Various Perspectives on Self - Philosophy PDF

 At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to: a. Discuss the different representation and conceptualizations of the self from various disciplinal perspectives b. Examine the different influences, factors and forces that shape the self c. Compare and contrast how the self has b...

 At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to: a. Discuss the different representation and conceptualizations of the self from various disciplinal perspectives b. Examine the different influences, factors and forces that shape the self c. Compare and contrast how the self has been represented across the different disciplinal perspectives d. Demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the development of one’s self and identity by developing a theory of self Philosophical  Aristotle (384 - 322 B.C.) Greek Philosopher- “We are what we do repeatedly.” Aristotle undeniably diverged from Plato in his view of what a human being most truly and fundamentally is. Plato, at least in many of his dialogues, held that the true self of human beings is the reason or the intellect that constitutes their soul and that is separable from their body.  Aristotle, for his part, insisted that the human being is a composite of body and soul and that the soul cannot be separated from the body. Aristotle’s philosophy of self was constructed in terms of hylomorphism in which the soul of a human being is the form or the structure of the human body or the human matter, i.e., the functional organization in virtue of which human beings are able to perform their characteristic activities of life, including growth, nutrition, reproduction, perception, imagination, desire, and thinking.  As the soul, in Aristotle's view, is an activity of the body, it cannot be immortal (when a knife is destroyed, the cutting stops). More precisely, the soul is the "first activity" of a living body. This is a state, or a potential for actual, or 'second', activity. "The axe has an edge for cutting" was, for Aristotle, analogous to "humans have bodies for rational activity," and the potential for rational activity thus constituted the essence of a human soul.  Aristotle used his concept of the soul in many of his works; the De Anima (On the Soul) provides a good place to start to gain more understanding of his views. Aristotle also believed that there were sections of the soul: the calculative and scientific parts on the rational side used for making decisions, the desiderative, the vegetative parts on the irrational side responsible for identifying our needs.  Soul and intellect but only intellect has substantial form. Intellect is what makes us human, enables thought and language unlike animals.  Thomas of Aquinas (1225-1274)- “Beware the man of a single book.” Aquinas is usually thought to have a theory of "indirect" self-knowledge, according to which the mind only knows itself in a second-order act that reflects on a first-order act directed toward extramental objects. Aquinas said that indeed man is composed of 2 parts: matter and form.  Matter or hyle in Greek, refers to “common stuff that makes up everything in the universe. Man’s body is part of this matter. Form or morphe in Greek refers to the essence of a substance or thing. “It is what makes what it is.” To Aquinas, just as Aristotle, the soul is what animates the body; it is what makes us human. For Aquinas, we don't encounter ourselves as isolated minds or selves, but rather always as agents interacting with our environment. Aquinas begins his theory of self-knowledge from the claim that all our self-knowledge is dependent on our experience of the world around us. Psychological  William James William James, a renowned American psychologist, developed a theory of self- consciousness in his work, Principles of Psychology, which was published in 1890. James discusses the composition of what makes the Self, and breaks it down into "I" and "Me" and explaining the differences and importance of each. The "Me" is explained as being the material, social, and spiritual components of the ego. The theory also details self-esteem describing it as the ratio of an individual's actual behavior in contrast to their pretensions.  The self is divided into two main categories: “Me” Self and “I” Self “ME” Self refers to the aspects of someone that come from that person's experiences or known as the “empirical self”. Three sections: The Material Self. Consists of things that belong to us or that we belong to. Things like family, clothes, our body, and money are some of what makes up our material selves. The material self refers to tangible objects, people, or places that carry the designation my or mine. It is not the physical entities themselves, however, that comprise the material self. Rather, it is our psychological ownership of them (Scheibe, 1985). This is what we mean when we talk about the extended self. It includes all of the people, places, and things that we regard as “ours.” Three sections: The Social Self. Refers to how we are regarded and recognized by others. Our social selves are who we are in a given social situation. For James, people change how they act depending on the social situation that they are in. James believed that people had as many social selves as they did social situations they participated in. The Spiritual Self. For James, the spiritual self was who we are at our core. The spiritual self is more concrete or permanent than the other two selves. The spiritual self is our subjective and most intimate self. Aspects of an individual's spiritual self include things like their personality, core values, and conscience that do not typically change throughout their lifetime. The spiritual self is our inner self or our psychological self. It is comprised of our self-perceived abilities, attitudes, emotions, interests, values, motives, opinions, traits, and wishes. Two subclasses of the material self: The bodily self. This includes our body and its parts. Example, “My eyes.” Extracorporeal (beyond the body) self. Rosenberg (1979) has referred to the extracorporeal self as the extended self. This refers to other people (my children), pets (my dog), possessions (my car), places (my home town), and the products of our labors (my painting) that we consider ours.  ‘I’ Self. This is classified as the thinking self. For James, the "I" part of self was the thinking self, which could not be further divided. He linked this part of the self to the soul of a person, or what is now thought of as the mind. Sociology George Herbert Mead A sociologist from the late 1800s, is well known for his theory of the social self, which includes the concepts of 'self‘, 'me‘, and 'I'. Mead’s work focuses on the way in which the self is developed. George Herbert Mead Mead's theory of the social The social aspect of self is an self is based on the perspective important distinction because that the self emerges from social other sociologists and interactions, such as observing psychologists felt that the self and interacting with others, was based on biological factors responding to others' opinions and inherited traits. According to about oneself, and internalizing Mead, the self is not there from external opinions and internal birth, but it is developed over feelings about oneself time from social experiences and activities. Three Activities Develop the Self Language develops self by Play develops self by allowing allowing individuals to respond individuals to take on different roles, pretend, and express to each other through symbols, expectation of others. Play gestures, words, and sounds. It develops one's self-consciousness allows individuals to take on the through