Hours 3 (3 HOURS LECTURE) Reference CMO CMO NO.20 SERIES OF 2013 Date Prepared JULY 16, 2020 Period of Study 18 WEEKS Contact Hours 3 HOURS LECTURE COURSE RATIONALE AND DESCRIPTION The course deals with the nature of identity, as well as the factors and forces that affect the development and maintenance of personal identity. This course is intended to facilitate the exploration of the issues and concerns regarding self and identity to arrive at a better understanding of one’s self. It strives to meet this goal by stressing the integration of the personal with the academic- contextualizing matters discussed in the classroom and in the everyday experiences of students- making for better learning, generating a new appreciation for the learning process, and developing a more critical and reflective attitude while enabling them to manage and improve themselves to attain a better quality of life. (Adopted from CHED’s prescribed course description) INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (ILO) Upon completion of this course, the students should be able to: 1. Examine the aspects of the self, and the different influences, factors, and forces that shape the self; 2. Demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the development of one’s self and identity and integrating the various aspects of self and identity by developing a theory of the self; and 3. Apply new skills and learnings about self-care to one’s self and functioning for a better quality of life. CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT 40% Activities/ Exercises/Quizzes 20% Projects/Outputs 40% Major Examinations 100% Total TEACHING, LEARNING, AND ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES Teaching and Learning Strategies 1. Lecture. Lecture notes with links to related resources and other Web sites embedded in the will be placed on Google Classroom (GED 101) and/or group chat via FB Messenger for the learners to review. Presentation of lectures via audio or video; and access on Open Educational resources will also be uploaded in the Google classroom for students to revisit as needed. 2. Self-Directed Learning. The study and activity guide will be placed on Google Classroom and/or group chat via FB Messenger to facilitate individualized and self-paced learning activities. This will allow students to work at a convenient time and pace to search and utilize vast resources. The GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 3 Discussion Group. Students will be asked to reflect on a subject under discussion and present their views through Stream post (Google Classroom) and/or group cat (FB Messenger). Assessment Strategies 1. Activity/Exercises/Quizzes Activities/exercises will be given to students to discover by questions or practical activities or reflection assignments, what the students know about the lesson or what they can do or like. 2. Projects/Outputs. Group and/or individual projects including concept papers, and plan development and implementation, will be required for the students to pursue special interests, write or create and publish or present their outputs via the internet. 3. Major Examinations. There will be two (2) written major examinations including Midterm and Final exams, to be conducted to evaluate the students' progress in the course. The test questions will be sent via Google Classroom (Classwork) and/or FB Messenger (Group Chat) on the scheduled date of examination. BOOKS AND OTHER REFERENCES 1. Avelino, S.E., Sanchez, C.A. (1996). Personality Development and Human Relations. Rex Book Store Inc., Sta Mesa Heights, Quezon City, Philippines 2. Personality Traits. Edward Diener and Richard E. Lucas. Accessed July 25, 2020. https://nobaproject.com/modules/personality-traits#discussion-questions 3. Self-Understanding & Self-Concept: How We Perceive Ourselves. Natalie Boyd. Accessed July 25, 2020. https://study.com/academy/lesson/self-understanding-and-self-concept.html 4. Personality. Accessed July 25, 2020. https://sg.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/148426/12/12_chapter%205.pdf 5. 4 Reasons Why Self-understanding is Essential. Kee’s Blog. Accessed July 25, 2020. https://intuitivehaven.com/4-reasons-why-self-understanding-is-essential/ 6. Self and Personality. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). Accessed July 25, 2020. http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/l/lepy102.pdf 7. What Is Self-Concept? The Psychological Exploration of "Who Am I?". Kendra Cherry. Accessed July 25, 2020. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-concept-2795865 8. Arcega, A M., Cullar, D. S., Evangelista, L. D. & Falculan, L. M. (2018). Understanding the Self. Malabon City: Mutya Publishing House Inc. 9. Villafuerte, Salvacion L.(PhD), et al. (2018) Understanding the Self. Quezon City, Philippines: Nieme House Co. Ltd. 10. Understanding the Self. Accessed July 16, 2020. ched.gov.ph/wp- content/uploads/2017/10/Understanding-the-Self.pdf 11. Alata, E.J.P., Caslib, B.N., Serafica, J.P.J., Pawilen, R.A. (2018). Understanding the Self. Rex Book Store Inc., Sta Mesa Heights, Quezon City, Philippines 12. Gazzingan, L. B. et al. (2019). Understanding the Self. Muntinlupa City: Panday-Lahi Publishing House, Inc. 13. Hewstone, et.al. (2015). An Introduction to Social Psychology. UK: British Psychological Society and John Wiley and Sons Ltd. 14. Krueger, D.W. 2002 Integrating body self and psychological self: Creating a new story in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. Accessed date: July 24, 2020. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-06051-000 15. McKinley, N. M. (2012). Continuity and change in self-objectification: Taking a life-span approach to women’s experiences of objectified body consciousness. Accessed date: July 24, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1037/12304-005 16. Santrock, J (2014) Adolescence. New York, USA: McGraw Hill International edition 17. Santrock, M (2016) Essentials of LifeSpan Development 4th Ed. New York, USA: McGraw Hill International Edition GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 4 18. Douglas, M (1973) Self-Evidence. Accessed July 24, 2020. https://us.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-assets/66916_book_item_66916.pdf 19. Seventeenth congress (First Regular session). Accessed July 20, 2020. http://www.congress.gov.ph/legisdocs/first_17/CR00101.pdf 20. Marshall, E. and Tanner, S. Introduction to Psychology. Accessed July 28, 2020. https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/chapter/6-3-adolescence-developing- independence-and-identity/ 21. Master, A. and Johnson, T. Human Sexual Response. Accessed July 28, 2020. https://canvas.du.edu/courses/24161/files/1152570 22. Remez, R. Developing Adolescent. Accessed July 28, 2020. https://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/develop.pdf 23. Rosenthal, M. (2013). Human Sexuality from Cells to Society. Asia: Cengage Learning 24. The Material/Economic Self. Steven C. Valerio's Blog. Accessed July 20, 2020. https://utsged101portfolio.wordpress.com/section-3-the-material-economic-self/ 25. Gaines, J (1980). Material Possession. Accessed July 24, 2020. https://faculty.washington.edu/jdb/452/452_chapter_02.pdf 26. Boorstin, D. J. (1973).The Americans: The democratic experience. New York: Random House. 27. Goffman, E. The presentation of Self in everyday life. Accessed July 29, 2020. https://monoskop.org/images/1/19/Goffman_Erving_The_Presentation_of_Self_in_Everyday_ Life.pdf 28. The Material/Economic Self. Steven C. Valerio's Blog. Accessed July 20, 2020. https://utsged101portfolio.wordpress.com/section-3-the-material-economic-self/ 29. Tuan, J. Extending Theory of self. Accessed July 30, 2020. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1998.tb01685.x 30. https://www.actionresearch.net/living/rawalpdf/Chapter7.pdf 31. Daskeo , K. Self-awareness and Self-knowledge. Accessed July 28, 2020. https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/2077/30157/1/gupea_2077_30157_1.pdf 32. Frankle, V & Stein, G. Examination of Self. Accessed July 28. 2020. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1163278.pdf 33. Frankl, V. Man’s Search for meaning. Accessed July 28, 2020. https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/3403095/mod_resource/content/1/56ViktorFrankl_Ma ns%20Search.pdf 34. Giddens, A. Self-Identity in Modernity. Accessed July 30, 2020. https://skemman.is/bitstream/1946/12134/1/Self-Identity%20in%20Modernity.pdf 35. Magos.J. Invisible Voices. Accessed July 28, 2020. https://www.diva- portal.org/smash/get/diva2:788803/FULLTEXT01.pdf 36. McClenon, J. Handbook of Self and Identity. Accessed July 29, 2020. https://dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/782/docs/handbook_of_self_and_identity_- _second_edition_-_ch._4_pp._69-104_38_pages.pdf 37. The Political Self: Developing Active Citizenship. Steven C. Valerio's Blog. Accessed July 19, 2020. https://utsged101portfolio.wordpress.com/section-1-the-political-self-developing-active- citizenship/rio's 38. The Digital Self: Why Do We Express Ourselves On Social Media Like We Do? Accessed July 27, 2020 from https://sensum.co/blog/the-digital-self-why-do-we-express-ourselves-on- social-media-like-we-do 39. Goal-Setting Theory. Accessed July 21, 2020 https://gostrengths.com/what-is-goal-setting- theory/#:~:text=Goal%2Dsetting%20theory%20refers%20to,who%20set%20general%2C%20 easy%20goals. 