Understanding the Self - First Semester Midterms PDF
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This document discusses philosophical views on the self, providing an overview of different perspectives on the nature of the self. It covers various historical figures and their contributions to this field of study, such as Galen, Rene Descartes, John Locke and David Hume.
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UNDERSTANDING THE SELF First Semester Midterms GALEN RENE DESCARTES PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS ON THE SELF ...
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF First Semester Midterms GALEN RENE DESCARTES PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS ON THE SELF G alenproposedtheideaofthefour T heFather of Modern Philosophy humors as determiners of Descartes revived the Greeks’ PHILOSOPHY personality types: dualism (self is composedofbody ○ Red bile—Sanguine andsoul) P hilos— love or beloved ○ Phlegm—Phlegmatic Theveryreasonweexistisbecause Sophia— wisdom ○ Yellow bile—Choleric we think. We are capable of Is a thinking mode or a method ○ Black bile—Melancholic thinkingbecause ofour soul. which asks questions about the I think, therefore I am. nature and essence of various realities appearing on our earth JOHN LOCKE (Laehy, 2008) In other words, it is a manner of T abula rasa: the mind is empty thinking about the most basic when it is born, and is only filled questions and problems faced by with knowledge through human beings experiences IsthereaGod?Whydoweexist?Is It is our consciousness that gives there an afterlife? Why is there us an idea about our self. Our suffering? Who am I? memories and perceptions ofwho we are makes up our SOCRATES consciousness. F irst thinker about theself DAVID HUME Self=physical body+soul Soul = perfect, immortal, but T here is no such thing as the limitedinside a body “self” The “self” is just bundles of PLATO different perceptions SAINT AUGUSTINE Sensation: when different things D ualism: the idea that the self is in the environment enter our composed of two elements: body B elieved that man, the self, is senses andsoul createdintheimageandlikenessof Perception: when the brain Three Partsof the Soul: God interpretswhat we have sensed ○ Reason/intellect The soul seeks God. It is found Themindcontains two contents: ○ Spirit throughfaithandreason. ○ Impressions: those that are ○ Physical Appetite The self,sinceitiscreatedbyGod, perceived from the isinherently good environment 1 ○ Ideas:thosethatarecreated the ego feels anxiety. It thus IGMUND FREUD’S S inside the mind employsasetoftechniquestoease PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY ON THE itself. These are called as defense SELF GILBERT RYLE mechanisms. Repression T he self is reflected only in one’s T he central assumption of Freud’s Memories are pushed back to the behavior (kilos, galaw) theory is that human beings are unconscioustoforgetthem Our consistent ways of behaving driven by sex (pleasure) and Denial forms ouruniqueness aggression. Freud derived his Declaringsomethingthatisnottrue What you doiswho you are theoretical assumptions from his even if it is true patients with mental illnesses. Projection PAUL AND PATRICIA CHURCHLAND Attributing one’s own urges, STRUCTIRE OF THE MIND feelings, and wishesonto others T he self is only reflected through Reaction Formation neuralmechanisms.The“mind”is Showing a behavior that is the notaseparateentityfromthebody, exact opposite of what oneself but isprojected from it. feels Displacement SUMMARY Redirecting one’s urges or feelings onto other people, objects, or T he capacity to think, feel, have animals motivations, behave, and to have an Rationalization identitycanbeseparatelystudiedfrom Tryingtojustifywhyacertainevent the biological body, evenifitisapart happened of it. Regression Just like our body, our mind also Reverting to behaviors that are developsthroughexperiences. observed inchildhood Our self can be analyzed through our Intellectualization experiences, perceptions, behaviors, Trying to be stoic and shutting or even throughour biological bodies Conscious Level emotionswhen a problem arises The part of our minds in which are Undoing presently awareof In Filipino terms, bumabawi—trying Preconscious Level to undo a bad thing with a good The part of the mind that is not thing within our awareness, but stores Compartmentalization our memories and stored Sorting out problems and dealing knowledge with each one separately Anxiety Sublimation When threatened by the demands Redirecting anunacceptableurge of the id, superego, and the reality, to amore acceptable behavior 2 PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF C hildren in this stage are more DEVELOPMENT focused on play and forming Id— pleasures relationship with their playmates, Ego— realistic part E ach