Topic 1A: Philosophical Perspective

Self refers to a person's essential being that distinguishes

them from others. This "being" perennially molds and
develops through time and through experiences.

Philosophical Self covers the inquiry into the

fundamental nature of the self which has preoccupied the
earliest thinkers in the history of philosophy: Greeks. It
generally believes that views on the self can be best
understood by revisiting its prime movers and identify the
most important conjectures made by philosophers.

Below are some of the well-known philosophers who

greatly contributed to how we view ourselves now.

1 | SOCRATES

"Know Thyself!" | “An unexamined life is

not worth living.”

Socrates was one of the Greek philosophers responsible

for the emergence of Western philosophy. He utilized the
Socratic methodto stimulate critical thinking and draw out
ideas from his students. Socrates was well known for his
belief that the only true wisdom is in knowing you
know nothing, which means that you can only gain
wisdom by acknowledging that you are an empty cup that
needs to be filled. Aside from humility (acceptance that
you know nothing) and thirst for knowledge and
understanding (you need to learn more), the key to
opening the gates leading to endless opportunities for
growth is by knowing oneself.

2 | PLATO

“Human behavior flows from three main sources:

desire, emotion, and knowledge.”

Plato was another ancient Greek philosopher and was a

student of Socrates. He is one of the world's best-known
and most studied philosophers because of the great
contributions he had to the expansion of human
knowledge and understanding. One of his many
contributions is the concept of dualism, which believes
that one's physical body and soul are separate entities
and that one lives on even after death. Furthermore, he
explained that the soul can be divided into three parts
and that these makeup who we are and are responsible
for our behavior. His theory attempts to explain why we do
what we do and aims to open our awareness of the self to
improve our behavior and make better life decisions. The
three parts are briefly described in the text and table
below:

( a ) Rational / Logical (Ruling Class) seeks truth and is swayed by facts

and arguments

( b ) Spirited / Emotional (Military Class) expresses how our feelings fuel

our action

( c ) Appetitive / Physical Desires (Commoner) drive you to eat, be

sexually aroused, and protect yourself
3 | ARISTOTLE

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Aristotle was a student of Plato and known for his

exploration of knowledge through "natural philosophy",
which is now known as Science. Like the previous
philosophers, he argued that growth starts from within.
According to him, all human actions are driven by one or
more of these seven causes:

■​ CHANCE refers to all the moments whose cause cannot

be determined. (E.g. Carroll Bryant once said, "No matter
how many plans you make or how much in control you
are, life is always winging it.")
 ■​ NATURE refers to our natural tendencies as human
beings. (E.g. Whenever Maria is hungry she gets really
irritable and short-tempered.)
■​ COMPULSIONS refers to one's irresistible urge to do
something, especially against one's own conscious will.
(E.g. Eve has the tendency to repeatedly check doors,
locks, appliances, and other stuff at home, or else she
won't be able to sleep.)
■​ HABIT refers to the things we repeatedly do for a long
period of time. (E.g. Antonio loves to go to lomian every
Sunday because he grew up eating lomi after attending
the Sunday mass.)
■​ REASONING refers to actions or responses that are
based on logical reasoning. (E.g. I don't eat junk food
because I know that it is not good for my body.)
■​ PASSION refers to the responses that aim to satisfy one's
feelings. (E.g. Whenever I am sad or stressed out, I stay
inside my room and express myself through painting
portraits.)
■​ DESIRE refers to one's inclination to pleasant things.
(E.g. I want to have a haircut just because I want to.)

4 | ST. AUGUSTINE
“Do unto others, what you want others to do unto
you.”

St. Augustine's philosophy brings together the wisdom of

Greek philosophy and the Divine Truths contained in
the Scripture. He acknowledges that we were created by
an absolute and immutable Living God, who is also the
creator of the universe. He created a new concept of the
identity of the self which for him can be achieved through
a twofold process:

( a ) Self-Presentation: refers to expressing oneself and

behaving in ways that create the desired impression. We
usually start to shape ourselves based on how we want to
be perceived by others but later on, we realize that it is
just a portion of who we are and decide to move to the
next stage which is self-realization.

( b ) Self-Realization: occurs when we discover who we

truly are and realize that we are more than our physical
form.
(E.g. Clara is a famous influencer who began as a content creator of
clothes and make-up. Before, she consumed most of her time creating the
"perfect self-image" (SELF-REPRESENTATION). But when she got in touch with
her fans, she realized that they follow her not just because of how she
looked and dresses up, but because of the empowerment she gives them
as an expressive, independent woman. Now, she refined herself as well as
her vision by refocusing on building a community of women that empower
each other (SELF-REALIZATION).

5 | RENÉ DESCARTES

“Dubito ergo cogito, cogito ergo sum" -- I doubt therefore

I think, I think, therefore I am.

Just like Plato, Descartes supported his idea of dualism.

He also emphasized that the self is the subject that
thinks. The self that has full competence in the powers of
human reason. By distancing it from all sources of truth
from authority or tradition, the self can only find its truth
and authenticity within its own capacity to think.

6 | JOHN LOCKE
“Our concept of personal identity must derive from
inner experience.”