40. Golden Rules for Goal-Setting. Accessed July 21, 2020. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_90.htm 41. Healthy Lifestyle: 5 Keys to a Longer Life. Accessed July 21, 2020 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/healthy-lifestyle-5-keys-to-a-longer-life-2018070514186 42. Living Healthy Lifestyle. Accessed July 27, 2020 (https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/108180). 43. Healthy Lifestyles for College Students. Accessed July 27, 2020 from https://miami.asa.edu/about-asa/news/maintaining-healthy-habits- college/#:~:text=LOAD%20UP%20ON%20HEALTHY%20FOODS,fresh%20foods%20for% 20each%20meal. GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 5 44. Managing Stress. Accessed July 29, 2020 from https://campusmindworks.org/help- yourself/self-care/managing-stress/ 45. Self Care and Wellness: Taking Care of Yourself So You Can Be Your Best. Accessed July 28, 2020 from https://www.ferris.edu/RSS/eccc/tools/wellness.htm 46. Raphailia Michael, MA. What Self-Care Is- and What It Isn’t. Last updated: 8 Jul 2018. Accessed June 11, 2020. https://psychcentral.com/blog/what-self-care-is-and-what-it-isnt-2/. COURSE POLICIES Grading System The grading system adopted by this course is as follows: Excellent 1.00 98 - 100 Superior 1.25 94 - 97 Very Good 1.50 90 - 93 Good 1.75 88 - 89 Meritorious 2.00 85 - 87 Very Satisfactory 2.25 83 - 84 Satisfactory 2.50 80 - 82 Fairly Satisfactory 2.75 78 - 79 Passing 3.00 75 - 77 Failure 5.00 Below 70 Incomplete INC *Students who got a computed grade of 70-74 will be given an appropriate remedial activity in which the final grade should be either passing (3.0) or failure (5.0). Class Policy Prompt and regular attendance of students is required. Total unexcused absences shall not exceed ten (10) percent of the maximum number of hours required per course per semester (or per summer term). A semester has 18 weeks. Missed Examinations Students who failed to take the exam during the scheduled date can be given a special exam provided he/she has a valid reason. If it is a health reason, he/she should provide the faculty with the medical certificate signed by the attending Physician. Other reasons shall be assessed first by the faculty to determine its validity. Academic Dishonesty Academic dishonesty includes acts such as cheating during examinations or plagiarism in connection with any academic work. Such acts are considered major offenses and will be dealt with according to the University’s Student Norms of Conduct. Dropping Dropping must be made official by accomplishing a dropping form and submitting it at the Registrar’s Office before the midterm examination. Students who officially drop out of class shall be marked “Dropped” whether he took the preliminary examination or not and irrespective of their preliminary grades. A student who unofficially drops out of class shall be given a mark of “5.0” by the instructor. OTHER COURSE POLICIES AND REQUIREMENTS 1. Show up! To succeed in this course, you must choose to accomplish every scheduled class session and activities in its entirety. See “Course Schedule” for your reference. 2. Do the work! To succeed in this class, you must choose to do your very best work in studying for each class session and on all your assignments and activities. See “Course Schedule”, for additional information on completing assignments. GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 6 3. Respect. You will be exposed to a variety of viewpoints, values and opinions in college that will differ from your own. All students in this class should feel comfortable expressing their viewpoints and concerns in class. You are an important part of creating an atmosphere that makes this possible. 4. Flex Days/Late Work. Due dates for every assignment/activities are provided on the Study and activity guide (and posted in Google Classroom and GED 101 group chat via FB messenger). Unless otherwise stated, assignments/activities are due on those days. However, I recognize that sometimes “life happens.” In these instances, you may use your allotted two flex days. These days allow you to submit an assignment up to two days late without penalty. You can use these days for any assignment and for any reason. You do not need to provide me with the reason: simply message me and tell me how many of your flex days you would like to use. Once you’ve exhausted your flex days, then point deductions will occur for any assignment submitted after the deadline. An assignment submitted 24 hours after the due date will only be eligible for 80% of the maximum number of points allotted. Assignments submitted more than 24 hours after the due date will not be accepted. 5. Take care of yourself. Do your best to maintain a healthy lifestyle this semester by eating well, exercising, avoiding drugs and alcohol, getting enough sleep, and taking time to relax. TEACHING, LEARNING, AND ASSESSMENT (TLA) ACTIVITIES Week Topics / Reading List Topic Outcomes Delivery Method 1 COURSE ORIENTATION & Develop a sense of school Lecture and Discussion INTRODUCTION Reading List: spirit and identity with the Group (via Google GED 101 Course Information Syllabus culture of the course Classroom and/or FB (CIS) GED 101 Study Guide messenger (Group chat)) Demonstrate positive attitude towards the start of the classes Navigate the syllabus and identify the course policy and schedule Introduce the lessons on understanding the self 1 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF Differentiate the concepts Self Directed Learning, Introduction to Self Understanding of self, personality, traits, Lecture, and Group and it contribution to self Discussion (via Google Personality knowing and Classroom and/or FB Determinants of Personality understanding. messenger (Group chat)) Personality Traits Who am I? Reading List: 1-7 Activity #1: The Mini-IPIP Reinforce understanding The activity guide will be (International Personality Item Pool of some of the topics sent via Google Classroom Representation of the NEO PI-R) Scale covered in Week 1 (Classwork) and/or FB Messenger (Group Chat) 2 THE SELF ACCORDING TO Compare and contrast the Self Directed Learning, PHILOSOPHY different philosophical Lecture, and Group Socrates, Plato, St. Augustine, Descartes, foundations and Discussion (via Google Locke, Hume, Kant, Freud, Ryle, conceptualization of self Classroom and/or FB Churchland, Merleau-Ponty messenger (Group chat)) Reading List: 8, 11, 13 GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 7 Activity #2: SELF IN ONE LINE Assess understanding of The activity guide will be the topics covered in sent via Google Classroom Week 2 (Classwork) and/or FB Messenger (Group Chat) 3 THE SELF ACCORDING TO Examine various Self Directed Learning, SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY sociological and Lecture, and Group The Self as a product of modern society anthropological Discussion (via Google among other constructions perspectives that shapes Classroom and/or FB Mead and the Social Self the self. messenger (Group chat)) The Self and person in contemporary anthropology The Self embedded in culture Reading List: 8, 11, 13 ACTIVITY #3: COMPARE ME UP! Assess understanding of The activity guide will be the topics covered in sent via Google Classroom Week 3 (Classwork) and/or FB Messenger (Group Chat) 4 THE SELF ACCORDING TO Analyze the psychological Self Directed Learning, PSYCHOLOGY underpinnings that Lecture, and Group The Self as a Cognitive Construction describe the self. Discussion (via Google William James and the Me-Self and I-Self Classroom and/or FB messenger (Group chat)) Real and Ideal Self Multiple versus Unified Self True versus False Self The Self as Proactive and Agentic Reading List: 8, 11, 13 ACTIVITY # 4: THE VERSUSES! Assess understanding of The activity guide will be the topics covered in sent via Google Classroom Week 4 (Classwork) and/or FB Messenger (Group Chat) 5 THE SELF IN THE WESTERN AND Examine the western, Self Directed Learning, ORIENTAL/EASTERN THOUGHT oriental, and eastern Lecture, and Group Individualistic versus Collective Self perspectives on the Discussion (via Google The Social Construction of the Self in formation of self. Classroom and/or FB Western Thought messenger (Group chat)) The