UNDERSTANDING THE SELF (GEC-001)
01 | OVERVIEW OF THE SELF
• Self-Discovery: The process of learning, understanding, or knowing more about
yourself and who you are; becoming aware of one's true potential, character,
motives, and the like.
• Self-Awareness: Knowledge of yourself and your worth as a person. It is a result of
doing self-discovery. (e.g., what you hope to gain from meditating).
Nature vs. Nurture
• Nature: Defined as genetic or hormone-based behaviors, traits, and dispositions. It
refers to all genes and hereditary factors that influence who we are—from physical
appearance to personality characteristics.
• Nurture: Refers to all environmental variables that impact who we are, including
early childhood experiences, how we were raised, social relationships, and
surrounding culture.
Self vs. Identity vs. Personality
• Self: Based on the lexical definition, "the person that someone normally or truly is
or the entire person of an individual."
• Identity: Based on the lexical definition, refers to "the qualities, beliefs,
characteristics that make a particular person or group different from others or the
distinguishing character or personality of an individual."
• Personality: Refers to the patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that make one
unique from others.
02 | THE PHILOSOPHICAL SELF
Philosophy is the study of acquiring knowledge through rational thinking and inquiries
that involves answering questions regarding the nature and existence of man and the world
we live in. It originated from the Greek words Philo- (loving) and Sophia (knowledge,
wisdom).
The philosophy of the self has been defined through distinct lenses:
• Empiricism: Derives explanations of the self from sensory and bodily responses.
We know things because we have experienced them through our bodily senses.
• Rationalism: Assumes there is innate knowledge. It explains the self from the
standpoint of what is "ideal" and the "truth," not rooted in what is felt by the senses
nor our body.
• Dualism: In the modern world, this most often refers to "mind-body dualism," or
the idea that the mind is separate from the body.
Relevant Philosophical Views
Philosopher Core Quote Key Concepts
Known as the "father of Western philosophy."
"The unexamined
He believed the self exists in two parts: the
Socrates life is not worth
physical body (mortal, changing, imperfect)
living"
and the soul (immortal, eternal, perfect).
A dualist who believed the soul represents the
self and exists before birth and after death.
"The first and the
The soul is divided into three parts: Reason
Plato best victory is to
(divine essence to think deeply), Physical
conquer self."
Appetite (basic biological needs), and
Will/Spirit (basic emotion or passion).
"Knowing yourself is
Viewed the human person as a "rational
Aristotle the beginning of all
animal"—simply an animal that thinks.
wisdom."
His reflections on the relations between time
and memory influenced psychology. He
"Accepting God is
believed time is a property of the mind, not the
St. Augustine the path to know
world. Past, present, and future coexist in the
thyself."
soul as memory, direct experience, and
expectation.
The essence of self is being a "thinking thing."
The thinking self (soul) is a non-material,
Rene "I think; therefore I
immortal, conscious being independent of the
Descartes am."
physical body, which is a mortal, non-thinking
material governed by physical laws.
"The Self Is Known for the tabula rasa (blank slate) theory.
John Locke He concluded that personal identity is not in
Consciousness"
the brain but in consciousness, which is the
Philosopher Core Quote Key Concepts
perception of what passes in a man's own
mind. Consciousness can theoretically be
transferred from one substance to another.
Argued that the mind is nothing but a heap or
collection of different perceptions. The self is a
David Hume "There Is No Self" "bundle of perceptions" in continuous change;
therefore, there is no permanent, stable self to
observe.
Consciousness is formed by an inner self
Immanuel "We Construct the
(rational reasoning and psychological state)
Kant Self"
and an outer self (body and physical mind).
The self is multi-layered, composed of three
"There Are Two structures: the Id (instinctual desires), the Ego
Sigmund Selves: One (operates on the reality principle to maintain
Freud Conscious, One equilibrium), and the Superego (reservoir of
Unconscious" moral standards, conscience, and the ideal
self).
Opposed Descartes' idea of an immaterial
"I act, therefore I mind. For Ryle, the mind is not the seat of the
Gilbert Ryle
am." self; rather, the self is the way people behave.
It is a combination of mind and body.
Paul & Neuroscientists who argue that it is the
"The Self Is the
Patricia physical brain, not an imaginary mind, that
Brain."
Churchland gives us our sense of self.
Regarded the self as embodied subjectivity. He
Maurice "The Self is An argued that we are not a disembodied mind or
Merleau- Embodied a complex machine, but living creatures whose
Ponty Subjectivity" consciousness is actualized through physical
involvement with the world. "I am my body."
03 | THE SOCIOLOGICAL SELF
Sociology is the study of the role of society in shaping behavior. The sociological perspective
looks at the self as a social construction—meaning who you are is developed under the
influence of other people through interaction in society.
