Course Description

UTS or Understanding the Self is one of the core courses under the new General Education
Curriculum (CMO 20 s. 2013). This course covers the nature of identity, the factors and forces
that affect personal development, and the maintenance of Personal Identity. This course is
intended to help the students understand the nature of identity including factors that influence
and shape personal identity.

Module 1
Concept and Nature of Self
This module presented three major lenses-philosophical, biblical, and psychological-
through which one can understand the self. In the first perspective, which is focused on the
abstract self, philosophers believe that a person is more than his/her physical aspect.
Meanwhile, in the biblical view, one can conclude that a person, as a creation of God, is
destined for greater things through the grace of God and by living a virtuous life. Finally,
psychologists use stages or phases to explain that the self is a product of life’s development in
its different aspects. It is important for you to explore yourself and not limit your understanding
to those that are given to you.

This module is composed of three lessons

Lesson 1 The Philosophical View of Self

Lesson 2 The Christian or Biblical view of Self
Lesson 3 The Psychological View of Self

After studying this module, you should be able to:

• Explain the nature, concept, and meaning of the self

• Describe the nature of the self from your own point of view
 • Discuss the conceptualization and representation of the self from various disciplines
and perspectives; and
• Develop a pleasant and wholesome attitude towards oneself

Lesson 1
The Philosophical View of Self

Let’s do this:
Find the following songs on the internet and reflect on the songs’ lyrics. Then answer the
questions that follow.
“Sino Ako” by Jaime Rivera
“Who Am I” by Casting Crowns

Questions:
1. Who are you?
2. How would you describe yourself?
3. Do you love yourself? Why or why not?
4. What are you most grateful for in life?
5. What are the biggest and most important things you have learned in life so far?

Socrates: Know Yourself

The famous line of Socrates, “Know Yourself”, tells each man to bring his inner self to
light. A bad man is not virtuous through ignorance, the man who does not follow the good fails
to do so because he does not recognize it. The core of Socratic ethics is the concept of virtue
and knowledge. Virtue is the deepest and most basic propensity of man. Since virtue is innate in
the mind and self-knowledge is the source of all wisdom, an individual may gain possession of
oneself and be one’s own master through knowledge.

Plato: The Ideal Self, the Perfect Self

According to Plato, man was omniscient or all-knowing before he came to be born into
this world. With his separation from the paradise of truth and knowledge and his long exile on
earth, he forgot most of the knowledge he had. However, by constant remembering through
contemplation and doing good, he can regain his former perfections.

Immanuel Kant: Respect for Self

Man is the only creature who governs and directs himself and his actions, who sets up
ends for himself and his purpose, and who freely orders means for the attainment of his aims.
This rule is a plain
Dictum of reason and justice: Respect others as you would respect yourself. A person should
not be used as a tool, instrument, or device to accomplish another’s private ends. All men are
persons gifted with the same basic rights and should treat each other as equals.

Rene Descartes: “I Think, therefore I am”

He states that the self is a thinking entity distinct from the body. Although the mind
and the body ae independent from each other and serve their own function, man must use his
own mind and thinking abilities to investigate, analyze, experiment, and develop himself.

John Locke; Personal Identity

He holds that personal identity (the self) is a matter of psychological continuity. For
him, personal identity is founded om consciousness (memory), and not on the substance of
either the soul or the body.

David Hume: The Self is the Bundle Theory of Mind

For him, man has no clear and intelligible idea of the self. He posits that no single
impression of the self exists; rather, the self is just the thing to which all perceptions of a man is
ascribed. Put simply, a person can never observe oneself without some other perceptions.
Hume asserts that what we call the “self” is really just a bundle or collection of different
perceptions which succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidity.

Activity 1: Self-examination
Look at yourself in the mirror and answer the following questions.
1. How can you describe yourself based on your own perspective or point of view?
“I am .”
2. What aspect of yourself do you feel good about? Why?

3. What aspect of yourself do you believe you have to improve? Why?

Lesson 2
The Christian or Biblical View of Self
The Holy Bible
“God created man on His image; in the divine image He created him; male and female He
created them. God blessed them, saying “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds in the air, and all the living things that move
on the earth. Gen. 1:24-28

The self as a Crown of Creation

According to the Holy Writ, man following his redemption by the Savior from eternal
bondage, now shares in the infinite merits of his Redeemer and has become not only the
inheritor of the new earth but also the heir of heavenly kingdom. Thus, it is appropriate to think
of the self as the multi-bejeweled crown of creation-the many gems thereof representing and
radiating the glorious facets of man’s self that include the physical, intellectual, moral, religious,
social, political, economic, emotional, sentient, aesthetic, sensual, and sexual aspects.

St. Augustine: Love and Justice as the Foundation of the Individual Self.
He believes that a virtuous life is a dynamism of love. It is constant following of and turning
towards love while a wicked life is a constant turning away from love. Loving God means loving
one’s fellowmen; and loving one’ fellowmen denote never doing any harm to another or, as the golden
principle of justice states, doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Lesson 3
The Psychological View of self
Sigmund Freud: The Psychoanalytic Theory of Self
Freud’s asserts that the human psyche (personality) is structured into three parts. These
structures -the id, ego, and superego-all develop at different stages in a person’s life.

