UTS 100 Understanding The Self PDF

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF UTS 100 THE SELF IN DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES: WHAT IS THE SELF? NATURE VS NURTURE SELF One can safely assume that self is "the person that someone normally or product o...

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF UTS 100 THE SELF IN DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES: WHAT IS THE SELF? NATURE VS NURTURE SELF One can safely assume that self is "the person that someone normally or product of nature and nurture truly is.. or the entire person of an NATURE individual." self is predominantly a product of refers to the total characteristics or natural processes to which people are qualities of a person both known and inherently predisposed. unknown to others (but known to The natural basis of the self is anchored oneself). on biology and explains that human traits are passed from one generation to another. These transmitted traits serve as a blueprint of the self and predisposes one to certain self-expressions. The self is studied structurally and functionally, from the molecular level to the entirety of human physiological systems. This field of biology primarily deals with heredity as a process, as well as with the characterizations (similarities and differences) of organisms. NURTURE Self should be principally viewed as an outcome of various nurturing factors in one's life. Social sciences have provided a number of insights and explanations about the self, both on the micro and macro levels. Different social sciences stress how group life (formal and informal) affects an individual's behavior and attitude and emphasize the impact of various social institutions on the self. IDENTITY VS SELF IDENTITY "the qualities, beliefs, etc., that make a particular person or group different from others... or the distinguishing character or personality of an individual." distinguishes or compares one from another  THE PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE SOCRATES PLATO Know thyself Thinking - the talking of the soul with itself Known as the market philosopher one of the first philosophers (Greek) because of his penchant for engaging who believed in an enduring self youths in philosophizing in public represented by the soul. markets; left no known writings, but his - argued that the soul is eternal and highly regarded student, Plato, wrote constitutes the enduring self because extensively about him the soul continues to exist even after Posited that if someone knows who they death. are, all basic issues and difficulties in life - An important part of his philosophy is will vanish, and everything will be the dichotomy of the ideal world or the clearer and simpler world of forms - which is the permanent, “An unexamined life is not worth living” unchanging reality - and the material argued that the ruler of the body is the world - which is constantly changing. soul; the soul pre-existed the body, and He believed that human beings are it is what makes the body alive composed of a body and a soul. Socrates is a dualist. He believed that - The body is seen as some prison. We man has a soul - which is divine, can free ourselves from the immortal, intelligible, uniform, imprisonment of our bodily senses indissoluble, and ever self-consistent through contemplation. and invariable - and a body - which is - We continue to exist even in the human, mortal, multiform, unintelligible, absence of our bodies because we are dissoluble, and inconsistent. Souls only. The body is vulnerable to basic AUGUSTINE emotions and actions; the soul controls But my sin was this, that I looked for pleasure, these emotions and actions through beauty, and truth not in Him but in myself and proper judgment and reason. His other creatures, and the search led me DIALECTIC METHOD/ SOCRATIC instead to pain, confusion, and error METHOD According to him, our world (world of exchange of question and answer that materials) is not our final home but just ultimately aims to make the person a temporary home that we are just remember all the knowledge he has passing through. forgotten, including his former - Our real world is where there is omniscient self. permanence and infinity - that's the Answers will always be subjective, with world where God is. no right or wrong answer. The quality -Time is something that people measure and quantity of answers depend on the within their own memory. Time is not a person answering these basic inquiries. feature or property of the world, but a Self-knowledge means knowing one's property of the mind. degree of understanding about the world He believed that the times present of and one's capabilities and potential. things past, present, and future coexist It is only through self-knowledge that in the soul: one's self emerges. Therefore, the self the time present of things past is emerges and not just discovered, memory the time present of things something to work on and not a product present is experience the time present of a mere realization. of things future is expectation  -He emphasized that the memory of the concept of a person's memory in the past is significant in anticipation of the definition of the self. future and presence if the present. - believed that consciousness is the However, time past and time future are perception of what passes in a man's not real in themselves but they are only mind real as long as they exist in the mind or - rejected that the brain has something consciousness. to do with consciousness as the brain, -The existence of past and future is only as well as the body may change, while possible through memory and consciousness remains the same expectation. He argued that as far as He subscribes to the memory theory consciousness can be extended that holds that we are the same person backward to any past action or forward as we were in the past for as long as we to actions to come, it determines the can remember something from that identity of the person. past. RENE DESCARTES - concluded that personal identity is not I think; therefore I am in the brain but in one's consciousness Father of Modern Philosophy and a -TABULA RASA brilliant mathematician (Cartesian posits that everyone started as a blank Geometry). slate, and the content is provided by - "I think, therefore, I am," also known as one's experiences over time. "Cogito ergo sum," emphasizes the DAVID HUME consciousness of his mind, which leads There is no self to evidence of his existence even Scottish philosopher; there is no stable though he doubts the existence of thing called self, for the self is a complex everything. set of successive impressions or - In other words, the existence of perceptions. anything that you register from your - Hume views the soul as a product of senses can be doubted. One can the imagination. No primordial always doubt about the certainty of substance houses the self, and any things but the very fact that one doubts concept of the self is simply memory is something that cannot be doubted. and imagination. Whichever thought a person chooses is - What you think and what you feel the one that is carried over his/her "I constitute what you are at this very am." moment. So, if, at this moment, you are - Descartes believed that the self is a happy, then you are happy. If you are "thinking thing, or a substance whose hungry, then you are hungry. whole essence or nature is merely That is what you are; that is who you thinking". are. - It is nothing else but a mind-body For Hume, the existence of the mind dichotomy. Thought (mind) always and what's inside the mind is divided precedes action (body). Humans think into two: impressions and ideas. first about doing something and then do - Impressions are those things we it. perceive through our senses as we JOHN LOCKE experience. What worries you, masters you - Ideas are those we create in our minds An English philosopher thinks that our even though we are no longer identity is not locked in the mind, soul, experiencing them. or body only. Locke included the - The self keeps on changing, like how one looks, one feels, one thinks - they  constantly change. Self is nothing over - SUPEREGO is the morality principle; and above the stream of perceptions we moral standards--ensure compliance enjoy. Thus, there is no with the norms, values, and standards IMMANUEL KANT prescribed by society. Dare to know In a man's stages of development, the German philosopher theorized that ID and the SUPEREGO will find consciousness formed by one's inner themselves clashing against each other, sense (one's psychological state and with the SUPEREGO trying to control intellect) and outer sense (one's senses the impulses of ID and the ID trying to and the physical world). satisfy its urges. - Consciousness being unified, is the -The winner of this inner battle will be central feature of the mind. The mind manifested in the EGO, which is the should perform both the unity of self. consciousness and apperception. - EGO is not in control, but the EGO - Empirical self-consciousness - oneself only manifests the winner between the & psychological state; Transcendental two. apperception - oneself & state via acts If EGO behaves, then SUPEREGO of apperception wins. It is the self that organizes sensations If EGO misbehaves, then ID wins. and thoughts into a picture that makes -This battle takes place in the sense to a person. The self itself is a subconscious, and the realm of the ego subject. is found in the conscious. - Self is something real, yet it is neither GILBERT RYLE an appearance nor a thing since it I act, therefore I am belongs to a different metaphysical maintained that the mind is not separate class. from the body; it consists of people's - He believed in the existence of God dispositions based on what they know, and soul and emphasized that it is only feel, want, etc. through experience that humans can - supported the basic notions of acquirel knowledge. behavioristic psychology; states that - Man is a free agent capable of mental concepts can be understood deciding for himself; gifted with reason through observable events and free will. - The mind is not like a specific, SIGMUND FREUD separate entity but is certainly a part of The ego is not the master in its own house our body. Ideally, the separation of Austrian neurologist; the Psychoanalytic mind/soul and body could be possible, Theory, led to another understanding of but in practice, this is hardly the case. the philosophy of the mind; famous - The only way which we can only know ideas was the tripartite division of man's a person is through how a man mind - the id, ego, and the superego. behaves, their tendencies, and reactions - ID has existed since birth, pertaining to in certain circumstances instinct, pleasure principle; seeking PAUL & PATRICIA CHURCHLAND immediate gratification and avoiding The self is the brain pain. stressed that it is