stage is characterized by a as well as focusing onschool Superego— moral part dominantpartinthebodycalledas Genital Stage erogenous zones A stage where persons get to Failure to develop a healthy discover and explore theirsexuality PSYCHOLOGY personality during each stage may If there were fixations during lead tofixation childhood, it is in this stage where These fixations will manifest in those fixations aremanifested Psychology one’s adulthood Psyche: soulorspirit Oral Stage HAT FREUD GOT: W Logos: study Id is dominant RIGHT WRONG Is the scientific study of human Mouthis the most active behavior and mental processes Childhood e are motivatednot W such as thinking and emotions Fixation: oral-aggressive or xperiences shape our just by sex and e oral-dependent adult personality aggression, but so THREE TOPICS IN PSYCHOLOGY Anal Stage much more CENTRAL TO OUR SELF The stage where toilet training is Our parents are emphasized, which becomes a important figures in Our motivations can (1) Personality blueprint for babies to be our lives during our be largely conscious, Words associated with personality: organized and independent childhood and not just traits.characteristics,ugali(attitude), Fixations: anal-retentive or unconscious katangian, pagkatao anal-expulsive Our minds undergo Personality is defined as aperson’s Phallic Stage development just like The existence of the consistent pattern of thoughts, This stage is characterized by the our biological bodies unconscious is behaviors, and feelings Oedipus complex — a feeling of difficult to prove Your personality is the entireyou attraction towards the opposite There are some sexparentandwantingtogetridof internalstrugglesthat It is also difficult to the same sex parent raits T we arenot aware of prove the existence The importance of the Oedipus It is generallyhow we describe people of the id, ego, and complex,forFreud,isforchildrento Traits are the building blocks of We use several superego get the qualities and personality defense mechanisms characteristics of their same-sex Traits are considered to be relatively to confront problems Freud’s view on parents. consistent that bring usanxiety. human development is Fixations:unstablepersonalityand “Traits” of traits deterministic (youare adistorted view of morality ○ Traits exist as a continuum or Itisimportanttohavea not capable of Latency Stage dimension, which means each balanced sense of changing your Characterizedbyadormantsexual person has a “level” of a self for individuals to destiny due to drive particular trait. A person may be bementally healthy fixations) 3 igh, low, or average in a h pen-minded, o and people and are often particular trait. Traits are not unconventional. They nergetic. e categories (e.g., extraverts vs prefer thinking outside of ★ An introvert is a person introverts). the box and not on who prefers being alone ○ Traits are relatively consistent traditional ideas. or with smaller groups of over time. Traits tend tostabilize ★ People low in this trait people. They are not by age 30, but changes may still prefer routines.Theymay usually expressive when it occur. also highly conform to comes to being energetic. ○ Traits are highly genetic and tradition and express ★ Facets: Warmth towards biological. Variations in traitsare dissatisfaction with liberal others, gregariousness, produced by situational factors. ideas assertiveness, energetic, ○ Traits are amoral. Every trait, ★ The tendency to fantasize excitement-seeking, regardless of level, has an and daydream positive emotions evolutionary function. ★ Aesthetic appreciation ○ Agreeableness Psychologists in the20thcenturywanted ★ Intellectual curiosity ★ Agreeable people are to see which traits can explain all traits. ★ Having unconventional thosethataredescribedas Ifwecanfindthetraitsthatcanexplainall values good-natured, helpful, traits, then these traits are the traits that ★ Thrill-seeking trusting,but alsogullible can describe all people regardless of ○ Conscientiousness ★ People who are on the culture ★ Thisdescribespeoplewho opposite spectrum of this Raymond Cattell’s Research are very organized, trait are antagonistic, ○ In the 1930s, Gordon Allport hardworking, critical, and identified 18,000 adjectives used detail-oriented. uncooperative to describe people in theOxford ★ People who score low on ★ Trustfulness, compliant Dictionary conscientiousness prefer and obedient, ○ Toseethecommonalitiesofthese careless and impulsive Modest/humble,caringand adjectives (or traits), Raymond decisionmaking and are altruistic Cattellusedastatisticaltechnique disorganized Neuroticism ○ called as factor analysis to ★ Confidence in one’s ability ★ Neurotic people are often reduce a large number of data ★ Being organized described as worriers, based on their common features. ★ Dutiful anxious, unhappy, and Cattell yielded 4500 