UNDERTANDING

THE SELF
PREPARED BY: MIGNONETTE B. TUNGCUL

OPENING PRAYER
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LEARNING THIS SUBJECT?

• To understand the concepts of self and personal identity -

the nature thereof, including the factors and forces
influential to its development.
• Tohelp adolescent-learners develop a more critical and
reflective attitude as they explore the issues and concerns
relative to the self and identity and thereby assisting them
in their quest toward a more enriching and better self-
understanding.
Unit 1: The Self From Various Perspectives Unit 2: Unpacking The Self

• Topic 1: Philosophical Perspective • Topic 1: The Physical Self

• Topic 2: Sociological Perspective • Topic 2: The Sexual Self
• Topic 3: Anthropological Perspective • Topic 3: The Material Self
• Topic 4: Psychological Perspective • Topic 4: The Spiritual Self
• Topic 5: The Self in Western and Oriental/ • Topic 5: The Political Self
Eastern Thoughts • Topic 6: The Digital Self

Unit 3: Managing and Caring for the Self

• Topic 1: Learning to be a Better Student
• Topic 2: Setting Goals for Success
• Topic 3: Taking Charge of One’s Health
UNIT 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
• discuss the different representations and conceptualizations of the self from
various disciplinal perspectives;
• compare and contrast how the self has been exemplified across different
perspectives;
• examine the different influences, factors and forces that shape the self; and
• demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the development of
one’s self and identity by developing a theory of the self.
 TOPIC 1: PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• cite highlights in the life of the philosophers that influenced their

concepts and principles;
• identify and differentiate the philosophers’ perspectives of self;
and
• create your own concept/ theory of the self.
“The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination.” -
Carl Rogers
Reflective Questions:

What encompasses your “self”?

Do you believe in the existence of the soul or spirit?
When our body dies, does the soul continue to live?
If the soul truly exists, how does it communicate with the body?
Where does it enter and exit the body?
Do we know who we are? Are we conscious about it?
Do we have a true and false selves?
What is the “me” self and the “I” self?

These questions are answered by our philosophers, sociologists,

anthropologists, psychologists and western and eastern thought
theorists.
PHILOSOPHERS’ PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF
SOCRATES
According to him, an unexamined life is not worth living. This statement is
reflected in his idea of the self.
He believed in dualism that aside from the physical body (material
substance), each person has an immortal soul (immaterial substance).
The body belongs to the physical realm and the soul to the ideal realm.
When you die, your body dies but not your soul. There is a life after the
death of your physical body. There is a world after death.
According to him, in order for you to have a good life, you must live a good
life, a life with a purpose, and that purpose is for you to do well. Then there
you will be happy after your body dies.
PLATO
He believed that the self is immortal and it consists of 3 parts:
• Reason – the divine essence that enables you to think deeply, make
wise choices and achieve an understanding of eternal truths;
• Physical Appetite - your basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst,
and sexual desire and;
• Spirit or Passion – your basic emotions such as love, anger, ambition,
aggressiveness, and empathy.

The 3 components may work together or in conflict. If human beings do

not live in accordance with their nature/function, the result will be an
injustice.
ST. AUGUSTINE
At first, he thought the body as the “slave” of the soul but ultimately,
regarded the body as the “spouse” of the soul both attached to one
another. He believed that the body is united with the soul, so that
man may be entire and complete.
His first principle was, “I doubt, therefore I am.”
The self seeks to be united with God through faith and reason and
he described that humanity is created in the image and likeness of
God, that God is supreme and all-knowing and everything created
by God who is all good is good.
RENE DESCARTES
He was a devout Catholic who believed in the immortal souls and
eternal life. By having the idea of both the thinking self and the
physical body, Descartes was able to reconcile his being a scientist
and a devout Catholic.
The self is a thinking thing, distinct from the body. The thinking self
or soul is nonmaterial, immortal, conscious while the physical body
is material, mortal, non-thinking entity, fully governed by the
physical laws of nature.
“Cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore I Am) is the keystone to his
concept of the self. The essence of existing as a human identity is
the possibility of being aware of oneself.
JOHN LOCKE
According to Locke, the human mind at birth is a tabula rasa (“blank
slate”). The self or personal identity is constructed primarily from sense
experiences which shape and mold the self throughout a person’s life.
Personal identity is made possible by self-consciousness. In order to
discover the nature of personal identity, you to have to find out what it
means to be a person. A person is a thinking, intelligent being who has
abilities to reason and to reflect. A person is also someone who considers
itself to be the same thing at different times and different places.
Consciousness means being aware that you are thinking; this what makes
your belief possible that you are the same identity at different times and in
different places. The essence of the self is its conscious awareness of itself
as thinking, reasoning, reflecting identity.
DAVID HUME
For him, there is no “self” only a bundle of perceptions passing
through the theatre of your minds.

According to him, humans are so desperately wanting to believe

that they have a unified and continuous self or soul that they use
their imaginations to construct a fictional self. The mind is a
theatre, a container for fleeting sensations and disconnected ideas
and your reasoning ability is merely a slave to the passions.
Hence, personal identity is just a result of imagination.
IMMANUEL KANT
Although Kant recognizes the legitimacy in Hume’s account, he
opposes the idea of Hume that everything starts with perception
and sensation of impressions, that’s why he brought out the idea of
the self as a response against the idea of Hume.
For Kant, there is unavoidably a mind that systematizes the
impressions that men get from the external world.
Therefore, Kant believed that the self is a product of reason
because the self regulates experience by making unified experience
possible.
We construct the self. The self exists independently of experience
and the self goes beyond experience.
SIGMUND FREUD
Based on him, the self is composed of three layers, conscious,
preconscious and unconscious.
The conscious mind includes thoughts, feelings, and actions that
you are currently aware of; the preconscious mind includes mental
activities that are stored in your memory, not presently active but
can be accessed or recalled; while the unconscious mind includes
activities that you are not aware of.
According to him, there are thoughts, feelings, desires, and urges
that the conscious mind wants to hide, buried in your unconscious,
but may shed light to your unexplained behavior.
GILBERT RYLE
His concept of the self is provided in his philosophical statement, “I
Act therefore I am.” Ryle views the self as the way people behave,
which is composed of a set of patterned behavior.

Basically, for Ryle, the self is the same as your behavior.

PAUL CHURCHLAND
Churchland’s theory is anchored in the statement, “the self is
the brain.”
The self is inseparable from the brain and the physiological
body because the physical brain gives the sense of self. In
short, the brain and the self are one.
Once the brain is dead, the self is dead too.
MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY
His concept, “the self has embodied subjectivity”
explained that all your knowledge about yourself and the
world is based on your subjective experiences and
everything that you are aware of is contained in your
consciousness.

For him, your body is your general medium for having a

world.
Question:
Which among the philosophies discussed can you
agree with? Why?
Create your own theory of the “self.”
END…..