Understanding The Self PDF

GE - UNDERSTANDING THE SELF  GE - UNDERSTANDING THE SELF SOME GREAT MINDS FROM OUR HISTORY TO APPROACH THE QUESTION, WHO AM I? LESSON 1: The Definition of the Self from Various...

GE - UNDERSTANDING THE SELF  GE - UNDERSTANDING THE SELF SOME GREAT MINDS FROM OUR HISTORY TO APPROACH THE QUESTION, WHO AM I? LESSON 1: The Definition of the Self from Various SOCRATES (KNOW THYSELF) Perspective “AN UNEXAMINED LIFE, IS NOT WORTH LIVING” WHAT IS THE SELF? There was a soul first before man's body. It is the intellectual and moral Composed of the self perception as personality of humans and responsible defined by their self concept, self agent in knowing and acting rightly or knowledge, self esteem and social life. wrongly. The way to human perfection is soul SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE searching Philosophical If man’s died his soul will go to the Sociological immortal world. Anthropological Man first exists in the realm of ideas Psychological and exists as a soul or pure mind. Eastern and Western Perspective When man came to the material world, he forgot the ideas that he knew, hence UNPACKING THE SELF he became ignorant. Ignorance causes Physical Self problem to man. Social Self Knowledge can be restored through Material/ Economic Self Socratic Method (also known as Spiritual Self Dialectic Method) which is an exchange Political Self of question and answer that ultimately Digital Self aims to make the person remember all the knowledge he has forgotten. MANAGING AND CARING FOR THE SELF Learning to be better student Taking care of one’s health PLATO “DICHOTOMY OF THE IDEAL WORLD AND UNDERSTANDING THE SELF MATERIAL WORLD” Know thyself Self as a main companion in living this Ideal World- Permanent, Unchanging , world Reality. Who you are? who you want to be? Material World- changing, this is where we what society wants you to be and what live. you can be. Human beings are composed of two PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE things- body and soul. Philo “love” Sophia “wisdom” Soul is the true self- the permanent discover ultimate causes, reasons and unchanging self found in the world of principles of everything from self to ideas. universe Body is what we see in the material Metaphysics- beyond physical world world- a mere replica of the true self (that is why it is changing).  Soul was already existing even before The mind and body are separate but at bodily death and thus, will survive even the same time conjoined with one after the body dies another that they causally act upon each Three parts of the self; reason (think other. (I cannot act without my body) deeply and logical);spirit of passion The self is Mind more than the Body. (love, anger or emotions); physical Difference: Body is structured but the appetite (biological needs, hunger, thirst and sexual desire. mind cannot beboxed- hence, the study Thus, the body becomes a prison of the of the self requires a science ofits own soul. To free us, we have to contemplate because mind pursues its own thoughts. Contemplation- union of the mind with Soul as a thinking self universal and eternal ideas. JOHN LOCKE ARISTOTLE Body and soul are one thing they are Our identity is not locked in the mind, united. body, and soul only. Soul makes a person a person. The concept of the person's memory in Soul dies along with the body the definition of self. Three parts of self according to Aristotle Memory Theory: We are the same ; Vegetative (physical body, allow things person as we were in the past for as long to grow); Sentient (sexual desire, as we can remember something from feelings and emotions) ; Rational (what the past. makes human a human, intellectual Tubula Rasa or Blank slate capacity to understand) Self is constructed by sensory experiences SAINT AUGUSTINE Self is the collection of experiences Highly influenced by Plato. organized by the mind. Our world is not our final home but just a temporary home where we are just DAVID HUME passing through. our real world is found in the world Believes in the existence of the mind where there is permanence and infinity. which is divided in to two: IMPRESSION: God is the ultimate expression of love. those things that we perceive through If you know more about God then you our senses as we experience them. know more about yourself IDEAS: those things that we create in Our soul is good because it is created by our minds even though we are no longer God experiencing them. The self keeps on changing, like how one RENE DESCARTES looks, one feels, one thinks; they “I THINK,THEREFORE, I AM” constantly change. "I" will be constantly changing because Emphasizes the consciousness of his the different experiences one has for mind which leads to an evidence of hus every constant change will affect and existence-despite the fact that he is reshape that person. doubting the existence of everything There is no permanent self. In physical, including his own body. conclusion, there is no self.  