Understanding The Self - PRELIMS.pdf

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 LESSON 1: THE SELF FROM Plato Socrates’ student VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL Supported the idea of dualis...

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 LESSON 1: THE SELF FROM Plato Socrates’ student VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL Supported the idea of dualistic body— belief that the human PERSPECTIVE mind and the human body are two entirely separate entities. Pre-Socratics 3 Components of the Soul Collective name of Greek thinkers 1. Rational: reason and intellect before Socrates (Thales, 2. Spirited: emotions Heraclitus, Parmenides, 3. Appetitive: desire and needs Pythagoras, , Empidocles) Concerned with what the world Augustine is really made up of Man is of bifurcated nature— Arche when the main body of Explains the multiplicity of something has been split into things in the world two branches (spirit and flesh) “The body is bound to die on Earth Philosophical Figures but the soul will live with God” Socrates Thomas Aquinas Concerned with the problems of Christian view of philosophy the self Soul is what makes us human First philosopher who engaged Man is composed of 2 parts: in a systematic questioning 1. Matter (Hyle) about the self - common stuff that makes Every human is dualistic (body up the universe (body) and soul) 2. Form (Morphe) - essence or substance of a “Unexamined life is not worth living” thing  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 Immanuel Kant Rene Descartes — Father of Modern Philosophy 2 Types of Experiences Human person is consist of body (a) ORGANIZING PRINCIPLE and mind - regulates the relationship of all cogito er sum (I think therefore the impression I am) (b) APPARATUS OF THE MIND 2 DISTINCT ENTITIES OF SELF - ideas that one cannot find in the 1. Cogito world, but is built in our mind The thing that thinks (mind) SELF does not just define the 2. Extenza personality but also the seat of Extension of the mind knowledge acquisition for all human (body) being David Hume Gilbert Ryle Self is nothing else but a Self is not an entity one can bundle of impressions locate analyse but simply the Empiricist convenient name that people Empiricism use to refer to all the School of thought which says behaviours that people make. that knowledge can only be possible if it is sensed and Maurice-Merleau Ponty experienced Mind and body are so intertwined that cannot be 2 Types of Experiences separated from one another. 1. Impressions The body, thoughts, emotion and Vivid product of our experiences are all one direct experience with the world 2. Ideas Copies of impression Not as lively and vivid as our impression  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 LESSON 2: THE SELF, 3. Consistent It has a personality that is SOCIETY, AND CULTURE enduring and therefore can be expected to persist for quite some time What is Self? Allow it to be studied, described, Contemporary literature, and and measured even common sense is commonly Particular self's trait, defined by the following characteristics; characteristics and tendencies 1. Separate and potentials are more or less 2. Self – Contained and the same Independent 3. Consistent 4. Unitary and Private 4. Unitary and private Unitary 1. Separate It is the center of all It is meant that the self is experiences and thought that distinct from other selves run through a certain person The self is always unique and has Like the chief command post in its own identity an individual where all processes, One cannot be another person emotions and thoughts converge Private 2. Self - Contained and Independent Each person sorts out Itself it can exist information, feelings and Its distinctness allows it to be emotions and thought processes self-contained with its own within the self. thoughts, characteristics, and It is isolated from the external volition. world. It lives within its own It does not require any other world. self for it to exist  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 Social Constructionist Mead and Vygotsky Self should not be seen as a - Human persons develop with static entity that stays constant through the use of language acquisition and through, rather the self has to be and interaction with others seen as something that is unceasing - The way that we process flux, in a constant struggle with external information is normally a form of reality and is malleable in its dealings an internal dialogue in our head with society Self is multifaceted Self and Families - Human learn the way of living The Self and Culture and therefore their selfhood by being in a family Marcel Mauss - Without family, biologically and Every self has 2 faces: personne and sociologically , a person may not moi even survive or become a human ★ Moi- refers to a person's sense of person who he is, his body, and his basic - Filipinos have collectivistic identity, his biological givenness culture ★ Personne- composed of social concepts of what it means to be Gender and the Self who he is - Our gender partly determines how we see ourselves in the THE SELF AND THE world - Has to be personally discovered DEVELOPMENT OF THE and asserted and not dictated by SOCIAL WORLD culture and the society Language is both a publicity shared and privately utilized symbol system in the site where the individual and the social make and remake each other (Schwartz,White and Lutz 1993)  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 LESSON 3: THE SELF AS William James (1890) was one of the earliest psychologists to study the self COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT and conceptualized the self as having two aspects- the I and me. The “I” is the thinking, acting, and feeling self Joharis Window (Gleitman, Gross and Reisberg 2011; hogg and vaughan 2010) The me on the other hand, is the physical characteristics as well as psychological capabilities that makes who you are Carl Rogers (1902 - 1987) Client - Centered Therapy the psychological model developed by Was a humanistic American Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham, Psychologist who focused on the that talks about the relationship and therapeutic relationship and mutual understanding between the developed a new method of group members. client-centered therapy. Was one of the first to use the Hidden Self term client rather than patient This quadrant of the Johari window shows the state of an Carl Rogers (1959) theory of individual known to him but personality also used the same terms not known to the others. The the “I” as the one who acts and decides Johari window is a technique while me is