ISABELA CoLEGES, INc.

Cauayan City. Isabela

MODULE IN GE 1 (UNDERSTANDING THE SELF)

First Semester, 2021

L1. The Self from Various

Philosophical Perspectives
Human beings attachnames that are meaningful to birthed progenies because
names
are supposed to designate us in the world. Thus, some people get baptized with names such as
"Predious," "Beauty", or "Lovely." When our parents call our names, we were
to them because our names
taught to respond
represent who we are. As a student, we are told to always write
our names on our
papers. Our names signify us. Death cannot even stop this bond between the
person and her name. Names anre inscribed even into one's
gravestone.
A name is not the
person itself no matter how intimately bound it is with the bearer. It is
only a signiffer. A person who was named after a saint most probably will not become an actual
saint. He may not even turn out to be
saintly! The self is thought to be something else than the
name. The self is
something that a person perennially molds, shapes, and develops. The self is
not a static thing that one is
simply born with like a mole on one's face or is just assigned by
one's parents just like a name.
Everyone is tasked to discover one's self. Have you truly
discovered yours?

Activity
Do You Truly Know Yourself?
Answer the following questions about your self as fuly and precisely as you can. Write
your answers on a sheet of Yellow pad paper. Write legibly.
1. How would you characterize yourself?
2. What makes you stand out from the rest? What makes
your self special?
3. How has your self transformed itself?
4. How is your self connected to your body?
5. How is your self related to other selves?
6. What will happen to your self after you die?

Analysis
Were you able to answer the questions above with ease? Why? Which
questions did you
find easiest to answer? Which ones are difficult? Why? (Write your answers on a sheet of
Yellow pad paper. Write legibty)

Abstraction
The history of philosophy is replete with men and women who inquired into the
fundamental nature of the self. Along with the question of the primary substratum that detfines
the multiplicity of things in the world, the inquiry on the self has preoccupied the earliest
thinkers in the history of philosophy: the Gnreeks. The Greeks were the ones who seriousy
questloned myths and moved away from them in attempting to understand reality and respond
to perennial questions of curiosity, including the question of the self. The different perspectives
and views on the self can be best seen and understood by revisiting its prime movers and
identify the most important conjectures made by philosophers from the ancient times t
contemporary period.

1. Socrates and Plato

Prior the Socrates, the Greek thinkers, sometimes
collectively called the Pre-
Socratics to denote that some of them preceded Socrates while others
existed around
Socrates's time as well, preoccupied themselves with the question of the
primary
substratum, arché that explains the multiplicity of the world. These men like
Thales,
Pythagoras, Parmenides, Heraclitus, and Empedocles, to name a few, were concerned in
explaining what the world is really made up of, why the world is so, and what explains
the changes that they observed around them.
Type of simply conceding to mythological
accounts propounded by
poet-theologians like Homer and Hesoid, these men
endeavoured to finally locate an explanation about the nature of change, the seeming8
permanence despite change, and the unity of the world amidst kits
diversity.
After a series of thinkers from all across the ancient Greek world who were
disturbed by the same issue, a man came out to question something else. This man was
Socrates. Unlike the pre-Socratics, Socrates was more concerned with another
subject,
the problem of the self. He
was the first philosopher who ever engaged in a systematic questioning about the self.
To Socrates, and this has become his life-long mission, the true task of a philosopher is
to know oneself.
Plato claimed in his dialogs that Socrates affirmed that the unexamined life is not
worth living. During his trial for allegedly corrupting the minds of the youth and for
impiety, Socrates declared without regret that his being indicted was brought about by
his going around Athens engaging men, young and old, to question their
presuppositions about themselves and about the world, particularly about who they are.
Socrates took it upon himself to serve as a "gadfly" that disturbed Athenian men from
their slumber and shook them off in order to reach the truth and wisdom. Most men, in
his reckoning, were really not fully aware of who they were and the virtues that
they
were supposed to attain in order to preserve their souls for the afterlife. Socrates
thought that this is the worst that can happen to anyone: to live but die inside.
For Socrates, every man is composed of body and soul. This means that every
human person is dualistic, that is, he is composed of two important aspects of his
personhood. For Socrates, this means all individuals have an imperfect, impermanent
aspect to him, and the body, white maintaining that there is also a sout that is perfect
and permanent.
Plato, Socrates's student, basically took off from his master and supported the
idea that man is a dual nature of body and soul. In adition to what Socrates earlier
espoused, Plato added that there are three components of the soul: the rational soul,
the spirited soul, and the appetitive soul. In his magnum opus, "The Republic" Plato
emphasizes that justice in the human person can only be attained if the three parts of
the soul are working harmoniously with one another. The rational soul forged by reason
and intellect has to govern the affairs of the human person, the spirited part which is in
charge of emotions should be kept at bay, and the appetitive soul is in charge of base
like eating, drinking, sleeping, and having sex are controlled as well. When this
desires
ideal state is attained, then the human person's soul becomes just and virtuous.
2. Augustine and
Thomas Aquinas
Augustine's view of the human person reflects the entire spirit of the medieval
the
world when it comes to man. Following the ancient view of Plato and infusing it with
new found doctrine of Christianity, Augustine agreed that man is of a bifurcated nature.
An aspect of man dwells in the world and is imperfect and continuously yearns to be
with the divine and the other is capable of reaching immortality.
The body is bound to die on earth and the soul is to anticipate living eternaly in Pata
a realm of spiritual bliss in communion with God. This is because the body can only nati
thrive in the imperfect, physical reality that is the world, whereas the soul can also stay
after death in an eternal realm with the all-transcendent God. The goal of every human
person is to attain this communion and bliss with the divine by living his life on earth
in
virtue.
Thomas Aquinas, the most eminent 13th Century scholar and stalwart of the
medieval philosophy, appended something to this Christian view. Adapting some ideas
from Aristotle, Aquinas said that indeed, man is composed of two parts: matter and
form. Matter, or hyle in Greek, refers to the common stuff that makes up everything in
the universe. Man's body is part of this matter. Form on the other hand, or morphe in
Greek refers to the essence of a substance or thing. It is what makes it what it is. In the
case of the human person, the body is something that he shares even with animals. The
cells in man's body are more or less akin to the cells of any other living, organic being in
the world. However, what makes a human person a human person and not a dog or a
animates the
tiger, is his soul, his essence. To Aquinas, just in Aristotle, the soul is what
body; it is what makes us humans.

