PHILOSOPHY  A person can have a meaningful and happy life

only if he becomes virtuous and knows the value

 Philia – love; Sophia – wisdom
of himself that can be achieved through constant
 Philosophy employs the inquisitive mind to
soul-searching.
discover the ultimate causes, reasons, and
principles of everything.  For him, this is best achieved when one tries to
 The nature of the self is a topic of interest separate the body from the soul as much as
among philosophers. possible.
 The philosophical framework for understanding
 The Socratic method, the so-called
the self was heavily explored by ancient Greek
introspection, is a method of carefully
philosophers Socrates and Plato
examining our thoughts and emotions – to gain
Socrates suggests to “know thyself” self – knowledge.
 What is self and the qualities that define it? PLATO
 Philosophers agree that self-knowledge is a pre-
 Almost same as Socrates with some add-ons
requisite to a happy and meaningful life.
 The self consists of three parts: reason, spirit or
ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHERS
passion, and physical appetite.
SOCRATES
> reason is the divine essence that enables us to
 “An unexamined life is not worth living” think deeply, make wise choices, and
achieve a true understanding of eternal truths
 For ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, the self
is synonymous with the soul (psyche) > The spirit or passion includes basic emotions
such as love, anger, ambition,
 The soul is immortal. Socrates believed that
aggressiveness, and empathy.
every human possessed an immortal soul.
> The physical appetite includes our basic
 Human life does not end at one’s death
biological needs such as hunger, thirst and
 Socrates explained that death is the departure of sexual desire.
the soul for the eternal world.
PLATO – Conflict of the self
DICHOTOMOUS REALMS
 These three elements of ourselves are in a
 The physical realm is changeable, transient, and dynamic relationship with one another,
imperfect. The body belongs to the physical sometimes in conflict.
realm.
 When conflict occurs, Plato believes that it is the
 The ideal realm is unchanging, eternal, and responsibility of our reason to sort things out
immortal. The soul belongs to the ideal realm. and exert control, restoring a harmonious
relationship among the three elements of
SOCRATES – How to Be a Human ourselves.
 Socrates was the first thinker to focus on the full  Plato believes that genuine happiness can only
power of reason on the human self: who we are, be achieved by people who consistently make
who we should be, and who we will become. sure that their reason is in control of their spirits
 The soul strives for wisdom and perfection, and and appetites.
reason is the soul’s tool to achieve and exalted ARISTOTLE
state of life.
 For Aristotle, the body and soul are not two
 Our preoccupation with bodily needs such as separate elements but are one thing.
food, drink, sex, pleasure, material possession,
and wealth keep us from attaining wisdom.  The soul is simply the form of the body and is
not capable of existing without the body.
 Goodness or beauty is the most important of all.
 The soul is that which makes a person a person.  For Augustine, “knowledge can only come by
The soul is the essence of the self. seeing the truth that dwells within us.
 Without the body, the soul cannot exist. The soul  God is transcendent and the self seeks to be
dies along with the body. united with god through faith and reason.
 Aristotle suggested that anything with life has a  Knowing God, is knowing oneself
soul.
MODERN PHILOSOPHY
 Three kinds of soul:
RENE DESCARTES
> vegetative – the physical body; allows things
 “I think, therefore, I am”
to grow
 For him, the act of thinking about the self – of
> sentient – sensual desires, feelings, and
being self-conscious – is in itself proof that there
emotions
is a self.
> rational – what makes us human; includes
 For Descartes, the essence of the self – a
intellect that makes man know
thinking entity that doubts, understands, analyze,
and understand things
questions and reasons.
 Aristotle suggest that the rational nature of the
 There are two dimensions of the self: the self as
self is to lead a good, flourishing and fulfilling
a thinking entity and the self as a physical body.
life.
> the thinking self (or soul) is the nonmaterial,
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
immortal, conscious being, and independent of the
ST. AUGUSTINE – Socrates/Plato in the Christian physical laws of the universe.
world
> The physical body is the material, mortal, non-
 St. Augustine integrated the ideas of Plato and thinking entity, fully governed by the physical laws of
Christianity. nature.
 He developed a more unified perspective on the  The soul and body are independent of one
body and soul. another, and each can exist and function without
the other.
 The soul is what governs and defines the human
person or the self.  The self as a thinking entity is distinct from the
self as a physical body. In other words, the
 The soul is an important element of man.
thinking self can exist independently of the
 The soul is united with the body so that man physical body.
may be entire and complete.
 Just a thought, AI. Do they have souls?
 The physical body is different from and inferior
JOHN LOCKE – TABULA RASA
to its inhabitant, the immortal soul.
 Tabula rasa or blank state
 Augustine described that humankind is created
in the image and likeness of god.  He felt that the self, or personal identity, is
constructed primarily from sense experiences –
 Augustine believed that god is transcendent and
or more specifically, what we see, hear, smell,
everything created by god, who is all good, is
taste, and feel.
good.
 These experiences shape and mold the self
 Therefore, the human person being a creation of
throughout a person’s life.
god is always geared towards the good.
 Self-consciousness is necessary to have a
 The self is known only through knowing god.
coherent personal (self) identity or knowledge of
 Self-knowledge is a consequence of the the self as a person.
knowledge of god.
  Consciousness is what makes possible our belief > superego
that we are the same identity in different
situations.
GILBERT RYLE
 Using the power of reason and introspection
enables people to understand and achieve  The way we do things, defines the self
accurate conclusions about the self.
 I act, therefore I am
 In essence, the self is a collection of memories
organized by consciousness. PAUL CHURCHLAND

