Lesson 2: The

Self, Society,
and Culture
Prepared by:
Raymar Luke M.
Monteros
 At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. explain the relationship between and
among the self, society, and culture;
Lesson 2. describe and discuss the different ways by
which society and culture shape the self;
Objectives 3. compare and contrast how the self can be
influenced by the different institutions in
the society; and
4. examine one self against the different views
of self that were discussed In the class.
Introduction
• Across time and history, the self
has been debated, discussed, and
fruitfully or otherwise
conceptualized by different
thinkers in philosophy
• Eventually, with the advent of the
social sciences, it became
possible for 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 and eventually renamed the
body and the mind.
What is the relationship • ln the famous Tarzan story. the little
boy named Tarzan was left in the
between external middle of the forest. Growing up, he
never had an interaction with any
reality and the self? 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
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” (Stevens 1996).
 What is the self?

• We also see that this potential clash between the

self and the external reality is the reason for the
self to have a clear understanding of what it might
be, what it can be, and what it will be.
• The self is always at the mercy of external
circumstances that bump and collide with it.
• To understand the interplay between the self and
external reality is the goal in this lesson
• This perspective is known as “social
constructivism”. “They argued for a merge of the
person and their social context where the
boundaries of one can be separated from the
boundaries of another” (Stevens 1996).
Social • 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
Constructivism is in unceasing flux, in a constant struggle with external reality and
malleable in its dealings with society
The Self
• Remaining the same • Personne, on the other
person and turning hand, is composed of the
chameleon by adapting to social concepts of what
and one’s context seems
paradoxical
it means to be who he is.
Personne has much to do

Culture • According to Mauss, every

self has two faces:
with what it means to live
in a particular institution;
a particular family, a
Moi refers to a person’s particular religion, a
sense of who he is, his body, particular nationality,
and his basic identity, his and how to behave given
biological givenness. MCI is a expectations and
person’s basic identity. influences from others.
Lesson 2: Socio-Anthropological Perspectives

What is Sociology?

What is Anthropology?

Why studying these perspectives is important to understanding the self?

Famous Theorist and Theoretical Perspectives

I AM WHAT YOU THINK I AM
What Is Sociology? Why Studying The
• Society: is derived from the Latin Sociological Perspective
word ‘Socious’ which means
Association or Companionship or Is Important?
Fellowship. Thus, society means • Sociological Perspective provides a
large groups of people who are different way of looking at familiar
associated with each other. worlds that allows us to gain a new
• Sociology: It is a study of society, vision of social life. ‘Tell me who your
patterns of social relationships, friends are, and I’ll tell you who you
social relationships, social are.”
interaction and culture of everyday • From a sociological perspective,
life. human beings CANNOT form a self or
personal identity WITHOUT intense
social contact with others.
• He theorized, the Looking Glass Self Theory
— Our Self-concept is derived from others perception
about us. To put simply, how we think they view us.
— Our Self-concept begins at an early age and
continues throughout life.
• Three (3) Steps of Looking Glass Self
— (1) You imagine how you appear to the other
person (to your parents, friends, strangers,
significant others, etc.)
— (2) You imagine the judgment of the other person.
How others evaluate you as being intelligent, alive,
alert, or enthusiastic! CHARLES HORTON COOLEY
— (3) Development of some sort of feeling about
ourselves as a result of these impressions. You feel
(1864 – 1929)
some sense of pride, happiness, guilt, shame, and
so on.
• Two (2) Sides of Social Self: ‘I’ and GEORGE HERBERT MEAD
‘Me’
• ‘I’ which is highly inclined to the self (1864 – 1929)
(individual) can be considered as the
person’s individuality.
— Example: Your creativity,
uniqueness, adaptability in social
process
• ‘Me’ which is highly inclined to the
society (other people) represents
the socialized aspect of the
individual.
— Example: Your conformist, social
organized behavior of your self
T H R E E ( 3 ) S TA G E S O F S E L F -
DEV ELO P MEN T:
• (1) Preparation Stage: In this stage, children merely imitate
the people around them, especially those whom they often
interact.
— Example: When she sees her mother ironing the clothes,
the little girl will most likely imitate her mother.
• (2) Play Stage: The most important aspect of the play stage
is role-playing. When they develop their skill in
communicating through symbols, children increasingly
become aware of social relationships. They start to pretend
to be other people.
• (3) Game Stage: At this stage, children no longer just play
roles but start to consider several tasks and relationships
simultaneously. Children and throughout life, we begin to
understand that others have expectations and demands
placed on them. Grasping not only their own social
positions but also those of others around them.
 CULTURE ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
is shared values ▪ Not all society are the same because different societies
and beliefs of the have different cultures, and this would mean different
individuals which degree and complexities of the development of their social
affects the way self.
they think, feel,
▪ Nonetheless, culture and society are co-existent; a culture
and behave.
represents the beliefs and practices of a group while
society represents the people who share those beliefs
BEHAVIORS and practices.
▪ Hence, people born in a certain locality tend to also have a
OUTCOMES distinct practices, belief system, and set of behaviors that
may be different from what other people from another
locality have. To it simply, society is the combination of
people with different cultures.
Thank you!
Any questions?