Self as embedded in relationships and through spiritual development in Confucian thought Reading List: 8, 11, 13 ACTIVITY # 5: MY SELF: AN Assess understanding of The activity guide will be INDIVIDUALISTIC OR the topics covered in sent via Google Classroom COLLECTIVE? Week 5 (Classwork) and/or FB Messenger (Group Chat) 6 to 7 UNPACKING THE SELF THE PHYSICAL SELF Self Directed Learning, The concept of Physical Self Describe the concept of Lecture, and Group Physical Self Discussion (via Google The self as impacted by the body Translate how the self is Classroom and/or FB impacted by the body messenger (Group chat)) The impact of culture on body image and Assess how culture affects Self-esteem their own body image and self-esteem Reading List: 8,13-17 6 ACTIVITY #6: MY BODY, MY LIFE Reinforce understanding The activity guide will be 7 ACTIVITY #7: BIRTH OF A BEAUTY of the topics covered in sent via Google Classroom Week 6 and 7 (Classwork) and/or FB ACTIVITY #8: HOW IT AFFECTS Messenger (Group Chat) ME? GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 8 8 to 9 THE SEXUAL SELF Self Directed Learning, Development of Secondary Sex Discuss the different Lecture, and Group Characteristics and human reproductive secondary characteristics, Discussion (via Google system erogenous zones, STIs and Classroom and/or FB Erogenous Zones methods of contraception messenger (Group chat)) Understanding Human Sexual response The basic biology of sexual behavior Understanding the chemistry of lust, love Compose a personal and attachment poem/song/spoken word The Psychological Aspect: What turns poetry to express the people on understanding on love and its psychological aspects The diversity of sexual behavior and gender Defend your side on the differences, solitary, heterosexual, issues regarding gender homosexual, bisexual, transsexual differences, SOGIE, STIs Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STIs) and other related issues in Methods of Contraception the community Reading List: 8, 13, 20-23 8 ACTIVITY #9: SEXUAL SELFHOOD Reinforce understanding The activity guide will be OUTPUT# 1: CASE ANALYSIS of the topics covered in sent via Google Classroom Week 8 and 9 (Classwork) and/or FB 9 ACTIVITY #10: EXPLORING LOVE Messenger (Group Chat) OUTPUT#2: PHOTOJOURNAL (by group) 10 MIDTERM EXAMINATION Evaluate the students' The test questions will be progress sent via Google Classroom (Classwork) and/or FB Messenger (Group Chat) on the scheduled date of examination. 11 THE MATERIAL SELF/ECONOMIC Self Directed Learning, SELF Lecture, and Group I shop, therefore, I am: I have therefore I Explore the different Discussion (via Google am? aspect of Classroom and/or FB material/economic self messenger (Group chat)) Shaping the way we see ourselves: the role Examine one's self against of consumer culture on our sense of self and the consumer culture of identity the community Reading List: 8, 13, 24-29 ACTIVITY #11: SEMIOTIC Reinforce understanding The activity guide will be ANALYZING of the topics covered in sent via Google Classroom Week 11 (Classwork) and/or FB ACTIVITY #12: WHAT IS THE Assess understanding of Messenger (Group Chat) FUNCTION? the topics covered in Week 11 12 THE SPIRITUAL SELF Self Directed Learning, The practice of religion: belief in Compare and Contrast Lecture, and Group supernatural being and power different rituals and Discussion (via Google The concept of "dungan" spirit or soul ceremonies and other Classroom and/or FB practices messenger (Group chat)) Religion, Spirituality, Magic, Witchcraft and Identity Finding and creating meaning Integrate and assess the Three ways of discovering meaning in life meaning of their lives Reading List: 8, 12-13, 16, 30-36 ACTIVITY #13: ARE YOU Reinforce understanding The activity guide will be RELIGIOUS? of the topics covered in sent via Google Classroom OUTPUT #3: MEANING OF LIFE Week 12 (Classwork) and/or FB Messenger (Group Chat) 13 THE POLITICAL SELF Discuss the nature of Self Directed Learning, Politics, Citizenship, and the Self politics, elements of active Lecture, and Group citizenship, and how they Discussion (via Google Active Citizenship shape one’s political self GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 9 Reading List: 8, 37 Classroom and/or FB messenger (Group chat)) ACTIVITY # 14 DEVELOPING Reinforce understanding The activity guide will be CITIZENSHIP of the topics covered in sent via Google Classroom Week 13 (Classwork) and/or FB Messenger (Group Chat) 14 THE DIGITAL SELF Discuss the development Self Directed Learning, The Self in the Digital World of digital self Lecture, and Group Discussion (via Google The Digital Self: Why do we express Classroom and/or FB ourselves on Social Media like we do? messenger (Group chat)) Reading List: 8, 9, 38 ACTIVITY # 15 ME AND MY SOCIAL Assess understanding of The activity guide will be MEDIA the topics covered in sent via Google Classroom ACTIVITY # 16 NETIQUETTE Week 13 (Classwork) and/or FB Messenger (Group Chat) MANAGING AND CARING FOR THE SELF 15 LEARNING TO BE A BETTER Develop personal self-care Self Directed Learning, STUDENT routine plan to Lecture, and Group How Learning Happens in the Human demonstrate one's Discussion (via Google Brain understanding of Classroom and/or FB Metacognition and Study Strategies managing and caring for messenger (Group chat)) one self Managing your Own Learning: Self- Regulated Learning Reading List: 8, 9 SETTING GOALS FOR SUCCESS The Importance of Goals Goal- Setting Theory Golden Rules for Goal-Setting Reading List: 8, 9,39-40 ACTIVITY # 17 EFFECTIVE The activity guide will be LEARNING STRATEGY sent via Google Classroom (Classwork) and/or FB ACTIVITY# 18 PLANNING WITH Messenger (Group Chat) GOAL-SETTING SHEET 16 TAKING CHARGE OF ONE’S Self Directed Learning, HEALTH Lecture and Group Living a Healthy Lifestyle Discussion ( via Google Managing Stress Classroom and/orFB messenger (group Chat)) Self-care and Wellness Reading List: 8, 9, 41-46 17 OUTPUT#4 GET REFRESHED: A 15- The activity guide will be DAY CHALLENGE PLAN TO TAKE sent via Google Classroom BETTER CARE OF YOURSELF (Classwork) and/or FB Messenger (Group Chat) 18 FINAL EXAMINATION Evaluate the students' The test questions will be progress sent via Google Classroom (Classwork) and/or FB Messenger (Group Chat) on the scheduled date of examination. HOW TO USE THE MODULE Thee icons will help you journey with this Module. GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 10 STUDY SECTION In the study section you are tasked to look at closely in order to read the articles. You are expected to devote time and attention to acquiring knowledge on the topic in each lesson. ACTIVITY SECTION Activity section aims to discover by questions or practical activities, what you know about the lesson or what can you do or like. END OF WEEK SECTION This section signals the end of the lessons and activities for each week. WHAT COULD YOU LEARN NEXT SECTION This section provides you the preview of the lesson/topic the following week. FINAL ASSESSMENT SECTION In this section your progress in the course will be evaluated. GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 11 WEEK 1: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF Introduction to Self Understanding Understanding oneself is essential to understand behaviors and beliefs that affects ourselves and others specifically in becoming effective and successful person in life, work, and relationship. Moreover, self-understanding (1) provides a sense of purpose; (2) leads to healthier relationships; (3) helps harness your natural strength; and (4) promotes confidence. This module will introduce you to the basic concepts of self and personality, and how they are related with each other. Self and personality characterized the way we define our existence, also these refers on how we organized our experiences that are reflected to our behavior. On the other hand, people have different ideas about themselves. These ideas represent the self of the person. Moreover, we behave in different ways in a given situation, but people also behave fairly stable in different circumstances. The relatively permanent pattern of behavior represents personality of the person. In details, Personality The etymological derivative of personality comes from the word “persona”, the theatrical masks worn by Romans in Greek and Latin drama. Personality also comes from the two Latin words “per” and “sonare”, which literally means “to sound through”. Personality have no single definition since different personality theories have different views on how to define it. However, the commonly accepted definition of personality is that it is a relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior (Roberts & Mroczek, 2008). Personality plays a key role in affecting how people shape their lives. It involves the complex