3. Descartes
Rene Descartes, father of Modern Philosophy, conceived of the human person as
he
having a body and a mind. In famous treatise, The Meditations of First Philosophy,
claims that there is so much that we should doubt. In fact, he says that since much of
what we think and believe are not infallible, they may turn out to be false. One should

only believe that since which can pass the test of doubt. If something is so clear and
lucid as not to be even doubted, then that is the only time when one should actually buy
a proposition. In the end, Descartes thought
that
the only thing that one cannot doubt is the existence of the self, a thing that thinks and

therefore, that cannot be doubted,. Thus, his famous, cogito ergo sum, "| hink
of
therefore, I am." The fact that one thinks should lead one to conclude withouta trace
doubt that he exists. The self then for Descartes is also a combination of two distinct

entities, the cogito, the thing that thinks, which is the mind, and the extenza or
extension of the mind, which is the body. In Descartes's view, the body is nothing else
but a machine that is attached to the mind. The human person has it but it is not what
makes man a man. If at all, that is the mind. Descartes says, "But what then, am 1? A

thinking thing. It has been said. But what is a thinking thing? It is a thing that doubts,
understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses; that imagines also, and perceives.

4. Humes
David Hume, a Scottish philosopher, has a very unique way of looking at man. As
an empiricist who believes that one can know only what comes from the senses and
of
2xperiences, Hume argues that the self is nothing like what his predecessors thought
it. The self is not an entity over and beyond the physical body. One can rightly see here
the empiricism that runs through his veins. Empiricism is the school of thought that
 espouses the idea thatknowledge can only be possible if it is sensed and
Men can only attain knowledge by experiencing. For example, Jack knows that Jill is
experienced.
anotherhuman person not because he has seen her soul. He knows she is just like him
because he sees her, hears her, and touches her.
o David Hume, the self is nothing else but a bundle of impressions. What are

impressions? For him, if one tries to examine his experiences, he finds that they can all
De categorized into two: impressions and ideas. Impressions are the basic objects of our
mpres
When one
experience or sensation. They therefore form the core of our thoughts. are vivid
ideag
touches cube, the cold sensation is an
an ice impression. Impressions therefore
other
because they are products of our direct experience with the world. ldeas, on the
not as lively and vivid as
our
hand, are copies of impressions. Because of this, they are that stillis
love for the first time,
impressions. When one imagines the feeling of being in u
an idea.
bundle or collection of
What is the sefthen? Self, according to Hume,
is simply a
inconceivable rapidity, and are
different perceptions, which succeed each other with an
to believe that there is a unified,
in perpetual flux and movement. Men simply want
thought. In reality,
coherent self, a soul or mind just like what the previous philosophers
of all experiences with a
what one thinks is a unified self is simply a combination
particular person.

