blueprints of objects in the physical

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF world.

REVIEWER • Ideas are objects of the intellect known
by reason alone and are objective
LESSON 1: PHILOSOPHICAL realities that exist in a world of their own.
PERSPECTIVES ON THE SELF • The idea of a man is the real man,
therefore the man in this world is an
SOCRATES (Know thy self) illusion.
• Plato is the first philosopher who
• There is no historical evidences that believed that a man has an enduring self
proves the existence of Socrates. We that is represented by the soul.
only know him because of his illustrious • The soul of a man continues to exist
students (Plato and Aristotle) even after death. Therefore the soul is
• Socrates remind us to “know thyself”, a eternal and constitutes the enduring self.
translation of an ancient Greek aphorism
“gnothi seauton”. ST. AGUSTINE (The self has an immortal soul)
• Socrates claims that if a person knows
who he or she is he will be able to help • His reflection on the relations between
him/herself in coping up with issues in time and memory greatly influenced
life. many fundamental doctrines of
• Self-Acknowledge- knowing one’s degree psychology.
of understanding about the world and • Time is something that people measure
knowing one’s capabilities and potentials. within their own memory.
It is only through self-knowledge that • Time is not a feature or property of the
one’s self emerges. Therefore, self is world, but a property of the mind.
achieved and not just discovered, • Introspection- awareness of one’s own
something to work on and not a product mental processes.
of a mere realization. • He advanced the idea that past and
• Answers will always be subjective and future could be seen as equivalent
there is no right or wrong answer to the entities that exist. However, time past
questions posited by Socrates and time future are not real in
• Socrates is a Dualist themselves but hey only real as long as
• The soul of a man is divine, immortal, they exist in the mind or consciousness.
intelligible, uniform, indissoluble, and • Doctrines brought by introspection
ever self-consistent and invariable. confirm the superiority of humans over
• The soul is the ruler of the body. It pre- other organisms since humans have self-
existed the body. If the soul gives life to consciousness.
the body, it makes the body and the soul
dependent on each other.

PLATO (The self is an immortal soul) RENE DESCARTES (I think therefore I am)

• Plato is the student of Socrates and the • Best known for his dictum “cogito ergo
teacher of Aristotle. sum or I think, therefore I am”.
• Plato’s idealism insisted that empirical • Anything that an individual register from
reality we experience in the experiential his/her senses can be doubted.
world is fundamentally unreal and is only • Self- a thinking thing or substances
a shadow or a mere appearance while whose whole essence or nature is merely
ultimate reality is real as it is external and thinking.
constitutes abstract universal essences • The self is real and not just illusion.
of things (the dog in this world is unreal, • The self for Descartes is nothing else but
but the dog essence is real a mind-body dichotomy. Thought (mind)
• All things that exist in the physical world always precedes action (body).
are therefore unreal as they are all • Everything starts with a thought.
concrete objects while the universal • It is the thought that sets direction to
essences are real as they are immaterial human actions but humans are always
blueprints of objects in the physical world free to choose.
are therefore unreal as they are all • Thinking self – nonmaterial, immortal,
concrete objects while the universal conscious being, and independent of the
essences are real as they are immaterial physical laws of the universe.
 • To acknowledge the writings of • The inner sense is comprised of one’s
Descartes, Filipino have a unique term psychological state and intellect. It is the
“diskarte”, a derivative of the surname of source of empirical consciousness. All
Descartes, in which denotes finding a representational states are in the inner
way to making things possible. sense.
• The outer sense consists of one’s
JOHN LOCKE (The self is consciousness) senses and the physical world.
• Consciousness of oneself and of one’s
• His main philosophy about personal psychological state (or inner sense) was
identity or the self is founded on referred to by Kant as empirical self-
consciousness or memory. consciousness while consciousness of
• For him, consciousness is the oneself and of one’s state via acts of
perception of what passes in a Man’s apperception is called transcendental
own mind. apperception.
• Locke rejected the idea that brain has • Apperception is the faculty that allows
something to do with consciousness as for application of concepts.
the brain, as well, as the body may • Consciousness is the central feature of
change, while the consciousness the mind. It makes the world intelligible.
remains the same. • As opposed to Hume, Kant stressed the
• Personal identity is not in the brain but self is something real, yet is neither an
in one’s consciousness. appearance nor a thing in itself since it
• He was the one who coined the notion belongs to a different metaphysical
“tabula rasa” or blank slate, and the class.
content is provided by one’s
experiences over time. SIGMUND FREUD