relationship of people with their environment, how they cope and adjust through life, and how they respond to demands of physical and social challenges. Personality is the overall pattern or integration of a person’s structure, modes of behavior, attitudes, aptitudes, interests, intellectual abilities, and many other distinguishable personality traits. Personality is the conglomeration of the following components: physical self, intelligence, character traits, attitudes, habits, interest, personal discipline, moral values, principles and philosophies of life. Determinants of Personality Personality refers to the total person in his/her overt and covert behavior. The determinants of factors of personality are as follows: Environmental Factors of Personality. The surroundings of an individual compose the environmental factors of personality. This includes the neighborhood a person lives in, his school, college, university and workplace. Moreover, it also counts the social circle the individual has. Friends, parents, colleagues, co-workers and bosses, everybody plays a role as the determinants of personality. Biological Factors of Personality. This further includes: 1) hereditary factors or genetic make-up of the person that inherited from their parents. This describes the tendency of the person to appear and behave the way their parents are; 2) physical features include the overall physical structure of a person: height, weight, color, sex, beauty and body language, etc. Most of the physical structures change from time to time, and so does the personality. With exercises, cosmetics and surgeries, many physical features are changed, and therefore, the personality of the individual also evolves; and 3) brain. The preliminary results from the electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB) research gives indication that better understanding of human personality and behavior might come from the study of the brain. GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 12 Situational Factors of Personality. Although these factors do not literally create and shape up an individual’s personality, situational factors do alter a person’s behavior and response from time to time. The situational factors can be commonly observed when a person behaves contrastingly and exhibits different traits and characteristics. Cultural Factors. Culture is traditionally considered as the major determinants of an individual’s personality. The culture largely determinants what a person is and what a person will learn. The culture within a person is brought up, is very important determinant of behavior of a person. Culture is complex of these belief, values, and techniques for dealing with the environment which are shared among contemporaries and transmitted by one generation to the next. Personality Traits Personality traits reflect people’s characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Personality traits imply consistency and stability—someone who scores high on a specific trait like Extraversion is expected to be sociable in different situations and over time. Thus, trait psychology rests on the idea that people differ from one another in terms of where they stand on a set of basic trait dimensions that persist over time and across situations. The most widely used system of traits is called the Five-Factor Model. This system includes five broad traits that can be remembered with the acronym OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. Each of the major traits from the Big Five can be divided into facets to give a more fine-grained analysis of someone's personality. In addition, some trait theorists argue that there are other traits that cannot be completely captured by the Five-Factor Model. Critics of the trait concept argue that people do not act consistently from one situation to the next and that people are very influenced by situational forces. Thus, one major debate in the field concerns the relative power of people’s traits versus the situations in which they find themselves as predictors of their behavior. The Five-Factor Model of Personality Research that used the lexical approach showed that many of the personality descriptors found in the dictionary do indeed overlap. In other words, many of the words that we use to describe people are synonyms. Thus, if we want to know what a person is like, we do not necessarily need to ask how sociable they are, how friendly they are, and how gregarious they are. Instead, because sociable people tend to be friendly and gregarious, we can summarize this personality dimension with a single term. Someone who is sociable, friendly, and gregarious would typically be described as an “Extravert.” Once we know she is an extravert, we can assume that she is sociable, friendly, and gregarious. The most widely accepted system to emerge from this approach was “The Big Five” or “Five- Factor Model” (Goldberg, 1990; McCrae & John, 1992; McCrae & Costa, 1987). The Big Five comprises five major traits shown in the Figure 2 below. A way to remember these five is with the acronym OCEAN (O is for Openness; C is for Conscientiousness; E is for Extraversion; A is for Agreeableness; N is for Neuroticism). The table below provides descriptions of people who would score high and low on each of these traits. Table 1. Descriptions of Personality Traits Big 5 Trait Definition Openness The tendency to appreciate new art, ideas, values, feelings, and behaviors. Conscientiousness The tendency to be careful, on-time for appointments, to follow rules, and to be hard working. Extraversion The tendency to be talkative, sociable, and to enjoy others; the tendency to have a dominant style. Agreeableness The tendency to agree and go along with others rather than to assert one owns opinions and choices. Neurotism The tendency to be frequently experience negative emotions such as anger, worry, and sadness, as well as being itnerpersonally sensitive. GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 13 Table 2. Example behaviors for those scoring low and high for the big 5 traits Big 5 Trait Example Behavior for LOW Example Behavior for HIGH Scorers Scorers Openness Prefers not to be exposed to Enjoys seeing people with new types alternative moral systems; narrow of haircuts and body piercing; interest; inartistic; not analystica; curious; imaginative; untraditional down-to-earth Conscientiousness Prefers spur-of-the-moment action Never late for a date; organized; to planning; unrealiable; hardworking; neat, persevering; hedonistic; careless; lax punctual; self-disciplined Extraversion Preferring a quiet evening reading Being the life of the party’ active; to a loud party; sober; aloof; optimistic; fun-loving; affectionate unenthusiastic Agreeableness Quickly and confidently asserts Agrees with other about political own rights; irritable; opinions; good-natured; forgiving; manipulative; uncooperative; rude gullible; helpful; forgiving Neurotism Not getting irritated by sall Constantly worrying about little annoyances; calm, unemotional; things; insecure; hypochondrical; hardy; secure; self-satisfied feeling inadequate Scores on the Big Five traits are mostly independent. That means that a person’s standing on one trait tells very little about their standing on the other traits of the Big Five. For example, a person can be extremely high in Extraversion and be either high or low on Neuroticism. Similarly, a person can be low in Agreeableness and be either high or low in Conscientiousness. Thus, in the Five-Factor Model, you need five scores to describe most of an individual’s personality. In the exercises part of this module there is a short scale to assess the Five-Factor Model of personality (Donnellan, Oswald, Baird, & Lucas, 2006). You can take this test to see where you stand in terms of your Big Five scores. Traits are important and interesting because they describe stable patterns of behavior that persist for long periods of time (Caspi, Roberts, & Shiner, 2005). Importantly, these stable patterns can have broad- ranging consequences for many areas of our life (Roberts, Kuncel, Shiner, Caspi, & Goldberg, 2007). For instance, think about the factors that determine success in college. If you were asked to guess what factors predict good grades in college, you might guess something like intelligence. This guess would be correct, but we know much more about who is likely to do well. Specifically, personality researchers have also found the personality traits like Conscientiousness play an important role in college and beyond, probably because highly conscientious individuals study hard, get their work done on time, and are less distracted by nonessential activities that take time away from school work. In addition, highly conscientious people are often healthier than people low in conscientiousness because they are more likely to maintain healthy diets, to exercise, and to follow basic safety procedures like wearing seat belts or bicycle helmets. Over the long term, this consistent pattern of behaviors can add up to meaningful differences in health and longevity. Thus, personality traits are not just a useful way to describe people you know; they actually help psychologists predict how good a worker someone will be, how long he or she will live, and the types of jobs and activities the person will enjoy. Who Am I? Have you ever ask yourself the question, “Who am I?”