Andres Soriano Colleges of Bislig
ITE/TVET DEPARTMENT
Mangagoy,Bislig City
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
CHAPTER 1:
DEFINING THE SELF: PERSONAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL
PERSPECTIVE ON SELF IDENTITY
CHAPTER I LESSON 2: THE SELF, SOCIETY AND CULTURE
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the lesson you should be able to:
1. Explain the relationship between and among the self, Society and the culture;
2. Describe and discuss the different ways by which society ad culture shape the self ;
3. Compare and contrasts how the self can be influenced by the different institutions in
the society and;
4. Examine one’s self against the different views of the self that were discussed in the
class.
INTRODUCTION
In the advent of social sciences people stop the
argue about the mind, body and soul that originated on
the 6th century they got tired of differentiating these two
components and its significance they finally settled I the
idea that there is a self. The debate shifted the locus of
discussion as Social Sciences emerges. One of the loci is
the analysis of the relationship between the self and the
external world.
“What is the relationship between the external
world and the self?”
In the famous story of TARZAN a boy was left in
the forest and grew up as a child without any inter action
with another humans but instead with apes and other
animals. The boy grew up acting strangely like apes and
animals though human he became an animal this solely because of the notion that he is raised
in the forest together with the animals. We may be the most unique and gifted being but our
growth and development and consequentially ourselves are truly products of our inter action
with external reality or simply with our environment.
ACTIVITY 1: MY SELF THROUGH THE YEARS
DIRECTION: Paste a picture of you when you
were in elementary, High school and now that
you are in college. Below the picture list down your salient characteristics that you remember.
My Elementary Self My High School Self My College Self
ANALYSIS
After having examined your “self” in the different stages, fill out the
table below:
Similarities in all stages of Differences I my “self” Possible reasons for the
my “self” across the three stages of difference I me
my life
WHAT IS THE SELF?
In contemporary literature and even in common sense the
self is commonly defined with the following characteristics:
Separate
- It is distinct from other self
- It is always unique and has its own identity, one
person cannot be another person even twins are
distinct from each other.
Self-contained and Independent
- It can exist solely
- Its distinctness allows it to be self-contained with its
own thoughts, characteristics, and volition.
Consistent
LET’S GO DEEPER - It has personality that is
enduring and therefore
can be expected to persist
for quite some time.
- Consistency allows it to be studied, described, and
measured.
- It also means that a particular self’s traits, characteristics, tendencies, and
potentialities are more or less than the same.
Unitary
- It is the centre of all experiences and thoughts that run through a certain
person.
- It functions as chief command post in an individual where all processes,
emotions, and thoughts converge.
Private
- Each person sorts out information, feelings, and emotions, are processed within
itself, the process is never accessible to anyone but the self.
- Is isolated from the external world, it lives within its own world it has a potential
to create a clash between the self being so private and the external reality.
However this clash is the reason for the self to have a clear understanding of
the self might be, can be, and will be,
From this perspective one can see that the self that external reality together with the
dynamic and ever- changing society has a great impact in shaping the self.
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST PERSPECTIVE
The concern then of this lesson is in understanding the vibrant relationship between the
self and external reality. This perspective is known as the social constructionist perspective.
"Social constructionists argue for a merged view of the person' and 'their social context' where
the boundaries of one cannot easily be separated from the boundaries of the other" (Stevens
1996).
Social constructivists argue that the self should not be seen as a static entity that stays
constant through and through. Rather, the self has to be seen as something that is in unceasing
flux, in a constant struggle with external reality and is malleable in its dealings with society. The
self is always in participation with social life and its identity subjected to influences here and
there. Having these perspectives considered should draw one into concluding that the self is
truly multifaceted.
Study the diagram below:
He is also a husband
Also a father of two
He is john
A church commentator Also a teacher
We are also like John. We ourselves play different roles, act in different ways depending
on our circumstances. Are we being hypocritical in doing so? Are we even conscious of our
shifting selves? According to what we have so far, this is not only normal but it also is
acceptable and expected. The self is capable of morphing and fitting itself into any
circumstances it finds itself in.
