UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

PHILOSOPHY  BODY – outer part of the self through which the self
can come into contact with the world
- a systematic study of general and fundamental  SOUL – inner part of the self, which composed of
questions concerning topics like existence, reason, the mind, the emotions and the will
knowledge, value, mind, and language  SPIRIT – innermost part of the self, or the core self,
- rational and critical inquiry that reflects on its own it s through the spirit that the self can communicate
methods and assumptions with God

PHILOSOPHERS HUMAN SELF – is an immaterial soul that can think

SOCRATES RENE DESCARTES

- “I KNOW THAT I DON’T KNOW” - “I THINK, THEREFORE I AM”

- father of western philosophy - founder of modern philosophy
- he believed that man is composed of body and soul - proposed that doubt was a principal tool of
- he believed that philosophy had a very important role disciplined inquiry
to play in the lives of people - his method was called hyperbolical/metaphysical
doubt, also referred as methodological skepticism
SOCRATIC METHOD – ask questions and discuss possible - rationalist view of perspective
answers - he asserted that everything perceived by the senses
could not be used as proof of existence
BODY – imperfect
- he added that there was only one thing we could be
SOUL – perfect and unchanging sure of in this world, and that was everything could
be doubted
- the persons core identity, his/her unique spirit that - he believed that being human starts with the self
makes one distinct
SELF – a thinking thing according to descartes
PLATO
KNOWLEDGE – a product of rational mind
- “BALANCE BETWEEN MIND AND BODY”
- greek philosopher
- student of Socrates
- dualistic, idealistic and abstract view of reality
shaped is notion of the self
- according to him, man’s real self is the soul, existing
apart from the body

SELF – according to plato, it is a rational substance consisting

of body and soul

SOUL – derived from world ideas

JOHN LOCKE
- composed of 3 parts (reason, physical appetite, spirit
- ‘HUMAN MIND AT BIRTH IS A TABULA
or passion)
RASA, WHICH MEANS THAT KNOWLEDGE
BODY – world of matter IS DERIVED FROM EXPERIENCE’
- Expanded the definition of self to include the
TRI-PARTITE SOUL memories of that thinking thing
- He believed that the “self” is identified with
 REASON – our divine essence that enables us to consciousness
think deeply, make wise choices, and achieve a true
understanding of eternal truths EMPIRICIST VIEW OF KNOWLEDGE
 PHYSICAL APPETITE – our basic biological
 Believed that humans by nature are good
needs such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire
 People are naturally reasonable and moral
 SPIRIT OR PASSION – our basic emotions such as
 Behavior is learned, people are either influence to do
love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness, and empathy
good or bad
SAINT AUGUSTINE
RATIONALIST
- “THE TRUTH IS LIKE A LION: YOU DON’T
- the view that reason is the primary source of all
HAVE TO DEFEND IT”
knowledge and that only our reasoning abilities can
- christian theologian
enable us to understand sense experience and reach
- one of the two great thinkers of the medieval period accurate conclusions
whose works were influenced by plato’s philosophy
- he blended Christianity with philosophy of plato EMPIRICIST

SELF - it is a tripartite being it is composed of the body, soul - the view that sense experience is the primary source
and spirit of all knowledge and that only a careful attention to
 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
sense experience can enable us to understand the UNCONSCIOUS
world and achieve accurate conclusions
- it is defined as a reservoir of feelings, thoughts,
urges, and memories that outside of conscious
awareness
- freud believed that the unconscious continues to
influence behavior even though people are unaware
of these underlying influences
- pleasure principle

GILBERT RYLE

- ‘THE SELF IS THE WAY PEOPLE BEHAVE’

