CHAPTER 5

THE WESTERN AND EASTERN CONCEPTS OF SELF

“One of the most effective ways to learn about oneself is by taking seriously the culture of others. It
forces you to pay attention to those details of life which differentiate them from you.” - Edward T. Hall

WESTERN CONCEPT OF SELF

 Geertz (van Meijl, 2008) defines the Western concept of the self as “a bounded, unique, more or
less integrated motivational and cognitive universe, a dynamic center of awareness, emotion,
judgment, and action organized into a distinctive whole and set contrastively both against other
such wholes and against its social and natural background…”
 This construction of an autonomous, unitary, and stable self in the West is grounded in a contrasting
assumption that non-western (such as eastern) people do not possess an individuated self that is
differentiated from the “other.”
 For that reason, the delusion of the separate self is likely to be stronger in individuals raised in
individualistic Western societies.
 It is in this sense that the Western concept of self is holistically define in terms of the following
aspects:
1. WESTERN SELF AS ANALYTIC
 The Western way of thinking is analytic-deductive with emphasis on the casual links (part-to whole
relationships).
 The whole is understood when differentiated into parts.
 One must categorize and make distinctions to pursue cause.
2. WESTERN SELF AS MONOTHEISTIC
 The belief in one Supreme Being coexisting with the universe condenses the supernatural and
human capabilities into a bipolarity of both qualities of existence (e.g.; beautiful/ugly; kind/cruel;
sacred/profane; strong/weak; etc.)
 And categories of identity or experience (e.g, God/Satan; body/soul; love/lust; sinner/saint; etc.)
3. WESTERN SELF AS INDIVIDUALISTIC
 Western individualism exhibits coexistence of favorable and unfavorable conditions inherent in
personal freedom.
 Although the right to individual freedom provides opportunities for self-fulfillment, it also increases
the likelihood of experiencing alienation and frustration.
4. WESTERN SELF AS MATERIALISTIC & RATIONALISTIC
 The Western way of thinking is focused on material “things” and favors a rational-empirical
approach over magical and superstitious explanations of immaterial “things”.

 David Ho (1995) describes the Western self as an individualistic self that is deeply aware of itself, its
uniqueness, sense of direction, purpose, and volition.
 The self is located at the center within the individual through which the world is perceived.
 The self is also seen as “an entity distinct from other selves and all other entities.”
 This implies that the self belongs to the individual and to no other.
 As a consequence of this complete ownership of self, it becomes a sovereign subject possessing a
sense of personal control.
 If all things are well, the self achieves coherence and stability over time.
 In an individualistic perspective, the Western self is the measure of all things (Ho, 1995; Garcia,
2013) that is, the source of all reflections.
 Frank Johnson (1985) traces the earliest historical roots of the Western concept of the self to works
on philosophy, almost half a million years ago.
 By the middle and nineteenth centuries, psychology has provided answers to philosophical
questions about the concepts of soul and mind.
 Experimental psychology came into prominence during the mid-nineteenth century and put forth
the concept of self within the social-interactionist framework.
 The growth of sociology, anthropology, and psychology in the late nineteenth century saw the
emergence of various concepts of self, among them the Western concept.

THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE WESTERN CONCEPT OF SELF

Stage Period Historical Development

1 Pre Christian - There were philosophical and theological attempts to characterize the self
times until through the concepts of soul and mind with emphasis on conscious experience
1850 of the individual, distinction between physical and mental nature of man (mind-
body dualism), and the casualty of human behavior.
2 1850-1940 - The establishment of experimental psychology in mid-nineteenth century led
to a change in emphasis from abstract concepts of soul and mind to observable
and measurable aspects of human faculties
- The concept of self re-emerged within the social-interactionist framework in
the early 1900s.
3 1940-present - There is multidirectional and continuous development of concept of self:
a. Sociological and psychological theories of self encompass all three levels of
self namely inner self, interpersonal self, and social self.
b. Existentialists and phenomenologists, both in philosophy and psychology,
engaged in a holistic approach integrating the inner, interpersonal, and social
aspects of self.
c. At present, there is convergence in some conceptualizations of the self
among psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, philosophers, and linguists
whose studies focus on the actual, multivariate, and situational contexts of the
self employing new frameworks and methodologies.

EASTERN CONCEPT OF SELF

 In the East, philosophy and religion are twisted together.

 Thus, the major Eastern religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism are also
common representatives of Eastern thoughts.
 These Eastern intellectual traditions differ greatly in features and approaches to various issues about
selfhood.
 For this reason, Eastern thought is described as pluralistic (Garcia, 2013).
 Although these four systems of Eastern thought differ in their approaches about the concept of self,
they share the same goal -- to teach how to become a perfect person (Villaba, 1995).

