UNDERSTANDING THE SELF Þ Physical Appetite – accounts for the

basic biological needs such as

THE SELF FROM VARIOUS hunger, thirst, and sexual desire.
PERSPECTIVES Þ Spirit/Passion – accounts for the
Þ “Who am I?” basic emotion such as love, anger,
ambition, aggressiveness, and
THE ANCIENT TRIUMVERATE empathy.
• Socrates
“Know thyself” • Aristotle
Þ Man must live and stand according Þ The mind (self) is tabula rasa – a
to nature. blank slate
Þ Man must look at himself Þ Self is composed of matter and
form
“An unexamined life is not worth living” Þ Matter is in a continuous process
of developing and becoming
TWO FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS: Þ the Process of Completion is
1. To find what? through experiences
Þ Invitation to introspection: Þ Self comes from a First Cause,
Platonic theory of the source of all changes
reminiscence although unchangeable itself
Þ Knowledge is within; Þ The goal of human self is
inherent in man; not outside reached in happiness through
Þ Wisdom is learning to reflect. moderation or balance of things.
2. By what means?
Þ Socratic Method THE POST ARISTOTELIANS
• Stoicism – apathy or indifference to
TWO ASPECTS OF REALITY pleasure
(Dualistic Reality = Body and Soul) • Hedonism – “Eat, drink, and be
Physical World Spiritual World happy. For tomorrow, you will die.”
Changeable, Unchanging, • Epicureanism – moderate pleasure
transient, imperfect. eternal, perfect
“World of “World of MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
Senses/Matter” Ideas/Form” (500 AD – 1350 AD)
Þ Theocentric (God-centered)
OUR SELF Þ “Is the self related to a supreme
Þ Strive for wisdom and perfection being or God?”
Þ Reason is the soul’s tool to achieve Þ “Who am I in relation to a supreme
such state. being/God?”
Þ From the scientific investigation on
• Plato nature and search of happiness
“3 Part Soul/Self (Psyche)” Þ More imposing than informing
Þ Reason – the divine essence that lets Þ To aim at Paganism and Barbarism
us think deeply (wisdom), make wise
choices, and achieve a true • St. Augustine
understanding of eternal truths. (Theologian, Philosopher)