DAVID HUME (There is no self) • Self is multi-layered. It is composed of

three structures of the human mind, id,
• There is no self as a mental entity for ego and superego.
“what we call a mind is nothing but a ▪ Id– pleasure principle
heap or collection of different The psychic structure, present at birth
perceptions”. that represents psychological drives and
• The self is a bundle of perceptions is fully unconscious.
(object of the mind) of interrelated ▪ Ego – reality principle
events. The second psychic structure to
• Hume’s materialism views the soul as a develop, characterized by self-
product of the imagination. awareness, planning, and delay of
Two distinct entities (Impressions and gratification.
Ideas): ▪ Superego – moral principle
• Impressions-Vivid perception and are The third psychic structure which
strong and lively. (based on direct functions as a moral guardian and sets
experience) forth high-standards for behavior.
• Ideas-Thoughts and images from • Superego has two system: conscience
impressions. and the ideal self.
• Hume stressed that there is no stable • Conscience can sanction the ego
thing called self, for the self is nothing through the feeling of guilt.
but a complex set of successive • The ideal self, an imaginary picture of
impressions or perceptions. one’s self, is rewarded by the superego
• He reduced personality and cognition to when one conforms to the standards
a machine that may be activated or imposed by society.
deactivated. Death, according to Hume, • The superego is dominant, a law-
obliterates (destroy/eliminates) the abiding, morally upright, god-fearing,
perception one has. and socially acceptable individual
• He rejected the idea that personal appears.
identity is reflected by the association of
the self with an enduring body.

