UNDERSTANDING

the
SELF

prepared by: Ms. Mannilyn B. Ilagan

The Self from Various Perspectives.
1. Discuss the different representations
and conceptualizations of the self from
various disciplinal perspectives.
2. Compare and contrast how the self has been
represented across different disciplines and
perspectives.
3. Examine the different influences, factors, and
forces that shape the self.
4. Demonstrate critical and reflective thought in
analyzing the development of one’s self and
identity by developing a theory of the self.
Unpacking The Self
1. Explore the different aspects of self
and identity.
2. Demonstrate critical, reflective thought in
integrating the various aspects of self and
identity.
3. Identity the different forces and institutions
that impact the development of various
aspects of self and identity.
4. Examine one’s self against the different aspects
of self discussed in class.
Managing and Caring For The Self
1. Understand the theoretical underpinnings
for how to manage and care for different
aspects of the self.

2. Acquire and hone new skills and learning

for better managing of one’s self and behaviors.

3. Apply these new skills to one’s self and

functioning for a better quality of life.
Definition of SELF:
a person's essential being that distinguishes them from others, especially considered as
the object of introspection or reflexive action. (Google)
In philosophy, the self is the idea of a unified being which is the source of an
idiosyncratic consciousness. (en.wikiquote.org)
from a classical sociological perspective, the self is a relatively stable set of perceptions
of who we are in relation to ourselves, others, and to social
systems. (www.thoughtco.com)
 In psychology, self is the study of either the cognitive, conative or affective
representation of one's identity or the subject of experience. (en.wikipedia.org)

BODY MIND

SOUL
 Rene Descartes
The Self is a thinking thing, David Hume
distinct from the body
John Locke There is no “self” only a
Personal Identity is bundle of constantly
made possible by changing perceptions
self-consciousness passing through
Socrates, Plato & Agustine the theatre of our mind.
The Self is an immortal soul
that exist over time.

CONSCIOUSNESS, IDENTITY & The SELF

Maurice Merleau
Ponty
Immanuel Kant
The Self is embodied
The Self is a unifying subject, subjectively.
an organizing consciousness
that makes intelligible
experience possible.

