An Overview of Self/Identity PDF

**An Overview of SELF/IDENTITY** Every time the \"I\" is mentioned (e.g., I will go to school, I hang out with my friends, I like to eat burgers), the self is highlighted as the \"actor.\" The pronoun \"**me**\" is usually used as the object, (e.g., Tell me about it, Give me something, It makes me...

**An Overview of SELF/IDENTITY** Every time the \"I\" is mentioned (e.g., I will go to school, I hang out with my friends, I like to eat burgers), the self is highlighted as the \"actor.\" The pronoun \"**me**\" is usually used as the object, (e.g., Tell me about it, Give me something, It makes me feel awesome). SELF = composes both the l as an actor and **me** as the object. **NATURE** - The self is a product of natural processes - The basis is anchored on biology and explains that human traits are passed from generation to another. - The self is studied structurally and functionally **NURTURE** - The self is viewed as an outcome of various nurturing factors in the context on one\'s life. **IDENTITY** \"The qualities, beliefs, etc., that make a particular person or group different from others\" or \"the distinguishing character or personality of an individual\" **SELF** "The person that someone normally or truly is\" or \"the entire person of an Individual" **DIMENSIONS OF THE SELF/IDENTITY** - The identity of a person is highlighted by a dominated trait that makes him or her distinguishable from others. DIMENSIONS OF THE SELF IDENTITY **Social factors** - influence of significant people in one\'s life. - Family = \"nursery of human nature\" - Peers - School - Church - Neighbors - Friends - Work **DIMENSIONS OF THE SELF/IDENTITY** **Environmental factors** - Physical and communal elements present in everyday surroundings and is invariably dealt with by individuals in a specific geographic region or area. - This factor covers not only the physical properties of the surroundings but also the larger society or community, as well as the expectations and norms operating in that particular locality or place. **Heredity factor** - Characteristics that are readily dictated upon birth **Person-volition factor** - The inclination of a person to form and construct a specific identity that will set him apart from others - It emanates from within the mentality of the individual, brought about by their aggregated social-life experiences PHILOSOPHY OF THE SELF The **SELF** has been defined as \"a unified being, essentially connected to consciousness, awareness, and agency (with the faculty of rational choice). PHILOSOPHY Philosophy - finding answers to serious questions about ourselves and the world we live in. \* What is morally right and wrong, why? \* What is a good life? \* What is the mind? \*Questioning existing knowledge and intuitions to get closer to the truth. Practical Value of Philosophy Skills: \* Critical thinking \* Argumentation \* Communication \* Reasoning \* Analysis \* Problem Solving Practical Value of Philosophy Allows people to: \* Justify opinions \* Spot a bad argument \* Explain to others why they are wrong/right \* Teach or encourage thinking Origin of Philosophy \* search for truth \* search for meaning \* importance \* significance \* value \* relevance **SOCRATES** \* Guiding principle: Know thyself \* Orientation: Idealism \* Knowledge is the personification of good, while ignorance is that of evil. \* Worst thing that can happen to anyone: \"to live but to die inside\" \* Self-knowledge is the ultimate virtue. As the ultimate virtue, it will lead to ultimate happiness. \* \"an unexamined life is not worth living\" \* He believed in dualism - immortal: Physical body and mortal: Soul **SOCRATES** \* full power of reason: who we are, who we should be, and who we will become. \* The soul strives for wisdom and perfection, and the reason is the soul\'s tool to achieve an exalted state of life. \* Our perceptions with bodily needs such as food, drink, sex, pleasure, material possessions, and wealth keep us from attaining wisdom. \* Soul-searching **PLATO** \* Orientation: Idealism \* Moral virtue is rooted in the intellect and leads to happiness. \* Wisdom and knowledge lead to virtue which will lead to happiness. \* Truth can be distinguished in two forms: \* metaphysical realm (mind) \* physical world (body). \* Reality: \* Ontos (ideal) - ultimate reality, which tends to be permanent and spiritual \* Phenomena - refers to the manifestations of the ideal. **PLATO** \* Soul has three parts/elements: **\* Rational Soul** - reason and intellect; divine essence that enables us to think deeply, make wise choices and achieve a true understanding of eternal truths. **\* Spiritual Soul** - emotion and passion; basic emotions: love, anger, ambition, empathy, aggressiveness **\* Appetitive Soul** - basic needs and biological needs: hunger, thirst, and sexual desires. **PLATO** \* These three elements are in dynamic relationship with one another, sometimes in conflict. \* When conflict occurs, Plato believed that it is the responsibility of our Rational Soul to sort things out, and exert control to restore harmonious relationship among the three elements. **ARISTOTLE** \* Orientation: Empiricism \* Idea is found inside the phenomena and the universals inside the particulars \* Ideals are ESSENCE and Phenomena are MATTER. \* Matter has no form. \* Essence has no mass. \* Matter and essence need each other. \* The body and soul are not two separate