IMMANUEL KANT (We construct the self) GILBERT RYLE

• Consciousness is formed by one’s inner

and outer sense.
 • Self is best understood as a pattern of • Man’s living body, thoughts, emotions
behavior. It is taken as whole with the and experiences are all one.
combination of the body and the mind.
• I act therefore I am LESSON 2: THE SELF FROM THE
• Mind: totality of human dispositions SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
through the way people behave.
GEORGE MEAD’S SOCIAL SELF
• Self: same as bodily behavior.
• He supported the behavioristic • Self is not biological but social. Self is
psychology. His theory is called logical developed through social interaction.
behaviorism or analytical behaviorism- a
• Self has two parts:
theory of mind which states that mental
Self-awareness
concepts can be understood through
Self-image
observable events.
• He proposed the idea that the self
• He said that, the mind is not the seat of
develops through social interaction; that
self but the behavior.
social interaction involves the exchange
PAUL CHURCHLAND AND PATRICIA of symbols (i.e. laguange); each person
CHURCHLAND involved must correctly interpret the
meanings of symbols and intentions of
• Eliminative Materialism- a radical claim others.
that ordinary, common sense • Role playing is the process in which one
understanding of the mind is deeply takes on the role of another by putting
wrong and that some or all of the mental oneself in the position of the person with
states posited by common sense do not whom he or she interacts. By putting
actually exist. oneself in the position of others, one is
• It is false to claim that folk psychology, able to reflect upon oneself.
or common sense psychology, is the • Self is not inborn. Babies cannot
capacity to explain mental states of interpret the meaning of other people’s
people. behavior. It is usually learned during
• Our beliefs and attitudes are supported childhood which comes in three stages
by our feelings, which include mental of development:
states like joy and sorrow, or anxiety Imitation or the Preparatory stage- a
and relief. child imitates the behavior of his or her
• They stated in their book entitled parents like sweeping the floor.
“Touching a Nerve: The Self as Brain” Play stage- involves the child playing
that, to understand the self, one must the role of others (act like teacher or
study the brain, not just the mind parent).
Game stage- the child comes to see
MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY himself/herself from the perspective of
other people. To play the game, the
• He distinguished the body in two types: child must be aware of his or her
Subjective Body- as lived and relationship to other people and place
experienced himself/herself in their roles in order to
Objective Body- as observed and appreciate his/her particular role in the
scientifically investigated game. In doing this, he or she sees
• He sees human beings neither as himself or herself in terms of the
disembodied minds (existing without collective viewpoint of other people and
body) nor as complex machines, but as the attitude of generalized others (i.e. he
living creatures whose subjectivity is brilliant, creative, lazy etc.)
(consciousness) is actualized in the
forms of their physical involvement with I AND ME SELF
the world.
• For Mead, all humans experience
• Mind and body are so intertwined that
internal conversation. This conversation
they cannot be separated from one
involves the, I and Me, which is called
another.
phase of self.
• One cannot find any experience that is
• Self is essentially a social process going
not an embodied (alive) experience. All
on between the I and Me.
experiences are embodied.
• The I is the phase of the self that is
• Consciousness cannot simply be
unsocialized and spontaneous. “The
immaterial but must be embodied. It is
acting part of the self”. “Free and
both perceiving and engaging.
 Unique”. It is also the subjective part of • Group membership according to the
the self. social identity theory, is an important
• The Me, is the self that results from the source of pride and self-esteem. It gives
progressive stages of role playing or sense of identity and belongingness to
role-taking and the perspective one the social world.
assumes to view and analyze one’s own • Henri Tajfel pointed out that, the world is
behavior. divided into “us” and “them” through the
• The Collective Self is the cognition process of social categorization forming
concerning a view of the self that is the social groups.
found in memberships in social groups • William Graham Summer further divided
(i.e. family, workers, tribe, and these social groups into two: o In-group-
professional organization). is an esteemed social group
• Mead describes Generalized others as commanding a member’s loyalty “a
an organized community or social group person belongs” o Out-group- one feels
which gives to the individual his or her competition or opposition. “a person
unity of self. The attitude of generalized does not belong”
other is the attitude of the entire • Tajfel and Turner identified three mental
community. processes in evaluating “us and them”
Social Categorization- similar with how
people categorize things, such as living
and nonliving, solid, liquid, or gas
CHARLES HORTON COOLEY’S LOOKING among other, in order to understand and
GLASS SELF identify them. (i.e. Christian and non-
christian)
• Looking-glass self Social Identification- people adapt the
• People whom a person interacts identity of the group to which they have
become a mirror in which he views categorized themselves.
himself Social Comparison- after categorizing
• Self-identity or self-image is achieved and identifying a group, they tend to
through a threefold event which begins compare that group with other groups.
by They might discriminate or criticize the
1. Conceiving an idea of how he other groups.
presents himself to others
2. How he analyses how others POSTMODERN VIEW OF THE SELF
perceive him; and
3. How he creates an image of himself • It is a philosophy but more of a report on
• These perceptions are subjective the mindset of western culture in the
• Private Self- or individual self is the latter half of the 20th century. In the
