Week 3

MODULE 3: The Self in Eastern and Western Thoughts

1. Explain the difference between individualistic and collective self.

2. Comprehend the concepts behind the eastern and western principles.

3. Identify how these insights contribute to self-determination.

Content:

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between-collectivism-and-individualism/

What Is a Collectivist Culture?

Collectivist cultures prioritize the group's needs and aim over the needs
and wishes of each individual. In such societies, each person's identity is
shaped by their relationships with other members of the tribe and their
interconnection.

Traits of Collectivist Culture

People are considered "good" in collectivist cultures if they are kind,
helpful, dependable, and attentive to the needs of others. Individualistic
societies, on the other hand, often place a larger emphasis on traits like
assertiveness and independence.

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The following are some characteristics of collectivist cultures:
• Individuals describe themselves in relation to others ("I am a member
of...", for example).
• To minimize potential conflict or embarrassment, communication is
frequently more indirect.
• Loyalty to the group is promoted.
• Decisions are made with the best interests of the group in mind.
• When a decision must be taken to reach greater levels of peace,
compromise is preferred.
• It is critical to work as a team and to help others.
• Individual pursuits are given less priority than communal goals.
• Individual rights take a backseat to the rights of families and
communities.
Eastern countries tend to be more collectivist—such as China, Japan, and
South Korea—as well as countries within South America.

Individualism vs. Collectivism

Individualistic civilizations are frequently compared with collectivist
cultures. Individualism is concerned with the rights and concerns of each
individual, whereas collectivism emphasizes the value of the collective.
Individualistic societies stress individuality and personal identity over unity
and selflessness or compassion, which are valued attributes in collectivist
civilizations.
These cultural variations are widespread and can have an impact on
many parts of society. Whether people come from a collectivist or individualist
culture influences how they purchase, dress, learn and do business.
Workers in a collectivist culture, for example, may attempt to sacrifice
their own enjoyment for the welfare of the group. Individualistic cultures, on
the other hand, may believe that their personal happiness and aims are more
important.
Impact of Collectivism
People are affected by collective cultures in a variety of ways.
Self-Perception
People's self-concept is influenced by their culture. While individuals in
individualistic cultures may describe themselves in terms of personality traits
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and characteristics (e.g., "I am smart, funny, athletic, and kind"), those in
collectivist cultures are more likely to describe themselves in terms of social
relationships and roles (e.g., "I am a good son, brother, and friend").
Strong Relationships
According to research, collectivist cultures are linked to limited relational
mobility, which refers to how many options people in a society have to develop
relationships with others of their choosing.
Relational mobility is low when people's relationships are steady, robust,
and long-lasting. Rather than being developed by personal choice, these
relationships are frequently formed by considerations such as family and
geography.
It's difficult to form new relationships in a collectivist culture, partly
because meeting new people is difficult in general. Strangers in collectivist
cultures are more likely to remain strangers than in individualistic cultures.
Individualistic societies, paradoxically, put more effort and energy into
deliberately preserving personal connections, frequently through enhanced
self-disclosure and deeper closeness. Individualistic societies have more
strained and fragile relationships than collectivist cultures, where stable
relationships are anticipated. People must put forth more effort to maintain
these bonds.

In a collectivist culture, maintaining harmony within interpersonal

interactions is critical. This is most likely due to the difficulty of changing these
linkages. Failure to keep the peace might lead to long-term dissatisfaction for
all parties concerned.

Conformity
Cultural differences also have an impact on the desire to stand out or
blend in with the crowd. People submitting an online review, for example, are
less inclined to go against the consensus rating or convey emotions in a
collectivist culture, according to one study.
Conformity can also be found in several industries. According to studies
published in the Journal of Economic Growth, descendants of pre-industrial
agricultural societies prefer collectivist cultures and prefer to labor in more
mundane jobs rather than pushing innovation.
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Potential Pitfalls of Collectivism
Collective cultures have certain potential downsides.
• Social Anxiety
Collectivistic cultures are more supportive of socially hesitant and
withdrawn habits, according to research. Students from Asian cultures
(collectivist) have higher levels of social anxiety than students from European
cultures (individualist), according to one study.
However, collectivist principles may not have been the sole cause of
this. The researchers concluded that some of the increase in anxiety could be
related to Asian American pupils' increased difficulty in recognizing and
reading emotion after examining the data.
• Less Social Support
People in collectivist cultures are more hesitant to tell their peers about
their personal concerns. According to research, people are also hesitant to
share their knowledge within the workplace (even while working in teams),
doing so only if rewarded or if they are very altruistic.
People frequently seek out what is known as implicit social support instead.
This is spending time with people who are supportive without actually
discussing or addressing the source of the stress.