- british philosopher
- philosopher and professor produced a critique on
Descartes ideas that mind is distinct from the body
- he wrote “THE CONCEPT OF THE MIND”, where
DAVID HUME he rejected the notion that mental states are separable
from physical staes
- ‘A WISE MAN PROPORTIONS HIS BELIEF
TO THE EVIDENCE’ SELF – basically our behavior
- he claimed that there cannot be a persisting idea of
the self - the same as bodily behaivor
- for him, the concept of the self, in order to be
intelligible and meaningful, must be based on sense PAUL AND PATRICIA CHRUCH LAND
impressions
- ‘THE PHYSICAL BRAIN AND NOT THE
- all we know about ourselves are just bundles of
IMAGINARY MIND GIVES US OUR SENSE OF
temporary impressions
SELF’
- he harshly claimed that there is no self
- neuroscientist
IDEAS ARE DERIVED FORM IMPRESSIONS - stated that the self and brain is one, basically if there
is no brain, there would be no self
 IMPRESSIONS – direct experience; they result
from inward and outward sentiments ELIMINATIVE MATERIALISM
 IDEAS – imagination
- where activities happening with an individual is
IMMANUEL KANT explained through understanding the existing
condition of the brain and how it work
- ‘DO THE RIGHT THING, BECAUSE IT IS
RIGHT’ MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY
- prussian metaphysicist
- ‘THE SELF IS EMBODIED SUBJECTI>VITY’
- his view of ‘self’ is transcentdal, which means self is
- French philosopher
related to a spiritual or nonphysical realm
- he believes that man is a free agent, capable of - According to him, the division between the ‘mind’
making decisions for himself and the ‘body’ is a product of confused thinking

FREE AGENT – man is gifted with reason and free will SOCIOLOGY

SIGMUND FREUD SOCIALIZATION

- ‘WISH FULFILLMENT IS THE ROAD TO THE - The activity of mixing socially with others
UNCONSCIOUS’ - The process of learning to behave in a way that is
- Austrian neurologist/psychologist acceptable to society
- Advocated effort to uncover the hidden nature of the - Interactive process through which people learn; basic
self skills, values, beliefs, behavior patterns of a society

SELF – is multifaceted and rests in his concepts of mind THEORIES OF SOCIALIZATION

and personality
 CHARLES H. COOLEY – developed the idea of
CONSCIOUS looking glass self

- involves all the things that you are currently aware of LOOKING GLASS SELF – interactive process by which we
and thinking about develop an image of ourselves based on how we imagine we
- it is somewhat akin to short-term memory and is appear to others
limited in terms of capacity
- It describes the process wherein individuals base
- your awareness of yourself and the world around you
their sense of self on how the believe others view
are part of your consciousness
them
- reality principle
 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
- using social interaction as a type of “mirror,” people - also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific
use the judgments they receive from others to discipline concerned with the biological and
measure their own worth, values, and behavior behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct
 GEORGE HERBET MEAD – believed that we not hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates,
only see ourselves as others see us, but actually take particularly from an evolutionary perspective
on the roles of others
- He believed that social experience depends on our LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
seeing ourselves as others do, as he coined it,
- study the many ways people communicate across the
‘TAKING THE ROLE OF THE OTHER’
globe
ROLE-TAKING – socialization process that allows a person to - they are interested in how language is linked to how
anticipate what others expect of us we see the world and how we relate to each other

CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
THREE STAGES
- how people in different places live and understand
 LANGUAGE (0 MONTH – 2 YEARS) – children
the world around them
lack sense of self, can only imitate the action of
- they want to know what people think is important
others
and the rules they make about how they should
 PLAY (2-6 YEARS) – children learn to play and act
interact with one another
out toles, can play house or role play
 GAME (AFTER 7 YEARS) – can play games with
specific rules, anticipate actions of others, can
outmaneuver other players
THE SELF AND THE PERSON IN
GENERALIZED OTHERS CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
- a person first individualizes significant others  Anthropology considers human experience as an
- as we grow order, people internalize attitudes, interplay of “nature’ referring to the genetic
expectations, and viewpoints of society inheritance which sets the individual’s potentials, and
“nurture” referring to the sociocultural environment
THE “I & ME”  Therefore it could be understood that both biological
and cultural factors have significant influence on the
 I - the unsocialized, spontaneous, self-interested
development of self-awareness among individuals
component of personality
within society.
- very large role in children
 ME – the part of our self that is aware of the
THE CULTURAL CONSTRUCTION OF SELF
expectations and attitudes of society
- very large role in adults AND IDENTITY

