THE PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE
SELF
• Socrates and Plato: The Soul is Immortal
• St. Augustine: Plato and Christianity
• Rene Descartes: A Modern Perspective on the
Self
• John Locke: The Self is Consciousness
• David Hume: There is No Self
• Immanuel Kant: We Construct the Self
• Sigmund Freud: There are Two Selves, One
Conscious, One Unconscious
• Gilbert Ryle: The Self is How you Behave
• Maurice Merleau-Ponty: The Self is Embodied
Subjectivity
SOCRATES
• Know thyself-cornerstone of his philosophy
• First thinker in recorded history to focus the full
power of reason on the human self: who we are,
who we should be, and who we will become.
• convinced that in addition to our physical
bodies, each person possesses an immortal soul
that survives beyond the death of the body.
• He explored this subject with his friends in the
days following his trial and before his sentence
of death was executed, a time in his life when
the question of immortality no doubt had a
special immediacy and significance.
• Reality is dualistic, comprised of two
dichotomous realms:
• changeable, transient, and imperfect (the
physical realm--the physical world)
• unchanging, eternal, immortal (ideal
realm--the intellectual essences of the
universe: truth, goodness, beauty)
• Our bodies belong to the physical realm: they
change, they’re imperfect, they die.
• Our souls, however, belong to the ideal realm:
they are unchanging and immortal, surviving the
death of the body.
• Although a close relationship exists between our
souls and our bodies, they are radically different
entities.
• Our souls strive for wisdom and perfection, and
reason is the soul’s tool to achieve this exalted
state.
• But as long as the soul is tied to the body, this
quest for wisdom is inhibited by the
imperfection of the physical realm, as the soul is
“dragged by the body into the region of the
changeable,” where it “wanders and is confused”
in a world that “spins round her, and she is like a
drunkard.”
• But reason is a powerful tool, enabling the soul
to free itself from the corrupting imperfection of
the physical realm and achieve “communion
with the unchanging.”
• The unexamined life is not worth living
• What is truly remarkable about these ideas is
how closely they parallel modern Western
consciousness.
• A finite body, an immortal soul, a perfect,
eternal realm with which the soul seeks
communion and eternal bliss: all of the basic
elements of Western (and some Eastern)
religions are present.
• Even on a secular level, the ideas resonate with
modern concepts of the self: the notion that the
thinking, reasoning self and the physical body
are radically distinct entities that have a
complicated and problematic relationship with
one another.
PLATO: THE SOUL IS IMMORTAL
• Who is Plato?
– A classical Greek philosopher
– Founder of Academy
– Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his
student, Plato helped to lay the
foundations of Western philosophy and
science
• Elaborated his concept of the soul (psyche)-
– Reason—our divine essence that
enables us to think deeply, make wise
choices, and achieve a true
understanding of eternal truths.
– Physical Appetite—our basic biological
needs such as hunger, thirst, and sexual
desire.
– Spirit or Passion—our basic emotions
such as love, anger, ambition,
aggressiveness, empathy.
• These 3 elements are in a dynamic relationship
with one another, sometimes working in concert,
sometimes in bitter conflict.
• When conflict occurs – it is the responsibility of
Reason to sort things out and exert control.
• Believed that genuine happiness can only be
achieved by people who consistently make sure
that their Reason is in control of their Spirits and
Appetites.
• This harmonious integration under the control of
Reason is the essence of Plato’s concept of
justice at the individual, social and political
levels.
ST. AUGUSTINE
• Plato and Christianity
• More than 500 years after Plato died, a Roman
Philosopher named Plotinus spearheaded
Neoplatonism
• Plotinus: fervently committed to his Platonic
ideas regarding the imperfection of his physical
body, in contrast to the perfection of his eternal
soul.
• Plotinus’ ideas had a profound influence on St.
Augustine.
• St. Augustine integrated the philosophical
concepts of Plato with the tenets of Christianity.
• Augustine was convinced that Platonism and
Christianity were natural partners.
Plato
• Ultimate reality (eternal realm of the Forms)
• Immortal souls striving to achieve union with
the eternal realm through intellectual
enlightenment
St. Augustine
• Transcendent God
• Immortal souls striving to achieve union with
God through faith and reason
• As his thinking matured, Augustine came to
view the body as the “spouse” of the soul, with
both attached to one another by a “natural
appetite”.