cognition that involves traits, states, and postmodernist view, self is not the
behaviors. It is the assessment of the creator of meaning, nor the center of
self by the self. starting a point of sociological
• Public Self- is the cognition concerning
the generalized other’s view of the self. Four basic Postmodernist ideas about the
It corresponds to an assessment of the self (Anderson):
self by the generalized other
• Collective Self- is the cognition • Multiphrenia- refers to the many
concerning a view of the self that is different voices speaking about “who
found in memberships in social groups were are and what we are”.
(i.e. family, coworkers, tribe, and • Protean- a self is capable of changing
professional organizations). (Ex. A constantly to fit the present conditions.
person maybe identified as feminist- You may not be at ease to talk with gays
attributes of being feminist that are and lesbians as a teenager, but now you
similar with other feminist are are not bothered at all.
emphasized forming the collective self). • De-centered- a belief that there is no
self at all. The self is constantly being
SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY redefined or constantly undergoing
change.
• Person’s sense of who he or she is • Self-in-relation- which means that
according to his or her membership to a humans do not live their lives in isolation
certain group. but in relation to people and to certain
cultural contexts.
 • The self is shaped by outside forces. It which is called by Gergen’s
is socially constructed. multiphrenia.
• The individual can use his/her multiple
Postmodern social condition is dominated selves depending on the needs of the
by two realities: current situation.
• People create and experiment with
✓ The rise of new media technologies multiple selves by utilizing our current
✓ The dominance of consumerism technology. (To make an ideal self)
• Lyon argued that the predicament of the
self in postmodern societies is
complicated by the advent of electronic-
mediated virtual interactions of cyber LESSON 3: THE SELF FROM THE
selves and the spread of information ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
technology. This phenomenon disrupts
the self from the traditional constraints CULTURE IDENTITY AND NATIONAL
of time and space. The self is digitalized IDENTITY
in cyberspace.
• Culture is derived from the Latin word
ERVING GOFFMAN’S PRESENTATION OF “Cultura or Cultus” meaning care or
SELF IN EVERYDAY LIFE cultivation. It is analogous to caring for
an infant.
• Dramaturgical Model of Social Life • Identity refers to “who the person is”, or
• social interaction may be compared to a the qualities and traits of an individual
theater and people to actors on a stage that make him or her different from
where each plays a variety of roles others.
• He posited the idea that people interact • Cultural Identity refers to the identity or
with one another they are constantly feeling of belongingness to a certain
engaged in impression management. It culture group. It is an individual’s
is a process in which people regulate perception about himself or herself
and control information in social anchored on demographic
interaction. This can only be realized characteristics.
when people regulate and control • Cultural Identity Theory explains why a
information in social interaction are person acts and behaves the way he or
working to ensure that all parties have she does. It makes sense of how an
the same definition of the situation individual is influenced by the cultural
• He used imagery of theater to portray contexts he or she is situated in. A
face to face social interaction single person can possess multiple
✓ Front stage- is a region where actors identities, simultaneously making him or
perform and act in conformity with the her part of many cultural groups.
expectations of the audience. • A Nation is a group of people built on
✓ Back stage- is the region where the premise of shared customs,
actors behave differently. The place traditions, religion, language, art,
where actors act their natural selves. history, and more.
✓ Off stage- where actors meet • National Identity refers to the identity or
members of the audience feeling of belongingness to one state or
independently. nation.
✓ Rupert Emerson define it as a
body of people who feel that they
are a nation
National Identity is socially constructed
and shaped by material and non-
KENNETH GERGEN’S SATURATED OR
material cultures. It requires the process
MULTIPLICITOUS SELF
of self-categorizations.
• Saturated self is characterized by ✓ Material Culture- representation
constant connection to others, a self that of all the people who are part of a
absorbs a multitude of voices nation. (e.g., national flag)
(sometimes contradictory) and takes ✓ Non-material Culture- embodies
seemingly endless streams of the shared understanding of a
group of people which includes
information.
norms, beliefs and traditions.
• Through absorption of voices, an
individual establish multiple selves
BRIAN MORRIS’S ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE positions are recognized and accepted
SELF together in their differences that the self
is seen as dialogic.
• The self is not an entity by a process • As a whole, the dialogic self-approach is
that orchestrates an individual’s
designed to stimulate the conversations
personal experience. As a result of this
between the internal and external
process, a person becomes self-aware
and self-reflective about his or her place positions of the self. It is a relational
in the surrounding world. concept of the self and culture can be
• The concept of self is defined as an seen as collective voices that shape
individual’s mental representation of his social positions of the self.
or her person, as a kind of self-
representation. INDIVIDUAL SELF, RELATIONAL SELF,
• The concept of “other" refers to how one AND COLLECTIVE SELF
perceives the mental representations of
others in relation to the self. There are 3 fundamental self:
• Separation between self and others
varies from person to person. The • Individual Self- it reflects the cognitions
relationship between the self and others related to traits, states, and behaviors that
is also a function of culture. are stored in memory (I am religious, I feel
cold or I am ambidextrous)