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 Þ Integrates Platonic Ideas with the
tenets of Christianity
Þ Platonic Realm of Idea = Christian
Philosophy of a transcendent God
Þ Self strives to achieve union with
God through faith and reason.
• St. Thomas Aquinas
Þ Self knowledge is dependent on our
experience of the world around us.
Þ We don’t encounter ourselves as
isolated minds or selves, but rather
always as agents interacting with our
environment.
Þ The label we attribute to ourselves
are taken from the things we
encounter in our environment.
Þ “The things that we love tell us what
we are”
Þ Experiencing that something exists
doesn’t tell us what it is
Þ Knowing and learning about a thing
requires a long process of
understanding; some with the mind
and the self – with experience and
reason.
MODERN PHILOSOPHY
(14th century to early 20th century)
Þ Anthropocentric (Man-centered)
• Rene Descartes
“Cogito ergo sum”
Þ I think, therefore I am.
Þ Self-awareness
Þ Self is a thinking thing which can
exist independently of the body
• John Locke
Þ The self endures because of memory
Þ Conscious awareness and memory of
previous experiences are the keys to
understanding the self
Þ Coined “tabula rasa”
Þ Dualism
“Thinking self and the Physical body is
connected via the Pineal Gland.”
• David Hume
Þ Impressions: basic sensations of
experiences
Þ The self is a bundle of different
perceptions
• Immanuel Kant
Þ A priori concepts
Þ Self as subject, not object
Þ The self organizes all the sensations
and thoughts into a picture that
makes sense to each one of us.
• Sigmund Freud
(Father of Psychoanalysis)
Þ The self is multi-tiered/multi-
layered:
o Conscious – refers to thoughts
and feelings that we are aware
of.
o Preconscious – experiences
that are unconscious but could
become conscious with little
effort.
o Unconscious – contains all
drives, urges or instincts that
are beyond our awareness but
motivate our feelings,
thoughts, and behavior.
• Gilbert Ryle
Þ The self is defined in terms of
behavior that is presented to the
world.
Þ The self is a pattern of behavior, the
tendency or disposition for a person
to behave in a certain way in certain
circumstances.
• Paul Churchland
Þ Eliminative Materialism
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 Þ Grounded in neuroscience
Þ The mind/self is the brain.
CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY
(Late 19th century)
• Edmund Husserl
Þ We experience our self as a unity
which in mental and physical are
seamlessly woven together.
• Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Þ Lived body
Þ An entity that can never be
objectified in a completely objective
sort of way, as opposed to the “body
as object” of the dualist.
Þ “There is no duality of substance but
a dialectic of living being in its
biological milieu”
Sociological Perspective
Þ The self is a relatively stable set of
perceptions of who we are in
relation.
Þ Not a passive participant.
Þ Shaped through interaction with
other people
The Looking Glass Self
Þ How we believe others see us.
The Johari Window
Þ Technique used to enhance the
individual’s perception on self and
others.
FREUD’S THEORY OF THE ID,
SUPEREGO, AND EGO
• Id – natural part of self; animalistic
nature of man; focus is to be happy
and satisfied.
• Superego – morals and values;
social self; idealistic principle
• Ego – psychological self; reality
principle.
EGO DEFENSE MECHANISM
• Repression – when ego is
threatened, it unconsciously forgets
or block unpleasant feelings.
• Displacement – redirecting
unacceptable urges to less
threatening people or objects.
• Regression – the ego may revert
back to an earlier stage during times
of stress or anxiety.
• Projection – attributing the
unwanted impulse to another person.
• Sublimation – suppression of
unwanted impulses by substituting it
with a creative cultural
accomplishment.
• Denial – denying the existence of an
external threat or traumatic event.
• Rationalization – reinterpreting
our/others’ behavior to make it more
acceptable and less threatening to us.
FUNCTIONALISM
• Focused on the operation of
conscious activity
• Study of man’s adjustment to his
environment
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
• Putting meaning in certain words
IMAGINARY AUDIENCE
• Thought to believe that others are
always watching and evaluating
them; and they are special and
unique.
SELF-CONCEPT
• Mental representation of the entire
you.
ANTHROPOLOGY
Western Self Non-Western Self
Autonomous and Identity shared with
ego-centric others
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INDIVIDUALISM
Þ Individualistic nature
Þ Independent part of the universe and
the society.
Characteristics of Individualism
• Individual rights take center stage
• Independence is highly valued
• Being dependent upon others is often
considered shameful or embarrassing
• People tend to be self-reliant
• The rights of individuals tend to take
a higher prescedent
• People often place a greater
emphasis on standing out and being
unique
• Monotheism belief on one God
• Materialism
COLLECTIVISM
Þ Human as integral part of the
universe and society
Þ People are fundamentally connected
Þ Duty to others
Characteristics of Collectivism
• Social rules focus on promoting
selflessness and putting the
community needs ahead of
individual needs
• Working as a group and supporting
others is essential
• People are encouraged to do what’s
best for society
• Families and communities have a
central role.
THE SELF IN ORIENTAL/EASTERN
THOUGHT
• Buddhism
(Siddharta Gautama)
Þ Experience in the transformations of
consciousness and stages of
meditation
Þ Buddha denies the self; no self, no
individual
Þ To study the self is to deny the self
Þ When self becomes anxiety-free, one
can act spontaneously
Þ Everything is impermanent in the
continuous becoming of lived
experience.
• Hinduism
(fusion of various Indian cultures and
traditions)
Þ Karma: good or bad
Þ Actions that the individual
performed in a previous life
determines his/her caste
Þ Law of Karma suggests that a
person’s mental and physical actions
are binding
Þ “We reap what we sow”
Þ Our successes and failures are mostly
products of our own thoughts and
actions.
• Taoism
(Lao-Tzu)
Þ Relativity of opposites (yin and
yang)
Þ Self as a separate identity is
supported by equal and opposite
sensation of otherness
Þ Self does not exist without the
existence of the other
• Confucianism
(Confucius)
Þ The self is the starting point of a
constructive process
Þ A person who is not responsive to
others is self-centered.
Þ Self is relational and interdependent
Þ Filial piety is a foundational concept
in the thought of Confucius
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SEXUAL SELF Þ Hypothalamus regulates the function
Biological Perspective of the pituitary gland to secrete
Þ 22 pairs of autosomes; last pair hormones.
known as sex chromosomes
Genetic Basis SEX vs. GENDER
Þ X and Y Chromosomes Sex
Human Reproductive System Þ Biological, anatomical, physical
Þ Male and Female Reproductive Þ Male: Penis
System Female: Vagina
Intersex: chromosomes/hormones
Erogenous Zones but external genital is either male or
Þ According to Freud, it is where the female
libido is centered Þ Refers to sexual acts, “having sex”
Þ Needs stimulation by engaging the
person in gratifying activities Gender
Þ Parts of the body that experience Þ Structure of social relations that
heightened sensitivity and/or signal centers on reproductive area
sexual arousal of some kind. Þ Gender-normative: adhering to or
Þ Most sensitive erogenous zone is the reinforcing ideal standards of
Brain masculinity or femininity.
Gender non-conformity: behavior
Sexual Response Cycle or gender expression by an
Þ Model that describes the individual that does not match
physiological responses, that occur masculine or feminine gender norms.
during sexual activity Cisgender: gender identity matches
Þ Hypothalamus – most important part his/her assigned sex
of the brain for sexual functioning; Transgender: do not match their
produces important sexual hormones assigned sex
that are then secreted by the pituitary
gland. Sexual Intercourse
1. Desire (Libido) a. Unitive – to unite the couple
2. Excitement (Arousal) b. Procreative – to create more people
3. Plateau
4. Orgasm (Climax) Sexually Transmitted Infections
5. Resolution Þ 1 million STI cases everyday
worldwide
Lust Attraction Attachment Þ HPV (Human Papilloma Virus)
(Genitals) Þ HIV (Human Immunodeficiency
Testosterone Dopamine, Oxytocin Virus)
and Estrogen Serotonin, and and
Norepinephrine Vasopressin

Þ Lust and attraction shuts off

prefrontal cortex

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