• The body is united with the soul so that man
may be entire and complete. Nevertheless, the
body and soul remain irreconcilably divided, the
body to die, the soul to live eternally in a
transcendent realm of Truth and Beauty.
• In melding philosophy and religious beliefs
together, Augustine has been characterized as
Christianity’s first theologian (theos – God;
logos – study of) – the study of God.
RENE DESCARTES
What about your body?
• French philosopher
• Founder of Modern Philosophy
• Concerned with understanding the thinking
process we use to answer questions (e.g. what is
the nature of reality?, what is the nature of the
soul?)
• Descartes wanted to penetrate the nature of our
reasoning process and understand its relation to
the human self.
• Genuine knowledge needed to be based on
independent rational inquiry and real-world
experimentation.
• It was no longer appropriate to accept without
question the “knowledge” handed down by
authorities.
• We need to use our own thinking abilities to
investigate, analyze, experiment and develop our
own well-reasoned conclusions, supported by
compelling proof.
• Doubting things – the only way for you to
develop beliefs that are truly yours.
• For if you are not willing to question all that you
have been asked to accept “on faith”, then you
will never have the opportunity to construct a
rock-solid foundation for your beliefs about the
world and your personal philosophy of life.
• Cogito, ergo sum – “I think, therefore I am”
• The essence of existing as a human identity is
the possibility of being aware of our selves –
integral to having a personal identity.
• Conversely, it would be impossible to be self-
conscious if we did not have a personal identity
of which to be conscious.
• You are a “thinking thing”
• You understand situations in which you
find yourself.
• You doubt the accuracy of ideas
presented to you.
• You affirm the truth of a statement made
about you.
• You deny an accusation that someone
has made.
• You will yourself to complete a task you
have begun.
• You refuse to follow a command that
you consider to be unethical.
• You imagine a fulfilling career for
yourself.
• You feel passionate emotions toward
another person.
• Physical body is secondary to your personal
identity.
• You can conceive of yourself existing
independently of your body.
• Thinking self (soul) – non-material, immortal,
conscious being, independent of the physical
laws of the universe.
• Physical body – material, mortal, non-thinking
entity, fully governed by the physical laws of
nature.
JOHN LOCKE
• English philosopher and physician
• Descartes (Rationalist) : our reasoning ability
provides the origin of knowledge and final court
of judgement in evaluating the accuracy and
value of ideas produced.
• Locke (Empiricist): all knowledge originates in
our direct sense experience, which acts as the
final court of judgement in evaluating the
accuracy and value of ideas.
• Rationalism : the view that reason is the primary
source of all knowledge.
• Empiricism : the view that sense experience is
the primary source of all knowledge
Locke’s points
• To discover the nature of personal identity,
we’re going to have to find out what it means to
be a person.
• A person is a thinking, intelligent being who has
the abilities to reason and to reflect.
• A person is also someone who considers himself
to be the same thing in different times and
different places.
• Consciousness – being aware that we are
thinking – always accompanies thinking and is
an essential part of the thinking process.
• Consciousness is what makes possible our belief
that we are the same identity in different times
and different places.
• Self-consciousness is a necessary part of having
a coherent self-identity.
• Consciousness accompanies thinking and makes
possible the concept we have of a self that
remains the same at different times and in
different places.
David Hume
• Scottish philosopher
• Empiricist
• If we carefully examine our sense experience
through the process of introspection, we
discover that there is no self.
• 2 DISTINCT ENTITIES:
• Impressions: the basic sensations of our
experience, the elemental data of our
minds: pain, pleasure, heat, cold,
happiness, grief, fear, exhilaration, and
so on. These impressions are “lively”
and “vivid”.
• Ideas: copies of impressions and as a
result they are less “lively” and “vivid”.
Ideas include thoughts and images that
are built up from our primary
impressions through a variety of
relationships, but because they are
derivative copies of impressions, they
are once removed from reality.
• They form a fleeting stream of sensations in our
mind, and that nowhere among them is the
sensation of a “constant and invariable” self that
exists as a unified identity over the course of our
lives.
• All of our experiences are perceptions and none
of these perceptions resemble a unified and
permanent self-identity that exists over time.
• When we are not experiencing our perceptions
(when we sleep), there is no reason to suppose
that our self exists in any form.
• What is the self we experience according to
Hume?
• A bundle or collection of different
perceptions, which succeed each other
with an inconceivable rapidity and are in
a perpetual flux and movement.