• Relational Self- reflects cognitions that are

DIALOGICAL SELF related to one’s relationships (I am the
father, I am the godfather, I am the son-in-
• “Self as the society of mind” was law)
introduced by Hurbert Hermans
• Self is considered as extended to • Collective Self- reflects cognitions that are
significant others in the environment that related to one’s group (I am a
populate the self as a dynamic Kapampangan, I am a Filipino)
multiplicity of I-positions in which
dialogical or monological relationships ✓ Each self is inherently social.
may emerge. Involves assimilations and contrast,
• From a spatial perspective, the self is which respectively occur between
engaged in a process of positioning and and within person’s, dyads, and
counter positioning in a globalizing groups for the individual, relational,
society. and collective self and meaningful to
• From a temporal point of view, the self is human experiences.
part of a process of positioning and
repositioning in collective history and IDENTITY STRUGGLES
personal development.
• An individual can be unsympathetic
• In this theory, an individual’s sense of
because of particular individual issues
self is established through how one
but people, sometimes, fail to consider
identifies himself or herself with the
any justification for why one can be
different positions he or she holds,
unsympathetic. This is called identity
internally or externally, to himself or
struggle.
herself.
• Identity struggle- characterizes the
✓ Internal I-Position- refers to how
discrepancy between the identity a
one functions in himself or herself
person claims to possess and the
(e.g. I as empathic, I as diligent)
identity attributed to that person by
✓ External I-Position- refers to how
others.
one identifies himself or herself
based on particular external
factors (e.g. I as brother, I as part
of organization)
• When positions are silenced or
suppressed, the self becomes LESSON 4: THE SELF FROM THE
monologic instead of dialogic. It is when PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
WILLIAM JAMES’S SELF THEORY • Self-concept

