Philosophical Self Modern Period PDF

Modern Period  The Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution: A New Dawn Renaissance: The dawn of a new age.  Industrial Revolution: The daybreak of modernity.  Urbanization: A shift from rural to urban living.  Cultural Melting Pot: Cities as centers of diverse cultu...

Modern Period  The Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution: A New Dawn Renaissance: The dawn of a new age.  Industrial Revolution: The daybreak of modernity.  Urbanization: A shift from rural to urban living.  Cultural Melting Pot: Cities as centers of diverse cultures and ideas.  Modern Life: A transition to a work-home dichotomy.  Existentialism: A school of thought focusing on the self in modern life.  Existentialism: The Philosophy of Choice Key points:  Human Beings as Creators: Existentialism emphasizes individual choice and agency.  Key Existentialists: Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Martin Heidegger.  Existential Terms: o Authentic: Living a genuine life based on personal choices. o Leap of Faith: Taking a risk and committing to something without certainty. o Übermensch: A superhuman ideal representing human potential. o Eternal Recurrence: The idea that life is an infinite cycle.  Existential Terms: o Dasein: Being in the world, the fundamental human condition. o Being-Thrown-in-the-World: The inescapable nature of human existence. o Being-Unto-Death: The awareness of one's mortality. Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Sartre: Existentialism and Authenticity Authenticity: The ultimate goal of existentialism. Jean-Paul Sartre: Existence precedes essence, meaning individual choices define a person's identity. Authentic Person: Someone who lives consistently with their beliefs and values, regardless of societal expectations. Soren Kierkegaard  Søren Kierkegaard's Stages of Life  Leap of Faith: The journey to authenticity.  Three Stages of Life: o Aesthetic Stage: Focused on immediate pleasures and sensory experiences. o Ethical Stage: Concerned with duty, responsibility, and societal norms. o Religious Stage: Rooted in faith, a deeper connection with something transcendent.  Kierkegaard's Stages: A Journey of Choice  Aesthetic to Ethical: A gradual step-by-step process.  Ethical to Religious: A leap of faith, a more significant choice.  Individual Choice: Belief in God is a personal decision. Friedrich Nietzsche  Nietzsche's Übermensch: A Journey of Transformation  Beyond Good and Evil: The path to authenticity.  Three Metamorphoses: Camel, lion, child.  Dragon: Represents societal and religious laws.  Camel: Blindly following societal norms.  Lion: Questioning and overcoming societal constraints.  Nietzsche's Übermensch: A Journey of Transformation  Child: Creating one's values and becoming an Übermensch.  Übermensch: A superhuman ideal representing human potential.  Nietzsche's Eternal Recurrence: A Constant Cycle  Eternal Recurrence: A necessary part of the journey to authenticity.  Cycle of Transformation: The cycle of camel, lion, child, and Übermensch repeats.  Avoid Stagnation: To remain authentic, one must constantly strive for growth and renewal.  Nietzsche's Philosophy: A Call to Transcendence  Breaking Limits: Nietzsche encourages personal growth and self-improvement.  Living Dangerously: Embracing challenges and risks.  Overcoming Adversity: Hardships contribute to personal growth.  Creating One's Path: Authenticity requires independent thinking and action. Martin Heidegger  Martin Heidegger's Dasein: Being-in-the-World  Dasein: The fundamental human condition.  Being-in-the-World: The interconnectedness of humans and their environment.  Being-Thrown-in-the-World: The givenness of our circumstances.  Embracing Throwness: Accepting the things we cannot control.  Being-in-Itself: Recognizing individual identity and agency.  Martin Heidegger's Dasein: Being-in-the-World  Making Choices: The responsibility of individuals to shape their own lives. Heidegger's Being-Unto-Death: The Meaning of Life  Being-Unto-Death: The awareness of one's mortality.  Meaningful Life: Death gives life significance.  Living to the Fullest: Seizing opportunities and making the most of life.  Example: Student Journey Being-Thrown-in-the-World: Given circumstances (classmates, instructors, pandemic). Being-in-Itself: Making personal choices as a student. Being-Unto-Death: Recognizing the limited time in VSU. Making the Most: Studying hard, making friends, and participating in school events. Lesson Summary Sociology provides insights concerning understanding the Self through the lenses of Structural Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism. Most especially in Symbolic Interactionism, you will learn essential concepts such as the looking-glass self, impression management, sociological imagination, and identity crisis. Moreover, we will also discuss how technology influences a person's identity, as it is a prevalent form of interaction in the digital era. Learning Outcomes: 1. Analyze the institutions, organizations, and other groups you are part of, identifying their roles and impacts on your life. 2. Examine the different faces you show to these groups, understanding the reasons behind these variations. 3. Assess your current interactions with different people and technology, determining whether they contribute to your personal growth. Learning Outcomes: 4. Synthesize personal concerns with public issues through sociological imagination, creating a comprehensive understanding of their interconnections. 5. Construct a profound sense of identity by integrating your self-perception within both the smaller and larger societal contexts. Who are you when you are with…? MOTIVATION TASK Lesson 1.2 Sociological Perspective MOTIVATION TASK Family: How do you behave when you are with your family? Friends: How do you act when you are with your friends? Classmates: What kind of person are you when you are with your classmates? Online Community: How do you present yourself in the online community (e.g., on Facebook)? Discussion Points  Sociology: Studies human social relationships, covering topics like culture, religion, family, and social classes, and how institutions affect personal lives.  Discipline Focus: Emphasizes “seeing the general in the particular” and the symbolic interactionist paradigm.  Structural Functionalism: Views society as a living organism with parts that support the whole, assuming harmonious stabilization and evolutionary change. Discussion Points  Conflict Theory: Initiated by Karl Marx, it argues societal changes result from class clashes.  Symbolic Interactionism: Focuses on micro realities, reflecting how social institutions and classes function.  Micro Realities: Individual interactions, identities, and behaviors are shaped by societal dynamics.  