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Chapter I: The Self From Various Perspectives E. The Self in Western and Oriental / Eastern Thoughts

The document discusses eastern and western concepts of self. The western view sees the self as individualistic and separate from external objects, while eastern philosophies like Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism see the self as collective and interconnected with society and the universe. The module aims to distinguish these differences and explain key thinkers from both traditions like Descartes' "I think therefore I am" and Confucius' focus on self-cultivation and compassion for others.

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293 views3 pages

Chapter I: The Self From Various Perspectives E. The Self in Western and Oriental / Eastern Thoughts

The document discusses eastern and western concepts of self. The western view sees the self as individualistic and separate from external objects, while eastern philosophies like Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism see the self as collective and interconnected with society and the universe. The module aims to distinguish these differences and explain key thinkers from both traditions like Descartes' "I think therefore I am" and Confucius' focus on self-cultivation and compassion for others.

Uploaded by

i'm M
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CHAPTER I: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES


E. THE SELF IN WESTERN AND ORIENTAL / EASTERN
THOUGHTS
MODULE OVERVIEW

As an Asian people, Filipinos tend to be having the mentality that western people are far
more superior than those of the eastern. This may be a result of the colonial mentality
instilled to us during the colonial era. But just as like we appreciate things that is associated
to western country, they too appreciate what’s in the eastern. While we appreciate burgers
and hotdogs, they too appreciate adobo and sinigang.

From the above mentioned premises, one can tell that it is not only the eastern people who
adore others culture and traditions, the western loves eastern culture. Equally, both have rich
cultures. We always have been oriented the teachings of the western philosophers, but on
the other hand eastern has equally intelligent philosophers.

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Distinguish the eastern from the western construct of the self;


2. Differentiate the individualistic self from the collective self;
2. Explain the spirituality and philosophy of Confucius.

LEARNING CONTENTS

I. WESTERN CONCEPT OF SELF

Thomas Aquinas,the philosopher and saint in medieval times,


believed that the body constitutes individuality. The individuality was the focus of
Renaissance thought, with Rene Descartes’ famous “I think, therefore I am” as the
epitome of the Western idea of self.
The western tradition is generally imbued with a style of thinking
based on dichotomy and binary opposition, and there is an essential distinction
between the notion of the thinking subject (an observer that stands in natural
opposition to observable reality). Frank Johnson (1985), outlined four categories on
how the term “self” is used in contemporary western discussion:
1. Analytical. The tendency to see reality as an aggregate of parts. The self is an
observer separate and distinct from external objects (me versus other).
2. Monotheistic. The tendency toward unitary explanations of phenomena and a
closed-system view of self, as modeled after a unitary, omnipotent power (Man as created by
God, in His image).
3. Individualistic. Individualism is a quality of western thinking where self-expression
and self-actualization are important ways of establishing who one is, as well as in finding
satisfaction in the world.
4. Materialistic/rationalistic. Western thinking tends to discredit explanations that do not
use analytic-deductive modes of thinking.

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II. EASTERN CONCEPT OF SELF

A. The Self According to Buddhism

Buddhism philosophy believes that the religion is a way of life and to live a moral
life, to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, and to develop wisdom and
understanding is its main teaching.

The Four Noble Truth and Eight Fold Paths as thought by the religion reminds people
that life should not focused on pleasure, instead should be lived in contemplation. In
addition, the nature and purpose of man is described through the major teaching:

The Four Noble Truth

1. Life is suffering. Life does not solely offer the kind of living a person sees it to
be. Attached with the pleasures is the reality that sufferings are included in life and
cannot be avoided.
2. Suffering is caused by craving and aversion. Lack of contentment results to
suffering. Human needs are never ending, and getting what one wants does not
guarantee happiness. Thus, to attain happiness, wants should be modified.
3. Suffering can be overcome and happiness can be attained. When one learns
to live each day at a time and is able to give up unnecessary cravings, then man can
possibly attain happiness and freedom.
4. Eight Fold Path is the path which leads to the end of suffering. Being moral,
being fully aware of thoughts and action, developing wisdom by understanding the 4
Noble Truth , and developing compassion for other will lead to the end of suffering.