? Answering the question 'Who am I?' can lead to a solid self-concept and self-understanding. For many people, answering this question isn't very easy. For others, a solid understanding of who they are is a big part of their lives. Understanding of who you are as a person is called self-concept and understanding what your motives are when you act is called self-understanding. In definition, self-concept is generally thought of as our individual perceptions of our behavior, abilities, and unique characteristics—a mental picture of who you are as a person. For example, beliefs such as "I am a good friend" or "I am a kind person" are part of an overall self-concept. GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 14 Self-concept tends to be more malleable when people are younger and still going through the process of self-discovery and identity formation. As people age, self-perceptions become much more detailed and organized as people form a better idea of who they are and what is important to them. According to the book Essential Social Psychology by Richard Crisp and Rhiannon Turner: The individual self consists of attributes and personality traits that differentiate us from other individuals. Examples include introversion or extroversion. The relational self is defined by our relationships with significant others. Examples include siblings, friends, and spouses. The collective self reflects our membership in social groups. Examples include British, Republican, African-American, or gay. At its most basic, self-concept is a collection of beliefs one holds about oneself and the responses of others. It embodies the answer to the question "Who am I?". The lesson to follow will facilitate learning about the self, and self concept. ACTIVITY # 1: The Mini-IPIP (International Personality Item Pool Representation of the NEO PI- R) Scale (20 points) This section aims to reinforce your understanding of the topics covered in Week 1 through the activity below. Instructions: Below are phrases describing people’s behaviors. Please use the rating scale below to describe how accurately each statement describes you. Describe yourself as you generally are now, not as you wish to be in the future. Describe yourself as you honestly see yourself, in relation to other people you know of the same sex as you are, and roughly your same age. Please read each statement carefully and put a number from 1 to 5 next to it to describe how accurately the statement describes you. Answer the guide questions at the end of the activity. 1 = Very inaccurate 2 = Moderately inaccurate 3 = Neither inaccurate nor accurate 4 = Moderately accurate 5 = Very accurate 1. _____ Am the life of the party (E) 2. _______ Sympathize with others’ feelings (A) 3. _______ Get chores done right away (C) 4. _______ Have frequent mood swings (N) 5. _______ Have a vivid imagination (O) 6. _______Don’t talk a lot (E) 7. _______ Am not interested in other people’s problems (A) 8. _______ Often forget to put things back in their proper place (C) GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 15 9. _______ Am relaxed most of the time (N) 10. ______ Am not interested in abstract ideas (O) 11. ______ Talk to a lot of different people at parties (E) 12. ______ Feel others’ emotions (A) 13. ______ Like order (C) 14. ______ Get upset easily (N) 15. ______ Have difficulty understanding abstract ideas (O) 16. ______ Keep in the background (E) 17. ______ Am not really interested in others (A) 18. ______ Make a mess of things (C) 19. ______ Seldom feel blue (N) 20. ______ Do not have a good imagination (O) Scoring: The first thing you must do is to reverse the items that are worded in the opposite direction. In order to do this, subtract the number you put for that item from 6. So if you put a 4, for instance, it will become a 2. Cross out the score you put when you took the scale, and put the new number in representing your score subtracted from the number 6. Items to be reversed in this way: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 Next, you need to add up the scores for each of the five OCEAN scales (including the reversed numbers where relevant). Each OCEAN score will be the sum of four items. Place the sum next to each scale below. __________ Openness: Add items 5, 10, 15, 20 __________ Conscientiousness: Add items 3, 8, 13, 18 __________ Extraversion: Add items 1, 6, 11, 16 __________ Agreeableness: Add items 2, 7, 12, 17 __________ Neuroticism: Add items 4, 9,14, 19 Compare your scores to the norms below to see where you stand on each scale. If you are low on a trait, it means you are the opposite of the trait label. For example, low on Extraversion is Introversion, low on Openness is Conventional, and low on Agreeableness is Assertive. 19–20 Extremely High, 8–10 Low, 17–18 Very High, 6–7 Very low, 14–16 High, 4–5 Extremely low 11–13 Neither high nor low; in the middle, GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF Guide Questions: Answer the following questions in an essay form with a maximum of 300 words. Write your answers in a clean sheet of paper. Take a photo and turn it in using GED 101 group chat via FB (10 points each). 1. How do you describe your scores on Mini IPIP Scale? Do you think the results are accurate? Why? 2. Do you think personality changes through time? How? 3. Discuss how we develop our personality. 4. Differentiate personality from self. 5. How will you answer the question, “Who am I?”? References/Sources: Personality Traits. Edward Diener and Richard E. Lucas. Accessed July 25, 2020. https://nobaproject.com/modules/personality-traits#discussion-questions Self-Understanding & Self-Concept: How We Perceive Ourselves. Natalie Boyd. Accessed July 25, 2020. https://study.com/academy/lesson/self-understanding-and-self-concept.html Personality. Accessed July 25, 2020. https://sg.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/148426/12/12_chapter%205.pdf 4 Reasons Why Self-understanding is Essential. Kee’s Blog. Accessed July 25, 2020. https://intuitivehaven.com/4-reasons-why-self-understanding-is-essential/ Self and Personality. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). Accessed July 25, 2020. http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/l/lepy102.pdf What Is Self-Concept? The Psychological Exploration of "Who Am I?". Kendra Cherry. Accessed July 25, 2020. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-concept-2795865 END OF WEEK 1 Well done on finishing Week 1! WHAT COULD YOU LEARN NEXT? Week 2: THE SELF ACCORDING TO PHILOSOPHY WEEK 2: THE SELF ACCORDING TO PHILOSOPHY Philosophy Philosophy is defined as the study of knowledge or wisdom from its Latin roots, philo (love) and sophia (wisdom). This field is also considered as “The Queen of All Sciences” because every scientific discipline has philosophical foundations. Various thinkers for centuries tried to explain the natural causes of everything that exist specifically the inquiry on the self preoccupied these philosophers in the history. The Greek philosophers were the ones who seriously questioned myths and moved away from them in attempting to understand reality by exercising the art of questioning that satisfies their curiosity, including the questions about self. The following lecture will present the different philosophical perspectives and views about self. Socrates A philosopher from Athens, Greece and said to have the greatest influence on European thought. According to the history he was not able to write any of his teachings and life’s account instead, he is known from the writings of his student Plato who became one of the greatest philosophers of his time. Socrates had a unique style of asking questions called Socratic Method. Socratic Method or dialectic method involves the search for the correct/proper definition of a thing. In this method, Socrates did not lecture, he instead would ask questions and engage the person in a discussion. He would begin by acting as if he did not know anything and would get the other person to clarify Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/275648.Socrates their ideas and resolve logical inconsistencies (Price, 2000). The foundation of Socrates philosophy was the Delphic Oracle’s that command to “Know Thyself”. Here, Socrates would like to emphasize that