UNPACKING THE

SELF
The Physical Self: The self as
impacted by the body
Society shapes us in many ways;

How we perceive our bodies How we feel about our

visually physical appearance

How we think and talk to Our sense of how the other

ourselves about our bodies people view our bodies
“ Beauty is when you can appreciate
yourself. When you love yourself,
that’s when you’re most
beautiful.”
-Zoe Kravitz
What is beauty for you ?
PHILOSOPHERS THINK
ABOUT BEAUTY
By: Jeffrey James R. Lloren
Philosophers think about
beauty

 The two most-debated views about

beauty;

1. Beauty is subjective.
2. Beauty is objective
Objectivist Views:

 “St Augustine had already asked

whether things are beautiful because
they give delight, or give delight
because they are beautiful, and settled
for the second, objective character of
beauty”
Objectivist Views:
 In the view of Plato (427-347 BCE),
beauty resides in his domain of the
Forms. Beauty is objective, it is not
about the experience of the observer.
Plato’s conception of “objectivity” is
atypical. The world of Forms is “ideal”
rather than material; Forms, and
beauty, are non-physical ideas for Plato.
Yet beauty is objective in that it is not a
feature of the observer’s experience
Objectivist Views:
 Aristotle (384-322 BCE) too held an
objective view of beauty, but one vastly
different from Plato’s. Beauty resides in
what is being observed and is defined
by characteristics of the art object, such
as symmetry, order, balance, and
proportion. Such criteria hold, whether
the object is natural or man-made.
Subjectivist Views:

 David Hume (1711-1776) argued that

beauty does not lie in “things” but is
entirely subjective, a matter of feelings
and emotion. Beauty is in the mind of
the person beholding the object, and
what is beautiful to one observer may
not be so to another.
Subjectivist Views:
 Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
believed that aesthetic judgement is
based on feelings, in particular, the
feeling of pleasure. What brings
pleasure is a matter of personal taste.
Such judgements involve neither
cognition nor logic, and are therefore
subjective. Beauty is defined by
judgement processes of the mind, it is
not a feature of the thing judged to be
beautiful.
Subjectivist Views:
 Francis Hutcheson - "The perception
of beauty does depend on the external
sense of sight: however, the internal
sense of beauty operates as an internal
or reflex sense. The same is the case
with hearing: hearing music does not
necessarily give the perception of
harmony as it is distinct from the
hearing" (Inquiry I, L. X).
WHAT DID PSYCHOLOGY
DISCOVER ABOUT BEAUTY?

By: Jeffrey James R. Lloren

Research found that a person who is perceived as attractive
makes more money than a person of below-average looks. In
politics, voters who are not actively engaged in social and
political issues choose candidates based on "looks" 90% of the
time.
Cognitive bias: Halo Effect
A cognitive bias is an error in reasoning, evaluating, remembering, or any
other mental process that is often a result of holding on to one's preferences
and beliefs regardless of contrary information.

The halo effect (also known as the physical attractiveness stereotype and the
"what is beautiful is good" principle) refers to the tendency of people to rate
attractive individual more favorably for their personality traits or
characteristics as compared to those who are less attractive.
Evolutionary psychology found that faces hold certain fundamental
and important characteristics that could indicate a person's quality
as a romantic partner and as a mate.

In the eyes of female experimental Male raters generally found women

participants, an attractive man is to be attractive with prominent
generally one with relatively cheekbones, large eyes, small nose,
prominent cheekbones and eyebrow a taller forehead, smooth skin, and
ridges and a relatively long lower an overall young or even childlike
face. appearance.
How Cultural Traditions Shape Body
Image
 Body Image is generally defined as how one thinks and feels toward one’s body (Yam 2013;
Cash & Smolak, 2011)

 People see cultural group membership as an integral part of who they are. Hence, they are
more likely to engage in events and behaviors that are related to their culture choose
friends, media, and even marital partners from their culture (Yam, 2013; Yeh & Huang,
1996).
How Cultural Traditions Shape Body
Image
 For example, ideal standards of body sizes are culturally specific. Since the
1960s, ideal body sizes for white American women have emphasized
thinness (Yam, 2013; Fallon,1990; Wiseman, Gray, Mosimann, & Ahrens,
1992).

 A study reported that young Filipino

women
were dissatisfied with their bodies that possibly
stemmed from unreasonable weight
concerns and
extreme drive for thinness (Torres,2012).
The Relationship
between Body Image
and Self- Esteem
By: Dondi T. Econar
The Relationship between
Body Image and
Self- Esteem
By: Dondi T. Econar
 Activity 1: “How do I feel about
 Myself?Self- Esteem Scale
Rosenberg

Items Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly

Agree Disagree
1. On the whole, I am satisfied
with myself.

2. At times I think I’m not good

at all.

3. I feel that I have a number

of good qualities.

4. I am able to do things as well

as most other people.

5. I feel I do not have much to

be proud of.
 Items Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
6. I certainly feel useless at
times.
7. I feel that I’m a person of
worth, at least one on an equal
plane with others.
8. I wish I could have more
respect for myself.
9. All in all, I am inclined to
feel that I am a failure.
10. I take a positive attitude
toward myself.

Result: High Self Esteem

Does your body have an impact
on your self-esteem?
• Self- Esteem – was coined by
William James in 1800.
• In the 1960’s, behavioral
scientists defined self-esteem
in terms of an attitude
concerning one’s worth as a
person (Rosenberg, 1965).
• Self Esteem – is about how you value yourself
and how you feel others value you.
 Body Image- is how you view your physical body,
whether you feel you are attractive, and how you feel
some other people like your looks.
 If you have a positive body image, you probably like
and accept yourself the way you are, even if you do
not fit the popular notion of “beautiful” or
“handsome”.
 Healthy attitudes allows you to explore some other
aspects of growing ups.
 Developing these parts of yourself can help boost
your self-esteem.
 How important is physical
beauty? mind- it will always contradict
 Subconscious
your conscious mind.
 Physical beauty- is extremely important.
 Beauty- “the degree to which a person’s
physical traits are considered pleasing”. It is
also subjective.
 Self image problem- happens when your look
do not match your beauty standards.
 The problem here is with your
own beauty standards and not
with your looks. To have a positive
self-image and a higher self-
esteem you must fix your false
beliefs about physical
attractiveness first.
Thank you
for
Listening!!