DAVID HUME  The self is the brain

 There is no self  All we have is the brain and so if the brain is

gone, there is no self.
 What people experience is just a bundle or
collection of different perceptions, impressions,  For Churchland, the physical brain and not the
sensation, ideas, thoughts and images. imaginary mind, gives us our sense of self.

 There is no past nor future, only the present MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY

stimulation provided by the environment.  The self is embodied subjectivity.
 The idea of personal identity is a result of  All knowledge of ourselves and our world is
imagination. based on subjective experience.
IMMANUEL KANT  The self can never be truly objectified or known
 We construct the self in a completely objective sort of way.

 It is the self that makes experiencing an  In other words, how we experienced our lives or
intelligible world possible because it is the self how we experienced ourselves is the way we see
that is actively organizing and synthesizing all our self. That is our definition of our self.
our thoughts and perceptions.
> internal world – thoughts, feelings Knowing yourself is a lifelong search as the self is
> external world – events, situations, happening complex and dynamic.
outside our control Simple answer may satisfy a child but in the adult
> we synthesize both to create the self world, the answers are never simple.

 In other words, the self-constructs its own reality

creating a world that is familiar and predictable. SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF
 Through our rationality, the self transcends sense The Self as a product of the Society
experience.
SIGMUND FREUD - PSYCHOANALYSIS “Cultural Acquisition of a specific learned response
among Rhesus Monkey”
 Level of the mind: - An experiment conducted by G.R Stephenson
in 1967
> conscious
> preconscious SIOCIOLOGY
 is derived from Latin word “societus” meaning
> unconscious
society and the Greek word “logos” meaning
 Province of the mind science or study which means the science or
study of society.
> id  is also derived from Latin word “socius”
> Ego (companion) and the Greek word logos
 (speech or reason), which together mean
“reasoned speech about companionship”.

The Self as a product of Social Interaction Stages in Mead’s Theory on the Development of the
 The self is not present at birth Self
 It develops only with social experience wherein Preparatory Stage:
language, gestures, and objects are used to  Children mimic/ imitate others
communicate meaningfully.
 The sociological perspective of the self assumes Play Stage:
that human behavior is influenced by group life.  Children pretend to play the role of a particular
 A particular view of oneself is formed through or a significant other.
interactions with other people, groups, or social  Particular or significant other are the perspective
institutions. and particular role that a child learns and
internalizes
GEORGE HERBERT MEAD: The Social Self
“The self is born of society. The self is inseparable Game Stage:
from society and bound up with communication. It  Children play organized games and take on the
builds on social experience. This is largely a matter perspective of the generalized other.
of taking the role of other with increasing
Generalized other:
sophistications, broadening out from significant
 The perspective and expectations of a network
other to greater complexity.”
of others (or a society in general) that a child
learns and then takes into account when shaping
THE SOCIAL SELF
his/her own behavior.
 Created through social interaction
 Process started in childhood, with children
Dual nature of the self:
beginning to develop a sense of self at about the
 The belief that we experience the self as both
same time that they began to learn language.
subject and object, the “I” and “me”
The self is the human capacity to be reflective and take
the role of others
George Herbert Mead – “I” and “me”
 The “I” is the subjective element and the
The self emerges Social experience
active side of the self.
involves  it represents the spontaneous, and unique
from social communication traits of the individual.
experience. It is and the exchange  The “I” is the response of the individual to
not part of the of symbols. People the “me”.
create meaning.  The “me” is the objective element of the
body and it does self.
 It represents the “internalized” attitudes,
To understand expectations, and demands of other people.
intention, you must  The “me” is what is learned in interaction
imagine the situation with others and with the environment.
from another person’s
point of view. By taking I AND ME SELF
the role of the other:  The full development of the self is attained
the self is reflective when the “I” and the “me” are united.
and reflexive.  Who you really are and what others see you
as.
CHARLES COOLEY - what we in the immediate presence of
“One’s sense of self depends on seeing one’s self others
reflected in interactions with others” Example:
My reaction when my crush walks into the
THE LOOKING GLASS SELF room.
 Charles Cooley was George Mead’s colleagues  Goffman argues that people are concerned
 The looking – glass self refers to the notion that with controlling how others view them, a
the self develops through our perception of
process he called impression management.
others’ evaluation and appraisal of us.
 The image people have of themselves is based
on how they believe other perceive them. DRAMATURGY
 Focuses on how individuals take on roles
and act them out to present a favorable
impression to their “audience”