• Social construction: Individuals develop a sense of self based on how they think
other people see and judge them.
• Socialization: The process of learning one's culture and how to adjust to a group and
behave in a way approved by that group.
The Self and Social Agencies
• Family: The most pervading, influential social group that impacts us during the
entire course of development.
• School: Where we are expected to meet criteria of achievement, harness knowledge
from mentors, and apply socialization skills to develop relationships with peers.
• Communities: Influence our cultural beliefs and practices. Values such as faith in
God, respect for the elderly, task persistence, and love for country are often
products of communal settings.
Sociological Theories of the Self
George Herbert Mead: Social Self
Mead posited that the self is not biological, but social. It is developed through social
interactions and role playing (putting oneself in the position of another). This occurs in
three childhood stages:
1. Imitation / Preparatory stage: A child imitates the behavior of parents (e.g.,
sweeping the floor).
2. Play stage: The child plays the role of others and becomes aware that there is a
difference between themselves and the role they are playing.
3. Game stage: The child sees himself or herself from the perspective of other people
and appreciates their particular role in relation to others.
The "I" Self and "Me" Self Theory:
• The "I": The unsocialized, spontaneous, acting part of the self. It is the subjective,
free, and unique phase that responds immediately to others.
• The "Me": The conventional, objective part of the self. It results from progressive
stages of role-taking and represents the perspective one assumes to view and
analyze their own behaviors.
Charles Horton Cooley: Looking Glass Self
Cooley believed the self develops as a result of one's perceptions of other people's opinions.
People are the way they are partly because of how others react to them. This involves a
three-step process:
1. People imagine how they appear to others.
2. They imagine the judgment others make of that appearance.
3. They develop their sense of self through those perceived judgments.
The Self Embedded in Culture
Culture influences what affects you emotionally and how you express yourself (e.g., public
vs. private displays of emotion). It consists of everything that makes up the way a group of
people lives, including beliefs, values, and traditions.
• Material culture: Physical manifestations of culture; human technology, goods,
products, and tools that people make and use.
• Non-material culture: Intangible human creations like beliefs, values, norms, morals,
rules, language, and organizations.
04 | THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SELF
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, biology,
cultures, societies, and linguistics in both the present and past.
Branches of Anthropology
• Archaeology: The study of how people lived in the past through artifacts (pottery,
tools, relics, etc.).
• Physical Anthropology: The study of human biology, human evolution, and how
bodies adapt and change over time.
• Linguistic Anthropology: The study of how people speak, the words they use, and
how language evolves and changes human thought.
• Cultural Anthropology: The study of how people live their lives in the present and
how they may have lived in the past, including food production and tools.
Cultural and National Identity
• Culture: Derived from the Latin cultura or cultus (meaning care or cultivation). It is
analogous to an infant who has prolonged dependency and must learn from those
around them to adjust to their immediate environment.
• Cultural Identity: The feeling of belongingness to a certain group. It is an individual's
perception of themselves anchored on race, gender, nationality, religion, ethnicity,
and language. Cultural identity theory explains why a person acts the way they do
based on the cultural contexts they are situated in.
• National Identity: Socially constructed and built on the premise of shared customs,
traditions, religion, language, art, and history. It is shaped by material culture (e.g.,
national flag, emblem) and non-material culture (e.g., shared norms, beliefs).
Anthropological Perspectives on the Self
Brian Morris: Anthropology of the Self
Morris reiterated that the self is not an entity but a process that orchestrates an individual's
personal experience. Through this process, a person becomes self-aware and self-reflective
about their place in the world. The most crucial form of interaction takes place between the
self and the cultural environment as mediated by social practices.
Hubert Hermans: Dialogical Self
Introduced in 1992, this theory regards the self as a "society of mind." It posits that the self
is extended to significant others in the environment, populating the self as a dynamic
multiplicity of "I-positions" where dialogical and monological relationships emerge.
• Internal I-position: Refers to how one functions within oneself (e.g., "I am
empathic").
• External I-position: Refers to how one identifies oneself based on external factors
(e.g., "I am diligent [at work]").
The Three Fundamental Selves
1. Individual Self: Reflects cognitions related to traits, states, and behaviors stored in
memory (e.g., "I am religious," "I feel cold").
2. Relational Self: Reflects cognitions related to one's relationships (e.g., "I am a
father," "I am a godfather").
3. Collective Self: Reflects cognitions related to one's group (e.g., "I am an Ilocano," "I
am a Filipino").
Identity Struggles
The term identity struggle, introduced by Anthony Wallace and Raymond Fogelson,
characterizes the discrepancy between the identity a person claims to possess and the
identity attributed to that person by others. People's actions vary depending on
physiological and psychological states, and others are often quick to judge who they are.