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individualist-and-collectivist-cultures_tbl3_51775582

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Concepts of the self in Western philosophy

Confucianism
Personality, according to Confucianism, is a product of one's upbringing
and surroundings. This demonstrates that the person is a social being, hence
classifying us as "social animals." According to this belief, everyone is born
with four beginnings that contribute to the construction of a self. It consists
of the following elements, which represent the perfection of virtues found
intrinsically in every human's heart:
1. Heart of compassion;
2. Heart of righteousness;
3. Heart of propriety; and
4. Heart of wisdom.
The aforesaid virtues when practiced lead to the construction of the self.
However, it is important to recognize that the function of the family and
community in the construction of the Self is critical. Confucius emphasizes the
need of doing something and never being idle, as this leads to the pursuit of
virtues. In Confucius' logic, it is necessary to apply effort in order to realize
the true character of the self.
Taoism
Taoism emphasizes the falsity of words long before Jacques Derrida's
deconstruction and philosophy of linguistic analysis. Human language is
incapable of describing the so-called "Tao," the core of existence and the
world, or the Way. Paradoxes, contradictions, anecdotes, analogies, and
aphorisms are employed to do this. Tao is unfathomable. "The self is simply
one of the many expressions of the Tao," according to Taoist belief. It's a
continuation of the universe" (Ho, 1995: 120). "The perfect man has no self;
the spiritual man has no achievement; the true sage has no name," Taoism
says about the self in its peculiar method of presentation (Ibid.). As a result,
Taoism's goal is the achievement of a lack of self or a "selfness".
Buddhism
Buddha advised that one should abstain from dealing with metaphysics
because this activity is futile. Buddhism argues that the self as such does not
exist, that it is an illusion. There is no god, nor matter, neither is there a
phenomenal world. No-self is achieved through a self-negation in the state of
nirvana (Ho, 1995: 121).
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Hinduism
Hinduism postulates an essence, which stands after the so-called
transcendental unity of consciousness (Kant) or the "Self-as-Knower". This
kind of self is the true self, which cannot be described but can be experienced.
Like Buddhism, Hinduism views the essence of human life as consisting of
suffering and asserts that this is caused by a fallacious conception of the self.

Concepts of the self in Western philosophy

René Descartes (Rationalism) - The “self” represents something, which
belongs to the thinking substance as an intuitive beginning of rational
cognition, emphasizing its independence.
Solipsism - Solipsism represents the viewpoint of the isolated individual and
contemplation (idealistic view).
Fichte - The “self” is a substance, the absolute creative beginning, which
implies not only itself, but also everything that exists as is “not-self”.
Hegel - The social essence of the human self-positioned as an estranged
force, standing above concrete individuals, thus representing a world reason
[absolute spirit].
Henri Bergson - This view represents the self-confidence of the individual in
the bourgeois society, which encounters the negation of the self.
Freud - Freud conceived of the self as a submersion of the ego in the id (the
kingdom of the blind instincts) and a distorted perception of the individual of
his societal essence as a result of the control exerted on it by the enraged
“super-ego”.
Dialectical materialism - The real battle of man for an accreditation is
conceived as a creator of societal relations and the societal norms of life.
- The biggest and freest expression in each individual as an active subject of
his human self becomes possible in the conditions of the all-encompassing
(total) development of the personality.
Patricia Churchland - The self is thought as a senses communis or a product
of folk psychology and, as such, it does not exist in reality.
Daniel Dennett - The self is conceived as a homunculus or “a little man” that
controls the performance in the theater of consciousness.
Marya Schechtman & Hilde Nelson - The self is constructed through an
incessant process of interpretation of the whole experiential richness of the
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individual, which is arranged in a chronological way. Some parts of this
experiential richness can be more constitutive for the self in comparison to
others.
Social Constructivism - A reductionist view, according to which the self is
constructed on the basis of the social interactions among people.
Alain Morin - The phenomenon of “inner speech” is conceived as constitutive
for the self due to the fact that it represents a delimiter of the inner and the
outer world of man.

Assessment:

1. Make a make an Editorial Cartoon between the Eastern and Western

thoughts.
Rubrics for Editorial Cartoon
Criteria 10 8 6 4
Excellent Acceptable Minimal Unacceptable
Message Key issue and Key issue and Key issue is Key issue and
cartoonist’s cartoonist’s identifiable; cartoonist’s
position are position are cartoonist’s position are
clearly identifiable. position may unclear.
identifiable. be unclear.
Visual Cartoon is Cartoon is Cartoon is Cartoon is
Presentation neat and neat and somewhat messy; color
and clean; color clean; color neat; some and graphics
Creativity and creative and creative color and are lacking;
graphics are graphics are creative captions are
used used; captions graphics are omitted or
exceptionally are reliable. used; captions unreadable.
well; captions are included.
are reliable.
Content Cartoon Cartoon Cartoon Cartoon
clearly conveys an conveys a conveys little
conveys an understanding limited or no
understanding of the issue; understanding understanding
of the issue; uses of the issue; of the issue;
excellent use appropriate attempts to does not use
of appropriate symbolism; use symbolism;
symbolism; title is clear symbolism; title is missing
title is clear, and relevant title is unclear
clever, and to topic. or irrelevant
relevant to to topic.
topic.
References:

Dimkov, P., 2020. The Concept of Self in Eastern and Western Philosophy.
[ebook] BULGARIA: Centerprode, pp.199-201. Available at:
https://centerprode.com/conferences/5IeCSHSS/coas.e-conf.05.17197d.pdf
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Understanding Collectivist Cultures. (2022, February 23). Verywell Mind.
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-are-collectivistic-cultures-2794962

Magalona MAP, LPT, E., Sadsad, PhD, E., & Cruz, MAEd, LPT, E.
(2018). Understanding the Self. MINDSHAPERS CO., INC.