traits. ★ Achievement-striving easily get annoyed ○ Furtheranalysisreducedthetraits ★ Self-discipline ★ Those who score low on from 4500 into 171, then into 36. ★ Careful neuroticism are The final analysis yielded 16 traits. Extraversion ○ emotionally stable, Big Five Traits ★ Extraverts are those who resilient, and are usually ○ Openness to Experience enjoy socializing with calm ★ This trait describespeople others. They prefer being who are thrill-seekers, in the presence of other 4 ○ T his general form is made Howard Gardner ★ A nxious, anger hostility, upoftheoverallcapacityof ○ He believed that each of us propensity for sadness, the person when looking at has different strengths and emotionally vulnerable all of his/her specific weaknesses Mapa ng Loob intelligences ○ He listed different forms of Developed by UP professor Gregorio ○ Intelligence can be intelligence del Pilar, this measures the Big Five represented by a score ○ Each of us has a preferable traitsusingtheFilipinolanguage,bothin ○ This score known today mode of showing our its items and facets of each Big Five trait. called as theIQ intelligence, which he called ○ Everything that reflects your asmultiple intelligences adaptation, skills, abilities, ○ Advantages: (1) It can be represented by your acknowledges the diversity overall IQ in human capacity, and(2)it ○ Advantages ofIQ:(1)Itisa isinclusive reliable and valid measure ○ Disadvantages: There is a of intelligence, and (2) it is scarcity in tests that can currently the only available measure multiple (2) Intelligence numerical representation intelligences, most of which The capacity to learn from for intelligence. only measure a person’s experience ○ Disadvantages of IQ: (1) It interest or preference, rather The ability to adapt to the ignores specific forms of than actual ability surrounding environment intelligences, and (2) it is (2) Love Related concepts to intelligence: dependentonthestandards Love hasbiological mechanisms ○ Aptitude:thereadinessand and cultural background of Certain chemicals in our nerve potential of a person to the testdeveloper cells are activewhen we are in love learn These chemicals are called as ○ Achievement: the neurotransmitters accumulated knowledge Neurotransmitters and Hormones andskillsof a person ○ Dopamine: motivation, Intelligence is the global capacityof cognition, and the reward apersontoactpurposefully,tothink system rationally,andtodealeffectivelywith ○ Norepinephrine: his environment —David Wechsler fight-or-flight Charles Spearman ○ Oxytocin: bonding and ○ One of the first to study sexual arousal intelligence ○ He claimed that intelligence has two forms: a general form and aspecificform 5 L oveisadecision,itisajudgment,it etween two or more b is a promise. If love were only a people. feeling, there would be no basis for ★ Commitment: it is a the promise to love each other conscious decision to forever. A feeling comes and itmay stickwith each other go. How can I judge that it willstay forever, when my act does not involve judgment and decision. — Erich Fromm In love, theparadoxoccursthattwo beings become one yetremaintwo. –Erich Fromm Four Requirements of Love ○ D opamine: Involved in According to Erich Fromm feelings of the pleasurable ○ Knowledge: knowing the feeling when in love. It is person in their mostintimate also involved in being level motivated towards another ○ Care: showing active person. concern for the welfare of ○ Serotonin: Involved in another person feelings of happiness, ○ Respect: acknowledging the enjoyment, and sadness individuality and rights of SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL VIEWS ON when in love. the person THE SELF ○ Norepinephrine ○ Responsibility: being (adrenaline): Involved in accountable for the other feelings of alertness and person No human is an island arousal. Robert Sternberg’s Triangular ○ Oxytocin (hormone): Theory of Love SELF Involved in feelings of ○ Sternberg stated that love attachmentandintimacy. has three requirements: W ho we are as individuals (self) ○ Endorphin: Involved in ★ Passion: a strong are byproducts of the groups, feelings ofpain reduction. sexual, romantic, society, and the societal institutions ○ Acetylcholine: Involved in and enthusiastic we belong to memory formation. feeling towards Looking Glass Self According to psychologist Rollo someone A concept developed by Charles May, love is a feeling of delight in ★ Intimacy: the Horton Cooley and was later used thepresenceof another person. closeness and byGeorge Herbert Mead According to ErichFromm,another attachment towards The looking-glass self refers to the psychologist,loveisnotafeeling.It another person. It interactive process by which we is adecision.It is ajudgment. indicates the bond develop our sense of self based on 6 ow we imagine we appear to h A s we grow older, society expects H aving a