elements \* The soul is simply the Form of the body and is not capable of existing without the body **ARISTOTLE** \* Three kinds of soul: **\* Vegetative Soul** - includes the physical body that can grow; reproduction and growth **\* Sentient** - includes the sensual desires, feelings, and emotions; mobility and sensation **\* Rational Soul** - it is what makes man human. It includes intellect that makes us know and understand things; thought and intellect **ST. AUGUSTINE** \* All knowledge is to God. \* Only the pure in heart can see God. \* Love of God, faith in Him, and understanding of His Gospel will ultimately lead to happiness. \* The self seeks to be united with God through faith and reason \* Humanity is created in the image and likeness of God **RENÉ DESCARTES** \* Orientation: Rationalism \* Philosophy: Mind-Body Dualism \* \"I think, therefore, I am\" \* The act of thinking = proof that there is a self \* The mind and soul can exist without the body. \* Establishing the distinction of soul from body can make people believe in the afterlife and the soul\'s immortality. **JOHN LOCKE** \* Orientation: Empiricism \* Philosophy: Theory of Personal Identity \* Tabula Rasa = Blank Slate \* It is in consciousness alone that identity exists, not in the body and
soul. \* There is a distinction between man and person. \* The soul may change, but consciousness remains intact. **DAVID HUME** \* Orientation: Empiricism \* Philosophy: Skeptical Philosophy \* All knowledge passes through the senses. \* Separate ideas can be joined in the mind. \* There is no self, only a bundle of perceptions. \* Impressions \* Ideas \* The idea of personal identity is a result of imagination **IMMANUEL KANT** \* Orientation: Rationalism and Empiricism \* Philosophy: Metaphysics of the Self \* Reason is the final authority of morality. \* There is inner self and outer self. \* The inner self includes rational reasoning and psychological state. \* The outer self includes mind, where representation occurs. **GILBERT RYLE** \* Orientation: Empiricism \* Philosophy: The Concept of Mind \* \"I act, therefore, I am.\" \* The mind is not the seat of self. It is not a separate, parallel thing to our physical body. \* The mind is a category mistake, brought about by habitual use. The only way it can affect the other is through the external world. \* The self is the way people behave **PATRICIA CHURCHLAND** \* Orientation: Empiricism \* Philosophy: Neurophilosophy \* The physical brain gives us a sense of self. \* All we have is the brain, and if the brain is gone, there is no self. **GILBERT RYLE** \* Orientation: Empiricism \* Philosophy: The Concept of Mind \* \"I act, therefore, I am.\" \* The mind is not the seat of self. It is not a separate, parallel thing to our physical body. \* The mind is a category mistake, brought about by habitual use. The only way it can affect the other is through the external world. \* The self is the way people behave **PATRICIA CHURCHLAND** \* Orientation: Empiricism \* Philosophy: Neurophilosophy \* The physical brain gives us a sense of self. \* All we have is the brain, and if the brain is gone, there is no self. **MAURICE MARLEAU-PONTY** \* Orientation: Existentialism and Empiricisms \* Philosophy: Phenomenology of Perception \* Both empiricism and intellectualisms are flawed in nature. \* Our bodily experiences do not detach the subject/object, mind/body, rational/irrational. \* that all knowledge about the self is based on the phenomena of experience. \* concept of the self: embodied subjectivity **SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF** **Science** is defined as the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural study of the world through observation and experiment. Scientific approaches: Physical Sciences and Social Sciences **BIOLOGICAL/PHYSIOLOGICAL SCIENCE** \* **Genetics** **\* Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)** - carrier of genetic material \* **Neurophilosophy** - concerned with the association of the brain and mind. \* **Psychoneuroimmunology** - describes the shaping of the self as similar to how the human immune system functions. **SOCIAL SCIENCES** \* **Psychology** - Scientific study of the mind and human behavior. - sees the self as a theoretical construct **\* Psychoanalysis** - focuses on the \"unconscious\" as the core element of the self. \* **Behaviorism** - attributes behavior to environmental conditioning **\* Social Cognitive Theory** - considers behavior as a function of environment and internal attributes. \* **Humanism** - believes that every individual has the ability to achieve
self-actualization and transcendence; people = inherently good **SOCIAL SCIENCES** \* **Sociology** - the study of collective behavior of people within a society and focuses on social problems encountered by individuals. \* **Anthropology** - the study of human beings and their ancestors through time and space and in relation to physical character, environmental and social relations, and culture. **SOCIAL SCIENCES** **\* Political Science** - concerned with the participation of individuals in establishing a government and making political choices. \* **Economics** - describes and analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. **COGNITION** \* People are born with innate capabilities that empower them to manage themselves in various settings and situations. \* Cognition is a crucial part of an individual\'s development