It is just a bundle of perception, GILBERT RYLE impression, sensation , ideas thoughts , and images The mind is not like a specific, separate There is no past nor future, only present entity but is certainly a part of our body. provided by the environment. The only way by which we can know how personal identity is just an imagination. the mind is working is through the behavior of the person,, hence we can IMMANUEL KANT only know a person through how a man behaves, their tendencies and reactions Man is a free agent capable of of making in certain circumstances. decision for himself. Man is gifted with reason and free will. PAUL CHURCHLAND Since the man is gifted with reason and free will, man can organize the data The self is the brain. gathered by the senses and now have a The term "mind", our moods, emotions, good idea of a man. actions, consciousness are deeply we synthesize internal and external affected by the state of our brain. world to create world. We need to fully comprehend how the brain works for us to understand how it SIGMUND FREUD creates the self. Man is a combination of his biological MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY structure and the influence of his socio cultural environment. To be a self is to be more than one's He devised a tripartite division of man- body. id, ego, superego. It includes all the things that I will do to Id represents the biological structure, my body, how I will act on it and how I superego represents the socio-cultural will make it act in consonance with other environment. human beings. The two are at battles against each other The self is grounded on the experiences and whoever wins between them is of the past, the possibilities of the manifested in the ego. The ego being the future, and the present cognition. Self.  GE - UNDERSTANDING THE SELF SOCIOLOGY LESSON 2: The self as a Giddens A. et.al., (2016) social construct the scientific study of human life, social groups, whole societies and the human world whose subject matter is our behavior as social beings in relationship with many THE SOCIOLOGICAL AND other people. ANTHROPOLOGICAL VIEW OF THE SELF CULTURE IS THE MEETING POINT OF Knowing the self requires understanding ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY our society and its culture, and how it provokes us to make decisions which in our self-understanding, digging deep are culturally influenced and socially into how we see ourselves, in light of the constructed. diverse cultural influences that we have been exposed to. THE SELF AS EMBEDDED IN CULTURE In the early stages of our socialization, Sir Edward B. Tylor, founder of cultural primarily with our family, we were anthropology, classically defined culture as familiarized with the 'ought to and out "that complex whole which includes nots' knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, law, As we get older, and as we discover customs, and any other capabilities and much of the world around us, we realize habits aquired by a member of society" the complexities of our culture, as our decisions should mirror the very ANTHROPOLOGY foundation of our culture. Heacock (2009) NORMS is the inclusive study of the human race, its culture and society, and its physical are what dictates our behavior in the development. It shares in the academic society. The acceptability of an act, the discussion of what human society is and its approval and the disapproval of which, is cultural development. dependent on social standards which are product of our people's commitment to ANTHROPOLOGY uphold the very essence of our cultural values. Cultural progress is understood from humanity's physical development. Sociological concept, culture is made up of Man created culture on his own, altered all ideas, beliefs, behaviors, and products it, and will always have the power to common to, and defining a groups way of change it as he deems it fit. life (Stolley, 2005) Culture is dynamic as how humanity would want it to be.  