role-playing. This process “role of the other” and allows of role-playing is key to the people to respond to his or her generation of self-consciousness and to the general development of own gestures in terms of the the self. “All the world’s a stage, symbolized attitudes of others. and all the men and women merely players.” Three Activities Develop the Self Games develop self by allowing individuals to understand and adhere to the rules of the activity. Self is developed by understanding that there are rules in which one must abide by in order to win the game or be successful at an activity. In the game, the individual is required to internalize the roles of all others who are involved with him or her in the game and must comprehend the rules of the game. Two sides or Phases The 'me' is considered the The 'I', therefore, can be socialized aspect of the considered the present and individual. future phase of the self. The 'I' represents the individual's It represents learned identity based on response to behaviors, attitudes, and the 'me‘, or the person’s expectations of others and individuality. of society. The Socialization Process Humans learn the expectations of society through socialization. By interacting with others, they learn about the norms, cultures, values, etc. Socialization is different based on race, gender and class. Agents of Socialization The Family. The family is the The Media. Media is the means where people can gain information basic unit of the society. It as well as entertainment. It may be the first and primary venue in the form of print, radio, of sociality for children. television and the internet. The average young person (age 8–19) Families introduce children spends 6 3/4 hours per day to the expectations of immersed in media in various forms, often using multiple media society. Socialization is forms simultaneously. Television is different based on race, the dominant medium, although gender and class. half of all youth use a computer daily.  Agents of Socialization Peers. Peers are individuals whom you Religion/Church. Church is a share one or more characteristics with fellowship of individuals believing in such as age, social status, economic status, one god. It may also refer to a structure where people gather to occupation, or education. Interactions worship, pray and do religious with them are usually on a level of activities. It a place where people equality and are very influential to one’s learn about God and how to live a attitudes, emotions, and behavior. For righteous life. Children tend to children and adolescents, peer culture is develop the same religious beliefs as their parents. Very often those who an important source of identity. Through disavow religion return to their interaction with peers, children learn original faith at some point in their life, concepts of self, gain social skills, and form especially if they have strong ties to values and attitudes. their family of origin and after they form families of their own.  Agents of Socialization Sports. Sports are activities involving Schools. Schools are institutions physical exertion and skill in which an dedicated to educate individuals. In individual or team competes against schools we learn about essential another or others for entertainment things for us to be successful in our (Oxford Languages). Through sports, men career, personal and social life. In and women learn concepts of self. Men school, teachers and other students learn that being competitive in sports is are the source of expectations that considered a part of “manhood.” encourage children to think and behave in particular ways. Research finds that teachers respond differently to boys than to girls, with boys receiving more of their attention. Anthropological The Self embedded in culture Cultural Anthropology is the study of human culture and society. It is the study of people – their origin, their development, and contemporary variations, wherever and whenever those have been found (Ferraro, 2008). Culture on the other hand refers to the major way in which human beings adapt to their environment and give meaning to their lives. It includes human behavior and ideas that are learned rather than genetically transmitted, as well as the material objects produced by a group of people (Nanda and Warren, 2007). How we see ourselves shapes our lives, and is shaped by our cultural context. The Self embedded in culture Self-perceptions influence how we think about the world, our social relationships, health and lifestyles choices, and another people’s well-being. Culture has such a great influence on our lives and is contributing greatly to our self-concept. Additional Concepts Real and Ideal Self-Concepts Carl Rogers came up with his conception of self through the interventions he used for his clients as he practices the Person – Centered Therapy. This approach is a non-directive intervention because it believes that all people have potential to solve their own problems. Rogers believe that people must be fully honest with themselves in order to have personal discovery on oneself. In this concept of self, he came up with three sides of a triangle. Perceived Self (self-worth) It is how the person sees self and others see him. The real self (Self-Image) It is who we actually are. It is how we think, how we feel, look, and act. It can be seen by others, but because we have no way of truly knowing how others view us, the real self becomes our self- image. The ideal self Is how we want to be. It is an idealized image that we have developed over time, based on what we have learned and experienced. May include components of what our parents have taught us, what we admire in others, what our society promotes, and what we think is in our best interest. Importance of Alignment If the way that I am (the real self) is aligned with the way that I want to be (the ideal self), then I will feel a sense of mental well-being or peace of mind. If the way that I am is not aligned with how I want to be, the incongruence, or lack of alignment, will result in mental distress or anxiety. The Social Construction of the Self in Eastern and Western Thought Individualism Individualist culture is a culture in which the goals of the individual take precedence over the goals of the group. It is characterized by individual autonomy; self- oriented; personal goals; unique and independent; individual privacy; nuclear family; individual rewards (equity); competition Examples of Countries with Generally Individualistic Cultures United States Italy Australia Belgium United Kingdom Sweden Canada Ireland Netherlands Norway Hungary(post-communist Switzerland generation) Germany New Zealand Collectivism Collectivist culture is a culture in which the goals of the group take precedence over the goals of the individual. It is characterized by group unity and harmony; group- oriented; group goals; conforming and interdependent; group belongingness; extended family; equal distribution of reward (equality); cooperation Examples of Countries with Generally Collectivistic Cultures China Malaysia Taiwan Egypt India Cyprus Pakistan Ghana Bangladesh Nepal Indonesia Argentina Afghanistan Armenia In other words, in an individualist culture, members are responsible for themselves and, perhaps, their immediate families. In a collectivist culture, members are responsible for the group as a whole. In an individualist culture, success is measured by how far one stands out from the crowd. Ex: self-made millionaires, employees of the month, standing out. In a collectivist culture, success is measured by one’s contributions to the group as a whole. Ex: loyalty to company or country, specialized skills, fitting in.