5. Kant
a mere combination of impressions problematic for
was
Thinking of the self as starts
Hume's account that everything
Immanuel Kant. He recognizes the veracity of men
However, Kant thinks that the things
with perception and sensation of expressions. without and
infused into the human person
perceive around them are not just randomly To Kant,
the relationship of all these impressions.
organizing principle that regulates
the impressions that men get from the
there is necessarily a mind that organizes find in the world,
are ideas that one cannot
external world. Time and space for example,
these the apparatuses of the mind.
but is buitt in our minds. Kant calls the
of the mind goes the "self." Without
Along with the different apparatuses relation to his own
different impressions that one gets in
self, one cannot organize the in man that
existence. Kant therefore suggests
that it is an actively engaged intelligence
gives what one his
Thus, the self is not just
synthesizes all knowledge and experience. human
the seat of knowledge acquisition for all
personality. In addition, it is also
persons.

6. Ryle that has been running for a long

Gilbert Ryle solves the mind-body dichotomy
time in the history of thought by blatantly
denying the concept of an internal, non-
in his
matters is the behaviour that a person manifests
physical self. For Ryle, what truly exists is
life. For Ryle, looking for and trying to understand a self as it really
day-to-day
and looking for the "university." One
can roam
like visiting your friend's university administrators
and the football field, and meet the
around the campus, visit the library the
the "university." This is because the campus,
and faculty and still end up not finding that the
all from the university. Ryle suggests
people, the systems, and the territory that
but simply the convenient name
"self is not an entity one can locate and analyse
behaviours that people make.
people use to refer to all the
 7. Merleau-Ponty
Merleau-Ponty is a phenomenologist who asserts that the mind-body
Dirurcation that has been going on for a long time is a futile endeavour and an invalid
problem. Unlike Ryle who simply denies the "self," Merleau-Ponty instead says the mind
and body are so intertwined that they cannot be separated from one another. One

cannot find any experience that is not an embodied experience. All experience is
embodied. One's body is his opening toward his
existence to the world. Because of these bodies, men are in the world. Merleau-Ponty
dismisses the Cartesian dualism that has spelled so much devastation in the history of
man. For him, the Cartesia problem is nothing else but plain misunderstanding. The
living body, his thoughts, emotions, and experiences are all one.

APPLICATiON AND ASSESSMENT

In your own words, state what "SELF" is for each of the philosophers mentioned above.
Explain how your concept of "SELF" is compatible with how they conceived of the "SELF" (Use
separate sheet of paper). Write legibly.

REFERENCES:

Alata, Eden loy, et.al. 2018. Understanding the Self, 1" Ed. Quezon City: Rex Printing Co., Inc.

Chaffee, John. 2015. The Philosopher's Way: Thinking Critically about Profound ldeas. 5th Ed.
Boston: Pearson
Descartes, René. 2008. Meditations on first Philosophy: With Selections from the Objections
and Replies. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hume, David & Eric Steinberg. 1992. An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding; A Letter
from a Gentleman to His Friend in Edinburgh.
Plato. 2017. The Republic. Germany: Bookrix.

Schlenker, Barry R. 1985. The Self and Social Life. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Stevens, Richard. 1996. Understanding the Self. California: SAGE Publications.
2: THE SELF, SOCIETY, AND
CULTURE
rOSS ume and history, the self has been debated, discussed, and fruitfuly
or of the
OwSe Conceptualized by different thinkers in philosophy. Eventually, with the advent
SOcial sciences, it
became possible for new ways and paradigms to re-examine the true
OT tne selt. nature
People put a halt on speculative debates on the relationship between the body ana
Soul, eventuslly renamed body and the mind. Thinkers got tired of focusing on the
long of the
standing debate since 6th Century BC between the relationship of these two components
numan person. That is - the relationship between the self and the external world.
How much of you are essential? How much of you are now a product of your society,
community, and family? Has your choice of school affected yourself now? Had you been born
into a different family? How much of you are now would change?

ACTIVITY:

MY SELF THROUGH THE YEARS

On another sheet of bond paper, paste a picture of you when you were in elementary,
in high school, and now that you are in college. Below each picture, ist down your salient
characteristics that you remember.