THE SELF AND THE CULTURE
Marcel Maus – (The concept of Moi and Personne)
According to Maus, every individual has 2 faces; Moi and Personne;
Moi (basic self)
- The sense of a person who he is, is the basic Identity of a person his body and
his biological givenness.
Personne (adaptive self)
- Is the composed of our social concepts and what it means to us how to be who
we are?
- It has much to do with what it means to be in a particular institution, family,
religion, nationality and more so on how to behave given the expectations and
influence from others.
Personne are best illustrated through the following examples:
An OFW adjusting life in another country , here in the Philippines where traffic rules are
violated such us jaywalking, but if a Filipino goes to other countries where traffic rules are
strictly implemented he will become law abiding suddenly this is what we call as
malleability the ability of an individual to things he was not used to easily.
The same malleability can be see i some men easily transform into sweet, docile guys
when trying to court a woman ad easily changes after hearing the woman’s sweet “yes”.
Language affects culture
Language is formed concepts; these can change depending on
to present your ideas or which cultural elements are dominant at any given moment.
Whenever language expands, the culture changes structure of language determines the
way the language that a speaker of that language view the language of world.
Culture is reflected in language cultural requirement do not determine structure of
language but influence how it used.
Language is a salient part of culture and ultimately, has a tremendous effect in our
crafting of the self. This might be also one of the reasons why cultural divide spells out
differences in how one regards oneself.
THE SELF AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIAL WORLD
Personality, tendencies, and propensities were believed to have an active participation
of shaping the self. Most often it was thought that human person was a passive actor in shaping
the self that we are born with particularities that can no longer be changed. However the
emergence of scientific studies of how the self is shaped this was proven wrong. It was
indicated in studies that men and women had actively participated in the growth development
and of shaping of the self. The unending terrain of metamorphosis of the self is meditated by
language both publicly shared ad privately utilized symbol system is the site where the
individual and the social make and remake each other (Schwartz, White, and Lutz 1993).
MEAD and VYGOTSKY
They believed that the way human
person develop is the use of language
acquisition and the inter action with others.
The way we process information is normally
through internal dialogue in our head.
Especially those who deliberate about moral
dilemmas undergo this internal dialogue.
The cognitive development of a child is
always a mimicry of how it is doe I the social
world in the external reality where he is in
through stheir observation to his family,
primary caregivers, or their playmates. They
apply these to their metal and practical
problems long with the social and cultural
infusions brought about the said dialogues.
Notice how a child become what they
George Herbert Mead Lev Vygotsky
watch? How children can easily adapt ways
of cartoon characters they are exposed to.
SELF IN FAMILIES
Apart from anthropological ad psychological basis for the relationship between the self
and the social world, the sociological likewise struggled to understand the real connection
between the two concepts. In doing so sociologists focus on the different institutions ad powers
at play in the society. Among these the most prominent is the family.
While every child is born with certain givenness, disposition, coming from his parents’
genes, and general conditions in life the impact of one’s family is still deemed as a given in
understanding the self . The kind of family we are born in, the resources, available to us
(human, spiritual, economic) and the kind of development that we will have will certainly affect
us as we go through life.
GENDER AND THE SELF
Another important aspect of the self is gender. Gender is one of those loci of the self that
is subject to alteration, change, and development. We have seen in the past years how people
fought hard for the right to express, validate, and assert their gender expression. Many
conservatives may frown upon this and insist on the biological. However, from the point-of-view
sof the social sciences and the self, it is
Important to give one the leeway to find, express, and live his identity. This forms part of
selfhood that one cannot just dismiss. One manoeuvres into the society and identifies himself as
who he is by also taking note of gender identities.
APPLICATION AND ASSESSMENNT
Direction: Answer the following questions cogently but honestly.
1. How would you describe yourself?
2. What are the influences of the family in your development as an individual?
3. Think of a time when you felt you were your “true self” What made you think you were
truly who you are during this time of your life?
4. Following the question above, can you provide a time when you felt you were not living
your “true self” why did you have to live life like that? What did you do about it?
5. What social pressures help shape yourself? Would you wanted it otherwise?
6. What aspects of yourself do you think may be changed or you would like to change?
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