Mead explains that at the very heart of TWO COMPONENTS OF CULTURE social psychology is the effect that the social group has in the self's Material Culture - consists of human understanding of his experiences and technology-all the things that people make actions. and use. The evolution of material culture can be attributed to the technological The subjective action and experience of advances that humanity was able to make. man then is explained from the society's point of view, where the self Non- Material Culture- inclusive of the becomes even more sensitive to the intangible human creations that include values adhered by his communal group. beliefs, values, norms and symbols. This helps shape our perspective of the society, Geertz and His Concept of the Self as an of ourselves, and even of the material Unfinished Animal world. The evolution of material culture can be attributed to the technological Culture should not be seen as a advances that humanity was able to make. complex behavioral pattern but as a set It may or may not change depending on the of control mechanisms- engineered influence of outside factors in the society, programs in directing human behavior. and the changes that societal values go through. The importance of culture comes in, guiding the self to act on the basis of what Mead's Development Stages of the Self the society dictates as good. George Herbert Mead studied an Culture becomes a way of gleaning interesting link between the behavior of towards the understanding of self. man, and the emergence of the self as part of the society. Our laws are reflections of our beliefs, Individual explains his actions through traditions, and values, we are the lens of his society, since he belongs encouraged to strictly follow the to a social structure, a social order. guidelines set forth by the government Mead's theory of the self see himself as to make sure that there will be smooth the focus of everything, until such time flow of interaction and organization of that the self emerges because of the people in the society. influence of those who play a prominent role in their self- THE SELF IN THE WESTERN AND development. ORIENTAL THOUGHT Mead's Self-Development Stage INDIVIDUALISTIC SOCIETY The self concentrates on self-actualization 1.Preparatory Stage- during this stage, not minding the expectations of the social children imitate the behavior of others in group where the self is a part of. the environment. 2. Play Stage- during the play stage, COLLECTIVISM children assume or play several roles, one A person see himself as an integral part of after another. the communal group, be it his nuclear 3. Game Stage- during the game stage, family, his friends, or even his co- workers. children assume several roles The decision of the person would cater not simultaneously. only what be solely believes is right, but would ultimately consider his immediate context. Culture serves as the blueprint that guides, and in some cases, even determines the behavior of the nation as a whole, and in the micro-level, affects the perspective, and decisions of man for himself. -Ferrante (2011) SELF AS THE PRODUCT OF MODERN WORLD Gergen (2008) believes that 'technologies of social saturation' just become vital in the transformation of the social world, ultimately giving a make-over of the social self. It has to a certain extent, questioned, our ways of being, and whether it be of good value or not, has led us to question the self's authenticity. GEN-Z OR ALSO KNOWN AS THE SELF(IE) GENERATION AS A CULTURE CREATORS. Research found out that majoriy of Gen Z will define their cultural identity in basically diverse means. The generation has embraced and balanced multiple cultures that they are moving their cultural identity beyond simple definitions of race and ethnicity. THE SELF AS REFLECTED IN THE COLLECTIVIST TEACHING OF CONFUCIOUS The self entails in the participation of othermembers in the society. The symbiosis of selfhood and otherness is the Confucian concept of the self as a dynamic process of spiritual development. As we ritualize and perfect human relationships, we in turn develop spiritually. Self-cultivation involves a dynamic process in the spirit of filiality, brotherhood, friendship, discipleship, and loyalty.  GE - UNDERSTANDING THE SELF Our ideal self is essential in guiding us to behave in a way that would lead us LESSON 3: Psychological to the best version of who we we want Self ; My favorite mistery to be. It can be a helpful motivation in guiding the real self to strive and continue SELF-CONCEPT improving. According to Carl Rogers, the self or our "Whatever the mind can conceive and self-concept "is an organized, believe, the mind can achieve" consistent set of perceptions of and -Napoleon Hill beliefs about oneself" These perceptions and beliefs that In achieving the ideal self or any goal, comprise our self-concept are called numerous studies emphasize the “self-schemas.” importance of visual imagining exercises. SELF-SCHEMAS It is best that we know as ccurate as possible who we want to become or beliefs we hold about ourselves and achieve. how we will feel or act in certain Being as specific as possible is situations. beneficial in visual imagining so we may formed by numerous factors that we vividly see our ideal self taking shape may be aware or unaware of. According to Rogers, the congruence or 1. PAST EXPERIENCES incongruence between the ideal and real 2. PERSONALITY TRAITS self has effects on our self-esteem. 