role is a form of social others something from us, therefore we behavior, an act which affects Other people act as a mirror, incorporate these societal others and causes a response reflecting backtheimageweproject expectations into our own roles among people through their reactions to our Examples of roles coming from the behavior expectation of Generalized Others: CONFORMITY Three steps: being a college student, being a ○ We try to imagine a certain professional,beinganemployeeina It is is the process of changing appearance we show to company behavior to fit in a certain role or other people The I & Me societal norm ○ We project that imagined I Experiments tend to show that appearance to our ○ The unsocialized, people would rather conform to behaviors spontaneous, groups even if they were wrong ○ We try to evaluate other selfinterested componentof Solomon Asch’s Experiment people’s reactions to that personality In Asch’s experiment, participants appearance ○ Has a large role inchildren most of the time would say thatthe ○ We re-shape our behaviors Me targetlineisasequallylongasLine based on what we have ○ The part of our self that is Bjustbecauseaccomplicessaidso, perceived from other aware of the expectations even if it wasobviouslyinthesame people’s reaction andattitudesof society length as Line C George Hebert Mead extendedthe ○ Has a large role inadults idea of the looking-glass self. The interactiveprocessintroducedbythe ROLES looking-glass self, when done consistently, formsaperson’sroles. It is a set of expectations about Mead said the roles are formed by how a person should behave in significant othersandgeneralized certain situations others. Roles form a big part of one’s Significant Others identity Our Significant Others include our When our roles give us stress family members, particularly our Role conflict occurs when two or Why do we conform? parents and siblings more incompatible roles demand We desiresocial acceptance It may also include our closest something from the individual Fear ofexclusion friends Role overload happens when Wheninformationisambiguous,we Our significant others gave us our individuals fulfill multiple roles and tend to conform firstandbasic rolesin life finds ithard to satisfythem We want to maintain group Generalized Others Role confusion happens when harmony Generalized Others include society expectationsofbehaviorarevague Stanford Prison Experiment and theinstitutionsformed within it andunclearto the person One of the most controversial and brutal experiments in psychology. It 7 howcasedhowpeopletakeontheir s FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR perceivedrolesseriouslyevenifitis just make-believe. O ur bias to judge other people In the experiment, college students based on theirpersonaldispositions role playedbeingeitherprisonersor rather than their situations. prison guards ○ “Heisadrugaddict.Hemust Even if prison guards were only be a really bad person.” playing a role, because of the (even if drug addiction is situation presented by their primarily caused by poverty environment(make-believeprisons), and structural inequality) prison guards abusedtheirauthority ○ “She had a lowscoreonthe and took the experiment too quiz. She must have low seriously intelligence.” (even if she The experiment concluded that was finding it hard to juggle peoplecandobadthingsbecauseof her work and academics) the situation and roles thattheyare in SELF-PRESENTATION ACTOR-OBSERVER BIAS OBEDIENCE R efers to the process by which O ur bias to judge ourselves as individuals attempt to control the influenced by situations, butwhenit O bedience is a behavior wherein a impression that others form ofthem comestojudgingothers,weattribute person yields to an instruction of in social interaction to their personal characteristics another, usually of an authority It can be conscious or unconscious ○ If you are rude, you have a figure Authentic Self-Presentation tendencytoattributeitdueto We usually obey authority figures The goal is to create an image of having a bad day. When who are: ourselves in the eyes of others that others are rude to you, you ○ Similar to us is consistent on how we view blame their rudeness ○ Physically present ourselves ○ When you make a mistake, Milgram Experiment Stanley Ideal Self-Presentation you identify the situations Milgram’s experiment showcased Creating a public image consistent thatcontributedtothefailure. how people would automatically with what we wish we were When others make a obeyinthepresenceofanauthority Tactical Self-Presentation mistake,itisbecauseoftheir figure, even if they are being Creating a public image consistent own fault commanded to harm others. The with what others wishorexpectsus physical presence of an authority to be figure may be a determining factor for obeying an inhumane command of an authority figure. 8