My Elementary Self My High School Self My College Self

ANALYSIS:

After having examined your "self" in different stages, indicate the following:

Differences in my "sef" Possible reasons for the

Similarities in all stages of differences in me
my "self across the three stages

ABSTRACTION:

What is the Self?

characteristics: "separate, self-contained,
commonly defined by the following
The self is
meant that the
independent, consistent, unitary, and private"
(Stevens 1996). by separate, it is
own identity. The self is
The self is always unique and has its
self is distinct from other selves. distinctness allows itsef
because in itself it can exist. The
also self-contained and independent and volition. It is
its own thoughts, characteristics
to be self-contained and independent with
consistent because it has
a
persist for quite some time.personality that is enduring and therefore can be
allows it to be studied, described, expected
Its to
The self is
unitary in that it is theconsistencv
center of
all experiences and
and measured.
certain person. It is thoughts that run through a
like the chief
converge. Finally, the self is command post where all processes, emotions, and
private. Each person sorts out information, feelings and thoughts
ana tnougnt processes within the self. This
last characteristics of the self being
emotions,
that the self is private suggests
isolated from the external world. It lives
within its world.
SOclal constructivists that the self should not be a
through and through. Rather,argue
the self has to be seen as
static entity that stays constant
constant struggle with something that is unceasing flux, in a
external reality and is malleable in its
dealings with the society.
The Self and Culture
Remaining the same person and turning chameleon by adapting to one's context seems
paradoxical. However, the French anthropologist Marcel Mauss has an explanation for this
phenomenon. According to him, every self has two faces: personne and moi. Moi refers to a
persdon's basic identity. Personne, on the other hand, is composed of the social
what it concepts of
means to be who he is. Personne has much to do with what it means to live in a
particular institution, a particular family, a particular religion, a particular nationality, and how
to behave given
expectations and influence from others.
The same malleability can be seen in how some men
easily transform into sweet, docile
guys when trying to woe and court a particular woman and suddenly just change rapidly after
hearing a sweet "yes." This cannot be considered a conscious change on the part of the guy.
The self simply morphed according to the circumstance and contexts.
Language is another interesting aspect of social constructivism. The Filipino language is
incredibly interesting to talk about. The way by which we articulate our love is denoted by the
ohrase, "Mahal kita." The Filipino brand of this articulation of love, unlike in English, does not
specify the subject and the object of love; there is no specification of who loves and who is
loved
Language isa salient part ofcuture and ultimately has a tremendous effect in our
crafting of the selfthis might also be one of the reasons why cultural divisions spell out
differences in how one regards oneself.

The Self and the Development of the Social World

How do people actively produce their social words? How do children growing up
become social beings? How do twins coming out from the same mother turn out to be terribly
different when given up for adoption? More than his givenness one is believed to be in active
participation in the shaping of the self. Most often, we think of human persons are just passive
actors in the whole process of the shaping of selves. That men and women are born with
particularities that they can no longer change. Recent studies, however, indicate that men and
women in their growth and development engage actively in the shaping of the self. The
unending terrain of metamorphosis of the self is mediated by language. "Language is both a
publicly shared and 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

For Mead and Vygotsky, the way that human persons develop is with the use of
language acquisition and interaction with others. The way we process information is normally a
 form of an internal
dialogue in our head. Cognitive and emotional
always mimicry of how it is done in
a development of a child s
the social world, in the external reality where he is in.
Both Vygotsky and
mead treat the human mind as
through language as experienced in the external world andsomething
that is made, constituted
as encountered in dialogs with
others. A young child internalizes
valkues, norms practices, and sociasl belets and more
through exposure to these dialogs that will eventualy become part of his individual world.

Self in Families
Apart from the anthropological and psychological basis for the relationship between the
self and the social world, the sociological likewise struggled to understand the real connection
beweenthe two concepts. In doing so, sociologists focus on the different insttutions
pOwers at play in the society. Among these, the most prominent is the family.

White every child is born with certain givenness, disposition coming from his parents
genes and general condition of life, the impact of one's family is still deemed as a given in
understanding the sef. The kind of family that we are born in, the resources available to us
(spiritual, human, economic), and the kind of development that we will have will certainly affect
us as we go through life. As a matter of evolutionary fact, human persons are one those beings
whose importance of family cannot be denied.

Human persons learn the ways of living and therefore their selfhood by being in a family.
It is what a family initiates a person to become that serves as the basis for this person's
progress. Babies internalize ways and styles that they observe from their family. Without a
family, biologically and sociologically, a person may niot even survive or become a human
person.

Gender and the Self

Another important aspect of the self is gender. Gender is one of the loci of the self that
is subject to alteration 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 fron upon this and insist on the biological. However, from the point-of-voew of the social
sciences and the self, it is important to give one the leeway to find, express, and live hisidentity.
This forms part of selfhood that one cannot just dismiss.

