USELF REVIEWER

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
 In the Socratic Dialogue, Plato wrote what Socrates
Topic 1: The Self From Various Perspectives said about the body and the soul: "When the soul
and body are together nature assigns our body to
How well do you know yourself? Are you aware of your be a slave and to be ruled and the soul to be ruler
talents? Skills? Weaknesses? Strengths? and master"
 Socrates also believed that the goal of life is to be
The persistent question, "Who am I?" is rooted in the human happy.
need to understand the basis of the experiences of the "self"  According to Socrates, the virtuous man is a happy
man, and that virtue alone is the one and only
 Important philosophers from ancient to contemporary supreme good that will secure his/her happiness.
times sought to describe the essential qualities that  According to Socrates, even death is a trivial matter
compose a person's uniqueness. for the truly virtuous because he/she has realized that
 Sociology sees the "self" as a product of social the most important thing in life is the state of his/her
interactions, developed over time through social soul and the acts taken from taking care of the soul
activities and experiences. through self-knowledge.
 Anthropology views the "self" as a culturally shaped
constructor idea. Plato
 Rather than giving a definition, psychology sees the  He wrote the Socratic Dialogue where Socrates was
"self" as having characteristics or properties that can the main character and speaker.
be used to describe it.  Plato's philosophical method was what he identified
as "collection and division"
How did ancient thinkers view a human being? Who were  He is best known for his Theory of Forms that
those curious enough to study how human beings perceive asserted the physical world is not really the "real"
themselves? One aspect that makes us humans different from world because the ultimate reality exists beyond the
all other creatures on earth is our capacity to build on physical world.
knowledge. We learn, we apply it in our lives, and we use  According to Plato, the "soul" is indeed the most
acquired ideas to create divine aspect of the human being.
 The self/soul/mind according to Plato is the aspect of
Socrates the human beings by which the Forms are known.
 Socrates was a Greek philosopher and one of the
very few individuals who shaped Western thought. Three Parts of the Soul
 Knowledge about Socrates is through second-hand 1. Appetitive (sensual)
information from the writings of his student Plato and  The element that enjoys sensual experiences,
historian Xenophon. such as food, drink, and sex
2. Rational (reasoning)
 Socrates was known for his method of inquiry in
 The elements that forbid the person to enjoy
testing an idea.
the sensual experiences; the part that loves
truth, hence, should rule over the other parts
Some of Socrates' ideas were
of the soul through the use of reason.
1. The soul is immortal
3. Spirited (feeling)
2. The care of the soul is the task of philosophy
 The element that is inclined toward reason
3. Virtue is necessary to attain happiness.
but understands the demands of passion; the
part that loves honor and victory.
 Socrates believed that philosophy had a very
important role to play in the lives of the people. One of
St. Augustine
his most-quoted phrases is, "The unexamined life is
not worth living."  Saint Augustine, also called Saint Augustine of
 According to Socrates, self-knowledge or the Hippo, is one of the Latin Fathers of the Church,
examination of one's self, as well as the question one of the Doctors of the Church, and one of the most
about how one ought to live one's life, are very significant Christian thinkers.
important concerns because only by knowing yourself  His written works are among the foundations of
can you hope to improve your life (Rappe, 1995) medieval and modern Christian thought.
 He added self-knowledge would open your eyes to  He adopted Plato's view that the "self" is an
your true nature immaterial (but rational) soul.
 In fact, your real self is not even your body. According  Augustine asserted that Forms were concepts existing
to Socrates, the state of your inner being within the perfect and eternal God where the soul
determines the quality of your life belonged.
 Saint Augustine's concept of the "self" was an inner,
immaterial "I" that had self-knowledge and self-
awareness.
Socrates said existence is of two kinds:  He believed that the human being was both a soul
1. The visible and body.
2. The invisible
The Aspects of the Soul  For Locke, a person's memories provide a continuity
a. It is able to be aware of itself. of experience that allows him/her to identify himself/
b. It recognizes itself as a holistic one. herself as the same person over time.
c. It is aware of its unity.  This theory of personal identity allows Locke to justify
a defense of accountability