process which influences behavior, just as how behavior also impacts it, assuming bi-directional connection. \* The way information is taken in and how it is analyzed and processed is a function of human cognition. **COGNITION** \* Cognition is defined as the complex array of mental processes involved in remembering, perceiving, thinking, and how these processes are employed (Ashcraft & Radvansky, 2010). \* It is an umbrella term to cover all \"higher-order\" thinking processes. **MEMORY** \* It is the faculty of the mind through which information is acquired and retained for later use. \* Memory functions in 3 levels: \* Sensory memory \* Short-term memory \* Long-term memory **MEMORY** Sensory memory is the level that allows information from the external environment to be perceived by an individual through senses, usually in the form of chemical and physical stimuli, often with focus and intent **MEMORY** \* Short-term or working memory is where information is temporarily stored, where information is simultaneously remembered and is in a readily-available state, typically from 10 to 15 seconds, up to one minute. \* It can store up to 5-9 items, after which information is discarded if there is no conscious and deliberate effort to retain it. **MEMORY** \* When there is a deliberate effort to store information and it is done consistently and with practice, then this information is transferred to long-term memory. \* Information stored in long-term memory is often permanent and allows for repeated retrievals across situations. **INTELLIGENCE** Intelligence consists of problem-solving skills and the ability to adapt to and learn from experiences. **THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE** Robert Sternberg\'s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence \* Intelligence comes in three forms: \* Analytical intelligence involves the ability to analyze, judge, evaluate, compare, and contrast. \* Creative intelligence consists of the ability to create, design, invent, originate, and imagine. \* Practical intelligence focuses on the ability to use, apply, implement, and put into practice. **[Howard Gardner]** \* argues that there are many specific types of intelligence, or frames of mind. **\* Verbal skills**: The ability to think in words and to use language to express meaning (authors, journalists, speakers) **\* Mathematical skills**: The ability to carry out mathematical operations (scientists, engineers, accountants) **\* Spatial skills**: The ability to think three-dimensionally (architects, artists, sailor) **\* Bodily-kinesthetic skills**: The ability to manipulate objects and be physically adept (surgeons, crafts people, dancers, athletes) **\* Musical skills**: A sensitivity to pitch, melody, rhythm, and tone (composers, musicians, and music therapists) **\* Intrapersonal skills**: The ability to understand oneself and effectively direct one\'s life (theologians, psychologists) **\* Interpersonal skills**: The ability to understand and effectively interact with others (successful teachers, mental health professionals) **\* Naturalist skills**: The ability to observe patterns in nature and understand natural and human-made systems (farmers, botanists, ecologists, landscapers) Performance can be greatly influenced by one\'s behavior. \* **Behavior** is defined as the manner in which a person conducts himself/herself in various circumstances. \* When a person is behaving intelligently, he/she is said to manifest 14 behaviors or dispositions (Costa, 2000). **[14 INTELLIGENT BEHAVIORS]** \* **Persistence**. It means not giving up when the answer to a problem is not immediately known. \* **Overcoming impulsiveness**. It involves planning, clarifying goals, exploring alternative strategies, and considering consequences before one begins a \* **Listening to others**. Some cognitive psychologists think that the ability to listen to another person and understand their point of view is one of the highest forms of intelligent behavior. **\* Flexibility in thinking**. It is when one considers other points of view rather than running with the first thought that comes to mind. \* **Metacognition**. It refers to the awareness of how one is thinking or the knowledge of what is going on in one\'s head. **\* Checking for accuracy and precision**. It is the behavior of not letting speed surpass the desire for craftsmanship. \* **Questioning and problem-posing**. It means asking questions and finding out problems for oneself. \* **Applying past knowledge to new situations**. It refers to the act of calling upon one\'s store of knowledge and experience as a source of data, theories, or processes to solve each new challenge. **\* Precision of language and thought**. A person with this behavior uses descriptive terms to distinguish objects, and provide criteria for value judgments. **Using all the senses**. The senses of feeling, seeing, hearing, or even tasting are utilized to solve problems more effectively. products, solutions, and techniques. ** Living with a sense of wonderment**. Involved in this behavior are inquisitiveness, curiosity, and openness to beauty, intricacy, complexity, and simplicity. **\* Cooperation**. It refers to taking advantage of the knowledge and insights that can only come as a result of social relationships. **\* Sense of humor.** It refers to being able to look at situations, opportunities, problems, and relationships with nonchalance and fun.