“All the world is a stage, and all the men and

women merely players: they have their exits and
their entrances; and one man in his time plays many
parts”
 William Shakespeare

THE SELF IS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION

CHARLES HORTON COOLEY – THE LOOKING FRONTSTAGE
GLASS SELF
People play different roles
 The people whom a person interacts with
become a mirror in which he views himself. throughout their daily lives and
 Since these perceptions are subjective, there display different kinds of
might be some wrong interpretations of how behavior depending on where
other people evaluate him/her. they are and the time of day

BACKSTAGE
When people engage in
back stage behavior, they
are free of the expectations
and norms that dictate front
ERVING GOFFMAN: Constructing situations &
stage behavior.
Drama

“People routinely behave like actors on a stage. ERVING GOFFMAN

Everyday social life become theatrical. There are  Each definition of a situation lends itself to a
roles, scripts and actions. Daily life as a series of different approach, and the consequences are
stagecraft rules.” real.
 The self is a Social construction dependent
PRESENTATION OF THE SELF IN of the situation.
EVERYDAY LIFE
 Believed that meaning is constructed PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF
through interaction
PSYCHOLOGY
 ‘Interaction order’
  Psyche “soul” and Logos “mind study”  According to Rogers, human begins are always
 Scientific study of behavior and mental striving for self-fulfillment, or self-actualization.
processes
 Concerned with how we develop our sense of
Real Self
self over the course of its development
 Consist of all the ideas, including the
awareness of what I am and what I can do.
WILLIAM JAMES
Concept of the self:
Ideal Self
 Me-self
 Is the person’s conception of what one
 I-self
should be or wanted to be that includes one’s
I-SELF goals and ambitions in life.
 Refers to the self that knows who he or she is
 The closer (congruent) the ideal self is to
 Thinking self
the real self, the more fulfilled and happy
 Reflects the soul of a person or what is now
the individual becomes.
thought of as the mind, called pure ego
ME-SELF  The farther (incongruent) the ideal self is to
the real self leads to unhappy and
 Empirical self dissatisfied person.
 Person’s personal experiences and further
divided into sub-categories:
MULTIPLE VERSUS UNIFIED SELF
Material Self
 Self-understanding in adolescents also includes
 Consist of things that belong to person conceptualizing the self as multiple or unified
Social Self and true or false.
 The construction of multiple selves varies across
 Whom or how a person acts on social situations different roles and relationships.
 Coping with different selves constitutes a
Spiritual Self
formidable task among adolescents
 Most intimate and important part of the self that  These challenges contribute heavily to the young
includes the person’s purpose, motives, person’s struggle for a unified self.
emotions, values, conscience, and moral
TRUE VERSUS FALSE SELF
behavior
 Winnicott suggests that the self is composed of
James believed that the path to understanding the
the true self and false self.
spiritual self is through introspection.
 The function of the false self is to hide and
protect the true self.
 People tend to display a false self to impress
CARL ROGERS’ SELF THEORY others
 Real and Ideal Self  The self can change depending on situations
 Another aspect of self- understanding is self- THE SELF AS PROACTIVE AND AGENTIC
concept.
 Self – concept refers to the image of oneself.  Albert Bandura suggest that humans have the
 Psychologist Carl Rogers defined the self as a ability to act and make things happen
flexible and changing perception of personal  In his theory of the self, people are viewed as
identity. proactive agents of experience.
 The self develops from interactions with  Agency embodies the endowments, belief
significant people and self-awareness. system, self-regulatory capabilities, and
structures and functions through which personal
 influence is exercised, rather than residing as a  includes the repressed and forgotten
distinct entity. experiences.
THE MAIN AGENTIC FEATURES OF HUMAN COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS
AGENCY ARE:
 consists of the fundamental elements of the
 Intentionally: refers to acts done intentionally. human psyche that includes experiences all
 Forethought: enables the person to anticipate humans share or in common.
the likely consequences of prospective actions.
Within the collective unconscious life archetypes.
 Self- reactiveness: enables the person to make
choices and choose appropriate courses of
action, as well as motivate and regulate their
execution.
 Self- reflectiveness: gives the person the ability Central to Carl Jung’s theory of the self is the
to reflect upon oneself and the adequacy of one’s concept of archetype.
thoughts and actions. People are not only agents
of action but self- examiners of their own  An archetype is a universal thought form or pre-
functioning. disposion to respond to the world in certain