• What we call the self is an imaginary creature,
derived from a succession of impermanent states
and events.
IMMANUEL KANT
• German philosopher
• Our primary experience of the world is not in
terms of a disconnected stream of sensations.
• We perceive and experience an organized world
of objects, relationships and ideas, all existing
within a fairly stable framework of space and
time.
• Our minds actively sort, organize, relate and
synthesize the fragmented, fluctuating collection
of sense data that our sense organs take in.
• It’s our self that makes experiencing an
intelligible world possible, because it’s the self
that is responsible for synthesizing the discreet
data of sense experience into a meaningful
whole.
• You are at the center of your world, and you
view everything in the world from your
perspective.
• The self is not a content of consciousness but
rather the invisible “thread” that ties the contents
of consciousness together.
SIGMUND FREUD
• Psychologist
• Founder of the school of psychoanalysis
• The self is multilayered.
– Conscious
– Preconscious
 – Unconscious
• Consciousness : mental processes of which we
are aware.
• Unconsciousness: mental processes which are
not easily accessible to our awareness.
• Preconscious: Everything unconscious that can
easily exchange the unconscious condition for
the conscious one (capable of entering
consciousness).
Unconscious Self
• Basic instinctual drives: sexuality,
aggressiveness and self-destruction; traumatic
memories; unfulfilled wishes and childhood
fantasies; thoughts and feelings that would be
considered socially taboo.
• Governed by “pleasure principle”
• Can be found in the content of our dreams,
inadvertent “slips of the tongue”, neurotic
symptoms.
Conscious Self
• Governed by “reality principle”
• Behavior and experience are organized in ways
that are rational, practical and appropriate to the
social environment.
• Takes into account the realistic demands of the
situation, the consequences of various actions
and the overriding need to preserve the
equilibrium of the entire psychodynamic system.
• The conscious self has the task of controlling the
constant pressures of the unconscious self, as its
primitive impulses continually seek for
immediate discharge.
Why does the unconscious self remain inaccessible to
conscious awareness?
• Repression : used to help contain the potentially
disruptive aspects of unconscious functioning,
and as a consequence it is usually the main
defense mechanism for maintaining the ego
boundaries necessary for normal conscious
functioning.
• The purpose of psychotherapy is to enable the
patient to acknowledge the conflicts, emotions
and memories at the root cause of his or her
disorder.
GILBERT RYLE
• Analytic philosopher
• Behaviorist
• The self is defined in terms of the behavior that
is presented to the world. (Behaviorism)
• Although each person has direct knowledge of
his or her mind, it is impossible for us to have
any direct knowledge of other minds.
• Our physical bodies are just the opposite of our
minds.
• Their movements are available to
everyone
• Can be observed, photographed,
measured, analyzed, & movements can
be recorded.
• Minds: completely private
• Bodies: completely public
• Ryle believes that the mind is a concept that
expresses the entire system of thoughts,
emotions, actions and so on that make up the
human self.
• The self is best understood as a pattern of
behavior, the tendency or disposition for a
person to behave in a certain way in certain
circumstances
• How you behave is “who” you are.
PAUL CHURCHLAND
• American philosopher
• Materialism: the self is inseparable from the
substance of the brain and the physiology of the
body.
• Since history, humans have known of the close,
intimate relationship between the mind and the
body.
– Dimensions of the physical self – affects
mental & emotional functioning
– Dimensions of mental self – affects
physical condition
• Modern science is now able to use advanced
equipment and sophisticated techniques to
unravel and articulate the complex web of
connections that binds consciousness and body
together into an integrated self.
– To fully understand the nature of the
mind, we have to fully understand the
nature of the brain.
• The ultimate goal of exploring the
neurophysiology of the brain is to link the self
(thoughts, passions, personality traits) to the
physical wiring and physiological functioning of
the brain.
EDMUND HUSSERL & MAURICE MERLEAU –
PONTY
• The Self is embodied subjectivity
• We experience our self as a unity in which the
mental and physical are seamlessly woven
together.
– This unity is our primary experience of
our selves, and we only begin to doubt it
when we use our minds to concoct
 abstract notions of a separate “mind”
and “body”.
• Our “living body” is a natural synthesis of mind
and biology and any attempts to divide them into
separate entities are artificial and nonsensical.