 Saint Augustine believed that the human being who David Hume
is both soul and body is meant to tend to higher,  A Scottish philosopher, economist, and historian
divine, and heavenly matters because of his/her during the Age of Enlightenment.
capacity to ascend and comprehend truths through  He was a fierce opponent of Descartes' rationalism.
the mind.  He was one of the three main figureheads of the
 Saint Augustine pointed out that a person is similar influential British Empiricism movement.
to God as regards to the mind and its ability; that by  Hume is identified with the bundle theory wherein he
ignoring to use his/her mind he/she would lose his/her described the "self" or person as a bundle or a
responsibility to reach real and lasting happiness. collection of different perceptions that are moving in a
very fast and successive manner; therefore, it is in a
René Descartes "perpetual flux."
 René Descartes was a French philosopher,
mathematician, and scientist. MIND'S PERCEPTIONS INTO TWO GROUPS
 He is considered the father of modern Western o Impressions - These are the perceptions that are the
philosophy. most strong. They enter the senses with most force.
 Descartes proposed that doubt was a principal tool These are directly experienced; they result from
of disciplined inquiry. inward and outward sentiments.
 His method was called hyperbolical/metaphysical o Ideas - These are the less forcible and less lively
doubt, also sometimes referred to as counterparts of impressions. These are mechanisms
methodological skepticism that copy and reproduce sense data formulated based
 René Descartes famous line "Cogito ergo sum" upon previously perceived impressions.
translated as "I think, therefore I am" became a
fundamental element of Western philosophy as it  Hume asserted that the notion of the "self" could not
secured the foundation for knowledge in the face of be verified through observation.
radical doubt  He believed there is no logical justification for the
existence of anything other than what your senses
Descartes' claims about the self are experienced.
a. It is constant, it is not prone to change; and it is not  Hume compared the "self" to a nation; whereby a
affected by time. nation retains its "being a nation" not by some single
b. Only the immaterial soul remains the same throughout core or identity but by being composed of different,
time. constantly changing elements, such as people,
c. The immaterial soul is the source of our identity. systems, culture and beliefs.

THE SOUL Immanuel Kant

 It is a conscious, thinking substance that is  Philosopher Immanuel Kant is a central figure in
unaffected by time. modern philosophy.
 It is known only to itself  Among other ideas that Kant proposed was that, the
 It is not made up of parts. It views the entirety of itself human mind creates the structure of human
with no hidden or separate compartments. It is both experience.
conscious and aware of itself at the same time.  Kant's view of the "self" is transcendental, which
means the "self" is related to a spiritual or nonphysical
THE BODY realm.
 It is a material substance that changes through time.  He proposed that it is knowledge that bridges the
 It can be doubted; the public can correct claims about "self" and the material things together.
the body.
 It is made up of physical, quantifiable, divisible parts. Two kinds of consciousness of self (rationality):
1. Consciousness of oneself and one's psychological
John Locke states in inner sense (passive awareness of our
 John Locke was a philosopher and physician and thoughts and feelings)
was one of the most influential enlightenment 2. Consciousness of oneself and one's states by
thinkers. performing acts of apperception (active, reflective
 If Descartes described the "self" as a thinking thing, awareness of our own experiences and states).
Locke expanded this definition of "self" to include the
memories of that thinking thing.  Kant's point is that what truly exist are your ideas and
 Locke believed that the "self" is identified with your knowledge of your ideas; that you perceive the
consciousness and this "self" consists of outside world through the self with your ideas.
sameness of consciousness.  He defended the diverse quality or state of the body
and soul (self) presenting that "bodies are objects of
outer sense; souls are objects of inner sense."
 the relation between "mind" and "body" as if the two
were terms of the same categories