Men on the other hand, in the periphery of their own family, are taught early on how to
behave like a man. This normaly includes holding in one's emotion, being tough, faalistic, not
to worry about danger, and admiration for hard physical labor. Masculinity is learned by
integratinga young boy ina soclety. In the Philippines, young boys had to undetgo circumcision
not just for the original, clinical purpose of hygiene but also to assert their manliness in the
society. Circumcision plays another social role by initiating young boys into manhood.

The gendered self is then shaped within a particuilar context of time and space. The
sense of self that is being taught imakes sure that an individual fits in a particular environment
This is dangerous and detrimental in the goal of trulyfin ding one's self, self-determination, and
growth of the self. Gender has to be personaly discovered and asserted and not dictated by
culture and the society,
APPLICATION AND ASSESSMENT
Answer the
1. How following questions cogently but
would you describe
2. What are the your self? honestly.
3. hink influences of family in
of a time when your
who you are you felt you were development as individualr
during this your "true self." What
made you think you were
4 Following the questiontime of your life? truly
"true self'? above, can you
Why did you have to live a provide time when you felt you were not
a
S.What social life like living your
6. What pressures help shape your self? that? What did you do about it?
aspects of Would you have
changed or youwanted
your self do you think
may be
wouldotherwise
like to change?
 3- THE SELF AS
COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT
As
iences,
presented in
your
have their own previous modules, every field of
are
similar while some research, definition, study, at least in the social
of self and the
n, and s
Selt and
identity specific only in their conceptualization
heir field. Each
define the
as well
as
related or
field also has thousands identity.
identity. Some
ome
concept the
of synonvmous terms. The
"self" from trend of the lessons also
of research
researcn
on
naiviaua. However, it must be
contributions
larger context like culture
a
seems to
and society down to the
of each
field and pointed out that modern
VS. this is researches acknowledge thne
the Individual/brain,
individual
and other social not some sort of a nurture versus nature,
and the
cognitive
sciences
vs. society/culture
psychology debate. Psychology may focus on
possibietactors that affect functions,
the individual.
but it does not
discount the context and other
theories and For students who take
more to be
learned
development,
among others actually take at
least
up psychology, discussions
on
of about the concept of one semester and
there are still
psychology
regarding the said concept. "self." this lesson
provides an overview of the themes
Activity:
1.Try to compare how
on how you actualize you look at yourself against how other
people
Draw a human
figure
your self. List 15
qualities or things that you thinkperceive
define
you depending
who you are.
2. Interview representing you and write those
your friend and other qualities around the figure.
observations on you. Write down theirpersons around you and ask their
impressions, ideas, and
impressions, ideas, and observations.
Analysis:
Compare what you wrote about yourself to the
your friends and persons around impressions, ideas, and observations by
you. What aspects are similar and
aspects always true to you? What aspects are
are which are not? What
aspects do you think are not really part of sometimes true or
circumstantial? Which
sheet of paper. your personality?Write your answer on a
separate

Abstraction:
In confidence or in an
attempt to avoid further analytical discussion, a lot of people say,
" amwhol am." Yet, this statement still
begs the
are you that makes
question "if you are what you are, then who
you who you are?

William James (1890) was one of the earliest

psychologists to study the self and
conceptualized the self as having two aspects -the "" and the "me." the "" is the thinking,
acting, and feeling self. The "me" on the other hand, is the physical
characteristics as well as
psychological capabilities that makes who you are.
Carl Rogers's (1959) theory of
personality also used the same terms, the "l" as the one
who acts and decides while the "me" is what
you think or feel about yourself as an object.
Other concepts similar to self are identity and
self-concept. Identity composed
is of personal
characteristics, social roles, and responsibilities, as well as affiliations that define who one is.
Self-concept is what basically comes to your mind when you are asked about who you are.
 Selr,identity, and self-concept are not fixed in one
are asked about who you are, time frame. For example, when you
you can say " was a varsity player in 5th Grade" which
the past,a college
student" which may be the present and "a future pertains to
future. Ihey are not also politician" which is the
fixed for life nor are they are ever-changing every moment. Think Ora
malleable metal,
strong and hard but can be bent and molded in other shapes.
water, it can take any Ihink abour
shape of the container, but at its core, it is til the same element.
Carl Rogers captured this idea in the concept of self-schema or our organized system or
collection of knowledge about who we are.

Hobbies

Family SELF Religion

Nationality

The schema is not limited to the example above. It may also include your interests, work,
course, age, name, and physical characteristics, among others. As you grow and adapt to the
changes around you, they also change. But they are not passive receivers, they activiely shape
and affect how you see, think, and feel about things.