ways.
Efficacy Beliefs are the Foundation of Human  The archetype represents the hidden
Agency. potentialities of the psyche, or total personality.
 Self- efficacy: refers to the individual’s belief SIGMUND FREUD’S CONSTRUCTION OF SELF
that he or she is capable to perform a task. AND PERSONALITY
 It influences whether people think
pessimistically or optimistically and in ways that  It appears that the id is the devil within the self,
are self- enhancing or self-hindering. the superego is the angel, and ego is the person
 Efficacy beliefs play a central role in self- in the middle.
regulation.  The id, ego, and superego are often in conflict
with each other.
Self as the Central archetype  Freud used the term ego strength to refer to the
 Jung suggested that the psyche continues to egos ability to resolve the conflict between the
develop throughout life, but the psyche starts to three structures.
show a definite form and content during  If this constant state of conflict is unresolved,
adolescence. personality problems may arise.
 Jung conceived the structure of personality In Freud’s view, the id, ego, and superego develop in
(psyche) as a complex network of interacting a series of stages.
systems that strive toward harmony.
 Freud called these the psychosexual stages of
THE MAIN SYSTEM ARE: development that progresses through five stages:
 EGO Oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.
 PERSONAL UNCONSCIOUS  Each of the stage is associated with conflicts that
 COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS the individual must resolved so that he or she
can successfully forward to the next stage.
EGO  Freud also believed that each stage has needs
and dissatisfaction of needs may result in
 is one’s conscious mind, the part of the psyche
fixation which could have lasting negative
that includes perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and
effects on personality.
memories that may enter consciousness. It is
through the ego that we establish sense of FIRST STAGE: ORAL STAGE
stability.
 which lasts from birth up to the first year of life.
PERSONAL UNCONSCIOUS  During this stage, babies derive pleasure from
oral activities like sucking and biting.
  Overindulgence of the oral needs may lead to  Another important aspect of self-understanding
oral incorporative personality disorder such as involves views of identify development of the
overeating, smoking, and alcoholism while self.
dissatisfaction may lead to oral aggressive  In Erik Erikson’s theory, adolescence stage is a
personality disorder such as sarcasm and period of identify development.
tactlessness.  Identify formation is usually viewed as a process
that requires adolescents to distance themselves
SECOND STAGE: ANAL STAGE
from the strong expectations and definitions
 which occurs around the second year of life. imposed by parents and other family members.
 The child derives pleasure from the elimination  To achieve individual identity, one must create a
of body wastes. Through toilet training, the child vision of the self that is authentic and having
learns the basic rules of society. hold of one’s destiny in an effort to reach goals
 Anal fixation leads can lead to anal retentive that are personally meaningful.
personality disorder such as obsession with  Erikson’s theory proposes that individuals go
cleanliness or anal expulsion personality through eight psychosocial stages of
disorder such as clumsiness. development.
 While Erikson believed that each stages is
THIRD STAGE: PHALLIC STAGE important; he gave a particular emphasis on the
 That usually occurs around the ages of 3 and 6. development of the ego.
 Children during this stage derive pleasure from  The ego is the positive force that contributes to
examining, touching, fondling, or displaying identity formation and lay the foundation for
their genitals, or others. certain strengths and virtues in life.
 These behaviors are likely motivated by  Each stages consists of developmental tasks that
curiosity on the differences between the one needs to accomplish in order to develop
anatomy of man and woman. successfully.
 Sex curiosity will remain high during the  During each stage, the person experiences life
elementary years and children tend to ask crisis which could have negative consequences
questions with regard to anatomical structures, if not properly resolved.
sex, and how babies made. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL STAGES OF
 Parents, and teachers need to properly educate DEVELOPMENT
the children about sexuality.
 Fixations at this stage may lead to abnormal sex
behaviors in later life.
FOURTH STAGE: LATENCY STAGE
 Which lasts from 7 to 12.
 Sexual energy is repressed because children
become busy with school.
LAST STAGE: GENITAL STAGE
 Which starts form adolescence to adulthood.
 Pleasure is again derived from genital area and
individuals seek to satisfy their sexual drives
from sexual relationships.
 Sexual problems may result as a consequence of
inappropriate sex behaviors.

THE ROLE OF ERIK ERIKSON’S THEORY IN

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF