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Philosophical Perspective Self - a unified being, essentially connected to consciousness, awareness, and agency In an age where the pursuit of one's happiness and celebrating one's identity seem to be at the forefront, that question still has no easy answer...

Philosophical Perspective Self - a unified being, essentially connected to consciousness, awareness, and agency In an age where the pursuit of one's happiness and celebrating one's identity seem to be at the forefront, that question still has no easy answer. What exactly are we? What do we even mean by the "SELF"? Are we souls, organic bodies or merely a figment of another's imagination? Are we just minds or a combination of body and mind? Will I survive bodily death because I am more than a body or when my body is dead, that's really the end? Am I a robot controlled by some entity? Philosophically, discussion of the self is a basic search for meaning and purpose of life. Determination, rationalization, and identification of the self set the direction from which an individual travels to fulfill his or her purpose in life. The inability to define oneself leads to a lot of contradictions within the self later on; hence, it is one of the many imperatives in life to know oneself and to go on with the business of leading a life charted by oneself. SOCRATES - Know Thyself - left no known writings, but his highly regarded student, Plato, wrote extensively about him - posited that if a person knows who he/she is, all basic issues and difficulties in life will vanish and everything will be clearer and simpler - argued that the ruler of the body is the soul; soul pre-existed the body, and it is what makes the body alive UNIVERSE → OUR EXISTENCE IN THE UNIVERSE "An unexamined life is not worth living." For him, there was soul first before man's body. Man's existence was first in the realm of ideas and exists as a soul or pure mind. This soul has knowledge by direct intuition and all these are stored in his mind. However, once he came to the material world or the world of senses, he forgot most of what he knew. This resulted in lack of knowledge or ignorance which causes problems to man. Dialectic Method/Socratic Method - exchange of question and answer that aims to make the person remember all the knowledge that he has forgotten, including his former omniscient self Answers will always be subjective and there is no right or wrong answer to the questions; The quality and quantity of answers are dependent on the person answering. Self-knowledge – means knowing one’s degree of understanding about the world and knowing one’s capabilities and potentials. It is only through self-knowledge that one’s self emerges. Therefore, the self emerges and not just discovered, something to work on and not a product of a mere realization. PLATO If we are ever to have pure knowledge of anything, we must get rid of the body and contemplate things by themselves with the soul by itself. - one of the first philosophers who believed in an enduring self that is represented by the soul - argued that the soul is eternal and constitutes the enduring self, because even after death, the soul continues to exist Ideal World / World of Forms - permanent, unchanging reality as opposed to to the world of Materials which keeps on changing. - Soul Material World - what we see around us; replica of the real world found in the world of Forms. - Body The body is seen as some sort of a prison. We can free ourselves from the imprisonment of our bodily senses though contemplation. We continue to exist even in the absence of our bodies because we are Souls only. AUGUSTINE But my sin was this, that I looked for pleasure, beauty, and truth not in Him but in myself and His other creatures, and the search led me instead to pain, confusion, and error. According to him, our world (world of materials) is not our final home but just a temporary home where we are just passing through. Our real world is where there is permanence and infinity - that's the world where God is. Time is something that people measure within their own memory. Time is not a feature or property of the world, but a property of the mind. He believed that the times present of things past, present, and future coexist in the soul: the time present of things past is memory the time present of things present is experience the time present of things future is expectation He emphasized that the memory of the past is significant in anticipation of the future and presence if the present. However, time past and time future are not real in themselves but they are only real as long as they exist in the mind or consciousness. The existence of past and future is only possible through memory and expectation. He argued that as far as consciousness can be extended backward to any past action or forward to actions to come, it determines the identity of the person. Rene Descartes I think, therefore; I am. The mind and the body are separate and very distinct from one another but he believes that the mind is conjoined with the body in such an intimate way that they casually act upon each other. The body can be described in a precise, structured manner, but the mind is not contained like that, and it's allowed to pursue its own thoughts. One can always doubt about the certainty of things but the very fact that one doubts is something that cannot be doubted. This is what “I think, therefore I am” means. Whichever thought a person chooses is the one that is carried over his/her “I am.” Descartes believed that the self is a “thinking thing, or a substance whose whole essence or nature is merely thinking”. It is nothing else but a mind-body dichotomy. Thought (mind) always precedes action (body). Humans think first about doing something and then do it. John Locke What worries you, masters you. - believed that consciousness is the perception of what passes in a man’s mind - rejected that