what you think or feel about that helps people better yourself as an object understand their relationship with themselves and others. Self is the sense of personal identity and of who we are as individuals (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014)  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 Self - Identity Self, identity and Self-concept are not fixed in one time frame For example, when you are asked about who you are, you can say “I was a varsity player in 5th Grade which pertains to the past, “ a college student” which may be the present, and a “future politician” which is the future They are not fixed for life nor are they ever-changing at every The self is an individual person moment. as the object of his or her own Think of a malleable metal, reflective consciousness. strong and hard but can be bent Identity is composed of personal and molded into other shapes. characteristics, social roles, and Think about water. It can take responsibilities, as well as any shape of the container, but affiliations that define who one at its core, it is still the same is. element. Carl Roger captured this idea in his concept of self-schema of our organized system or collection of knowledge about who we are. The schema is not limited to the example above. It may also include Self Concept interest, work, course, age, name and Is what basically comes to your physical characteristics among others. mind when you are about who As you grow and adapt to the changes you are around you, they also change. But they The recognition of one's potential are not passive receivers. They actively and qualities as an individual, shape and affect how you see, think and especially in relation to social feel about things context.  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 For example, when someone Freud saw the self, its mental processes, states your first name even if they are and ones behaviour as the results of the not talking about you, your attention is interaction between the Id, the Ego, and drawn to them. If you have the the Superego provincial language and you hear someone using it, it catches your Id attention. If you consider yourself a ★ desires and needs/ the book-lover, a bookstore may always instinctual, biological component entice you out of all the other stores in a mall. Superego ★ the social component of our Theories generally see the self and personality, and conscience identity as mental contracts, created and recreated in memory. Current Ego research points to the frontal lobe of the ★ balance between the Id and the brain as the specific area in the brain Superego, reality, psychological associated with the processes component of the personality concerning the self. that is represented by our conscious decision-making Several psychologists, especially process. during the field's earlier development, followed this trend of thought, looking deeper into the mind of the person to theorize about the self, identity, self concept and in turn one's personality. The most influential of them is Sigmund Freud. Basically, Freud saw the self, its mental processes, and one's behaviour as the results of the interaction between the Id, the Ego, and the Superego.  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 REASONS WHY SELF AND IDENTITY ARE SOCIAL PRODUCTS 1. We do not create ourselves out of nothing. 2. Whether we like to admit it or not, We actually need others to affirm and reinforce who we think we are 3. What We think is important to us may also have been influenced by what is important in our social This is not Nature vs. nurture But or historical context. instead a nature and nurture perspective Social interaction and group affiliation, therefore are vital factors in Under the theory of symbolic creating our self concept especially in interactionism, G.H. Mead (1934) the aspect of providing us with our argued that the self is created social identity or our perception of who and developed through human we are based on our membership to interaction. certain groups Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level theory that focuses When we are aware of our self concept; on the relationships among this is also called self-awareness individuals within a society. Communication—the exchange of Self Esteem meaning through language and - The way we feel about ourselves symbols—is believed to be the way in which people make sense Carver and Scheier (1981) – identified of their social worlds. two types of self that we can be aware of 1. The private self or your internal standards and private thoughts and feelings, and  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 2. The public self or your public Self-awareness can keep you image commonly geared toward from doing something dangerous; it can having a good presentation of help remind you that there is an exam yourself to others tomorrow in one of your subjects when you are about to spend time playing Self awareness also presents us with at computer games with your cousins, least three other self-schema: among others. In instances, Actual- self is who you are at the self-awareness can be too much that we moment are concerned about being observed Ideal- self is who like to be and criticized by others. Also known as Ought- self is who you think you self-consciousness should be At other times, especially with Students interested in basketball are large crowds, we may experience also academically challenged in most of DE individuation or the loss of your subjects. individual self awareness and Your ideal self -might be to individual accountability in practice and more play with the groups varsity team A lot of people will attune Ought- to pass your subjects as a themselves with the emotions of responsible student. their group and because the One has to find a solution to such large crowd also provides some discrepancies to avoid agitation, kind of anonymity, we may lessen dejection, or other negative our self-control and act in ways emotions. In some instances, all that we will not do when we are three may be in line with one alone. A common example is a another. mass demonstration erupting into a riot Self-awareness may be positive or Our group identity and negative depending on the self-awareness also has a great circumstances and our next course of impact on our self-esteem. action. It is defined as our own positive or negative perception or evaluation of ourselves  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 Affects our self-esteem through First, we distance ourselves from that Social comparison. person or redefine our relationship with According to the social them comparison theory we learn