THE SELF IN THE FOUR GREAT SYSTEMS OF EASTERN THOUGHT

A. HINDUISM

 The Hindu concept of self is expounded in Vendeta, a major school of Indian thought based on
Upanishads, the classical Indian philosophical treatises.
 It has been stated that Brahman is an absolute reality, and Atman (the soul or spirit), the true
knowledge of self, is identical to Brahman.
 Vedanta characterizes human sufferings as the result of failure to realize the distinction between the
true self (permanent and unchanging) and the non-true self (impermanent and changes continually).
 The goal of the person is to have a knowledge of the true reality -- Brahman.
 Self-realization is being united to all-embracing Brahman.
 But the realization of true selfhood will result in a complete dissolution of individual identity (Ho,
1995).
 The law of karma is the most important doctrine of Hinduism.
 All actions are subject to karma.
 Individual actions will lead to either good or bad outcomes in one’s life.
 People get exactly what they deserve.
 If you do good things, you will be rewarded, if you do bad, you will be punished.
 Therefore, the individual is the only one responsible for the consequences of his/her actions (Garcia,
2008).
 Hindu believes that Atman, being an immortal soul, continues to be reincarnated from lifetime to
lifetime until it is free from the cycle of birth and reaches a state of nirvana or non-birth (Garcia,
2008).
 Karma does not end with a body’s death, so its influence may extend through incarnation of the
soul.
 Individuals cannot change the fact that they are exactly what they are supposed to be in life.
 In the present lifetime, they can change what they will become in future lives.

B. BUDDHISM

 Siddharta Gautama, known as the Buddha, is the founder of Buddhism.

 The root word of Buddhism is budh meaning awake.
 To be awake may imply that opening your eyes would lead to understanding more about the self
and the world.
 According to the teaching of Buddhism, every person has the seed of enlightenment, hence, the
potential to be a Buddha.
 But the seed should be nurtured (Mansukhani, 2013).
 The FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS are the basic principles of Buddhism: (1) Life is suffering; (2) Suffering is
caused by attachment to desires; (3) Suffering can be eliminated; and (4) Elimination of suffering is
through the practice of Eightfold Path.
 Eightfold path: right view, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort,
right mindfulness, and right concentration.
 In Buddhist philosophy, man is just a title for the summation of the five parts (matter, sensation,
perception, metal constructs, and consciousness) that compose the individual, however each of the
parts distinctly is not man (Villaba, 1995).
 Man has no self (or no-soul).
 There is only nothing and all else is an illusion.
 There is nothing permanent but change.
 The ignorance of impermanence of everything may lead to an illusion of selfhood.
 This primal ignorance is the cause of life’s misery, births and rebirths.
 The perfect moral-intellectual knowledge becomes powerful in the sense that it eliminates the
cause of one’s misery and awakens one from the illusion of selfhood.
 The ideal is to experience Nirvana (literally meaning, “blowing out,” as of a lamp), as a state of
transcendence devoid of self-reference.
 This state of transcendence can be achieved through meditation (Ho, 1995).

C. CONFUCIANISM

 The Confucian doctrines are found in the Analects (Conversations of Confucius).

 The core of Confucian thought is the Golden Rule or the principle of reciprocity: “Do not do to
others what you would not want others to do to you.”
 Thus, the basic virtue or proper conduct is knowing how to act in relation to others.
 The most important relationships are the FIVE CARDINAL RELATIONSHIPS: between ruler and
minister, between father and son, between husband and wife, between brothers and friends.
 Hence, the self is known as a relational self.
 Another important feature in Confucian thought is the individual’s greatest mission of attaining self-
realization wherein self-cultivation is instrumental.
 Self-cultivation could be accomplished by knowing one’s role in society and acting accordingly.
 Moral character is perfected by continuously taking every opportunity to improve oneself in thought
and action.
 There will be harmonious relationships when individuals follow the rules of proper social behavior.
 The individual is set to respond to what is socially required rather than to one’s personal needs and
goals.
 Here, the self is the subdued self (Ho, 1995).

D. TAOISM

 Taoism is Chinese counterculture,

 Taoists reject the Confucian idea of a relational self.
 To them, the self is an extension of the cosmos, not of social relationships.
 The self is described as one of the limitless forms of the Tao (Ho, 1995).
 The Tao is commonly regarded as Nature that is the foundation of all that exists (Garcia, 2008).
 It is not bounded by time and space.
 The ideal is to identify with the Tao.
 The perfect man has no self.
 Selflessness is attained when the distinction between “I” and “other” dissolves
 Consequently, the individual may behave spontaneously, just going with the flow of the Tao.
 The selfless person leads to a balanced life, in harmony with both nature and society (Ho, 1996).
 Taoists believe that simplicity, spontaneity, and harmony with nature should govern one’s life.
 Individuals must seek to understand and act in accordance with the natural order.
 There should be unity and harmony among opposing elements: the yin and yang (Abella, 2016).
 Hence, there is oneness the Tao.