• It’s the moments of direct, primal experience
that are the most real (Lebenswelt or “lived
world”) which is the fundamental ground of our
being and consciousness.
• Phenomenology : all knowledge of our selves
and our world is based on the “phenomena” of
our experience.
• When we examine our selves at this fundamental
level of direct human experience, we discover
that our mind and body are unified, not separate.
AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL
CONCEPTUALIZATION OF SELF: THE SELF AS
EMBEDDED IN CULTURE
ANTHROPOLOGY
> holds a holistic view of human nature. It is concerned
with how cultural and biological processes interact to
shape human experience.
> Anthropology encroaches on the territory of the
sciences as well as the humanities, and transcends the
conventional boundaries of both while addressing
questions to the distant past and the pressing present–
perhaps with implications for the future (James L.
Peacock)
 this emphasizes that it is an academic field
for understanding the interconnections and
interdependence of biological and cultural
aspects of the human experience in all times
and places.
 “NATURE” – refers to genetic inheritance
which sets the individual’s potential
 “NURTURE” – refers to sociocultural
environment
 Anthropology considers human experience
as an interplay of “nature” and “nurture”.
 In other words, both biological and cultural
factors have significant influence in the
development of self-awareness among
individuals within the society.
The cultural construction of self and identity
 CULTURE – “… complex whole which
includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law,
custom, and any other capabilities and habits
acquired by man as a member of society.”
(Edward Tylor)
 Anthropologists have emphasized that culture is
not behavior itself but the shared understandings
that guide behavior and are expressed in
behavior.
 Culture provides patterns of “ways of life”
 Being that culture is diverse, self and identity
may have different meanings in different
cultures.
ETHNIC IDENTITY
> sameness of the self with others, that is, to a
consciousness of sharing certain characteristics
(e.g., language, culture, etc.) within a group.
> This identity makes a human being a person
and an acting individual.
> Peacock believes that the individual is neither
a robot nor an entirely independent self-willed
little god but is a cultural individual– existing in
freedom but also embodying that cultural mold
in which he/she is cast in his/her particular
society and historical epoch.
There are 2 sides of identity found in every person in
every culture:
EGOCENTRIC VIEW
o the self is viewed as autonomous and distinct
individual.
o Defines each person as a replica of all humanity
but capable of acting independently from others.
o one who is without regard for the feelings or
desires of others; self-centered.
o each person is seen as a separate entity with
characteristics which reside within an individual.
SOCIOCENTRIC VIEW
o the self is viewed as contingent on a situation or
social setting.
o view of the self that is context dependent.; there
is no intrinsic self that can possess enduring
qualities.
o focuses on one’s own social group; socially
oriented.
o For anthropologist Christie Kiefer, THE
JAPANESE POSSESS A SOCIOCENTRIC
VIEW OF THE SELF.
INTERDEPENDENCE BETWEEN THE
PERSON AND THE GROUP IS MORE
VALUED THAN INDEPENDENCE.
o Chinese American anthropologist Francis Hsu
attributes A SOCIOCENTRIC VIEW OF THE
SELF TO THE CHINESE. CHINESE
PRIORITIZE KIN TIES AND
COOPERATION.
o AMERICANS TEND TO BE EGOCENTRIC.
THEY BELIEVE THAT THEY SHOULD BE
ASSERTIVE AND INDEPENDENT.
o IDENTITY TOOLBOX- refers to the “features
of a person’s identity that he or she chooses to
emphasize in constructing a social self.”
PERSONAL NAMING
 -- a universal practice with numerous cross-
cultural variations establishes a child’s birthright
and social identity.
-- a NAME is an important device to
individualize a person and at the same time
becomes legitimate member of the group.
-- Personal names in all societies are intimate
markers of the person, differentiating individuals
from others.
-- There is no self if the individual is without
name.
ONE’S IDENTITY IS NOT INBORN
It is something people continuously acquire in
life.
ARNOLD VAN GENNEP’S THREE-PHASED
RITE OF PASSAGE:
1. Separation – people detach from their former identity
to another.
2. Liminal – one has left one identity but has not yet
entered or joined the next.
3. Incorporation – the changes are incorporated into a
new identity to elaborate rituals and ceremonies like
church weddings, debutant balls, and college
graduations.
-- Individuals acquire their identities through
rites of passage or initiation ceremonies.
-- Initiation rituals make a person readily accept
new wars of looking at him/herself and others.