brain has something to do with consciousness as the brain, as well as the body may change, while consciousness remains the same - concluded that personal identity is not in the brain but in one’s consciousness He subscribes to the memory theory that holds we are the same person as we were in the past for as long as we can remember something from the past. The memory renders us self-conscious that we are that one and the same person. tabula rasa - posits that everyone started as a blank slate, and the content is provided by one's experiences over time. David Hume Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them. - stressed that there is no stable thing called self, for the self is nothing but a complex set of successive impressions or perceptions - views the soul as a product of imagination; there is no primordial substance that houses the self; any concept of the self is simply memory and imagination - rejected the idea that personal identity is reflected by the association of the self with an enduring body The mind is divided into two: IMPRESSIONS - things we perceive through our senses as we experience them IDEAS - things that we create in our minds even though we are no longer experiencing them Whenever we think of simple ideas, it must have, as a basis, a simple impression. Complex ideas happen when we combine simple ideas by arranging and rearranging them. He argues that when he looks into his mind, he finds a stream of impressions and ideas, but no impression corresponding to a self that endures through time. The self keeps on changing, like how one looks, one feels, one thinks - they constantly change. An "enduring self" is just a fiction produced by our imagination. A person is a bundle of perception. "I" will be constantly changing because the different experiences one has for constant change will affect and re-shape the person. Immanuel Kant All our knowledge begins with senses, proceeds then to the understanding, and ends with reason. There is nothing highher than reason. - believes that man is a free agent, capable of making a decision for himself; man is gifted with reason and free will but necessity of his being free is tested in his decision to be moral. - argues that for us to know our duty, we have to rationally deliberate on it and not expect a higher authority will hand it automatically to us, and certainly we cannot let the arbitrariness of emotion guide us. Consciousness is formed by the following senses: Inner Sense - comprised of one's psychological state and intellect - moods, feelings, sensations, etc. - empirical self-consciousness Outer Sense - consists of one's senses and the physical world - transcendental apperception (allows the self and the world to come together) It is also because we acknowledge that each individual is capable of thinking that we must give them respect by treating every individual as ends in themselves and never as means. This means that every person should not be exploited and used. In refuting Hume's idea that there is no self, he said that since man is gifted with reason and free will, man can organize the data gathered by the senses. From these data, we can now have a good idea of man. SIGMUND FREUD The ego is not the master in its own house. -devised a structure that defines man according to his biological structure and the influence of his socio-cultural environment. Tripartite Division of Man's Mind: ID - pleasure principle; represents man's biological nature, the impulses and bodily desires. EGO - reality principle; its role is to maintain equilibrium between the demands of id and superego in accordance with what is best and practical in reality SUPEREGO - morality principle; represents the ethical component of the personality and provided moral standards by which the ego operates. The id and superego will find themselves clashing against each other, with the superego trying to control the impulses of id and the id trying to satisfy its urges. The winner of this battle will be manifested in the ego. Things are not in control of the ego, but the ego only manifests the winner between the two. This battle is all taking place in the subconscious. If id is dominant, an egoistic, boorish, and barbaric brute emerges. If superego is dominant, a law-abiding, morally upright, god-fearing, and socially acceptable individual appears. If ego is successful, it turns out a brilliant, creative, and emotionally-balanced individual. Gilbert Ryle I act, therefore I am - maintained that the mind is not separate from the body; it consists of dispositions of people based on what they know, what they feel, what they want, etc. - supported the basic notions of behavioristic psychology; states that mental concepts can be understood through observable events The mind is not like a specific, separate entity but is certainly a part of our body. Ideally, the separation of mind/soul and body could be possible, but in practice, this is hardly the case. The only way which we can only know a person is through how a man behaves, their tendencies, and reactions in certain circumstances. Paul Churchland We do have an organ for understanding and recognizing moral facts. It is called a brain. - stressed that it is false to claim that folk psychology, or common sense psychology, is the capacity to explain mental states of people - argues that talk of mental states would eventually be abandoned in favor or a radically different view of how the brain works not identified with mental states Eliminative Materialism - a radical claim that ordinary, common sense understanding of the mind is deeply wrong and that some or all the mental states posited by common sense do not actually exist With the advent of science and learning more about the nuances of the brain, it becomes clear to Churchland that the term "mind", our moods, emotions, actions, consciousness are deeply affected by the state of our brain. 