Locke is another western philosopher who was known for

popularizing the term "tabula rasa" which is translated as
empty slate. This explains that every one of us was born
with a mind like a blank slate which shall be filled with
experiences, sensations and reflections throughout one's
life. He believed that personal identity is a matter of
psychological continuity and is founded in
consciousness (awareness).

7 | DAVID HUME

“The self is a bundle of impressions.”

Hume argues that the concept of self is just a basket of

perceptions collected from the outside world. To find our
true self is almost impossible because the self changes
through time, shaped by the situation we are in and the
people we are with. Who you are today, is different from
who you were and who you will be.

8 | IMMANUEL KANT

“To be is to do.” |"Consciousness is the

central feature of the self."

According to Kant, we all have an inner self and outer self

which together form our consciousness. Consciousness or
awareness of oneself, can only be achieved if we are in
touch with both.

( a ) inner self: refers to one's psychological states and rational intellect

( b ) outer self: refers to our senses and the physical world

Topic 1B: Psychological Perspective

Psychology is universally defined as the scientific study

of behavior and mental processes. In this field of study, the
notion of the self refers to a person's experience as a
single, autonomous being that is separate from others,
experienced with continuity through time and place. The
experience of the self includes the consciousness of
one's physicality as well as one's inner character and
emotional life.

Nature of the Psychological Self

The self has many facets that help make up integral parts
of it, such as self-awareness, self-esteem,
self-knowledge, and self-perception. All parts of the self
enable people to alter, change, add, and modify aspects of
themselves in order to gain social acceptancein society
which we will know more about in the next module. For
now, let us meet some of the well-known psychologists
who explored unraveling the self.

1 | WILLIAM JAMES: Me vs. I

The earliest formulation of the self in modern psychology
derived from the distinction between the self as I, the
subjective knower, and the self as Me, the object that is
known. William James defined this basic duality of self:
 ■​ ME: refers to our knowledge of who we are
(self-concept). It is a separate individual a
person refers to when talking about their
personal experiences.
■​ I: refers to the act of thinking about
ourselves (self-awareness). It is the part of
the self that knows who they are and what
they have accomplished in life.

For example, in the statement "I know it was me who ate the cookie,”
the "Me" is the empirical self, the one who does the acting, whereas the "I"
is the self that is capable of thinking and reflecting (Cooper, 1992).

2 | SIGMUND FREUD: Provinces of the

Mind
Freud contented that the self is the outcome of the
interaction between three provinces of the mind: Id, Ego
and Superego which he represented with an iceberg.
According to Freud, people use defense mechanisms,
which are unconscious strategies, to protect themselves
from anxious thoughts or feelings. Defense
mechanisms aren't inherently bad—they can allow people
to navigate painful experiences or channel their energy
more productively.

*** Click HERE to know some of the most common

defense mechanisms.

3 | ERIK ERIKSON: Psychosocial Theory

of Development
Erikson's psychosocial developmental theory claims that
self-identity progresses in eight stages, each facing a
specific psychosocial dilemma or crisis throughout the
lifetime.

In every life stage, there is an interaction of the conflicts,

the harmonious (syntonic)element and the disruptive
(dystonic)element. Below are the examples of syntonic
and dystonic elements.

4 | DONALD WINNICOTT: True Self vs.

False Self
Winnicott wrote a paper about the Theory of True Self
and False Self in which he explained the idea that people
may develop a False Self to protect their inner, more
vulnerable True Self—and that they might even do it at a
very young age, without even knowing it. Furthermore, he
expounded the false self to be classified into:
 HEALTHY FALSE SELF UNHEALTHY FALSE
SELF

The healthy false self is described The unhealthy false self is the one
as one which allows someone to be that fits into society through forced
functional in society. It enables a compliancerather than a desire to
person to be polite and courteous adapt. It is the one behind many
even when we may feel not like it. dysfunctionalbehaviors (i.e.
narcissism and addiction).

Real-life examples of the false self are based on certain

beliefs that we take on in order to fit into our worlds better.

■​ If I am pretty, I will be more likable.

■​ If I have a lot of money, I am successful.
■​ If I work hard/achieve more, I will have
more value.
■​ One more glass of wine, and I’ll start
feeling better.

5 | ERIC BERNE: Transactional Analysis

Theory
In the Transactional Analysis Theory Berne, he believed
that our childhood experiences, particularly how we are
parented, influence the developmental formation of our
three ego states: the parent ego, adult ego, and child
ego.

Berne considered that the feeling of "Self"is a mobile

one. It can reside in any of the three ego states at any
given moment and can move from one to another. The
following are the general descriptions of how we behave
when operating under each state:

■​ PARENT: you may be nurturing, caring,

controlling, or critical
■​ ADULT: you will be logical, assertive, and
concerned with facts and data (objective)
 ■​ CHILD: you may be playful, spontaneous,
fearful, or overly compliant

6 | CARL ROGERS: Self-Concept

Self-concept is Humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers
believed that self-concept has three components:

When a person’s self-image and ideal self are consistent

or very similar, a state of CONGRUENCE exists. However,
when the difference between the real self and the ideal
self is very high, we call it INCONGRUENCE.
"There is but one cause of human failure.

And that is man’s lack of faith in his true

self."
WILLIAM JAMES