• The perception of the self was divided Real Ideal

into two categories: Self Self
✓ I-Self- refers to the self that knows
who he or she is. (Thinking self) ✓ Real Self – consists of all the
✓ Me-Self- is the empirical self. It ideas (i.e. awareness of what one
refers to the describing the person’s is and what one can do)
personal experiences ✓ Ideal Self– conception of what
• Self can be contextualized in three one should be/aspires to be (i.e.
categories:
ambitions and goals)
✓ Constituents of the self – it refers to
• The closer the ideal self to the real self,
the further sub-categories which
includes: the fulfilled and happy one becomes.
▪ Material Self- consists of • If the ideal self is far from the real self,
things that belong to a person the person becomes dissatisfied and
such as the body, family, unhappy.
clothes, money, house etc.
that contributes to one’s self- SELF CONCEPT
image.
▪ Social Self- refers to who and • It is defined as the totality of complex,
how a person acts on social organized, and dynamic system of
situations. James believed learned beliefs, attitudes, and opinions
that we have different social that each person holds to be true about
selves depending on the his or her personal existence.
social situation. • It is a social product, developing out of
▪ Spiritual Self- refers to the interpersonal relationships and striving
most intimate and important for consistency.
part of the self that includes • It is also the individual’s beliefs about
the person’s purpose, core him or herself which includes attributes
values, conscience, and • Self-concept is also defined as the
moral behavior. organized structure of cognitions or
• James said that, these sub-categories thoughts that an individual has about
are related in a hierarchical way, with him or herself.
material self at the bottom, the spiritual
ASPECTS OF SELF-CONCEPT
self at the top, and the social self in
between. Together, they constitute what There are two aspect of self-concept:
James called EMPIRICAL SELF.
✓ Feelings and Emotions Aroused • Existential Self- when an individual
(Self-Feelings) - the self was recognizes his or her existence as a
categorized by this concept separate entity from others and realizes
because of his or her knowledge that he or she will continue to exist over
and appraisal of his or her a period of time and space. It usually
empirical existence in the world. starts in infancy up to early childhood.
✓ Action the Self prompt (Self- This is evident when a child can relate
seeking) - it is the effort of every to the outside world (i.e. responds by
individual to preserve and clapping, touching objects, move
improve oneself based on one’s objects)
self-knowledge and resulting self- • Categorical Self- starts after a child
feelings. recognize his or her existence as a
separate entity and become aware that
CARL ROGERS
he or she is an object in the world. Like
• Self is flexible & changing objects with physical properties, one
begins to categorize him or herself in
• Human beings are striving for Self-
terms of age, sex, height, weight.
actualization (Be who you can be) and
Self-fulfilment (Be who you want to be). Three components of Self-Concept
 • Self-worth or self-esteem- is what one • Both Gestalt and Humanistic psychology
thinks about oneself. This develops in focus on the totality of the self.
early childhood stage resulting from • Carl Jung divided the psyche into three
interaction of the child with his or her parts:
mother and father. ✓ Ego- is the center of
• Self-Image- is how one sees him or consciousness. It is the person’s
herself, which is important for good sense of identity and existence. It
psychological health. Selfimage organized the thoughts, feelings,
includes the influence of body image on senses and intuition.
inner personality. At a simple level, one ✓ Personal unconscious- refers to
might look at oneself as either good or all information stored in a
bad, beautiful or ugly, self-image has an person’s mind that are readily
effect on how a person thinks, feels, accessible to consciously recall.
and behaves in the world. ✓ Collective unconscious- refers to
• Ideal Self- is the person that one wants the unconscious mind shared by
to be. It consist of one’s dreams and all human beings such as
goals in life, and it is continuously instincts and archetypes (models
changing. or people, personalities, and
behavior).
DONALD W. WINNICOTT’S TRUE SELF AND
FALSE SELF ALBERT BANDURA’S AGENTIC THEORY OF
THE SELF
• Self is composed of the true self and • Humans, through agency, are perceived
false self as proactive agents of experiences
• False Self – its function is to hide and • Agency– embodies the endowments,
protect the true self; displayed to belief systems, self-regulatory
impress others capabilities, and distributed structures
• MAIN FEAURES OF HUMAN AGENCY
GLOBAL VS. DIFFERENTIATED MODELS
✓ Intentionality – acts done
• This model looks into a human being in intentionally
his or her totality, as an invisible entity ✓ Forethought – enables the person to
that cannot be broken down into parts. anticipate the likely consequences of
• Two prominent schools of thought in this prospective actions
model: ✓ Self-reactiveness – involves making
✓ Gestalt Psychology- is guided by choices and choosing appropriate
the principle that “the whole is courses of action
greater than the sum of all its ✓ Self-reflection – gives the person the
parts”. This rejected the view that ability to reflect upon and the
the self is a “structure” composed adequacy of his or her thoughts and
of the ID, EGO and SUPEREGO. actions
It looks into the self as a WHOLE,
• People are not only agents of action but
independent of its parts.
✓ Humanistic Psychology- is guided also self-examiners of their own
by the principle that “human functioning.
beings, as humans, supersede • Efficacy beliefs – foundation of human
the sum of their parts”. They agency; play a central role in self-
cannot be reduced into regulation
components. It posited the idea • Self-regulation – ability to control his or
that personality should be studied her behavior without having to rely on
from the point of view of an others.
individual’s subjective • Self-efficacy – individual’s belief that he
experience. It is better or she will think pessimistically or
understand one’s emotions and
optimistically and in ways that are self-
experiences in order to know
enhancing or self-hindering.
more about one’s identity.
Lesson 5: The Self in Western and Eastern • A man should think, live, and act toward
Thoughts certain goals that benefit the group