IDENTITY STRUGGLES > Anthony Wallace and
Raymond Fogelson
> “characterized interaction in which there is a
discrepancy between the identity a person claims
to possess and the identity attributed to that
person by others.”
 Golubovic suggests that in order to attain self-
identification, individuals have to overcome
many obstacles such as traditionally established
habits and parental imposed self-image.
 On the other hand, cognitive anthropologists
suggest that in order to maintain a relatively
stable and coherent self, the members of the
multicultural society have no choice but to
internalize divergent cultural models and should
reject or suppress identifications that may
conflict with other self-presentations.
 Katherine Ewing’s ‘Illusion of Wholeness”
 WORK ON YOURSELF
THE SELF AS EMBEDDED IN CULTURE
CULTURE
• a system of inherited conceptions expressed in
symbolic forms by means of which men
communicate, perpetuate, and develop their
knowledge about and attitudes toward life.
(Clifford Geertz)
• Humans are considered as cultural animals as
they create the meanings of objects, persons,
behaviors, emotions, and events, and then
behave in accordance to those meanings they
assumed as true.
GEERTZ’S TWO (2) IMPORTANT IDEAS IN HIS
ATTEMPT TO ILLUSTRATE AN ACCURATE
IMAGE OF MAN:
1. “Culture should not be perceived only as
“complexes of concrete behavior patterns-
customs, usages, traditions, habit clusters- as
has, by and large, been the case up to now, but
as a set of control mechanisms- plans, recipes,
rules, instructions- for governing behavior and,
2. man is precisely the animal most desperately
dependent upon such extragenetic, outside-the-
skin control mechanisms, such cultural
programs, for ordering his behavior.”
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: THE SELF AS
A PRODUCT OF SOCIETY
“WHO YOU ARE” AND “WHAT YOU ARE”
 Sociological Perspective of the self is based on
the assumption that human behavior is
influenced by group life.
 A particular view of oneself is formed through
interactions with other people, groups, or social
institutions.
 For Cooley and Mead, the self is NOT
dependent on biological predispositions; rather,
it is a PRODUCT OF SOCIAL
INTERACTION.
 For French sociologist Baudrillard, in the
postmodern society, the self is found in the
prestige symbols of goods consumed by man.
SOCIOLOGY
-- a scientific study of social groups and human
relationships, generates new insights to the
interconnectedness between the self and other
people.
-- Sociologists offer theories to explain how the
self emerges as a product of social experience.
o Looking-Glass Self by Charles
Horton Cooley
o The Theory of Social Self by George
Herbert Mead
THE LOOKING-GLASS SELF (Charles Horton
Cooley)
 believed that the people whom a person interacts
become a mirror in which he views himself.
 Self-identity or self-image is achieved through a
threefold event:
1. Conceiving the idea of how he/she presents
himself/herself to others.
 2. How he/she analyses how others perceive
him/her
3. How he/she creates an image of his/herself
THEORY OF THE SOCIAL SELF (GEORGE
HERBERT MEAD)
 Theory of Social Self: based on the perspective
that the self emerges from social interaction.
 Mead argues that the self is not there from birth
but develops over time through social activities
and interactions.
o He explained that the self has 2 divisions:
 The “I”
> The subjective element and the active side of the
self.
 It represents the spontaneous, and unique traits
of the individual.
 If society tells me to act in a certain way, I can
either act the same or maybe I will do something
different.
 The “me”
> The objective element of the self.
 It represents the internalized attitudes and
demands of other people and the individual’s
awareness of those demands.
 developed through knowledge of society and
social interactions.
 The full development of the self is attained
when the “I” and the “me” are united.
 Since there is meaning in human actions, he
infers people’s intention or direction of action,
which may lead him to understand the world
from others’ point of view – a process that Mead
labelled as ROLE-TAKING.
 No matter how much the world shapes him, he
will always remain a creative being, and be
able to react to the world around him.
THE SELF AS A PRODUCT OF MODERN AND
POSTMODERN SOCIETIES
• According to Lanuza, in modern societies, the
attainment and stability of self-identity is freely
chosen.
• There is a need to discover the “authentic core”
of the self for the individual to freely work
towards self-realization.
• In postmodern societies, self-identity
continuously change due to the demands of
multitude of social contexts, new information
technologies, and globalization.
JEAN BAUDRILLARD
• For him, CONSUMPTION STRUCTURES
THE POSTMODERN SOCEITY.