knowing or understanding oneself should be more than the physical self, or the body. According to Socrates, self is dichotomous which means composed of two things: The physical realm or the one that is changeable, temporal, and imperfect. The best example of the physical realm is the physical world. The physical world is consisting of anything we sense – see, smell, feel, hear, and taste. It is always changing and deteriorating. The ideal realm is the one that is imperfect and unchanging, eternal, and immortal. This includes the intellectual essences of the universe like the concept of beauty, truth, and goodness. Moreover, the ideal realm is also present in the physical world. One may define someone as beautiful or truthful, but their definition is limited and imperfect for it is always relative and subjective. It is only the ideal forms themselves that are perfect, unchanging, and eternal. For Socrates, a human is composed of body and soul, the first belongs to the physical realm because it changed, it is imperfect, and it dies, and the latter belongs to ideal realm for it survives the death. Socrates also used the term soul to identify self. GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF The self, according to Socrates is the immortal and unified entity that is consistent over time. For example, a human being remains the same person during their childhood to adulthood given the fact that they undergone developmental changes throughout their lifespan. Plato A student of Socrates, who introduced the idea of a three- part soul/self that is composed of reason, physical appetite and spirit or passion. o The Reason enables human to think deeply, make wise choices and achieve a true understanding of eternal truths. Plato also called this as divine essence. o The physical Appetite is the basic biological needs of human being such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire. o And the spirit or passion is the basic emotions of human being such as love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness and empathy. These three elements of the self works in every individual Image Source: https://www.alamy.com/plato inconsistently. According to Plato, it is always the responsibility of the reason to organize, control, and reestablish harmonious relationship between these three elements. Plato also illustrated his view of the soul/self in “Phaedrus” in his metaphor: the soul is like a winged chariot drawn by two powerful horses: a white horse, representing Spirit, and a black horse, embodying appetite. The charioteer is reason, whose task is to guide the chariot to the eternal realm by controlling the two independent-minded horses. Those charioteers who are successful in setting a true course and ensuring that the two steeds work together in harmonious unity achieve true wisdom and banquet with the gods. However, those charioteers who are unable to control their horses and keep their chariot on track are destined to experience personal, intellectual, and spiritual failure. St. Augustine He is considered as the last of the great ancient philosophers whose ideas were greatly Platonic. In melding philosophy and religious beliefs together, Augustine has been characterized as Christianity’s first theologian. Like Plato, Augustine believed that the physical body is different from the immortal soul. Early in his philosophical development he described body as “snare” or “cage” of the soul and said that the body is a “slave” of the soul he even characterized that “the soul makes war with the body”. Later on he came to view the body as “spouse” of the soul, with both attached to one another by a “natural appetite.” He concluded, “That the body is united with the soul, so that man may be entire and complete, is a fact we recognize on the evidence of our own nature.” Image Source: http://lexchristianorum.blogspot.com/ According to St. Augustine, the human nature is composed of two realms: GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 1. God as the source of all reality and truth. Through mystical experience, man is capable of knowing eternal truths. This is made possible through the existence of the one eternal truth which is God. He further added that without God as the source of all truth, man could never understand eternal truth. This relationship with God means that those who know most about God will come closest to understanding the true nature of the world. 2. The sinfulness of man. The cause of sin or evil is an act of mans’ freewill. Moral goodness can only be achieved through the grace of God. He also stated that real happiness can only be found in God. For God is love and he created humans for them to also love. Problems arise because of the objects humans choose to love. Disordered love results when man loves the wrong things which he believes will give him happiness. Furthermore, he said that if man loves God first and everything else to a lesser degree, then all will fall into its rightful place. Rene Descartes A French philosopher, mathematician, and considered the founder of modern philosophy. Descartes, famous principle the “cogito, ergo sum—“I think, therefore I exist” established his philosophical views on “true knowledge” and concept of self. He explained that in order to gain true knowledge, one must doubt everything even own existence. Doubting makes someone aware that they are thinking being thus, they exist. The essence of existing as a human identity is the possibility of being aware of our selves: being self-conscious in this way is integral to having a personal identity. Conversely, it would be impossible to be self-conscious if we did not have a personal Image Source: https://www.sapaviva.com/ identity of which to be conscious. In other words, the essence of self is being a thinking thing. The self is a dynamic entity that engages in metal operations – thinking, reasoning, and perceiving processes. In addition to this, self-identity is dependent on the awareness in engaging with those mental operations. He declared that the essential self or the self as the thinking entity is radically different from the physical body. The thinking self or soul is a non-material, immortal, conscious being, independent of the physical laws of the universe while the physical body is a material, mortal, non-thinking entity, fully governed by the physical laws of nature. He also maintained that the soul and the body are independent of one another and each can exist and function without the other. In cases in which people are sleeping or comatose, their bodies continue to function even though their minds are not thinking, much like the mechanisms of a clock. He identified the physical self as part of nature, governed by the physical laws of the universe, and available to scientific analysis and experimentation, and the conscious self (mind, soul) is a part of the spiritual realm, independent of the physical laws of the universe, governed only by the laws of reason and God’s will. And because it exists outside of the natural world of cause-and-effect, the conscious self is able to exercise free will in the choices it makes. GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF John Locke An English philosopher and physician and famous in his concept of “Tabula Rasa” or Blank Slate that assumes the nurture side of human development. The self, according to Locke is consciousness. In his essay entitled On Personal Identity (from his most famous work, Essay Concerning Human Understanding) he discussed the reflective analysis of how an individual may experience the self in everyday living. He provided the following key points: 1. To discover the nature of personal identity, it is important to find out what it means to be a person. 2. A person is a thinking, intelligent being who has the abilities to reason and to reflect. 3. A person is also someone who considers themself to be Image Source: https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/ the same thing in different times and different places. 4. Consciousness as being aware that we are thinking— always accompanies thinking and is an essential part of the thinking process. 