Theories generaly see the self and identity as mental constyructs, created and recreated
in memory. Current researches point to the frontal lobe of the brain as the specific area in the
brain associated with the processes concerning the self.
Several psychologists, especially during the field's earlier development, followed this
trend of thought, looking deeper into the mind of the person to theorize about the self, identity,
self-concept, and in turn, one's personality. The most influential of them is Sigmund Freud.
Basically, Freud saw the self, its mental processes, and one's behaviour as the results of the
interaction between the ld, the Ego, and the Superego.
However, as mentioned earlier, one cannot fully discount the effects of society and
culture on the formation of the self, identity, and self-concept. Even as Freud and other
theories and researchers try to understand the person by digging deeper into the mind, they
cannot fully discount the huge and Important affects of the environment. As in the abive
mentioned definitions of the self, social interaction always has a part to play in who we think
we are. This is not nature vs. nurture but instead a nature-and-nurture perspective.
Under the theory of symbolic interationism, G.H.Mead (1934) argued that the self is
created and developed through human interaction. Basically, there are three (3) reasons why
self and identity are social products.
1. We do not create ourselves out of nothing.
2. Whether we like to admit it or not, we actually need others to affirm and reinforce
who we think we are.
 3. What we think is
in our important to us ma
social or historical nay also have been influenced
context. by what is important
Ocal
interaction and group
concept especially in the affiliation, therefore, are vital
who we are aspect of providing us with our social factors in creating our self
based on our identity or our perception or
several social membership to certain groups. It is also inevitable that we can
identities, that those identities can
roles as we interact and that we automatically play have
with our overlap, the
nere are groups.
times, however, when we are aware
selif-awareness. Carver and of our setf-concepts; this is also called
Scheier (1981) identified who types of self that we can be aware
(1) the private self or of
your internal standards and
public selif or public private thoughts and feelings, and (2) the
image commonly geared toward having a good prtesentation of yourselif to
others.
Self-awareness also presents us with at least three other self-schema: the
andought self. The actual self is who you are at the moment, the iseal self is who actual,
like
ideal,
to be,
and the ought self is who you
you think you should be.
Self-awareness may be positive or negative depending on the circumstance and our next
course of action. It can keep you from doing
something dangerous; it can help remind you that
there is an exam tomorrow or other activities. Our group identity and self-awareness also has a
great impact on our self-esteem, one of the common concepts associated with the "self." t is
defined as our own positive or negative perception or evaluation of ourselves.
One of the ways in which our social relationship affects our self-esteem is through social
compassion. According to the social comparison theory, we learn about ourselves, the
appropriateness of our behaviours, as well as our social status by comparing aspects of
oursefves with other people.

The downward social comparison is the more common type of comparing ourselves
with others. As the name implies, we create a positive self-concept by comparing ourselves
with those who are worse off than us. By having the advantage, we can raise our self-esteem.
Another comparison is the upward social comparison which is comparing ourselves with those
who are better off than us. While it can be a form of motivation for some, a lot of those v
this actually fet lower self-esteem as gthey highlight more of their weakness or inequities.

Social comparison also entails what is called sef-evaluation maintenance theory, which
states that we can feel threatened when someone out-performs us, especially when that

person is close to us. People

with high self-esteem are commonly described as outgoing.
adventurous, and adaptable in a lot of situations. They also initiate activities and building

relationship withpeople. However, they may also dismiss other activities that do not conform
to theirself-concept or boost their self-esteem. They may also be bullies and experiment on

abusive behaviours with drugs, alcohol, and sex.

APPLICATION AND ASSESSMENT:

self-esteem or improve your self-concept.
Do a research and list 10 things to boost your
and make s o m e o n e conceited and revise
Analyze which of those tips are more likely to backfire
individual as well as society in general.
them to make the statements both helpful to the
(Indicate your sources/references)
L4-THE SELF IN WESTERN
AND EASTERN
THOuGHTS
DTerent cultures and varying
"Selr and one of the
most common environment tend to create different perceptions of the
western distinctions between cultures and people is the
was
dichotomy. It must be
understood Eastern-
poitically colored at the time that thisn distinction and the countries
the social
sciences. Furthermore. it that afforementioned concepts were accepted and usedincuded in
must be reiterated that while countries that are
geographically closer to each other
create
differences. In the Philippinesmay share commonalities, there are also a lot of factors that
perception regarding the "self" alone, each region may have a similar or varying

ACTIVITY

Two Sides of the

same Planet

Write top five (5) differences

between Western and Eastern society, culture, and
individuals in the table below. Cite your sources.

Western Eastern

ANALYSIS

Do you agree with the differentiation between the west and the East? Where can you
find the Philippines in the distinction? What are the factors that make the Philippines in the
distinction? What are the factors that make the Philippines similar or different from its Asian
neighbors? Is there also a difference between regions or ethnolinguistic groups in the
Philippines?