• The postmodern individuals achieve self-
identity through prestige symbols that they
consume.
• The cultural practices of advertising and mass
media greatly influence individuals to consume
goods not or their primary value and utility but
to give them a feeling of goodness and power
when compared with others.
 Therefore, the self may be a never ending search
for prestige in the postmodern society.
PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF
 The development of self-understanding in
adolescence involves numbers about the self,
identity, and personality.
 Theories provide the individual with a sense of
identity and a source of orientation to the world.
 According to Carl Roger’s theory of the self, an
important aspect of understanding the self is
self-awareness.
WILLIAM JAMES’ CONCEPT OF THE SELF
2 Categories of the Self
● The “I-Self”
- Refers to the self that knows who he or she is.
- The thinking self
- Reflects the soul of a person or what is now
thought of as a mind and is called the PURE
EGO.
 The “Me-Self”
- The empirical self
- Refers to describing the person’s personal
experiences
1. MATERIAL SELF
- Consists of things that belong to a person such as
the body, family, clothes, money, house etc. that
contributes to one’s self-image.
2. SOCIAL SELF
- Refers to who and how of a person acts on social
situations.
2. SPIRITUAL SELF
- Refers to the most intimate and most important
part of the moral behavior.
CARL ROGERS’ SELF THEORY:
REAL AND IDEAL SELF
SELF CONCEPT
o refers to the image of oneself.
 o SELF – flexible and changing perception of
personal identity.
- center of experience.
o Suggests that the self develops from interactions
with others and awareness of one’s own
characteristics and level of functioning.
o According to Rogers, human beings are always
striving for self-fulfilment, or self-actualization.
o Central to achieving self-actualization is the
development of self-concept.
2 components of self-concept:
 REAL SELF
- Consists of all the ideas, including the self-
awareness of “what I am” and “what I can do”
 IDEAL SELF
- The person’s conception of what one should be or
wanted to be that includes one’s goals and ambitions in
life.
MULTIPLE VERSUS UNIFIED SELF, TRUE
VERSUS FALSE SELF
 Self-understanding in adolescents also includes
conceptualizing the self as multiple or unified
and true or false.
 The construction of multiple selves varies across
different roles and relationships.
 Given the enormous challenges of self-
integration, it is important that adolescents are
supported in their effort to create a consistent,
coherent, or unified theory of the self.
 Self is composed of the true self and the false
self. (Winnicott)
 The function of the false self is to hide and
protect the true self
THE SELF AS PROACTIVE AND AGENTIC
For Albert Bandura…
 Humans have the ability to act and make things
happen.
 In his theory of the self, people are viewed as
proactive agents of experiences.
 The core features of agency enable people to
play a part in their self-development, adaptation,
and self-renewal with changing times.
MAIN AGENTIC FEATURES OF HUMAN
AGENCY:
1. Intentionality - refers to acts done intentionally.
Intentions center on plans of action. It would require
omniscience to anticipate every outcome.
2. Forethought- enables the person to anticipate the
likely consequences of prospective actions.
3. Self-reactiveness- involves making choices and
choosing appropriate courses of action as well as
motivating and regulating their execution.
4. Self-reflectiveness- gives the person the ability to
reflect upon oneself and the adequacy of one’s thoughts
and actions.
SELF-EFFICACY
- refers to the individual’s belief that he or she is capable
to perform a task.
- it influences whether people think pessimistically or
optimistically and in ways that are self-enhancing or
self-hindering.
SELF-REGULATION
-The ability to control one’s behavior without having to
rely on others for help.
THE SELF AS THE CENTRAL ARCHETYPE
CARL JUNG
● Unconscious consists of two layers:
○ Personal Unconscious: contains
repressed memories.
○ Collective Unconscious: level of
unconscious shared with other members
of the human species comprising latent
memories from our ancestral and
evolutionary past.
4 MAJOR ARCHETYPES:
o PERSONA – refers to the social roles that
individuals present to others.
o SHADOW – refers to the repressed thoughts
that are unacceptable.
o ANIMA – feminine side of the male psyche;
o ANIMUS -the masculine side of the female
psyche.
o SELF – the central archetype that unites all
parts of the psyche.
SIGMUND FREUD’S CONSTRUCTION OF SELF
AND PERSONALITY
3 STRUCTURES OF PERSONALITY
● ID – “core of our being”
○ Include instincts and drives that
motivate individuals as well as the
genetic inheritance and reflexes and
capacities to respond.
○ Pleasure-seeking side
● EGO – refers to the “I”
○ Works on the reality principle, controls
the id, and can delay pleasure.
 ● SUPEREGO – refers to the “conscience” and
“moral judge” of conduct.
○ it strives for perfection rather than
pleasure.
STAGES OF PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
(PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES)
Oral Stage: Ages 0-1. Most of infant’s pleasure comes
from stimulation of the mouth. If a child is overfed or
frustrated, oral traits will develop.
• Oral Dependent Personality:
Gullible, passive, and need lots of
attention. Fixations create oral-
aggressive adults who like to argue and
exploit others.
• Erogenous zone: mouth (oral)
Anal Stage: Ages 1-3. Attention turns to process of
elimination. Child can gain approval or express
aggression by letting go or holding on. Ego develops.
Harsh or lenient toilet training can make a child either:
• Anal Retentive: Stubborn, stingy,
orderly, and compulsively clean
• Anal Expulsive: Disorderly, messy,
destructive, or cruel
• Erogenous zone: anus
Phallic Stage: Ages 3-6. Child now notices and is
physically attracted to opposite sex parent. Can lead to:
● Oedipus Conflict: For boys only. Boy feels
rivalry with his father for his mother’s affection.
Boy may feel threatened by father (castration
anxiety). To resolve, boy must identify with his
father (i.e., become more like him and adopt his
heterosexual beliefs).
● Electra Conflict: Girl loves her father and
competes with her mother. Girl identifies with
her mother more slowly because she already
feels castrated.
Erogenous zone: phallus/genital organ
● Latency: Ages 6-Puberty. Psychosexual
development is dormant. Same sex friendships
and play occur here.
● Genital Stage: Puberty-on. Realization of full
adult sexuality occurs here; sexual urges re-
awaken.
THE ROLE OF ERIK ERIKSON’S THEORY IN
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
 To achieve INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY, one
must create a vision of the self that is authentic,
that is, a sense of having hold of one’s destiny in
an effort to reach goals that are personally
meaningful.
1. TRUST VERSUS MISTRUST
● Infancy ( 0 - 1 year )
● If the infants’ pattern of accepting things
corresponds with their culture’s way of giving
things, then infants learn basic trust. In contrast,
they learn basic mistrust if they have no
correspondence between their needs and their
environment.
2. AUTONOMY VERSUS SHAME AND
DOUBT
● Early Childhood ( 1 - 3 years )
● if parents allow their children to explore, the
children will become more confident and secure
in their own abilities. If not, children may
become overly dependent and feel a sense of
shame or doubt.
3. INITIATIVE VERSUS GUILT
● Play Age (3 – 5 years)
● A child who made to feel irresponsible might
develop guilt feelings.
4. INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY
● School Age ( 5 - 12 years )
● As children learn to do things well, they develop
a sense of industry. Especially when children
are encouraged in their efforts. But if children
receive little or no encouragement from parents
or teachers, they acquire a sense of inferiority.
5. IDENTITY VERSUS IDENTITY
CONFUSION
● Adolescence ( 12 - 18 years )
● Adolescence is an adaptive phase of personality
development, a period of trial and error.
● They are confronted with many roles and
responsibilities
6. INTIMACY VERSUS ISOLATION
● Early Adulthood ( 18 - 40 years )
● Erikson believed that it is vital for people to
develop intimate relationship with others.
● Those who are successful at this stage will form
relationships that are stable and successful. If
not, mistrust and isolation may develop.
7. GENERATIVITY VERSUS STAGNATION
● Adulthood ( 40 - 65 years )
● The time when people begin to take their place
in society and assume responsibility for
whatever society produces.
● Those who fail to attain generativity will feel
worthless.
8. INTEGRITY VERSUS DESPAIR
● Old Age ( 65 – above )
● HOW HAVE I DONE?
 ● At this stage, individuals reflect on the important
events of their lives. If they are satisfied and feel
proud of their accomplishments, they will feel a
sense of integrity. Those who are unsuccessful
during this stage will feel that their life has been
wasted and will experience regrets and despair.
5. David Ho (1995) described the Western Self
as an individualistic self that is deeply aware
of itself, its uniqueness, sense of direction,
purpose and volition.