Two components of the self: Ryle's points against Descartes' theory are:
1. Inner self– The "self" by which you are aware of 1. The relation between mind and body are not isolated
alterations in your own state. processes.
2. Outer self– It includes your senses and the physical 2. Mental processes are intelligent acts, and are not
world. distinct from each other.
3. The operation of the mind is itself an intelligent act
Kant proposed that the "self" organizes information in
three ways:  According to Ryle, the rationalist view that mental acts
1. Raw perceptual input are distinct from physical acts and that there is a
2. Recognizing the concept mental world distinct from the physical world is a
3. Reproducing in the imagination misconception.
 Kant's self has a unified point of self-reference. You  Ryle described this distinction between mind and
are conscious of yourself as the subject, and you are body as "the dogma of the ghost in the machine."
conscious of yourself as a common subject of  Ryle criticized the theory that the mind is a place
different representations. where mental images are apprehended, perceived, or
remembered
Sigmund Freud
 His most important contribution in psychology, was QUESTION: If Ryle believed that the concept of a distinct
psychoanalysis, a practice devised to treat those who "self" is not real, where do we get our sense of self?
are mentally ill through dialogue.
 Freud did not accept the existence of any single entity Paul Churchland
that could be put forward as the notion of "self."  Philosopher and professor Paul Churchland is known
 His work in the field of psychoanalysis was for his studies in neurophilosophy and the philosophy
groundbreaking because it answered questions about of mind.
the human psyche in a way that no one else had  His philosophy stands on a materialistic view or the
before him. belief that nothing but matter exists.
 Churchland's idea is called eliminative materialism or
Three levels of consciousness according to Freud: the claim that people's common-sense understanding
1. Conscious– which deals with awareness of present of the mind is false, and that certain classes of mental
perceptions, feelings, thoughts, memories, and states which most people believe in do not exist
fantasies at any particular moment  "The physical brain and NOT the imaginary mind
2. Preconscious/subconscious– which is related to gives us our sense of self"
data that can readily be brought to consciousness
3. Unconscious– which refers to data retained but not Maurice Merleau-Ponty
easily available to the individual's conscious  A philosopher and author who emphasized the body
awareness or scrutiny. as the primary site of knowing the world.
 Maurice Merleau-Ponty's idea of "self" is an embodied
Freud further structured the psyche/mind into three parts: subjectivity.
1. Id– It operates on the pleasure principle. Every  The term "embodied" is a verb that means to give a
wishful impulse should be satisfied immediately, body to.
regardless of the consequences.
 Subjectivity, in philosophy, is the state of being a
2. Ego– It operates according to the reality principle. It
subject.
works out realistic ways of satisfying the id's
 A subject acts upon or affects some other entity,
demands.
which in philosophy is called the object.
3. Superego– It incorporates the values and morals of
society. The superego's function is to control the id's  He rejected the Cartesian mind-body dualism and
impulses. insisted that the mind and body are intrinsically
connected.
Superego consists of two systems:  By emphasizing the primacy of the body in an
1. Conscience– if the ego gives in to the id's demands, experience, he also veered away from the established
the superego may make the person feel bad through notion that the center of consciousness is the mind.
guilt.  He asserted that human beings are embodied
2. Ideal self– It is an imaginary picture of how you ought subjectivities, and that the understanding of the "self"
to be. It represents career aspirations; how to treat should begin from this fundamental fact.
other people; and how to behave as a member of  Merleau-Ponty argued that the body is part of the
society. mind, and the mind is part of the body.