ANTHROPOLOGY CULTURE

- greek word anthropos, meaning ‘human being’ and - is derived from the Latin word “cultura” or “cultus”
logia means ‘study’ meaning care or cultivation
- the study of all aspects of the human condition - is similar to caring for an infant. Because an infant
- the science of human being especially has a prolonged dependency, he or she has to be
- study of human beings and their ancestors through taken care of by the people around him or her
time and space
CULTURAL CONTEXT - where he or she is situated
- the scientific study of humanity, concerned with
human behavior, human biology, and societies, in PERSONAL IDENTITY - the way he or she sees
both present and past himself/herself as an individual

THE FOUR SUBFILEDS OF COLLECTIVE IDENTITY - the way he/she sees

ANTHROPOLOGY himself/herself as member of a certain group

ARCHEOLOGY IDENTITY - refers to “who the person is,” or the qualities and
traits of an individual that make him/her different from others
- the study of human activity through the recovery and
analysis of material culture - also refers to how a person sees and expresses
- the scientific study of historic or prehistoric peoples oneself
and their cultures by analysis of their artifacts,
inscriptions, monuments, and other such remains,
TWO WAYS IN WHICH THE CONCEPT OF
especially those that have been excavated SELF IS VIEWED IN THE DIFFERENT
SOCIETIES
INSCRIPTION – words or letters that have been written
or carved into something, or the act of writing words or EGOCENTRIC VIEW - the self is seen as an autonomous and
letters into something distant individual.

BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
- each person is defined as replica of all humanity but several factors which are social, political, economic
capable of acting independently from other and contextual

SOCIOCENTRIC VIEW - the self is contingent on a situation 5. AFFECTIVE, COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL
or social setting ASPECTS OF IDENTITY - This refers to emotions
fully attached to cultural identity in particular
- this is a view of the self that is context-dependent
situations
which emphasizes that there is no intrinsic self that
can possess enduring qualities
6. CONTENT AND RELATIONSHIP LEVELS -
CULTURAL IDENTITY - is the identity of belonging to a this refers to the interaction between two or more
group individuals, the message exchange carries
information/content
- part of a person's self-conception and self-perception
and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, any 7. SALIENCE OR PROMINENCE – this is the
kind of social group that has its own distinct culture degree to which an identity is demonstrated in a
situation and refers to how much a person’s cultural
THREE-PAHASED RITE OF PASSAGE BY identity stands out and attracts attention
ARNOLD VAN GENNEP
SALIENCE - defined as the state of being important
 SEPARATION PHASE – people detach from their or conspicuous
former identity to another
 LIMINATILY PHASE - a person transitions from
one identity to another
 INCORPORATION PHASE - the change in one’s
status is officially incorporated

JANE COLLIER AND MILT THOMAS

- combined the ethnography of communication and

social construction in order to frame the properties of
cultural identity
- these properties refer to the manner in which
members of a group communicates their identity

PROPERTIES OF CULTURAL IDENTITY

1. AVOWAL AND ASCRIPTION

AVOWAL - is how one articulates or expresses

his/her views about group identity, it is how one
presents oneself to another
ASCRIPTION - is how others perceive an
individual, it is how one refers to others. This may
include stereotypes

2. MODES OF EXPRESSION - use of core symbols

(expressions of a group’s cultural beliefs and theories
about the world around them), names, labels and
norms (expected standard of behavior)

3. INDIVIDUAL, RELATIONAL, AND

COMMUNAL IDENTITY

INDIVIDUAL - refers to how an individual

interprets his cultural identity based on his
experiences
RELATIONAL - refers to how individuals interact
with one and another (what is the appropriate
behavior)
COMMUNAL IDENTITY - identity is the use of
communication in the creation, affirmation and
negotiation of shared identity

4. ENDURING AND CHANGING ASPECTS OF

IDENTITY - the cultural identity changes due to