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 - as lived and experienced - regarded Self as embodied subjectivity; sees human beings as neither existing without body nor as complex machines, but as living creatures whose subjectivity is actualized in the forms of their involvement with the world Objective Body - as observed and scientifically investigated - body that is known to others; that people see, admire, imitate, criticize, or even dissect To be a self is to be more than one's body. I am the sum of all that I make my body do. This includes the interpretation of the past and how I actually make decisions in the present. The self is a product of our conscious human experience. The definition of self is all about one's perception of one 's experience and interpretation of those experiences. The self is grounded on the experiences of the past, the possibilities of the future, and the cognition in the present. Sociological Perspective The Self as Embedded in Culture CULTURE - derived from Latin word cultura or cultus, meaning care or cultivation - analogous to caring for an infant CULTURAL IDENTITY - refers to the identity or feeling of belongingness to a certain culture group - individual's perception about himself or herself anchored on race, gender, nationality, religion, ethnicity, and language NORMS - are what dictates our behavior in the society - the acceptability of an act; the approval and the disapproval of which, is dependent on social standards which are a product of our people's commitment to uphold the very essence of our cultural values Culture has influenced us so much that a very big part of who we are is a product of how culture was instilled in the very depths of our selfhood. Consequently, the significance of culture in our self-understanding and awareness is vital since we have been brought up with it - the traditions and customs of our family, the laws we need to obey, and even the different art forms that our society regards so dearly. The more we get to know our culture, the more we become aware of how we were influenced by it. Similarly, the more we get to know people from other cultures, the more that we are surprised at how different they are, not only in their looks and language, but also in how they view themselves as individuals and members of the social group. When our culture changes, we are challenged to uphold our values or alter our worldview and behavior as well. Social Self - GEORGE HERBERT MEAD - argued that self is not biological, but social; it is developed as one grows and ages through social interaction - explains that self has two parts: self-awareness self-image - proposed the idea that the self develops through social interaction social interaction involves the exchange of symbols understanding of symbols involves being able to take the role of another Role Playing - process in which one takes on the role of the other by putting oneself in the position of the person with whom he/she interacts - through this, the individual develops a concept of self since one is able to reflect upon oneself The idea of self can only be developed if the individual can get outside in such a way that he or she can become an object to oneself. To accomplish this, one must be conscious of oneself from the standpoint of others.Therefore, the development of "self" lies in the ability to "wear other people's shoes". STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 1.) Imitation/Preparatory Stage - child imitates the behavior of his/her parents 2.) Play Stage - involves the child playing the role of others 3.) Game Stage - child comes to see himself/herself in their roles from the perspective of other people PHASES OF THE SELF 1.) I - subjective; unsocialized and spontaneous - acting part of the self, an immediate response to other people - represents the self that is free and unique 2.) Me - objective; conventional - self that results from the progressive stages of role playing and role-taking and the perspective one assumes to view and analyze one's own behaviors - organization of the internalized attitude of others Generalized Others - an organized community or social group which gives the individual his/her identity - the attitude of the generalized other is the attitude of the entire community - a certain group becomes the generalized other as long as it enters as an organized process or social activity into the experience of any other members of the group Looking-glass Self - CHARLES HORTON COOLEY - is a social psychological concept that views the self as something developed by one's perceptions of other people's opinions - people are the way they are at least partly because of other people's reactions to them and what they do; constantly picking up feedback and incorporating it into their sense of self - the self, which is essentially an individual's awareness of one's social or personal identity is a social development THREE STEPS OF SOCIAL INTERACTION: 1.) people imagine how they must appear to others 2.) they imagine the judgement on that appearance 3.) they develop themselves through the judgement of others People imagine not only how others see them and their action, but also how others judge what they see, whether with approval, doubt, or hostility. As a result, the looking-glass self is made up of feelings about other people's judgements of one's behavior "The imaginations which people have of one another are the solid fats of society." Private, Public, & Collective Self - HARRY TRIANDIS PRIVATE SELF / INDIVIDUAL SELF cognition that involves traits, states, and behaviors an assessment of the self by the self shows one’s knowledge of attributes that differentiate them from others. PUBLIC SELF cognition concerning the generalized other’s view of the self corresponds to an assessment of the self by the generalizedother shows one’s relationship with others and the role one assumes in that relationship COLLECTIVE SELF cognition concerning a view of the self found in memberships in social groups (e.g., family, co-workers, tribe, professional organizations) Social Identity Theory - HENRI TAJFEL & WILLIAM SUMNER - defined as the person's sense of who he/she is according to his/her membership to a certain group - group membership is an important source of pride and self- esteem; gives a sense of social identity -- a sense of belongingness to the social world - the world is divided into "us" and "them" through the process of social categorization forming the social groups 2 TYPES OF SOCIAL GROUP 1.) In-group - an esteemed social group commanding a member's loyalty - group to which a person belongs 2.) Out-group - a scorned social group to which one feels competition or opposition - group to which a person does not belong Social Identity Theory states that the in-group will discriminate against the out-group to enhance its self-image. 3 MENTAL PROCESSES: 1.) Social Categorization - similar to how people categorize things in order to understand their social environment - with this, people learn things about themselves by knowing what category they belong to 2.) Social Identification - people adopt the identity of the group to which they have categorized themselves 3.) Social Comparison - comparing their group with other groups - here they might discriminate and criticize other groups Anthropology of the Self - BRIAN MORRIS - self is not an entity but a process that orchestrates an individual's personal experience - as a result of this, a person becomes self-aware and self-reflective about his/her place in the surrounding world The concept of "self" is defined as an individual's mental representation of his/her person, as kind of self-representation. The concept of "other", on the other hand, refers to how one perceives the mental representations of others. A clear separation between the self and others seems to be universal, but the meaning of this distinction varies from person to person. The most crucial form of interaction and exchange takes place neither between the individual and society nor between the psyche and culture, but instead between the self and his/her cultural environment as mediated by social practices. Dialogical Self - HUBERT HERMANS - regarded the self as the "society of mind" - an individual's sense of self is established through how one identifies himself/herself with the different positions he/she holds, internally or externally, to himself/herself - the dialogical self is a relational concept of self; one's moments of insights about himself/herself and his/her actions are relational to others, nurtured, or discouraged by the, Internal I-position - refers to how one functions in himself/herself - I as empathic, I as diligent External I-position - refers to how one identifies himself/herself based on particular external factors I as brother, I as student All these constitute the functionality of the self. The dialogic self approach calls for the need for the I-positions to come in contact with each other -- to be in a dialogue with one another in order for an individual to become fully aware of the different dimensions that constitute his/her self. Saturated Self - KENNETH GERGEN Saturated Self characterized by constant connection to others absorbs many voices (sometimes contradictory) and takes in seemingly endless streams of information. This saturation contradicts the notion of a singular, true, authentic self and instead gives way to a self consisting of multiple selves. This is due to splitting the self into many options, which he calls multiphrenia. That is, people establish multiple selves by absorbing the numerous voices of people in their lives, either in real life or through the media. People then internalize these different selves, thus creating a seemingly endless pool of selves that they can choose to draw upon depending on the needs of the current situation. Through mediums such as the internet and video games, people can construct idealized versions of who they are by selectively representing various aspects of their selves, like self-promotion on the internet. Because of technology, there are a lot of options that are all available immediately, which leads to an endless list of things to do. This overwhelming list of potentials, Gergen described, feels what the state of social saturation is like. Thus, social saturation brings a general loss of true and knowable selves. Western vs Oriental INDIVIDUALIST everyone grows up to look after him/herselfand his/her immediate family only children learn to think in terms of "I" individual ownership resources low-context communication prevails media is the primary source of information self-actualization by every individual is an ultimate goal occupation mobility is higher task prevails over relationship individual interest prevail over collective COLLECTIVIST people are born into extended families or in other groups that continue protecting them in exchange for loyalty children learn to think in terms of "we" resources should be shared with relatives high context communication prevails social networks are the primary source of information harmony and consensus in society are ultimate goal occupation mobility is lower relationship prevails over task collective interests prevail over individual THESE VIEWS OF THE SELF ARE RIGHT IN THEIR OWN CONTEXT. Individualism is an orientation concerned with the independence and self-reliance of the individual. They put more emphasis on promoting individual and the immediate family's welfare. Individualistic cultures does not promote isolation. It is grounded on the idea that individual makes judgements, acts based on his/her own thoughts, and disagrees with others. Collectivism is an orientation characterized by belongingness to larger groups. They give more importance to loyalty to the in-group, which in turn takes care of the individual's welfare. Collectivistic cultures believe in the idea that man should think, live, and act toward certain goals that benefit the group and decides according to the interest of the group. The Self as a Product of theModern World Since the self has to keep up with the ever-changing world, he needs to adjust, re-adjust, and re-align his actions with the seismic transformation and evolution of the society. The values of a society changes overtime, and if in case, they do not, the society is trapped in the challenges of 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, 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.  