Gilbert Ryle
 He wrote The Concept of Mind (1949) where he
rejected the notion that mental states are separable
from physical states.
 Ryle called the distinction between mind and matter a
"category-mistake" because of its attempt to analyze
  Mead believed the "self" is not present at birth; rather
it develops over time through social experiences and
activities.
Topic 2: The Self as a Product of Modern Society Among
Other Constructions Different Stages of Self-development
1. Preparatory Stage (Imitation Stage)
Sociology  Typically occurs in infancy and early childhood
 Posits that socially formed norms, beliefs, and values (around 0-2 years old).
come to exist within the person to a degree where  Children are learning through observation and
these become natural and normal. mimicking others, such as parents and caregivers.
Modernization 2. Play Stage
 Has improved people's living conditions.  Usually occurs in early childhood (around 2-6
 A person in the modern society is free to choose years old).
where to live, what to do, and who to be with.  Children begin to take on roles and act them out
Pre-modernization in play. They understand specific roles and start
 Centered on survival to use language to communicate.
 People behaved according to social rules and 3. Game Stage
traditions while the family and the immediate  Generally occurs in later childhood (around 7
environment provided supervision on how to get years old and up).
through life.  Children start to understand and take on multiple
 Choosing where to live, what line of work to do, and roles simultaneously, as seen in organized
even who to marry was very limited games. They learn to follow rules and understand
the expectations of various roles within a group.
Key Characteristics of Modernity (Giddens, 1991)
1. Industrialism- the social relations implied in the Topic 3: The Self and the Person in Contemporary
extensive use of material power and machinery in all Anthropology
processes of production.
2. Capitalism- a production system involving both What is Anthropology?
competitive product markets and the commodification  The study of people, past and present.
of labor power.  Focuses on understanding the human condition in its
3. Institutions of surveillance- the massive increase of cultural aspect
power and reach by institutions, especially in  Concerned with understanding how humans evolved
government and how they differ from one another.
4. Dynamism- characterized as having vigorous activity
and progress A Unit but Unitary
 Katherine Ewing (1990), described the self as
Social Groups and Social Network encompassing the "physical organism, possessing
a. Social Group- described as having two or more psychological functioning and social attributes."
people interacting with one another, sharing similar  Joseph LeDoux (2002) conceptualized the implicit and
characteristics, and whose members identify explicit aspects of the self. – explicit self: the aspect of
themselves as part of the group the self that you are consciously aware of – implicit
b. Social Network- refers to the ties or connections that self: the one that is not immediately available to the
link you to your social group consciousness
c. Organic Group- naturally occurring, and it is highly
 According to LeDoux (2002), "the self is not static; it is
influenced by your family. •
added to and subtracted from by genetic maturation,
d. Organic motivation- you join these groups because
learning, forgetting, stress, ageing, and disease."
your family is also a part of it, in the first place.
 Positive effect- rootedness; the foundation of the
social network runs deep, giving the person a sense Self as Representation
of belongingness.
 Downside- imply less freedom and greater social  Ewing (1989) asserted that a "self" is illusory. "People
conformity construct a series of self-representations that are
based on selected cultural concepts of person and
e. • Rational Group- occur in modern societies; formed selected chains of personal memories. Each self-
as a matter of shared self-interests; concept is experienced as whole and continuous, with
f. Rational motivation- people join these groups out of its own history and memories that emerge in a
their own free will specific context to be replaced by another self-
representation when the context changes."
Mead and the Social Self
 According to Ewing (1990), people from all cultures
 George Herbert Mead was a sociologist from the late have been observed to be able to rapidly project
1800s. He is well known for his "theory of the Social different self-representations, depending on the
Self." context of the situation.
 His theory is based on the perspective that the self is
a product of social interactions and internalizing the The Self Embedded in Culture
external views along with one's personal view about
oneself.
  How individuals see themselves, how they relate to
other people, and how they relate to the environment
are deeply defined by culture.
 Cultural anthropologists have argued that the self is William James and The Me-Self; I-Self
culturally shaped and infinitely variable.  I-self – The pure ego, the subjective self. It is the self
that is aware of its own actions.
Two Ways of How the Self is Constructed  A sense of being the agent or initiator of
behavior I believe my actions have an impact:
01. that I cause an effect in my environment
 The independent construct is characteristic of  A sense of being unique This is how I am
individualistic culture, such as North America and different from everything in my environment; I
Europe. perceive there is only one Me.
 Individualistic culture represents the self as separate,  A sense of continuity I am the same person
distinct, with emphasis on internal attributes or traits, from day to day.
skills, and values.  A sense of awareness about being aware I
02. understand what is going on in me and
 The interdependent construct is typical of the around me and I know I understand it.
collectivist culture in East Asia.
 Stressing the essential connection between the  Me-self – The self that is the object. The self that you
individual to other people. can describe. James called it the empirical self.
 Material– physical appearance and
Developmental psychologist Catherine Raeff (2010) extensions of it such as clothing, immediate
believed that culture can influence how you view: family, and home
relationships, personality traits, achievement, and expressing  Social– Social skills and significant
emotions. interpersonal relationships
 Spiritual– Personality, character, defining
Relationships values.
 Culture influences how you enter into and maintain
relationships. Global vs Differentiated Models
 For example, relationships may be seen as voluntary 1. Gestalt- the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
or as duty-based. In Western societies, it is essential 2. Phenomenological/Realistic (Humanistic)- the
for a person to choose whom to marry while some person is a total person and cannot be reduced into
Eastern societies still practiced arranged marriage. parts.
3. Psychoanalysis- the psyche is divided into id, ego,
Personality Traits and superego.
4. Self as personality divided into traits (Trait
 Culture influences whether (and how) you value traits,
Theory)- (e.g. Big Five Factors)
like humility, self-esteem, politeness, assertiveness,
5. Self as divided into domains- (physical-biological,
and so on, as well as how you perceived hardship or
emotional, behavioral, spiritual, moral)
how you feel about relying on others.
Real and Ideal Self-concept
Achievement
 Carl Ransom Rogers was an American psychologist
 Culture influences how you define success and
and among the founders of the humanistic approach
whether you value certain types of individual and
to psychology.
group achievements.
 Humanistic psychology emphasized the active role of
Expressing Emotions the individual in shaping their internal and external
worlds.
 Culture influences what will affect you emotionally, as
well as how you express yourself, such as showing  He coined the term actualizing tendency, which refers
your feelings in public or keeping it private. to a person's basic instinct to succeed at his or her
highest possible capacity.
Topic 4: THE SELF AS A COGNITIVE CONSTRUCTION
Personality Development and The Self-Concept
What is Psychology?  Rogers based his theories of personality development
 The scientific study of how people behave, think, and on humanistic psychology and theories of subjective
feel. experience.
 It includes topics, such as how the brain works, how  According to Rogers, all behavior is motivated by self-
our memory is organized, how people interact in actualizing tendencies and these tendencies drive you
groups, and how children learn about the world. In to reach your full potential.
fact, everything that concerns the human being is a  He believes that the world a person exists in is the
concern of psychology. center of constant changes, and the person reacts to
 Self-theorists argue that it is natural for humans to these changes.
form theories about themselves, both as a single
entity and as a group, to make meaning of one's Ideal Self vs. Real Self
existence and experience. The ideal self could include:
 Notions influenced by your parents
 What you admire in others
  What the society sees as acceptable
 What you think is in your best interest