ABSTRACTION

There are actually a lot of sources in which you can analyze the perspective of each
culture and country about the concept of "self." we will look at religious beliefs and political

philosophiesthat influenced the mindset of each nation and culture. Since almost all the
greatly
will
theories about the sef in Lesson 1, also came from the Western scientific researvh,
we

highlight the Eastern thoughts in this lesson.

1. Confucianism
Confuclanism can be seen as a code of ethical conduct, of how one should act properly
focused having a harmonious
according to his relationship with other people; thus, it is also
on

of the individual are interwoven

social life. (Ho 1995). Therefore the identity and self-concept
with the identity and status of
failures. his/her community orc
culture, sharing his/her pride as well as

tzu, a
Self-cultivation is seen
man of as the
ultimate purpose
virtue or noble urpose of life but the characteristics of a chun-
cuitivated Seit in characteristics. is still
Confucianism is what soime scholars characteristics
embedded in his social ot
relationships.
a

needs are
repressed for the good of call a "subdued self wherein The
purpose maintaining order
of many, making confucian society also personal
hierarchal for the
and balance in soclety.
2. Taoism

laoism is
living in
definition of what the the way of the Tao or universe. However, Taoism rejects having one
Tao is, and one can
TIowing, relative, unitary, as only state clues of what it is as they adopt
well as paradoxical view of almost a ree
nierarchy and strictness everything. Taoism rejects the
brought by Confucianism and would prefer a sim ple lifestyle and its
teaching thus aim to describe how to attain that life.
3. Buddhism
There are various
groups who have adopted Buddhism; thus, you may find differences in
their teachings. The self is seen
as an illusion, born out of
control things, or human-centered ignorance, of trying to hold and
t is, therefore, our
needs; thus, the self is also the source of all these
sufferings.
quest to forget about the self, forget the cravings of the sef, break the
attachments you have with the world, and to renounce the self which is the
of all
cause
sufferings and in doing so, attain the state of Nirvana.

The self or the individual is not the focus of the abovementioned

Asian or Eastern
Philosophies or beliefs. Even with extended discussions about how the self should work,
Confucianism and Taoism will situate the self within a bigger context. In striving to become a
better person, one does not create a selfabove other people or nature but a self that is
beneficial to his community as well as in order and harmony with everything else. As for
Buddhism, the self, with all its connections and selfish ideas, is taken not just out of the center
of the picture, but from the whole picture entirely.

The Western culture is what we would call and individualistic culture since their focus is
on the person. Asian culture, on the other hand, is called collectivistic cuklture as the group and
social relations that is given more importance than individual needs and wants. By valuing the
individual, Westerners may seem to have loose associations or even loyalty to their groups.
Competition is their game and they are more likely straightforward and forceful in their
communications as well as decision making. Eastern or oriental persons look after the welfare
of their groups and values cooperation. They would also be more compromising and they tend
to go around the bush in explaining things, hoping that the other person would feel what they
really want to say.

It must be emphasized, however, that these are general commonalities among Western
cultures as compared to Asian or Oriental cultures. In the case of the Philippines, we can also
consider the colonization experience for differences and similarlties with our Asian neighbors.
We might also variations among provinces and regions due to geohraphical conditions.
 APPLICATION AND ASSESSMENT
Create a representation, diagram, or
concept map of the SELF according to
culture. Provide a brief explanation of your
output.
Filipino

L5: To Buy or Not to Buy? That is the Questionl

ACTIVITY: Debit Card Challenge

A very wealthy
person gave you a debit card and told you to use it as much as you want
to make yourself happy. What are you going to do with it? Make a list of what you want to have.
Write as many as you want.

LIST:

ANALYSIS:

Answer the following questions:

1. How do you feel as you do the Debit Card Challenge?

2. Which among the items in your list you like the most? Why?
3. If ever you were given the chance in real life to have one among the list, which would you
choose? Why?
4. Does your choice different from what you answer in question number 2? why or why not?

ABSTRACTION:

Material Self
A Harvard psychologist in the late nineteenth century, Wiliam James wrote tha
Understanding the Self can be examined through its different components. He described these
components as: 1. its constituents; 2. the feelings and emotions they arouse; 3. the actionsto
which they prompt. The constituents of self are composed of the material self, the social sel,
the spiritual self, and the pure ego. (Trentmann & Green, 2016).