Gilbert Ryle Paul Churchland

Sigmund Freud
The Self is the brain. Mental
The Self is multi-layered. The Self is the way
people behave states will be superseded by
brain states.
SOCRATES (469-399BC)
Born in Athens and married with several
children, he is also known as the market
philosopher because of his penchant for
engaging youth in philosophizing in
public markets. He directed philosophy’s
attention from the universe to an
examination of our existence in the
universe. The question of who man is,
was held in such high esteem by
Socrates that he also said, “An
unexamined life is not worth living”. Here,
there is an urgent call to examine one’s
life, for it is in the examination that we
can know ourselves.
PLATO (427-347BCE)
He was born into an aristocratic Athenian
Family which is involved in the rule of
Thirty Tyrants. He also later in life modern
university. An important part of his
philosophy is the dichotomy of the Ideal
world of Forms is the permanent ,
unchanging reality as opposed to the
world of Materials which keeps on
changing. The Material world is what we
see around us, and for Plato this – where
we live, is just a replica of the real world
found in the world of Forms.
This dichotomy is reflected in his
idea of the nature of man. He believed that
human beings are composed of two things
a body and a soul.
AUGUSTINE (354-430)
This self-confessed sinner from North
Africa , who later became the Bishop of
Canterbury was greatly inspired by Plato.
In his younger years, he abandoned his
early Christian faith because he found it
difficult to reconcile a loving, all-knowing
and all-powerful God with the evils in the
world. His encounter with the Neo-
Platonists and the idea of the world of
Forms gave him a philosophical
strongpoint for the idea of God, and
paved the way for his return to the folds
of Christianity.
RENE DESCARTES(1596-1650)
Considered as the Father of
Modern Philosophy, this Frenchman was
also a brilliant mathematician (note:
Cartesian Geometry). I think, therefore, I
am or also known as Cogito (Cogito ergo
sum), emphasizes the consciousness of
his mind which leads to an evidence of
his existence – despite the fact that he is
doubting the existence of everything
physical, including his own body. This
has led him to the conclusion that his
essence lay in being a purely thinking
being, because even if he can doubt
whether he has real body or it’s just a
trick of his senses, one thing he cannot
doubt is that he is thinking. This, in a way,
echoes the dualism of Plato.
JOHN LOCKE (1632 - 1704)
He is the first of the great British
empiricist philosophers and is widely
credited for laying the foundation of human
rights and his commitment to the idea that
the sovereign should be the people and
not the monarch. The influence of
Descartes in his work is seen in his
dualism. However, unlike the first few
philosophers discussed, he thinks (1975)
that our identity is not locked in the mind,
soul or body only. He included the concept
of a person’s memory in the definition of
the self.
He subscribe 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 that past. The
memory renders us self-conscious we are
that one and the same person.
DAVID HUME (1711-1776)
Born in Scotland, he was a lawyer
but is known more for the history book that
he wrote – History of England. Just like
Locke he is an empiricist and regarded the
senses as our key source of knowledge.
He (1738) does believe in the existence of
the mind and what’s inside the mind is
divided into two: impression (things we
perceive) and ideas (things that we are
create).
His idea of the self follows this
philosophical pattern. In his Treatise on
Human Nature, Hume (1738), 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.
IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804)
A citizen of Konigsberg, East
Prussia. He is also considered as one of
the giants in philosophy though he barely
stands five feet tall. He was spurred into
philosophical activism when he
encountered Hume’s skepticism and took it
upon himself to refute it. He (1781) argued
that it is possible to discover universal
truth about the world using our reason. He
also argued that it is possible to find the
essence of the Self.
For his idea of the Self, Kant (1781)
believes that man is a free agent, capable
of making a decision for himself. His
philosophy centers and revolves around
the inherent dignity of human being. As a
free agent, man is gifted with reason and
free will.
SIGMUND FREUD (1856 - 1939)
Born in Frieberg, Moravia, this
Jewish neurologist later on moved to
Vienna. This proved good for Vienna
because Freud became famous and was
considered as the father of
psychoanalysis, and he was more
associated in Vienna than in anywhere
else. His works center on the mind and its
development. He devised a structure that
defines man according to his biological
structure and the influence of his socio-
cultural environment. One of his famous
ideas was the tripartite division of man’s
mind 0 the ID (biological nature), EGO
(moral standards) and the SUPEREGO
(ethical component).
GILBERT RYLE (1900-1976)
“Minds are things, but different sorts
of things from bodies.” (The Concept of the
Mind, 1949)
He studied and taught in Oxford
University. This Englishman’s philosophy
centers on language. He claims that the
problems of philosophy were brought
about only because of the confusion due
to misinterpretation, misunderstanding,
etc. of words (1949). The goal of
philosophy should be to clear this
confusion through linguistic analysis.
In the earlier discussion, one of the
main debates regarding man was whether
there is a dualism of mind-body, or is he
only mind, body memory?
PAUL CHURCHLAND(b.1942)
“We do have an organ for
understanding and recognizing moral
facts. It is called the brain.”
Known for his Eliminative Materialism,
this American professor from the
University of California, in partnership with
his wife, believes that the self is the brain.
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, our feelings, actions and
physical state are successfully altered.
MAURICE MERLEU-PONTY(1908-1961
This French philosopher is known more
for his existentialist philosophy. This naturally
reflects on his idea of the self. For him
(1962), a person is defined by virtue of
movement and expression. To be a self is to
be more than one’s body. It includes all the
things that I will do with my body, how I will
act on it and how I will make it act in
consonance with other human beings. 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 grounded on the experiences from
the past, the possibilities for the future and
the present cognition.
ACTIVITY: Make a timeline of your life by
identifying 5 key events in your life that have greatly
shaped who you are. Identify the event, the year and
what were the changes (if any) in your looks and
personality that occurred?
1.How did these events impact your life?
2.What do you think should be added in the list for
people to really understand you?
3.Do you think you have a good idea of who you are?
4.Do you feel misunderstood by people?
5.Ask your friends about an event in your life that
they will never forget. Compare their list to yours.
ASSIGNMENT:
Social institution have their own cultural
contexts. The communal group derives
their behavior from the norms set forth
in their society. Explain how the
FAMILY, SCHOOL, RELIGION & PEER
GROUP Social institutions influenced
your view of your “SELF”. Attached a
picture of each.