3. ABILITIES 4. PHYSICAL FEATURES When we feel good about ourselves, it is 5. VALUES said that there is congruence or alignment 6. GOALS or there is a small gap between our real self 7. SOCIAL ROLES and ideal self. 8. OWN OBSERVATION 9. FEEDBACK FROM OTHERS When we are disappointed or frustrated about ourselves, it is said that there is REAL AND IDEAL SELF incongruence or misalignment or disparity Rogers asserted that we have 2 selves: or a huge gap between our real and ideal self. IDEAL SELF Person we want to be IDEAL SELF Idealized version of ourself IDEAL SELF How I should be REAL SELF Who we actually are How I see me Also called the "actual self" REAL SELF REAL SELF  It has been documented that there is a This gap causes anxiety, and to deal with relationship between low self-esteem and it, we use two defenses: denial and violence, school dropout rates, teenage perceptual distortion. pregnancy, suicide, and low academic achievement. Self-esteem decreases, DENIAL: Refusal to accept reality/blocking sexual attitudes and behavior become external events from awareness. more permissive (as Cited by Palean et.al 2018) EXAMPLE: After hurting someone’s feelings, you might refuse to think about it Self- Efficacy is how we performs. It is or try to find a way to blame them for your directly correlated with self-esteem. When behavior. our self-efficacy improves, our self-esteem improves which lead to congruence. PERCEPTUAL DISTORTION: Correspond between the way a stimulus is commonly An increase in self-esteem does not always perceived and the way individual perceive lead to increase to self-efficacy most it. especially if no effort was exerted to improve performance. HALO EFFECT STEREOTYPING For self-esteem and self- efficacy to SELECTIVE PERCEPTION increase, we have to learn to give PROJECTION unconditional positive regard to each other. If the level of incongruence is too much to handle, causing a person's self-worth to be Unconditional Positive Regard: showing questionable, it is best to seek elp through complete support and acceptance no counseling or seeking advice from people matter what the person say or do, placing who can help. no condition on this acceptance. In circumstances like these, we need to This is an attitude of grace, an attitude that reflect, evaluate our behavior,, and be values us even knowing our failings. It is a reminded of our ideal self to put us back on profound relief to drop our pretenses, track. confess our worst feelings, and discover that we are still accepted. In a good Self-esteem refers to one's overall marriage, a close family, or an intimate assessment of one's self worth as a person. friendship, we are free to be spontaneous This refers to how we value our selves and without fearing the loss of others' esteem. perceive our worth as a person. Rogers presented the idea of a fully Specific elements of the self-concept may functioning person. This means that the contribute to self-esteem. This presents person is in touch with the here and now, evidences that who we are is never his or her subjective experiences and defined by one success or one failure. feelings, continually growing and changing. “A success from one box will not make us overconfident because we still need to also Key Characteristic: work for the other boxes. A failure in one Openness to experience box, will not mean a failure for all the Flexible self-concept boxes.” Unconditional positive regard for the self Ability to live in harmony with others  We have the ability to improve ourselves. Most of the damage to our self-esteem is Continue persevering and keeping the self-inflicted. Unfortunately, we often faith. respond to rejections and failures by becoming self-critical, listing all our faults It is never too late to be what you might and short-comings, calling ourselves have been -GEORGE ELIOT names, and basically kicking ourselves when we're already down. LIFE MAY BE IMPERFECT BUT WE CAN WORK WITH THAT AND USE IT TO OUR ADVANTAGE. WE NEED TO DECIDE AND CHOOSE TO STOP COMPARING OURSELVES WITH OTHER PEOPLE! When you invest your time in developing yourself personally and professionally, you are role- playing as a catalyst of self- growth, DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO BECOME CONVINCED YOU CAN'T SUCCEED. YOU HAVE TO FIGHT FEELINGS OF HELPLESSNESS. GAIN CONTROL OVER THE SITUATION. BREAK THE NEGATIVE CYCLE BEFORE IT BEGINS!