6. If all things are well, the self achieves
coherence and stability over time.

Stage Psychosocial Basic EASTERN CONCEPT OF SELF

Crisis Strength 7. Four Great Systems
a. Hinduism
Infancy Basic Trust vs. Hope  Brahman – absolute reality
Mistrust  Atman (soul or spirit) – identical to Brahman
 Vedanta – characterizes human suffering as a
Early Autonomy vs. Will result of failure to realize the distinction between
Childhood Shame and the true self (permanent and unchanging) and the
Doubt nontrue self (impermanent and changes
continually)
Play Age Initiative vs. Purpose  The goal of man is to have knowledge of the
Guilt true reality – Brahman.
 Law of Karma is the most important doctrine of
School Age Industry vs. Competence Hinduism. Individual actions will lead to either a
Inferiority good or bad outcomes in one’s life.
 Karma does not end with a body’s death, so its
Adolescence Identity vs. Fidelity influence may extend through incarnation of the
Identity soul.
Confusion b. Buddhism
 Siddharta Gautama (Buddha) – founder of
Early Intimacy vs. Love Buddhism
 Budh – awake
Adulthood Isolation
 Every person has a seed of enlightenment, but
Adulthood Generativity Care the seed should be nurtured.
vs. Stagnation  Four Noble Truth:
1. Life is suffering
Old Age Integrity vs. Wisdom 2. Suffering is caused by attachment to desires
3. Suffering can be eliminated
Despair 4. Elimination of suffering is through the
THE WESTERN AND EASTERN CONCEPTS OF practice of the Eightfold Path (Right view, Right
SELF aspiration, Right speech, Right action, Right
livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness and
Right concentration)
WESTERN CONCEPT OF SELF  Man is just a title for the summation of the five
parts (matter, sensation, perception, mental
 Self is autonomous, unitary and stable constructs, and consciousness) that compose the
 Self is defined in terms of the following aspects: individual, however, each of the parts distinctly
1. Western Self as Analytic - The whole is is not man.
understood when differentiated into parts.  Man has no self.
2. Western Self as Monotheistic -  There is nothing permanent but change.
characterized by the belief that there is only  The ignorance of the impermanence of
one Supreme Being. The belief in one everything may lead to an illusion of selfhood.
Supreme Being coexisting with the universe  Ignorance = cause of life’s misery
condensed the supernatural and human  Perfect moral intellectual knowledge –
capabilities into bipolarity of both qualities eliminates the cause of one’s misery and being
of existence and categories of identity or awakened from the illusion of selfhood.
experience (e.g. beautiful / ugly, kind /
 The ideal is to experience Nirvana – a state of
cruel, strong / weak, body / soul, love / lust)
transcendence – can be achieved through
3. Western Self as Individualistic - Western
meditation
individualism exhibits the coexistence of
c. Confucianism
favorable and unfavorable conditions
 Golden Rule – “Do not do to others what you
inherent in personal freedom.
would not want others to do to you.”
4. Western Self as Materialistic and
Rationalistic - Western way of thinking is  Basic virtue of proper conduct is knowing how
focused on material “things” and favors a to act in relation to others.
rational-empirical approach over magical  Five Cardinal relationships: between ruler and
and superstitious explanation of immaterial minster, between father and son, between
“things”. husband and wife, between brothers, and
between friends
  The self is known as a relational self.
 The individual’s greatest mission is to attain
self-realization.
 Self- cultivation – instrumental in achieving
self-realization
 Could be accomplished by knowing one’s role in
the society and act accordingly.
 The individual is set to respond to what is
socially required rather than to one’s personal
needs and goals.
d. Taoism
 The self is an extension of the cosmos
 Self is described as one of the limitless forms of
the Tao (Nature-the foundation of all that exists)
 The perfect man has no self
 Selflessness is attained when the distinction
between “I” and “other” dissolves.
 The selfless person leads to a balanced life, in
harmony with both nature and society.
 Taoists believe that simplicity, spontaneity and
harmony with nature should govern one’s life.
 There should be unity and harmony among
opposing elements: the Yin and Yang

Comparing Western and Eastern Approaches

Dimension Western Thought Eastern Thought

Emphasis Distinctions and Commonalities
oppositions and harmonies
View of Self Egocentric Sociocentric
Theological Monotheistic Polytheistic
View (Pluralistic)
Cultural Individualism Collectivism
Framework