Societal Dynamics: The interplay of institutions, classes, and interactions shapes personal identities and behaviors.  Symbolic Interactionism and the Self Concept of Identity: Symbolic Interactionism explains the self through identity, shaped by interactions with others. Key proponents include Charles Horton Cooley, George Herbert Mead, and Erving Goffman, with further elaboration by Herbert Blumer in Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method (1986). Three Assumptions: 1. We act based on the meanings we attach to things (including people). 2. Each of us attaches different meanings to things. 3. The meanings we attach to things change over time. Assigning Meanings to People:  Family: Siblings or cousins can be seen as playmates, competitors for attention, mentors, or sources of happiness, depending on life stages and interactions.  Varied Perceptions: Family members can be viewed as burdens, energizers, traumas, benefactors, or irritants, based on individual interactions. Looking-Glass Self and Impression Management  Behavior in Different Social Contexts:  Role Variation: We act differently in various social settings (e.g., obedient child at home, procrastinator at school, tough with strangers, vulnerable with close friends).  Example - Steve the Teacher: At home, Steve is a doting father; at school, he is a strict teacher. This role-shifting, or “counter-identity,” is necessary to  Symbolic Interactionism highlights how our identities and behaviors are shaped by the meanings we attach to our interactions and how these meanings evolve. In other words, we adapt our behavior based on the person we are interacting with, playing different roles expected by society. It’s like performing various characters to create specific impressions.  Looking-Glass Self:  Concept: We see ourselves based on how we think others perceive us.  Example: If you see yourself as funny, you’ll act in ways that align with being funny.  Impression Management:  Concept: We can influence how others perceive us through our actions.  Example: Wearing glasses to appear smart can lead to positive feedback, reinforcing the behavior, but may change if the feedback becomes overwhelming.  Negative Feedback and Impression Management Negative feedback can change how you see yourself. For example, if your crush calls your Mickey Mouse shirt childish, you might switch to wearing black and listening to metal to impress them. This shows how others can influence your behavior. However, be careful with impression management. Trying to fit in or impress others without critical thinking can lead to pretending to be someone you’re not, especially under peer pressure.  KEY CONCEPTS: Looking-Glass Self: How you think others see you. Impression Management: How you try to control others’ perceptions of you. Lesson 1.2 Sociological Perspective The Self in the Interaction with Technology  The Self in the Interaction with Technology  Influence on Identity: Technology shapes personal identity through indirect interactions like movies, TV shows, and online content, especially social media (Liffick, 2014).  One-Way Impact: Activities like watching films or reading online articles significantly impact character development (Pearl et al., 1982). For example, Filipino kids often learn English from internet videos (Gray & Palaiologou, 2019).  The Self in the Interaction with Technology  Cultural Adoption: Media consumption can lead to adopting cultural traits, such as K-pop hairstyles from K-Dramas or learning Japanese from anime.  Two-Way Interaction: Social media allows for two- way interaction, where people create digital selves through profiles and manage impressions online.  Impression Management: Online personas may differ from real-life feelings, but these interactions still shape identities. Sociological Imagination  Sociological Imagination Concept: Sociological imagination, developed by C. Wright Mills, connects personal issues to broader societal concerns, encouraging “thinking outside the box” to understand oneself within a larger social context. Example: Imagine being from a low-income household. Instead of blaming your family’s poverty on laziness or lack of education, sociological imagination helps you see the broader factors at play, such as economic instability and lack of opportunities.  Critical Thinking Critical Thinking: This approach prevents self-blame and encourages critical thinking about societal influences. For instance, if you’re struggling in school, consider external factors like traffic, lack of support, or systemic issues in education, rather than assuming you’re unintelligent. Reflection: Using sociological imagination allows you to see yourself within the bigger picture, fostering a deeper understanding of your place in society.  IDENTITY CRISIS Concept: In sociology, an identity crisis refers to the struggle to find individuality within a social group, not just issues of sexuality or gender. Macionis’ Observation: Modern society allows for rapid lifestyle changes, leading to two types of people:  Traditional-Directed: Those who adhere to cultural norms and resist trends.  Other-Directed: Those who follow the latest trends, often seen as more flexible but sometimes superficial.  Generational Example:  1970s Youth: Preferred neat and clean appearances, now the baby boomer generation (55-70 years old).  Gen Z and Millennials: Commonly have ear or body piercings, reflecting current trends.  IDENTITY CRISIS Identity Crisis Scenario: If you plan to get a piercing and your grandparents (traditional-directed) disapprove, while your friends (other-directed) support it, you might experience an identity crisis, torn between familial expectations and peer influence. Peer Pressure: The desire for approval from peers rather than elders can lead to identity crises, especially among teenagers who may conform to peer norms instead of asserting their true selves.  IDENTITY CRISIS This concise explanation captures the essence of identity crisis in sociology, emphasizing the tension between traditional values and modern trends.  Taking Care of the Self in the Sociological Perspective  Identify Positive Influences: Recognize friends, classmates, celebrities, idols, and others who positively influence you. Keep those who help you grow and make you happy.  Distance from Negative Influences: Maintain a healthy distance from those who make your life toxic. Remember the sayings: “Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are” and “Birds of the same feather flock together.”  Reflect on Your Identity:  Critical Question: Ask yourself, “Am I who I am now because of my own decisions or because of my interactions with society?”  Sociological Perspective: Understand that your identity is shaped by the people around you. Everyday interactions, whether with people, books, movies, TV shows, or events, influence who you are and who you will become.