Unit 1: The Self from Various Perspectives
INTRODUCTION
“The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination.” - Carl
Rogers
How old are you? For that number of years of existence, have you ever ask yourself the question,
“What is the self?” This unit focuses in answering that very question. Hang on, come with me,
and let us take a tour in the different perspective of the self.
What encompasses your “self”? Do you believe in the
existence of the soul or spirit? When our body dies,
does the soul continue to live? If the soul truly exists,
how does it communicate with the body? Where does
it enter and exit the body? Do we know who we are?
Are we conscious about it? Do we have a true and false
selves? What is the “me” self and the “I” self? These
questions are answered by our philosophers,
sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists and
western and eastern thought theorists.
After the tour in the various perspective, you will be
able to truly understand your “self’.” By then, you will
https://ui-ex.com/download.html
be able to answer without hesitation the question, “WHAT IS MY
“SELF?” This unit will be completed in 17 hours.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. discuss the different representations and conceptualizations of the self from various
disciplinal perspectives;
2. compare and contrast how the self has been exemplified across different perspectives;
3. examine the different influences, factors and forces that shape the self;
and
4. demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the development of one’s self and
identity by developing a theory of the self.
LET’S START #GuessWhat?
a. Assemble in a circle where a Deep Box being gift wrapped with a removable lid will be
placed.
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b. Each of you will remove the lid of the box and see a wonderful ‘gift’ inside.
c. You should keep the secret until all of you had a chance to see the ‘gift’.
Note to teacher:
Gift wrap a deep box in such a way that it is easy to take the lid off and on. Place a large mirror
in the bottom of the box.
After the activity, answer the following in your Journal.
1. What have you seen inside the box?
2. How does it feel to see the said ‘gift’?
3. How far do you know the said ‘gift’?
TOPIC 1: PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE
Dr. Kathlyn Mata, RGC
“To find yourself, think for yourself.” – Socrates
In efforts to appreciate and understand reality, and retort to
persistent questions of inquisitiveness, including the inquiry of
self, it was the Greeks who earnestly probed legends and folklore,
and turned away from them.
This topic on the philosophical perspective of the self (which will
utilize 3 hours) will then allow you to reexamine its key movers
for you to be able to identify the most imperative assumptions
made by philosophers from the ancient to the contemporary times.
www.thoughtco.com
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
1. cite highlights in the life of the philosophers that influenced their concepts and principles;
2. identify and differentiate the philosophers’ perspectives of self; and
3. create your own concept/ theory of the self.
LET’S LEARN
Do This! Classroom Walkway Tour
a. Walk around the room, write down notes, and reflect on the concepts that you see.
b. Match the photos posted in the corners of the room with the concepts.
c. Do this for 5 minutes. Then lecture-discussion will proceed to check on your transcripts.
Note to teacher:
Prepare, photos, concepts on self, phrases associated with the eleven philosophers, paste them in
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manila papers and display them around the room.
PHILOSOPHERS’ PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF
The way you choose to spend your life contributes to the development of your identity and self-
understanding. Your past is a contributory factor to who you are today, but who you will be
tomorrow greatly depends on your perspective about yourself.
1. SOCRATES (470-399 B.C.)
He explored his philosophy of immortality in the
days following his trial and before his sentence to
death was executed.
According to him, an unexamined life is not worth
living. This statement is reflected in his idea of the
self.
He believed in dualism that aside from the physical
body (material substance), each person has an
immortal soul (immaterial substance).
The body belongs to the physical realm and the soul
to the ideal realm. When you die, your body dies but not your soul. There is a life after the death
of your physical body. There is a world after death.
According to him, in order for you to have a good life, you must live a good life, a life with a
purpose, and that purpose is for you to do well. Then there you will be happy after your body dies.
2. PLATO (428/427-348/347 BC) 3
He was greatly affected by Socrates’ death.
Socrates was Plato’s teacher.
He believed that the self is immortal and it consists
of 3 parts:
a. Reason – the divine essence that enables you to
think deeply, make wise choices and achieve an
understanding of eternal truths;
b. Physical Appetite - your basic biological needs
such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire and;
c. Spirit or Passion – your basic emotions such as
love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness, and empathy.
The 3 components may work together or in conflict. If human beings do not live in accordance
with their nature/function, the result will be an injustice.
3. ST. AUGUSTINE (354-430)
He was a great explorer in his youth and young
adulthood; he spent great times with his friends and
up to the extent of fathering an illegitimate child.
His explorations led to his conversion to Christianity
wherein he spent the remainder of his day serving the
bishop of Hippo and writing books and letters
including his idea of the self.
At first, he thought the body as the “slave” of the soul
but ultimately, regarded the body as the “spouse” of
the soul both attached to one another. He believed
that the body is united with the soul, so that man may
be entire and complete. His first principle was, “I doubt, therefore I am.”
The self seeks to be united with God through faith and reason and he described that humanity is
created in the image and likeness of God, that God is supreme and all-knowing and everything
created by God who is all good is good.
4. RENE DESCARTES (1596-1650)
Descartes was a scientist in his professional life and
during his time, scientists believed that after death
the physical body dies, hence the self also dies.
He was a devout Catholic who believed in the
immortal souls and eternal life. By having the idea
of both the thinking self and the physical body,
Descartes was able to reconcile his being a scientist
and a devout Catholic.
The self is a thinking thing, distinct from the body.
The thinking self or soul is nonmaterial, immortal,
conscious while the physical body is material,
mortal, non-thinking entity, fully governed by the
physical laws of nature.
“Cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore I Am) is the keystone to his concept of the self. The essence
of existing as a human identity is the possibility of being aware of oneself.
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5. JOHN LOCKE (1634-1704)
The intolerant and charged atmosphere in England
kept Locke to stay abroad and freedom from
political intrigues and duties allowed him to
develop his philosophy.
According to Locke, the human mind at birth is a
tabula rasa (“blank slate”). The self or personal
identity is constructed primarily from sense
experiences which shape and mold the self
throughout a person’s life.
Personal identity is made possible by self-
consciousness. In order to discover the nature of
personal identity, you to have to find out what it means to be a person. A person is a thinking,
intelligent being who has abilities to reason and to reflect. A person is also someone who considers
itself to be the same thing at different times and different places.
Consciousness means being aware that you are thinking; this what makes your belief possible that
you are the same identity at different times and in different places. The essence of the self is its
conscious awareness of itself as thinking, reasoning, reflecting identity.
6. DAVID HUME (1711-1776)
He left the University of Edinburg at the age of 15, to
study privately. Although he was encouraged to take
up law, his interest was philosophy. It is during his
private study that he began raising questions about
religion.
For him, there is no “self” only a bundle of perceptions
passing through the theatre of your minds.
According to him, humans are so desperately wanting
to believe that they have a unified and continuous self
or soul that they use their imaginations to construct a
fictional self. The mind is a theatre, a container for
fleeting sensations and disconnected ideas and your reasoning ability is merely a slave to the
passions. Hence, personal identity is just a result of imagination.
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7. IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804)
Although Kant recognizes the legitimacy in Hume’s
account, he opposes the idea of Hume that everything
starts with perception and sensation of impressions,
that’s why he brought out the idea of the self as a
response against the idea of Hume.
For Kant, there is unavoidably a mind that
systematizes the impressions that men get from the
external world.
Therefore, Kant believed that the self is a product of
reason because the self regulates experience by
making unified experience possible.
We construct the self. The self exists independently
of experience and the self goes beyond experience.
8. SIGMUND FREUD (1856-1939)
Freud develops his theories during a period in which he
experienced heart irregularities, disturbing dreams and
periods of depression. He read William Shakespeare in
English throughout his life.
Based on him, the self is composed of three layers,
conscious, preconscious and unconscious.
The conscious mind includes thoughts, feelings, and
actions that you are currently aware of; the
preconscious mind includes mental activities that are
stored in your memory, not presently active but can be
accessed or recalled; while the unconscious mind
includes activities that you are not aware of.
According to him, there are thoughts, feelings, desires, and urges that the conscious mind wants to
hide, buried in your unconscious, but may shed light to your unexplained behavior.
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9. GILBERT RYLE (1900-1976)
His father was a general practitioner but had a keen
interest in philosophy and astronomy that he passed it
on to his children; they had an impressive library where
Ryle enjoyed being an omnivorous reader.
He graduated with first class honors in the New Modern
Greats School of Philosophy, Politic, and Economics.
His concept of the self is provided in his philosophical
statement, “I Act therefore I am.” Ryle views the self
as the way people behave, which is composed of a set
of patterned behavior.
Basically, for Ryle, the self is the same as your
behavior.
10. PAUL CHURCHLAND (1942)
Churchland became a professor at the University of
California where he later became the department chair
and member of the Cognitive Science Faculty, a
member of the Institute for Neural Computation. His
membership to these organizations prompted him to
dwell on the brain as the self.
Churchland’s theory is anchored in the statement, “the
self is the brain.” The self is inseparable from the brain
and the physiological body because the physical brain
gives the sense of self. In short, the brain and the self are
one. Once the brain is dead, the self is dead too.
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11. MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY (1908-1961)
When he won the school’s “Award for Outstanding
Achievement” in Philosophy it traced his commitment
to the vocation of Philosophy.
His concept, “the self has embodied subjectivity”
explained that all your knowledge about yourself and
the world is based on your subjective experiences and
everything that you are aware of is contained in your
consciousness.
For him, your body is your general medium for having
a world.
LET’S PRACTICE
Try This! Paint Thy Self
a. Stay in the most comfortable place in the room (or in the vicinity of the college) and draw
an image of your “self” and paint the “self” any color/s that you want.
b. After painting your “self”, you will be asked to show your painting in class and tell
something about it.
c. This is not a graded activity but a way of expressing who they are, including their joys,
and frustrations about themselves, and the activity would create a cathartic effect.
Note to teacher:
Instruct the students at least a day before conducting this activity to prepare and bring the
following: 1/8th illustration board, paint brush, water, paint, tissue paper, and palette. If there are
possible needing counseling cases in the students’ output, refer them to the guidance office.
LET’S ASSESS
Check This! Theory of My Own Self
Which among the philosophies discussed can you identify with? Create your own theory of the
“self.”
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Rubrics
Exceeds Meets Approaches
Criterion Expectations Expectations Expectations Comments
3 2 1
Presents the
presents the
reflection in a presents the
reflection in a
compelling, reflection in a
Organization moderately
highly- disorganized
organized
organized manner
manner
manner
Demonstrates Demonstrates
Demonstrates
thorough reasonably
minimal
Content reflective reflective
reflective
analysis analysis
analysis
Grammar, There were few Grammar
Sentence punctuation and grammar, punctuation and
Structure spelling were punctuation and spelling errors
perfect spelling errors were evident.