Parts of Personality
1. Id (internal desires). Also called internal drives or instinctive drives, consist of
the body’s primitive biological drives and urges which are concerned only
 with achieving pleasure and self-satisfaction. Id lives completely in the
unconscious.

2. Ego (reality). It is the “I” part of the individual that gives him/her the sense of
his/her own identity. The ego is the rational part of the personality.

3. Superego (conscience). It is the part of the personality concerned with

morals, percepts, standards, and ideas. The superego is also the critical
faculty of the personality.

Freudian Stages of Psychosexual Development

Freud also argues that the development of an individual can be divided into distinct stages
characterized by sexual drives. As a person grows, certain areas become sources of pleasure,
frustration or both.
1. Oral. From birth to the end of the first year, the mouth becomes the part of the
through which gratification is secured.

2. Anal. From the age of 2 to 3 years, the child derives the feelings of pleasure or pain
from defecating. It covers the toilet-training period.

3. Phallic. From the age 3 to 6 years, the child gets curious about his/her genitals and
become attached to the parent of the opposite sex. The attraction of a boy to his
mother is called Oedipus complex, while that of a girl to her father is called Electra
complex.

4. Latency. From the age of 10 to 12 years, sexual motivations presumably recede in

importance as the child becomes preoccupied with developing skills and other
activities.

5. Genital. After puberty, the deepest feelings of pleasure presumably come from
heterosexual relations.

Erik Erikson: The Psychosocial Stages of Self-development

Erikson was primarily concerned with how both psychological and social factors affect the
development of individuals. He has formulated eight major stages of development, each posing
a unique development task and simultaneously presenting the individual with a crisis that
he/she must overcome.
 Psychosocial Stages of Self-development
Basic Period of Life Important Relationship Choices/
conflicts/Crisis Life Events With Decisions Outcomes
Trust vs. Infancy (birth Feeding Maternal To give in The individual develops a sense of trust
Mistrust to 18 months return towards the caregiver, especially with the
mother’s genuine affection and care. A
To get lack of this leads to mistrust.
Autonomy vs. Early Toilet Paternal To hold on The individual needs to develop a sense of
Shame and childhood (18 training independence. Success leads to feeling of
Doubt months to 3 To let go autonomy; failure results in feelings of
years shame and doubt.
Initiative vs. Preschool (3 exploration family To make The individual needs to begin asserting
Guilt to 5 years) control and power over the environment.
To make like Parents who give their freedom in running,
sliding, bike riding, and skating are
allowing them to develop initiative.
Success in this stage leads to a sense of
purpose. Children who try to exert too
much power experience disapproval
resulting in a sense of guilt.
Industry vs. Elementary school School To make As an individual moves into the world of
Inferiority school age (6 things schooling, he/she needs to cope with new
to 11 years) Neighbor social and academic demands. Parents and
hood To make teachers who support, reward and praise
together children are encouraging industry. Success
leads to a sense of competence while
failure results in feelings of inferiority.
Those who reject, ridicule, or ignore
children’s effort are strengthening feelings
of inferiority.
Identity vs. role Adolescence Social Peer group To be oneself As an individual enters adolescence or
confusion (12 to 18 relationship teen years, he/she needs to develop a
years) To share sense of self and personal identity. An
being oneself adolescent tries on many new roles as
he/she feels romantic involvement,
vocational choice, and adult statuses.
When the adolescent fails to develop a
centered identity, he/she becomes
trapped in either role confusion or
negative identity. Success leads to to an
ability to stay true to oneself while failure
leads to a weak sense of self
Intimacy vs. Young Relationship Partners in To lose As an individual grows as a young adult,
isolation adulthood (19 s friendship/s he/she needs to form intimate, loving
to 40 years) ex/competi To bind relationships with other people. Success
tion oneself to leads to strong relationships while failure
others results in loneliness and isolation.
Generativity vs. Middle Work and partner To make be Generativity means reaching out beyond
stagnation adulthood (40 parenthood one’s own immediate concerns to
to 65 years) To take care embrace the welfare of society and of
of future generations. It entails selflessness.
The adult needs to create or nurture things
that will outlast him/her, often by having
children or creating a positive change that
benefits other people. Success leads to
 feelings of usefulness and accomplishment
while failure results in shallow
involvement in the world.
Integrity vs. Old Reflection mankind To be through The older adult needs to look back on life
Despair age/maturity on life having been and feel a sense of fulfillment. Success at
(65 to death) this stage leads to feelings of wisdom
To face not while failure results in regret, bitterness,
being and despair.

Activity: Self-description Essay

Write an essay about anything that you wish to share about yourself. You may use these
suggested topics
- Me as I see me
- How other people see me
- How I would like other people to see me