false to claim that folk - EGO is the reality principle; its role is psychology, or common sense to maintain equilibrium between the psychology, is the capacity to explain demands of ID and superego in the mental states of people accordance with what is best and - argues that talk of mental states would practical in reality. eventually be abandoned in favor of a  radically different view of how the brain To be a self is to be more than one's works not identified with mental states body. I am the sum of all that I make my - Introduced ELIMINATIVE body do. This includes the interpretation MATERIALISM - a radical claim that of the past and how I make decisions in ordinary, common sense understanding the present. of the mind is deeply wrong and that - The self is a product of our conscious some or all mental states posited by human experience. The definition of self common sense do not exist. is all about one's perception of one's With the advent of science and learning experience and interpretation of those more about the nuances of the brain, it experiences. becomes clear to Churchland that the - The self is grounded on the term "mind," our moods, emotions, experiences of the past, the possibilities actions, and consciousness are deeply of the future, and the cognition in the affected by the state of our brain. present. - That by manipulating certain parts of our brain, our feelings, actions, and physical state are successfully altered. Therefore, the self is contained entirely in the physical brain. MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY I am my body approaches the idea of self as a continuous flow of movement and expression from infancy to adulthood. Our perception of who we are is strictly tied to our own bodily development. - believed that mind and body are essentially correlated and it is not possible to understand subjectivity without taking into account this essential correlation. - accepts the idea of mental states, but he also suggests that the use of the mind is inseparable from our bodily, situated, physical nature. The body is distinguished into two types: ***SUBJECTIVE BODY is the body as-it-is-lived. (experiences) -Self as embodied subjectivity; sees human beings as neither existing without the body nor as complex machines, but as living creatures whose subjectivity is actualized in their involvement with the world. ***OBJECTIVE BODY is observed and scientifically investigated. - The body is known to others that people see, admire, imitate, criticize, or even dissect.  THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE CULTURE childhood, which comes in the derived from the Latin word cultura or developmental stages of the self. cultus, meaning care or cultivation i. Imitation Stage/ Preparatory Stage analogous to caring for an infant the child imitates the behavior of their CULTURAL IDENTITY parents. refers to the identity or feeling of ii. Play Stage belongingness to a certain cultural involves the child playing the role of group others. Become aware that there is a individual's perception about himself or difference between themselves and the herself is anchored on race, gender, role that they are playing. nationality, religion, iii. Game Stage ethnicity, and language the child comes to see himself or herself NORMS from the perspective of other people. are what dictates our behavior in the PHASES OF THE SELF society “I” Phase the acceptability of an act; the approval subjective; unsocialized and and the disapproval of which, is spontaneous dependent on social acting part of the self, an immediate standards which are a product of our response to other people people's commitment to uphold the very represents the self that is free and essence of our unique cultural values “Me” Phase objective; conventional SOCIAL SELF self that results from the progressive GEORGE HERBERT MEAD (1863-1931) stages of role playing and role-taking argued that the self is not biological but and the perspective one assumes to social; it is developed as view and analyze one's own behaviors one grows and ages through social organization of the internalized attitude interactions of others explains that theself has two parts: GENERALIZED OTHERS self-awareness & self-image an organized community or social group proposed the idea that the self develops that gives the individual his/her identity. through social interaction -- the attitude of the generalized other is which involves the exchange of symbols the attitude of thecommunity as a whole understanding of symbols involves a specific group becomes the being able to take the role of another generalized other as long as it enters as ROLE-PLAYING an organized process or social activity in process in which one takes on the role the experience of any other members of of the other by putting oneself in the the group position of the person with whom he/she interacts LOOKING GLASS SELF through this, the individual develops a CHARLES HORTON COOLEY (1864-1929) concept of self since one can reflect is a social psychological concept that upon oneself views the self as something developed DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES OF THE SELF by one's perceptions of other people's Self is not inborn. Babies cannot opinions interpret the meaning of other people's People are the way they are, at least behavior. It is usually learned during partly because of other people's  reactions to them and what they do, group membership is an important