5. Consciousness makes possible our belief that we are the same identity in different times and different places. Although Locke and Descartes believed that a person or the self is a thinking intelligent being who has the abilities to reflect and to reason, Locke was not convinced with the assumptions of Plato, St. Augustine and Descartes that the individual self necessarily exists in a single soul or substance. For Locke, personal identity and the soul or substance in which the personal identity is situated are two very different things. The bottom line of his theory on self is that self is not tied to any particular body or substance. It only exists in other times and places because of the memory of those experiences. David Hume He was a Scottish philosopher and also an empiricist. His claim about self is quite controversial because he assumed that there is no self! In his essay entitled, “On Personal Identity” (1739) he said that, if we carefully examine the contents of [our] experience, we find that there are only two distinct entities, "impressions" and "ideas". Impressions are the basic sensations of our experience, the elemental data of our minds: pain, pleasure, heat, cold, happiness, grief, fear, exhilaration, and so on. On the other hand, ideas are copies of impressions that include thoughts and images that are built up from our primary impressions through a variety of relationships, but because they are derivative copies of impressions, they are once removed from reality. Image Source: https://www.britannica.com/ Hume considered that the self does not exist because all of the experiences that a person may have are just perceptions and this includes the perception of self. None of these perceptions resemble a unified and permanent self-identity that exists over time. GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF He further added that there are instances that an individual is limited in experiencing their perception like in sleeping. Similarly, when someone died all empirical senses end and according to him, it makes no sense to believe that self exists in other forms. As an empiricist, Hume provide an honest description and analysis of his own experience, within which there is no self to be found. Hume explained that the self that is being experienced by an individual is nothing but a kind of fictional self. Human created an imaginary creature which is not real. “Fictional self” is created to unify the mental events and introduce order into an individual lives, but this “self” has no real existence. Sigmund Freud A well-known Australian psychologist and considered as the Father and Founder of Psychoanalysis. His influence in Psychology and therapy is dominant and popular in the 20th to 21st century. The dualistic view of self by Freud involves the conscious self and unconscious self. The conscious self is governed by reality principle. Here, the self is rational, practical, and appropriate to the social environment. The conscious self has the task of controlling the constant pressures of the unconscious self, as its primitive impulses continually seek for immediate discharge. The unconscious self is governed by pleasure principle. It Image Source: https://www.researchgate.net/ is the self that is aggressive, destructive, unrealistic and instinctual. Both of Freud’s self needs immediate gratification and reduction of tensions to optimal levels and the goal of every individual is to make unconscious conscious. Freud proposed how mind works, he called this as provinces or structures of the mind. By illustrating the tip of the iceberg which according to him represents conscious awareness which characterizes the person in dealing with the external world. The observable behavior, however, is further controlled by the workings of the subconscious/unconscious mind. Subconscious serves as the repository of past experiences, repressed memories, fantasies, and urges. The three levels of the mind are: 1. Id. This is primarily based on the pleasure principle. It demands immediate satisfaction and is not hindered by societal expectations. 2. Ego. The structure that is primarily based on the reality principle. This mediates between the impulses of the id and restraints of the superego. 3. Superego. This is primarily dependent on learning the difference between right and wrong, thus it is called moral principle. Morality of actions is largely dependent on childhood upbringing particularly on rewards and punishments. Image Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/ GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF According to Freud, there are two kinds of instinct that drive individual behavior – the eros or the life instinct and the thanatos of the death instinct. The energy of eros is called libido and includes urges necessary for individual and species survival like thrist, hunger, and sex.in cases that human behaior is directed towards destruction in the form of aggression and violence, such are the manifestations of thanatos. Gilbert Ryle A British analytical philosopher. He was an important figure in the field of Linguistic Analysis which focused on the solving of philosophical puzzles through an analysis of language. According to Ryle, the self is best understood as a pattern of behavior, the tendency or disposition for a person to behave in a certain way in certain circumstances. He opposed the notable ideas of the previous philosophers and even claimed that those were results of confused conceptual thinking he termed, category mistake. The category mistake happens when we speak about the self as something independent of the physical body: a purely Image Source: https://www.jstor.org/ mental entity existing in time but not space Immanuel Kant A German Philosopher who made great contribution to the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Kant is widely regarded as the greatest philosopher of the modern period. Kant maintained that an individual self makes the experience of the world comprehensible because it is responsible for synthesizing the discreet data of sense experience into a meaningful whole. It is the self that makes consciousness for the person to make sense of everything. It is the one that help every individual gain insight and knowledge. If the self failed to do this synthesizing function, there would be a chaotic and insignificant collection of sensations. Image Source: https://mediaethicsmorning.wordpress.com/ Additionally, the self is the product of reason, a regulative principle because the self regulates experience by making unified experience possible and unlike Hume, Kant’s self is not the object of consciousness, but it makes the consciousness understandable and unique. Transcendental apperception happens when people do not experience self directly, instead as a unity of all impressions that are organized by the mind through perceptions. Kant concluded that GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF all objects of knowledge, which includes the self, are phenomenal. That the true nature of things is altogether unknown and unknowable (Price, 2000). For Kant, the kingdom of God is within man. God is manifested in people’s lives therefore it is man’s duty to move towards perfection. Kant emphasized that people should always see duty as a divine command (Price, 2000). Paul and Patricia Churchland An American philosopher interested in the fields of philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, cognitive neurobiology, epistemology, and perception. Churchlands’ central argument is that the concepts and theoretical vocabulary that people use to think about the selves— using such terms as belief, desire, fear, sensation, pain, joy— actually misrepresent the reality Image Source: http://thesciencenetwork.org/ of minds and selves. He claims that the self is a product of brain activity. The behavior of the self can be attributed to the neuropharmacological states, the neural activity in specialized anatomical areas. Neurophilosopy was coined by Patricia Churchland, the modern scientific inquiry looks into the application of neurology to age-old problems in philosophy. The philosophy of neuroscience is the study of the philosophy of science, neuroscience, and psychology. It aims to explore the relevance of neurolinguistic experiments/studies to the philosophy of the mind. Patricia Churchland claimed that man’s brain is responsible for the identity known as self. The biochemical properties of the brain according to this philosophy of neuroscience is really responsible for man’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Paul Churchland is one of the many philosophers and psychologists that viewed the self from a materialistic point of view, contending that in the final analysis mental states are identical with, reducible to, or explainable in terms of physical brain states. This assumption was made due to the physiological processes of the body that directly affecting the mental state of the person. The advent of sophisticated technology and scientific research gives hope to understand the connection between the physical body and the mind/brain relationship that integrated in the self. Being an eliminative materialist, he believes that there is a need to develop a new vocabulary and conceptual framework that is grounded in neuroscience. This new framework will be a more accurate reflection of the human mind and self. GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF Maurice Merleau-Ponty A French philosopher and phenomenologist. He took a very