DICHOTOMY OF WESTERN AND EASTERN CONCEPTIONS OF SELF

 An extensive literature of Eastern thoughts about the self exist.

 Many movements of Eastern thoughts raise questions about the ultimate meaning of life and have
developed theories of self insofar as they have investigated what it means to be a human being.
 In Eastern thought, the emphasis is relational rather than individualistic.
 The self is considered not in isolation but in relation to others, society, and the universe.
 Eastern thoughts aim at transformations in consciousness, feelings, emotions, and one’s relation to
other people and the world.
 The theories of Eastern philosophers demonstrate a socio-eccentric view presupposing that the self
exists as an entity within the concrete situation or role occupied by the person (Robbins, 2012).
 In contrast, Western thoughts tend to view the self as autonomous, unitary, and stable (van Meijl,
2008).
 Nevertheless, Western thoughts about the self have been examined by renowned theorists like
Freud, Eriksons, Bandura, Rogers, Jung, James, Mead, Cooley, and others.
 They have conducted scientific investigations in an effort to understand the self and have developed
theories and concepts to account for the similarities and differences among them.
 They emphasize the importance of scientific methods to provide satisfactory answers to
understanding the self.
 Eastern theories offer a variety of techniques for cultivating a deeper understanding of the self.
 However, they do not utilize scientific techniques of investigations.
 It is vitally important that both East and West appreciate each other’s attempt to understand the
self.
 To do so can only enrich both (Engler, 2012).
 Thus, Quito (Garcia, 2013) seeks to place Western and Eastern theories of self into perspective by
making some comparisons and contrast among them.
 For instance, Asian thought looks at life in a three-mode cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
 On the other hand, the Western concept of life is linear as it is concerned with absolute beginnings
or endings in time and space.
 Asian thought does not dichotomize between one’s way of thinking and one’s way of living.
 This implies that one’s thought, action, and speech should be in harmony.
 Asian thought considers intuition as a valid means to gain wisdom, it does not rely mainly on reason
and logic which are the more popular sources of knowledge in the West.
 Another distinction between Eastern and Western thoughts is about nature and self.
 According to Sarza (2013), one unique feature of Eastern philosophy is its great reverence for
nature.
 It is believed that nature promotes introspection into one’s inner life and that wisdom and
enlightenment can be attained by observing nature.
 On the other hand, Peacock (1986) mentions that modern Western culture tends to set the
individual against nature, that is, to struggle against nature which is a dangerous enemy.
 This viewpoint can be traced from Christian theologies that consider nature as fallen and evil.
 It has been argued that the individual and nature are part of a single whole.

Dimension Western Thought Eastern Thought

Frame of Reference There is a separation between Religion and philosophy are
philosophy and religion/ intertwined.
spirituality.
Examples of Schools of Scholasticism Hinduism
Thought/ Belief Systems Rationalism Buddhism
Empiricism Confucianism
Phenomenology Taoism
Notable Philosophers Greek Triumvirate: Socrates, Confucius
Plato, Lao Tzu
Aristotle Siddharta Gautama
Rene Descartes (Buddha)
John Locke
Source of Knowledge Has made use of reason rather Has trusted intuition and is often
than faith to pursue wisdom. associated with religious beliefs.
Models of Cognition Analytic and deductive Synthetic and inductive
Emphasis Distinctions and oppositions Commonalities and harmonies
View of the Universe and Life Linear Circular
View of Self Egocentric Sociocentric
Subject-Object Distinction Duality of self-as-subject Simultaneously subject and
(Bipolar Qualities of Self) (knower) and self-as-object object (The experience of self as
(known) both the knower and known)
Theological View Monotheistic Polytheistic (Pluralistic)
Ideal Self-actualization through To achieve a balanced life and
personal growth find one’s role in society
Cultural Framework Individualism Collectivism
a. The self is a distinct and a. The self is an integrated part
autonomous entity; it is an of the universe and the society.
independent part of the universe b. Interdependence and
and the society. connectedness are core values.
b. Independence and self- c. No distinctions between
 reliance are core values. personal and group goals, or if
c. Prioritize personal goals over there is a distinction, the
group goals. personal goals are subordinate
d. Characterized by an exchange to the group goals.
relationship. d. Characterized by communal
e. Uniqueness, sense of relationships.
direction, purpose and volition e. Conformity and obedience are
are the acknowledged features essential social behaviors.
of self. f. Duty towards all others is
f. Personal success is important. important.

 The application of the different perspectives and approaches contributed to improvements in the
conceptualization of self.
 The Western and Eastern perspectives of the self grow from a combination of sociology,
anthropology, psychology, theology, and religion.
 The Western and Eastern thoughts attempt to combine the good elements of the different
disciplines to totally understand the self.
Understanding the Self 2nd ed., MJ.A. Monilla, N.C. Ramirez C & Publishing, Inc. 2022