constantly picking up feedback and source of pride and self-esteem; gives a incorporating it into their sense of self. sense of social identity -- a sense of the self, which is essentially an belongingness to thesocial world individual's awareness of one's social or the world is divided into "us" and "them" personal identity is a social development through the process of social Three steps of Social Interaction: categorization forming social groups 1. people imagine how they must appear 2 TYPES OF SOCIAL GROUP to others; In Group 2. they imagine the judgment on that an esteemed social group commanding appearance; a member's loyalty 3. they develop themselves through the group to which a person belongs judgment of others. Out Group a scorned social group to which one People imagine not only how others see them feels competition or opposition and their actions, but group to which a person does not also how others judge what they see, whether belong with approval, doubt, 3 MENTAL PROCESSES or hostility. As a result, the looking-glass self is Social Categorization made up of feelings about other people’s similar to how people categorize things judgments of one's behavior. to understand their social environment; people learn things about themselves by PRIVATE, PUBLIC & COLLECTIVE SELF knowing what category they belong to HARRY TRIANDIS (1926-2019) Social Identification Private Self/Individual Self people adopt the identity of the group to cognition that involves traits, states, and which they have categorized themselves behaviors Social Comparison an assessment of the self by the self comparing their group with other groups shows one’s knowledge of attributes that here they might discriminate and differentiate them from others. criticize other groups Public Self cognition concerning the generalized ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE SELF other’s view of the self BRIAN MORRIS (1936-PRESENT) corresponds to an assessment of the self is not an entity but a process that self by the generalized other orchestrates an individual's personal shows one’s relationship with others and experience the role one assumes in that relationship as a result of this, a person becomes Collective Self self-aware and self-reflective about cognition concerning a view of the self his/her place in the surrounding world found in memberships in social groups A clear separation between the self and (e.g., family, co-workers, tribe, others is universal, but the meaning of professional organizations) this distinction varies from person to person. SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY The most crucial form of interaction and HENRI TAJFEL & WILLIAM SUMNER exchange occurs neither between the (1919-1982) individual and society nor between the defined as the person's sense of who psyche and culture, but instead between he/she is according to his/her the self and his/her cultural environment membership in a certain group as mediated by social practices.  individual interest prevails over DIALOGICAL SELF collective HUBERT HERMANS (1935-PRESENT) an orientation concerned with the regarded the self as the "society of independence and self-reliance of the mind“ individual. They put more emphasis on an individual's sense of self is promoting individual and the immediate established through how one identifies family's welfare. Individualistic cultures himself/herself with the different does not promote isolation. It is positions he/she holds, internally or grounded on the idea that individual externally to himself/herself makes judgements, acts based on the dialogical self is a relational concept his/her own thoughts, and disagrees of self; one's moments of insights about with others. himself/herself and his/her actions are COLLECTIVISM relational to others, nurtured, or people are born into extended families discouraged by the INTERNAL or in other groups that continue I-POSITION and or the EXTERNAL protecting them in exchange for loyalty I-POSITION. children learn to think in terms of "we" Internal I-Position resources should be shared with refers to how one functions in relatives himself/herself high context communication prevails I asempathic, I as diligent social networks are the primary source External I-Position of information refers to how one identifies harmony and consensus in society are himself/herself based on particular ultimate goal external factors occupation mobility is lower I as brother, I as student relationship prevails over task collective interests prevail over SATURATED SELF individual KENNETH GERGEN (1935-PRESENT) an orientation characterized by characterized by constant connection to belongingness to larger groups. They others give more importance to loyalty to the absorbs many voices (sometimes in-group, which in turn takes care of the contradictory) and takes in seemingly individual's welfare. Collectivistic endless streams of information. cultures believe in the idea that man should think, live, and act toward certain WESTERN VS ORIENTAL goals that benefit the group and decides INDIVIDUALISM according to the interest of the group. everyone grows up to look after him/herself and his/her immediate family THE SELF AS A PRODUCT OF THE MODERN only WORLD children learn to think in terms of "I" Since the self has to keep up with the individual ownership resources ever-changing world, he needs to low-context communication prevails adjust, re-adjust, and re-align his actions media is the