INTRODUCTION

Across time and history, the self has been debated, discussed, and fruitfully or otherwise conceptualize
by different thinkers in philosophy. Eventually, with the advent of the social sciences, it became possible for the
new ways and paradigms to reexamine the true nature of the self. People put a halt on speculative debates on the
relationship between the body and soul, eventually renamed body and the mind. Thinkers just eventually got
tired of focusing on the long-standing debates since sixth century BC between the relationship of these two
components of the human person and whatever relationship these two have is less important than the fact that
there is a self. The debate shifted into another locus of discussion. Given the new ways of knowing and the
growth of the social sciences, it became possible for the new approaches to the examination pf the self to come
to the fore. One of the loci, if not the most important axis of analysis is the relationship between the self and the
external world.
What is the relationship between external reality and the self? In the famous Tarzan story, the little boy
named Tarzan was left in the middle of the forest. Growing up, he never had an interaction with any other
human being but apes and other animals. Tarzan Grew up acting strangely like apes and unlike human persons.
Tarzan became an animal, in effect. His sole interaction with them made him just like one of them.
Disappointedly, human persons will not develop as human persons without intervention. This story, which was
supposed to be based in real life, challenges the long-standing notion of human persons being special and being
a particular kind of being in the spectrum of living entities. After all, our selves are not special because of the
soul infused into us. We may be gifted with the intellect and the capacity to rationalize things but at the end of
the day, our growth and development and consequentially, our selves are truly products of our interaction with
external reality.
How much of you are essential? How much of who are now a product of your society, community, and
the family? Has your choice of school affected yourself now? Had you been into a different family and schooled
in a different college, how much of you are now would change?
ACTIVITY
My Self Through the Years
Paste a picture of you when you were in elementary, in 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 its different stages, fill out the table below:
Similarities in all stages of my Differences in my “self” across Possible reasons for the
“self” the three stages of my life differences in me

ABSTRACTION
What is the Self?
The self, in contemporary literature and even common sense, is commonly defined by the following
characteristics: “separate, self-contained, independent, consistent; unitary, and private” (Steven 1996). By
separate, it is meant that the self is distinct from other selves. The self is always unique and has its own identity.
One cannot be another person. Even twins are distinct from each other. Second, self is also self-contained and
independent because in itself it can exist. Its distinctness allows it to be self-contained thoughts, characteristics,
and volition. It does not require any other self for it to exist. It is consistent because it has a personality that is
enduring and therefore can be expected to persist for quite some time. Its consistency allows it to be studied,
described, and measured. Consistency also means that a particular self’s traits, characteristics, tendencies, and
potentialities are more or less the same. Self is unitary in that it is the center of all experiences and thoughts that
run through a certain person. It is like the chief command that post in an individual where all processes,
emotions, and thoughts converge. Finally, the self is private. Each person’s sorts out information, feelings and
emotions, and thought processes within the self. This whole process is never accessible to anyone but the self.
This last characteristics of the self being private suggests that the self is isolated from the external world.
It lives within its own world. However, we also see that this potential clash between the self to have a clear
understanding of what it might be, what it can be, and it will be. From this perspective then, one can collide
with it. It is never-changing and dynamic, allowing external influences to take part in its shaping. 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 constructionist argue for 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.
 Consider a boy named Jon. Jon is a math professor at a Catholic university for more than a decade now.
Jon has a beautiful wife whom he met in college, Joan. Joan, was Jon’s first and last girlfriend. Apart from
being a husband, Jon is blessed with two doting kids, a son and a daughter. He also sometimes serves in the
church too as a lector and a commentator. As a man of different roles, one can expect Jon to change and adjust
his behavior, ways, and even language depending on his social situation. When Jon is in the university, he
conducts himself in a matter that benefits his little as a professor. As a husband, Jon can be intimate and touchy.
Joan considers him sweet, something that his students will never conceive him to be. His kids fear him. As a
father, Jon can be stern. As a lector and commentator, on the other hand, his church mate knew him as a guy
who is calm, all-smiles, and always ready to lend a helping hand to anyone in need. This short story is not new
to most of us. 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 also is acceptable and expected. The self is capable of morphing and fitting itself into
any circumstances it finds itself in.