different approach to the self and the mind/body “problem.” According to him, the division between the “mind” and the “body” is a product of confused thinking. The self is experienced as a unity in which the mental and physical are seamlessly woven together. This unity is the primary experience of selves and begin to doubt it when an individual use their minds to concoct abstract notions of a separate mind and body. Developed the concept of self-subject and contended that perceptions occur existentially. Thus, the consciousness, the world, and the human body are all interconnected as they mutually perceive the world. According to him, the world and the sense of self are emergent phenomena in the ongoing process of man’s Image Source: http://all-to-human.blogspot.com/ becoming. Phenomenology provides a direct description of the human experience which serves to guide man’s conscious actions. He further added that, the world is a field of perception, and human consciousness assigns meaning to the world. Thus man cannot separate himself from his perceptions of the world. Perception is not purely the result of sensations nor it is purely interpretations. Rather consciousness is a process that includes sensing as well as interpreting/reasoning. References/Sources: Arcega, A M., Cullar, D. S., Evangelista, L. D. & Falculan, L. M. (2018). Understanding the Self. Malabon City: Mutya Publishing House Inc. Gazzingan, L. B. et al. (2019). Understanding the Self. Muntinlupa City: Panday-Lahi Publishing House, Inc. Alata, E.J.P., Caslib, B.N., Serafica, J.P.J., Pawilen, R.A. (2018). Unsertanding the Self. Rex Book Store Inc., Sta Mesa Heights, Quezon City, Philippines GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF ACTIVITY # 2: SELF IN ONE LINE (55 points) This section aims to assess your understanding of some of the topics covered in Week 2 through the activity below. Instructions: Write a one-sentence description of self according to the following philosophers. Write your answers in a clean sheet of paper. Take a photo and turn it in using Google Classroom (GED 101 Class) GED 101 group chat via FB. Philosophers One sentence definition of self Socrates Plato St. Augustine Descartes Locke Hume Kant Freud Ryle Churchland Merleau-Ponty GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF END OF WEEK 2 Well done on finishing Week 2! WHAT COULD YOU LEARN NEXT? Week 3: THE SELF ACCORDING TO SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF WEEK 3: THE SELF ACCORDING TO SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY Sociology and Anthropology Sociology and Anthropology are two interrelated disciplines that contributes to the understanding of self. Sociology presents the self as a product of modern society. It is the science that studies the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of human being. On the other hand, Anthropology is the study of humanity. This broad field takes an interdisciplinary approach to looking at human culture, both past and present. The following set of sociologists and anthropologist offered their views about self. George Herbert Mead and the Social Self Mead is an American philosopher, sociologist, and psychologist. He is regarded as one of the founders of social psychology and the American sociological tradition in general. Mead is well-known for his theory of self. He postulated that, the self represents the sum total of people’s conscious perception of their identity as distinct from others. Mead argued that the self like the mind is social emergent. This means that individual selves are the products of social interaction and not logical or biological in nature. He claimed that the self is something which undergoes development because it is not present instantly at birth. The self arises in the process of social experience and activity as a result of their relations to the said process as a whole and to other individuals within that process. In other words, one cannot experience their self alone, they need other people to experience Image Source: https://wannabeinsociology.wordpress.com/ their self. The social emergence of self is developed due to the three forms of inter-subjective activity, the language, play, and the game. He proposed the stages of self formation: 1. Preparatory Stage. Mead believed that the self did not exist at birth. Instead, the self develops over time. Its development is dependent on social interaction and social experience. At this stage, children’s behaviors are primarily based on imitation. It was observed that children imitate the behaviors of those around them. At this stage, knowing and understanding the symbols are important for this will constitute their way of communicating with others throughout their lives. 2. The Play Stage. Skills at knowing and understanding the symbols of communication is important for this constitutes the basis of socialization. Through communication, social relationship are formed. Now children begin to role play and pretend to be other people. Role-taking in the play stage is the process of mentally assuming the process of another GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF person to see how this person might behave or respond in a given situation (Schefer, 2012). The play stage is significant in the development of the self. It is at this stage where child widens his perspective and realizes that he is not alone and that there are others around him whose presence he has to consider. 3. The Game Stage. Here, the child is about eight or nine years of age and now does more than just role-take. The child begins to consider several tasks and various types of relationships simultaneously. Through the learnings that were gained in stage two, the child now begins to see not only his own perspective but at the same time the perspective of others. In this final stage of self development, the child now has the ability to respond not just to one but several members of his social environment. Generalized other the person realizes that people in society have cultural norms, beliefs and values which are incorporated into each self. This realization forms basis of how the person evaluate themselves. The self, according to Mead is not merely a passive reflection of the generalized other. The responses of the individual to the social world are also active, it means that a person decides what they will do in reference to the attitude of others but not mechanically determined by such attitudinal structures. Here, Mead identified the two phases of self: 1. the phase which reflects the attitude of the generalized other or the “me”; and 2. the phase that responds to the attitude of generalized other or the “I”. In Mead’s words, the "me" is the social self, and the "I" is a response to the "me". Mead defines the "me" as "a conventional, habitual individual and the “I” as the “novel reply” of the individual to the generalized other. Generally, Meads theory sees the self as a perspective that comes out of interactions, and he sees the meanings of symbols, social objects, and the self as emerging from negotiated interactions. The Self as a product of modern society among other constructions Georg Simmel Simmel was a German sociologist, philosopher, and critic. He was intensely interested in the ways in which modern, objective culture impacts the individual’s subjective experiences. In contrast to Mead, Simmel proposed that there is something called human nature that is innate to the individual. This human nature is intrinsic to the individual like the natural inclination to religious impulse or the gender differences. He also added that most of our social interactions are individual motivations. Simmel as a social thinker made a distinction between subjective and objective culture. The individual or subjective culture refers to the ability to embrace, use, and feel culture. Objective culture is made up of elements that become separated from the individual or group’s control and identified Image Source: https://www.imdb.com/ as separate objects. GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF There are interrelated forces in modern society that tend to increase objective culture according to Simmel. These are urbanizations, money, and the configuration of one’s social network. Urbanization is the process that moves people from country to city living. This result to the concentration of population in one place brought about by industrialization. This paved way to the organization of labor or increased division of labor, which demands specializations wherein this creates more objective culture. Simmel also stressed that the consumption of products has an individuating and trivializing effect because this enables the person to create self out of things. By consumption, an individual able to purchase things that can easily personalized or expre