primary source of with the seismic transformation and information evolution of the society. self-actualization by every individual is The values of a society changes the ultimate goal overtime, and if in case, they do not, the occupation mobility is higher society is trapped in the challenges of task prevails over relationship the modern world. The self then, as a  social construct, becomes a product of the modern society among other constructions. The internet brought an understanding of the self as part of the global world and not just of the micro-society. With this, the values, beliefs, and traditions that the self holds dear are met with challenges and criticism, as its authenticity is likewise questioned. The transformation of the social world resulted further in the fragmentation of the self, as our cultural values become fragmented as well.  THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE HUMANISTIC THEORY CARL ROGERS (1902-1987) been exposed to people who might have believes that the self does not exist at given us negative labels. birth; it is developed gradually during SELF-CONCEPT childhood, wherein one differentiates the the totality of complex, organized, and self from the non-self dynamic system of learned beliefs, proposed that using free choice and attitudes, and opinions that each person action, one can shape himself/herself holds to be true about his/her personal based on what he/she wants to be existence sees the self as one's ongoing sense of social product, developing out of who and what he or she is and how and interpersonal relationships and striving why he/she responds to the for consistency environment includes the perceptions one has about REAL AND IDEAL SELVES his/her social identity and personal Real Self qualities, as well as his/her who we actually are, intrinsically generalizations about the self based on how one thinks, feels, looks, and acts past experiences self that feels most natural, comfortable, Self-Schema and true to what and who one actually is perceptions and beliefs that comprise Ideal Self our self-concept person we want to be or think should be past experiences idealized image that has developed over personality traits time-based on the influence of the Abilities environment odynamic and forever physical features changing Values in achieving the ideal self or any goal, goals numerous studies emphasize the social roles importance of visual imagining own observations exercises. feedback from others it is best to know who we want to All factors are dynamic and become or achieve as accurately as ever-changing in a way that they grow, possible. Being as specific as possible improve, or lessen as we go through life is beneficial in visual imagining so we every day and expose ourselves to may vividly see our ideal self taking various interactions and media content. shape. COMPONENTS OF SELF-CONCEPT the congruence or incongruence 1. Self-worth / Self-esteem between the ideal and real self affects what one thinks about oneself; our self-esteem. refers to how we value experiencing incongruence may happen ourselves and perceive our occasionally, especially in cases or worth as a person contexts that are new or extreme. In 2. Self-image circumstances like these, we must how one sees himself/herself; reflect, evaluate our behavior, and be includes the influence of body reminded of our ideal selves to put us image on inner personality back on track. 3. Ideal Self changing our way of thinking may take person that one wants to be; some time since most of us may have consists of one's dreams and  goals in life; continuously plans and strategies to realize changing them 2. Forethought TRUE SELF & FALSE SELF how an individual positions DONALD WOODS WINNICOTT (1896-1971) himself/herself in a the future 1. True Self state of existence, therefore real self, authentic self, original ensuring the plans made can self, vulnerable self anticipate possible opportunities The core of who you are or roadblocks unshaped by the upbringing of 3. Self-reactiveness society for one's intentions and 2. False Self foresight to produce successful fake self, ideal self, perfect self, actions, an individual needs to pseudo self self-regulate his/her efforts for composed of parts of the self the vision to become a reality wherein behaviors are altered, 4. Self-reflection feelings are repressed, and agents reflect on their life one's needs are set aside in pursuits, the meaning of actions order to fit in with others they take in order to accomplish constantly seeks to anticipate these pursuits, their thoughts, the demands and expectations and personal efficacy of others in order to preserve and improve relationships AGENTIC THEORY OF THE SELF ALBERT BANDURA (1925-2021) asserted that people are not merely passive entities molded by environmental forces or driven by inner influences to be an agent means to be capable of intentionally influencing one's own functionality and life circumstances; it recognizes his/her own ability to make life decisions This theory rejects the notion that selfhood is culturally influenced or controlled by urges; rather, it looks upon every human being as capable of thinking, deciding, foreseeing, and controlling his/her actions. This capability is termed human agency; the capability of an individual to exert influence over the course of his/her actions. CORE PROPERTIES OF HUMAN AGENCY 1. Intentionality manifested in how an individual forms intentions with action