B. The Self According to Confucianism

Confucius philosophy of life stand with the idea that life is a living reality, a blessing, a
natural priceless right and opportunity to be with others to work together for common good to
attain happiness. Thus, the threat for social order is selfishness. In the Confucian
philosophy, the principle of ren characterized the self-possessing compassion for others. The
self for Confucius is the person within the society who exhibit refinement and compassion
(Junzi). Such principle connotes that this new self or Junzi is formed through education
under the virtuous teacher as the role model.

C. The Self According to Taoism


Taoism rejects a hierarchical view of the self, society, or cosmos. It does not regard
the self as an extension of social relationships, rather, the self is but one of the countless
manifestations of the Tao. It is an extension of the cosmos (or the universe seen as a well
ordered whole). According to Chuang-tzu, “The perfect man has no self; the spiritual man
has no achievement; the true sage has no name”,thus, the ideal self is selflessness. In sum,
his conception of selfhood entails conscious self-transformation leading to the attributes of a
balanced life in harmony with both nature and society.

D. The Self in Islamic Tradition


The Arabic word for self is Nafs in the Holy Qur’an. It pertains to the psyche (the
totality of the conscious and unconscious human mind) or the soul. The nafs/self is to be
nurtured and self-regulated so it can progress into becoming “good” (or “evil”) through its

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thoughts and actions. The self in Islamic tradition is used both in the individualistic and
collective sense.

III. Individualistic vs. Collective Self

In ancient times,Plato notion of reality is dual, soul leaves the body and the body may
be thrown on oblivion. Descartes on the other hand is on the same stand with Aristotle’s
Hylomorphic Theory believing that man comprises matter (body) and form (soul) which are
equally important and that the two must exist and dependent with each other. The difference
comes with the discussion of Descartes that the body gathers information through our
senses and one’s reason processes all the information, making sense with the experiences
of the body.

To solve the issue of the duality of the self, Descartes fused the body and soul as
residing in a person’s pineal gland. The pineal gland was described as the “Seat of the
Soul” by Rene Descartes and it is located in the center of the brain. The main function of
the pineal gland is to receive information about the state of the light-dark cycle from the
environment and convey this information to produce and secrete the hormone melatonin
(hormone of sleep). Although western thought stands to make the psyche collective, its
nature is still dual. Such duality becomes the reason why one strives for the perfection of
self. Such that, when we study and achieved a good future and eventually achieved this,
then we can say that perfection of the soul is achieved. But if one fails to attain what the soul
strives to become, then the self is wasted, as the ideals of the soul is to achieve the ultimate
goodness (arete)

The eastern thoughts also want to attain perfection of the self through meditation and
enlightenment; hence, the “dualism” matters are not an issue. For the eastern, people only
possess a “One Self” and has no separation of the body and soul. The self in the oriental
thought is collective, while on the other hand, the self for the western people is
individualistic.

SUMMARY

Differentiating the individualistic approach of the western culture in terms of viewing the self,
the eastern philosophy is particularly focused on the process of the universe and the endless
becoming. Unlike the neglect on how the eastern philosophers stand on the concept of self
or of any other principles, connections between the east and west at present times have
already bridged, by a large extent, the gap among the cultures.

REFERENCES

Alata, E., et. al. (2018), Understanding the Self, Rex Book Store, Inc. (RBSI), Quezon City
Cuevo, F., et. al. (2018), Understanding the Self, St. Andrew Publishing House, Bulacan.
Gallinero, W.,et.al. (2018). Understanding the Self. Mutya Publishing House, Inc. Malabon City.
Villafuerte, S., et. al. (2018), Understanding the Self, Nieme Publishing House Co. Ltd.
Quezon City

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