Psychological Perspective Humanistic Theory - Carl Rogers - believes that the self does not exist at birth; it is developed gradually during childhood wherein one differentiates the self from the non-self - proposed that by means of free choice and action, one can shape himself/herself based on what he/she wants to be - sees the self as one's ongoing sense of who and what he or she is and how and why he/she responds to the environment - believes that the self does not exist at birth; it is developed gradually during childhood wherein one differentiates the self from the non-self - proposed that by means of free choice and action, one can shape himself/herself based on what he/she wants to be - sees the self as one's ongoing sense of who and what he or she is and how and why he/she responds to the environment Real and Ideal Selves REAL SELF who we actually are, intrinsically how one thinks, feels, looks, and acts self that feels most natural, comfortable, and true to what and who one actually is IDEAL SELF person we want to be or think should be idealized image that has developed over time based on the influence of the environment dynamic and forever changing In achieving the ideal self or any goal, numerous studies emphasize the importance of visual imagining exercises. It is best that we know as accurate as possible who we want to become or achieve. Being as specific as possible is beneficial in visual imagining so we may vividly see our ideal self taking shape. The congruence or incongruence between the ideal and real self has effects on our self-esteem. Experiencing incongruence may happen from time to time, most especially in cases or contexts that are new or extreme. In circumstances like these, we need to reflect, evaluate our behavior, and be reminded of our ideal self to put us back on track. Changing our way of thinking may take a bit of getting used to since most of us may have been exposed to people who might have given us negative labels. Self-concept - the totality of complex, organized, and dynamic system of learned beliefs, attitudes, and opinions that each person holds to be true about his/her personal existence - social product, developing out of interpersonal relationships and striving for consistency - includes the perceptions one has about his/her social identity and personal qualities, as well as his/her generalizations about the self based on past experiences Self-schema: perceptions and beliefs that comprise our self- concept past experiences personality traits abilities physical features values goals social roles own observations feedback from others All factors are dynamic, every-changing in a way that it grows, improves, or lessens as we go through life every day and expose ourselves to various interactions and media content. COMPONENTS OF SELF-CONCEPT 1.) Self-worth / Self-esteem - what one thinks about oneself - refers to how we value ourselves and perceive our worth as a person 2.) Self-image - how one sees himself/herself - includes the influence of body image on inner personality 3.) Ideal Self - person that one wants to be - consists of one's dreams and goals in life; continuously changing True Self & False Self - Donald Woods Winnicott True Self - real self, authentic self, original self, vulnerable self - core of who you are - unshaped by the upbringing of society False Self - fake self, ideal self, perfect self, pseudo self - composed of parts of the self wherein behaviors are altered, feelings are repressed, and one's needs are set aside in order to fit in with others - constantly seeks to anticipate the demands and expectations of others in order to preserve and improve relationships Most people do not easily present different sides of themselves for others to see. They may possibly reveal particular sides of themselves depending on the situation. Agentic Theory of the Self - Albert Bandura - asserted that people are not merely passive entities of 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 of 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 INTENTIONALITY - manifested in how an individual forms intentions with action plans and strategies to realize them FORETHOUGHT - how an individual positions himself/herself in a future state of existing, therefore ensuring the plans made can anticipate possible opportunities or roadblocks SELF-REACTIVENESS - in order for one's intentions and foresight to produce successful actions, an individual needs to self-regulate his/her efforts for the vision to become a reality SELF-REFLECTION - agents reflect on their life pursuits, the meaning of actions they take in order to accomplish these pursuits, their thoughts, and personal efficacy An individual with agency is expected to be able to manifest these properties in how he/she functions in his/her environment. Since the self is situated in an environment where the interplay of interpersonal and intrapersonal activities occur, the self functions as a product of these influences making the individual responsible for how he/she lets these various influences affect how he/she functions Our mind is hard to change once we become convinced. So it might be very natural to feel demoralized and defeated after you fail. But you cannot allow yourself to become convinced you can't succeed. You have to fight feelings of helplessness. You have to gain control over the situation. And you have to break this kind of negative cycle before it begins.