Developing

the
Whole Person
Chapter 3
Personal Development
 Holistic Development
• Is the process of self actualization and
learning that combines an individual’s mental,
physical, social, emotional and spiritual
growth.
• The term can be used to describe forms of
alternative education that are based on the
more humanistic and democratic outlook.
 Rene Descartes
• A French Philosopher,
Mathematician, and Scientist, dubbed
as the “Father of Modern Western
Philosophy” much of subsequent
Western philosophy is a response to
his writings, which are studied
closely to this day.
• He spent about 20 years of his life in
Dutch Republic
Mind and Body Dualism of
Descartes
• One of the modern philosophers of our
time, influenced much of mankind’s
thinking with his theory of duality or
understanding the nature of things in a
simple, dual mode.
 Hence, you are
familiar with the
separation of the
body and spirit in
western religion,
and of the mind
and the body in
the study of
human sciences.
More examples of these are
the distinct male-female
gender categorization or
the Yin and Yang of Eastern
thought, although Western
Culture overemphasizes its
either-or black-white
 This is contrary to what
Eastern Philosophers
understand it to be-that
there is dynamism between
two forces in nature, and
that each force is present in
each other and will never
More examples can be thought
of to illustrate this, such as:
• GOOD-BAD
• RADICAL PURITY
• LIFE-DEATH
• And other points of view where things are taken
in their absolute and extremes
Yang
The yin Yang Yin
• Positive
• Male
• The Sun
Symbol • Negative
• Female
• The Moon
• Light • Dark
• Spirit • Netherworld
• South • North
• Fire • Water
• Summer • Cold
• Life • Winter
• Heat • Death
• Heaven • Below
• Active • Growth
• Above • Earth
• Generation • Passive
Holism and
Gestalt
 Holism
• In 1926, General Jan C. Smuts, a
South African statesman, military
leader, and philosopher, wrote
about holism in his book, Holism
and Evolution. He introduced the
Academic Terminology for Holism
as “the tendency in nature to
form wholes which are greater
than the sum of the parts
through creative evolution”.
 Gestalt
• Earlier in 1890 a German Philosopher Christian Von Ehrenfels,
and later on supported by psychologist Max Wertheimer, Kurt
Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler of the Berlin School, introduced the
concept of Gestalt.
• This is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as
“something that is made of many parts and yet is somehow or
different from the combination of its parts; broadly, the
general quality or character of something”. This theory
continues to influence much of psychology
 Max Wertheimer Kurt Koffka Wolfgang Kohler
Christian Von
Ehrenfels
 the clusters or sums of these different
notes do not make up the whole
symphony nor characterize the whole
symphony. The Interaction and Fusion of
the different notes in a symphony
produce something bigger and greater
than the notes themselves. Another
example is a car, A car is made up of
hundreds of different parts. Separately,
these parts do not represent the car, but
symphony, a car, and humans
in terms of being unified
entity follows the principle of
Holism. In understanding
humans, it is important to see
the person in his entirety and
 We have all heard that no two snowflakes are alike. Each snowflake
takes the perfect form for the maximum efficiency and effectiveness
for its journey. And while the universal force of gravity gives them a
shared destination, the expansive space in the air gives each
snowflake the opportunity to take their own path. They are on the
same journey, but each takes a different path.
Along this gravity-driven journey, some snowflakes collide and
damage each other, some collide and join together, some are
influenced by wind... there are so many transitions and changes that
take place along the journey of the snowflake. But, no matter what
the transition, the snowflake always finds itself perfectly shaped for
its journey.
I find parallels in nature to be a beautiful reflection of grand
orchestration.
 One of these parallels is of snowflakes and us. We, too, are all headed
in the same direction. We are being driven by a universal force to the
same destination. We are all individuals taking different journeys and
along our journey, we sometimes bump into each other, we cross paths,
we become altered... we take different physical forms. But at all times
we too are 100% perfectly imperfect. At every given moment we are
absolutely perfect for what is required for our journey. I’m not perfect
for your journey and you’re not perfect for my journey, but I’m perfect
for my journey and you’re perfect for your journey. We’re heading to
the same place, we’re taking different routes, but we’re both exactly
perfect the way we are.
 Think of what understanding this great orchestration could mean for
relationships. Imagine interacting with others knowing that they too
each share this parallel with the snowflake. Like you, they are headed
to the same place and no matter what they may appear like to you, they
have taken the perfect form for their journey. How strong our
relationships would be if we could see and respect that we are all
perfectly imperfect for our journey.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free
 When we consider a human person and what
various aspects make up this complex organism,
five aspects come to mind :
Physiological –the physical attributes including the five physical senses

Cognitive –or the intellectual functions of the mind: thinking, recognizing, reasoning
analyzing, projecting synthesizing, recalling, and assessing.