about ourselves, the Some will result to the silent treatment, appropriateness of our change of friends, while some may behaviours, as well as our social redefine by being closer to that person, status by comparing aspects of hoping that some association may give ourselves with other people him a certain kind of acknowledgement Downward social comparison also we create a positive self concept by comparing ourselves with those who are worse off than us, by having the advantage, we can raise our self-esteem. Upward social comparison which is comparing ourselves with those who are better off than us, while it can be a form of Second, we may also reconsider the motivation for some, a lot who do importance of the aspect or skill in this actually felt which you were outperformed. lower-self-esteem as they Lastly, we my also strengthen our highlight more of their weakness resolve to improve that certain aspect or inequities. of ourselves Social comparison also entails Achieving your goal through hard work what is called self-evaluation may increase your self-esteem. maintenance theory, which states Narcissism that we can feel threatened when A trait characterized by overly someone outperforms us, high self-esteem, especially when that person is self-admiration, and close to us. self-centeredness. They are In this case we usually act In three often charismatic, because of ways: how they take care of their image  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 Taking care of that image includes their interpersonal relationship thus they will try to look for better patterns, better acquaintances, as well as people who will appreciate them a lot. This makes them a bad romantic partner or friend since they engage in relationship only to serve themselves Eastern- Asia Western- Europe and Northern Rosenberg scale tests and America measurements for self-esteem In the Philippines alone each Try to be honest and objective region may have a similar about what you feel and see varying perception regarding the about yourself self The only source of a person's healthy perspective of herself People with high self-esteem are commonly described as LESSON 4: THE SELF IN outgoing, adventurous, and adaptable in a lot of situations. WESTERN AND EASTERN They also dismiss other activities that do not conform to their THOUGHTS self-concept or boost their Confucianism self-esteem. Code of ethical conduct, on how They may also be bullies and one should properly act experiment on abusive behaviors according to their relationship with drugs, alcohol and sex with other people; It is also focused on having a harmonious social life (Ho 1995)  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 Confucianism is often Chun-tzu characterized as a system of A man of virtue or noble character social and ethical philosophy rather than a religion. In fact, Confucianism built on an ancient religious foundation to establish the social values, institutions, and transcendent ideals of traditional Chinese society. The worldly concern of Confucianism rests upon the belief that human beings are fundamentally good, and teachable, improvable, and Still embedded in his social relationships perfectible through personal (Ho 1995) and communal endeavor, especially self-cultivation and Subdued self self-creation. Confucian thought wherein personal needs are focuses on the cultivation of repressed (subdued) for the virtue in a morally organized good of many, making world. Confucian society also diarchal for the purpose of maintaining Identity and self-concept of the order and balance in society individual are interwoven with the identity and status of his/her Taoism community or culture, sharing its pride Second philosophy. Taoism is living in as well as its failures (Ho 1995). the way of the Tao or the universe. They prefer simple lifestyle and able to act spontaneously  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 Taoism (also known as Daoism) is a Chinese philosophy attributed to Lao Tzu (c. 500 BCE) which contributed to the folk religion of the people primarily in the rural areas of China and became the official religion of the country under the Tang Dynasty. Taoism is therefore both a philosophy and a religion. The self is not just an extension of the family or community; it is part of the universe, one of the forms and manifestations of the tao. The ideal self is selflessness but this is not forgetting about the self, it is living a balanced life with society and nature, bring open and accepting to change Forgetting about prejudices and Rejects having one definition of egocentric ideas and thinking what the Tao is, and one can only about equality as well as state clues of what it is as they complementarity among humans adopt a free-flowing, relative, as well as other beings unitary as well as paradoxical view of almost everything. Buddhism-third philosopher Rejects the hierarchy and The self is seen as an illusion, strictness brought by born out of ignorance, of trying Confucianism and would prefer a to hold and control things, or simple lifestyle and its teachings human-centered needs; thus aim to describe how to The self is also the source of all attain that life these sufferings It is self-cultivated  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 It is therefore, our quest to forget about the self, forget the carvings of the self, break the attachments you have with the world, and to renounce the self which is the cause of all suffering and in doing so, attain the state of Nirvana Confucianism and Taoism still situate the self within a bigger context. In striving to become a better person, one does not create a self above other people or nature but a self that is beneficial to his community as well as in order and harmony with everything else. As Buddhism, the self with all its connections and selfish ideas, is taken not just out of the center of the picture, but from the whole picture entirely  UNDERSTANDING THE SELF PRELIMS — 1ST SEMESTER — BSCS 11M2 It must be emphasized, however, that these are general commonalities among Western cultures as compared to Asian or Oriental cultures. In the case of the Philippines, we can also consider the colonization experience for differences and similarities with our Asian neighbours. We might also find variation among provinces and regions due to geographical conditions. With the social media, migration, and intermarriages, variety between he Western and Asian perceptions may either be blurred or highlighted. Whereas conflict is inevitable in diversity, peace is also possible through the understanding of where each of us is coming from. ✧ദ്ദി( ˶^ᗜ^˶ )------------------------