Ideal Self The Self as Proactive and Agentic

 The person that you would like yourself to be; it is  The main agentic features of human agency are:
your concept of the "best me" who is worthy of intentionality, forethought, self-reactiveness, and self-
admiration. It is an idealized image of self that the reflectiveness.
individual has developed based on what you have  Intentionality- refers to acts done
learned and experienced. intentionally. You make plans and set goals
for what you want to do.
Real Self  Forethought- enables the person to
 The person you actually are. It is how you behave anticipate the likely consequences of
right at the moment of a situation. It is who you are in prospective actions. You think ahead and
reality–how you think, feel, or act at present. anticipate the outcomes of your actions.
 Self-reactiveness- enables the person to
The Importance of Alignment make choices and choose appropriate
 According to Rogers, "If the way that I am (the real courses of action, as well as motivate and
self) is aligned with the way that I want to be (the ideal regulate their execution. You monitor your
self), then I will feel a sense of mental well-being or own behavior and make adjustments to stay
peace of mind. In other words, when your real self on track with your goals
and ideal self are very similar you experience  Self-reflectiveness- gives the person the
congruence. High congruence leads to a greater ability to reflect upon oneself and the
sense of self-worth and a healthy, productive life" adequacy of one's thoughts and actions.
People are not only agents of action but self-
Multiple vs. Unified Self examiners of their own functioning. You think
 The multiple self – concept recognizes that our about your own actions, decisions, and the
identity can vary across different contexts and roles, impact they have.
suggesting a fluid and context-dependent
understanding of self.
 The unified self – concept posits that there is a
central, cohesive identity that integrates all aspects of
a person's experiences, providing consistency and
continuity.

Domains of the Self

University professor and author Gregg Henriques
proposed that the human self has three related, but separable,
domains. These domains are:
 Experiential Self- the theater of consciousness
because it is the first to experience its beingness. This
is tied very closely to memory.
 Private Self-conscious/Private Self- the portion of
your being that verbally narrates what is happening
and tries to make sense of what is going on. Also
called the "autobiographical self."
 Public Self/Persona- the public image that you
attempt to project to others which in turn interacts with
how people actually see you.

True vs False Self

 Winnicott suggests that the self is composed of the
true self and the false self.
 The function of the false self is to hide and protect the
true self.
 People tend to display a false self to impress others.
 The self can change depending on situations.

The Self as Proactive and Agentic

 Albert Bandura suggests that humans have the ability
to act and make things happen.
 In his theory of the self, people are viewed as
proactive agents of experiences.
 Agency embodies the endowments, belief systems,
self-regulatory capabilities, and structures and
functions through which personal influence is
exercised, rather than residing as a distinct entity.