Psychological –or how thinking, feeling, and behaving interact and happen in a person.

Social –or the manner by which an individual interacts with other individuals or groups of
individuals

Spiritual –or the attribute of a person’s consciousness and beliefs including the values and
virtues that guide and put meaning into a person’s life.
Feelings and
Emotions
 Feelings, Moods, and
Emotions do not exactly
mean one and the same.
 Paul Ekman of the University of California
identified six basic emotions that human beings
Happin Sadnes :
experience Fear
ess s

Surpris
Anger Disgust
e
 Emotion
• Emotion is taken from the Latin verb, “movare”, which means to
move or be upset or agitated. It is defined as a descriptive term
referring to variations in level of arousal, affective state or mood,
expressive movements, and attitudes.
• In a state of strong emotion, the person’s physical responses include
faster heartbeat, profuse sweating, and dilation of eye pupils, higher
blood pressure, and muscular tremors, affecting the nervous system
in general.
 Feelings
• According to Dr. Antonio R. Damasio, from a neuro-
scientific approach, feeling arises from the brain as it
interprets an emotion, which is usually caused by
physical sensations experienced by the body as a
reaction to a certain external stimulus.
• An example of this would be the emotion of being
afraid which produces a feeling of fear.
Attitud
es
• are a person’s thoughts, feelings, and emotion
about another person, object, idea, behavior,
or situation based on his or her values and
belief systems. Belief and certain values
therefore, affect the attitude of a person.
Behavi
or
• is a manifestation or acting out of attitudes
an individual has.
Values
• At the core of every person lies a system of
beliefs that adheres to the highest ideals of
human existence. These ideals create
meaning and purpose in a person’s life. These
ideals are called “values”.
 Shalom H
Schwartz
• A Psychologist and a cross-cultural
researcher from Hebrew University
of Jerusalem conducted a research
which covered many different peoples
and cultures to identify the ten
common values people have
regardless of their racial and cultural
backgrounds.
Schwartz wrote in his report, Basic Human
Values : Theories, Methods, and
Applications, the finding of his research ,
which identified the ten basic values that can
characterized by describing their central
motivational goals.
 The Ten Basic Values
• Self Direction –independent thought and action;
choosing, creating, and exploring.
• Stimulation –excitement, novelty, and challenge in life.
• Hedonism –pleasure and sensuous gratification for
oneself.
• Achievement –personal success through demonstrating
competence according to social standards.
• Power –social status and prestige, and control or
dominance over people and resources.
 The Ten Basic Values
• Security –safety, harmony, and stability of society, of relationships, and
of self.
• Conformity –restraint of actions, inclinations, and impulses that are
likely to upset or harm others and violate social expectations or norms.
• Tradition –respect, commitment, and acceptance of the customs and
ideas that traditional culture or religion provide the self.
• Benevolence –preserving and enhancing the welfare of those with whom
one is frequent personal contact (the “in-group”)
• Universalism –understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and protection for
the welfare of all people and of nature.
 The Motivational Goals that
characterize the ten values he
identified were
• Openness to change
• Self–Transcendence
• Self–Enhancement
• Conservation
Virtue
s
• adjectives that describe positive and desirable qualities
which usually mirror a value it represents.
• while on the other hand , values are usually nouns.
There has been confusion over definition pf values and
virtues. Oftentimes, people interchange these two and
when they write down a list of values, they also includes
virtues in the list.
 Values Virtues

Peace Peaceful, Calm

Integrity Reputable, Responsible, Believable, Honest, Trustworthy

Love Loving, Caring, Compassionate, Gentle, Affectionate

Respect Respectful, Civil

Balance Objective, Fair, Harmonious

Values are usually reflected through these virtues which in turn