INDIVIDUALISM AND COLLECTIVISM BUDDHISM

Individualism • Founded by Siddharta Gautama

• In Buddhism, there is no such thing as
• Is an orientation concerned with the the Atman (Self). The atman is
independence and self-reliance of the impossible to perceive by one’s senses
individual. Individualistic cultures put for it does not actually exist in any
more emphasis on promoting the metaphysical, material, and spiritual
individual and the immediate family’s [Link] is regarded as illusion, an
welfare. imaginary concept born as a product of
• The western conception of the self is evolved consciousness and misguided
individualistic; it gives more emphasis thinking of humans.
on freedom and choice- an independent • There is no illusion, a flux of momentary
self that is free from the influence of perceptions, thoughts, and feelings.
culture and environment and from the • What is perceived by one’s sense
expectations and welfare of society. becomes one’s reality.
• It describes the self as existing and • The Buddhist philosophy also refutes
distinct from others. The self is free the idea of having an enduring self, a
express itself self that stands the test of time, for it
• Self-orientedness implies that something is permanent or
• Does not promote isolation never changing.
• An individual has the capacity to • There is nothing permanent, but
consider his or her own best interest. change.
• Everyone is free to decide whether to • It does not consider humans as persons
take it or not in solving societal with a fixed and unified identity. Instead,
problems a human being is a product of five
changing processes, the physical body,
Collectivism
feelings, perceptions, responses, and
the flow of consciousness-that
• Is an orientation characterized by
experiences them all.
belongingness to larger groups or
collectives. • One may identify with the role of a man
or woman, parent or child. Yet, these
• Collectivistic cultures, on the other hand,
are not one’s true identity.
give more importance to loyalty to the
in-group, which in turn takes care of the CONFUCIANISM
individual’s welfare.
• The eastern conception is collectivistic; • It regards an individual as a member of
it gives more importance on a larger whole, not as a separate being.
relationships, roles, duties, obligations, • The ethical teachings of Confucius are
and the preservation of culture and based on human relationship as
tradition. reflected in his concept of Five Cardinal
• It prioritizes the needs and goals of relationship/Five bonds:
society over the needs and desires of ✓ Between the ruler and minister
every individual. ✓ Between father and son
• It is founded that people are socially ✓ Between husband and wife
connected. It put more emphasis on ✓ Between brothers
belongingness to a larger group and ✓ Between friends
adjustment to social demands and • If individuals perform their respective
situations. roles, there will be harmony.
• Others-oriented, since it encourages • Individual identity is defined by
people to be kind, benevolent, membership in the reference group to
charitable, dependable, sacrifice for the which one belongs. This identity is
welfare of society. called relational self.
 • Each member must possess the same transformed into a mere, while Purusha
qualities that the group preserves and into a stallion.
cherishes. Each member shares the • These continuous transformations imply
pride that the group claims and is united the belief that all creation is made up of
in every success or failure. the same self as everything originated
• Subdued Self is conditioned to respond from Purusha.
to perceptions, not of its own needs and • The atman, referred to as the self, spirit
aspirations but of social requirements and soul, is the same self-described in
and obligations. the creation.
• To subdue oneself means to practice • In Hinduism, the atman is one with the
ren-(human-heartedness)- the hallmark Brahman (the absolute, transcendental
of confusion ethics. power)
• Ren is a virtue characterized by altruistic • It has been stated that Brahman is an
behavior that must be nurtured in every absolute reality, while Atman (soul or
person. spirit), the true knowledge of self, is
• A subdue self means being a “person identical to Brahman.
for others” • The atman indicates a true self which
underlies one’s existence.
TAOISM
• The atman is viewed as a spiritual,
• Living with harmony with the Tao (way immaterial being that must be detached
or path), is a religion and a philosophy from the material world and worldly
at the same time. possessions.
• Tao is nothing but the expression of the • The goal of man is to have a knowledge
unity of the universe and of the path of the true reality-Brahman
which human beings must take to • Law of Karma is the most important
preserve that unity. doctrine of Hinduism - All actions are
• Reject the idea of relational self subject to Karma (Good or Bad)
• It is referred to as the life force that
surrounds and flows through all living
and non-living things, and that balances,
orders, unifies and connects them
• Tao is the ultimate creative principle of
the universe
• According to Taoists, the human body is
regarded as the miniature of the
universe or what they call the extension
of the cosmos.
• Going against the will of the nature or
the universe disrupts the cosmic order
(Ying and Yang)
• It contradicts the idea of Confucius since
it does not consider the self as
extension of social relationships; rather,
the self is but one of the countless
manifestations of the Tao.

HINDUISM

• The Hinduist view about the self was

written in the Upanishads “Story of
Creation” which tells about the origin of
the universe and of humans.
• The self-called Purusha created a wife
out of himself. The wife born Man and
then transform into a bull. Then the wife