The material self, according to James primarily is about our bodies, clothes, immediate
family, and home. We are deeply affected by these things because we have much investment of
our self to them.
 We Are What We
Have
wha Russel
hat we Belk
have (1988)
stage when weand what wepossits that, "we
possessions. make posses." the reagrd our posse
distinction among identification of ssessions
self and
as
thee sself to part of ourselves. We
are
things started in our
material
As we
grow
older,
environment
ent and
a
others who may desireinfancy
happiness,possession putting
gains higher importance to
our

lives. There associate value in material posses

are even these things with our lifetime
the if we bossessions decreases. However
person, gains times, significant events,ts,
when material use material possession to f
APPLICATION ANDacknowledgment
find
of accomplishments,
ASSESSMENT with highpossession
regard
and
person that closely people in
person aa
even if the
that is
identified to
our

1. person already passed

Make a away.
2.
Create a3-page reflection paper
collage of your about material
use treasured
symbols or pictures of possessions self.
3. treasure each item. your treasured including your current
Make a research possessions. Puta shortclothing style. You may
paper on the role of note why you
Filipino consumer culture to
filipino self and identity.

L6:
SUPERNATURALS: BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
ACTIVITY: (Recaling8)
When was the first time you
were you then? What made realized that there is
you believe that there is a higher being than yourself?
a
How old
higher being?
ABSTRACTION:
Religion
Rebecca Stein works the
on definition of religion "as set of
practices that usually includes some or all basic characteristics.
a cultural beliefs and

1. A belief in
anthropomorphic supernatural beings
2. A focus on the sacred
3. The presence of
supernatural, where sacred refers to a feeling of reverence and awe.
supernatural power or ener8y that is found on supernatural beings as well as
physical beings and objects.
4. The performance of ritual
activities that involves the
communicate to supernatural beings and/or to influencemanipulation of sacred object to
or control events.
5. The articulation of worldview and moral codes through narratives and other means.
 Provide the creation and maintenance of social bonds and mechanism of social control within
6.
acommunity provide explanation for unknown and a sense of control for individuals.

Ritual

Ritual is the performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by a tradition or a sacred law

(Britannica 2017). ritual is a specific, observable mode of behaviour exhibited by all known
societies. It is thus, possible to view ritual as a way of defining or describing humans.
There are three fundamental characteristics of ritual.
1.A feelingor ofrespect, awe, fascination, dread in relation tothe sacred.
emotion or
2. Dependence on a belief system that is usually expressed in the language of myth.
3. It is symbolic in relation to its reference.
The self can be described as a ritual being who exhibits a striking parallel between their
ritual and verbal behaviour. Just as language as a system of symbols that is based upon
arbitrary rules, ritual may be viewed as a system of symbolic acts that is upon arbitrary rules.
Participation to rituals is expressions of religious beliefs.

Finding and Creating Meaning of Life

Dr. Viktor E. Frankl was born on March 26, 1905 in Vienna, austria, where famous
psychiatrists Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler lived. At a young age, he wrote a short paper to
Freud which was published after three years. Dr. Frankl graduated with a medical degree from
the University of Vienna in 1930. he was assigned in Vienna Hospital suicide ward and headed
by Rothschild Hospital, eight years later.
A survivor of the Holocaust, Dr. Frankl published a book about logotherapy. He died in
1997.

Logotherapy
Logotherapy is a psychotherapy introduced by Dr. Victor Frankl, who is considered as
father of Logotherapy. The main belief of logotherapy is that "man's primary motivational force
is search for meaning" logotherapy aids individuals to find personal meaning of life, whatever
life situation they may be.
In logotherapy, meaning can be discovered by creating a work or doing a deed,
experiencing something or encountering someone and the attitude toward unavoidable
suffering
Basic Concepts of Franklian Psycholo8y

1. Life has meaning under all circumstances.

2. Main motivation for living is our will to find meaning in life.
3. Freedom to find meaning.

Franklian Psychology aims to:

1. Become aware of spiritual resources

2. Make conscious spiritual resources
3. Use defiant power of human spirit and stand up against adversity
 Logotherapy ssumptions

e human being is entity consisting of body, mind, and

an
2. meaning under all circumstances,
has spirit.
3. People have a will to meaning. even the most miserable.
4. People have freedom under
all circumstances to
5. Life has a demand activate the will to find meaning.
6. The individual is
quality to which
people must respond if decisions are to be meaningt
unique. ingful.

Frank's Sources of Meaning

1. Purposeful work
2. Courage in the face of
3. Love
difficulty

APPLICATION AND ASSESSMENT

1. Research on some of the world's religious beliefs and practices:
Buddhism
Christianity
Hinduism
Islam
Judaism
2. Reflection Paper (minimum of 3 pages)
Reflect on Victor Frank!'s sources of the
meaning of life.