Understanding the Self

Chapter 2: Unpacking the Self

What Philosophers Think About Beauty

Before the 18th century, most Western philosophical views on beauty treated it as an objective quality. For
example:

 St. Augustine asked whether things were beautiful because it gave delight, or whether it gave
delight because it was beautiful. He believed it to be the latter.
 Plato connected beauty as a response to love and desire. He asserted that beauty exists in the
realm of Forms, and that objects are found beautiful because they are reflection of the idea of
beauty that already exists in the realm of Forms.
 Aristotle asserted that the chief forms of beauty are order, symmetry, and definiteness that can be
demonstrated by mathematical sciences.

By the 18th century, however, beauty was associated with pleasure as a personal preference. Some
philosophers who hold this view are:

 David Hume – Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which
contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty.
 Immanuel Kant – The judgment of taste is therefore not a judgment of cognition, and is
consequently not logical but aesthetical, by which we understand that whose determining ground
can be no other than subjective.
 Francis Hutcheson – The perception of beauty does depend on the external sense of sight;
however, the internal sense of beauty operates as an internal or reflex sense.

What Did Psychology Discover About Beauty?

Cognitive bias- is an error in reasoning, evaluating, remembering, or any other mental process that is
often a result of holding on to one’s preferences and beliefs regardless of contrary information.

Halo effect- (also known as the physical attractiveness stereotype and the “what is beautiful is good”
principle) refers to the tendency of people to rate attractive individuals more favorably for their personality
traits or characteristics as compared to those who are less attractive.

How Cultural Traditions Shape Body Image

- Culture has a significant impact on how a person feels about himself or herself, as well as his or her
body image.
- Body image is generally defined as how one thinks and feels toward one’s body.

Does your body image have an impact on your self- esteem?

Self- esteem is about how you value yourself and how you feel others value you. Self – esteem is important
because it can affect your mental health as well as how you behave.

How important is physical beauty?

Physical beauty is extremely important.

A self- image happens when your looks do not match your beauty standards. For example, if you believe
that being thin is sexy and attractive, yet you are not thin then you might believe you are unattractive.
 The Sexual Self

Development of Secondary Sex Characteristics

 Soon after the fertilization of an egg, the development of the reproductive system begins.
 Rapid reproductive development happens inside the mother’s womb; but when the child is born until
he/she reaches puberty, there is little change in the reproductive system.

Development of the Sexual Organs in the Embryo and Fetus

 Female sex is considered the “fundamental” sex because if a particular chemical prompting is
absent, all fertilized eggs will develop into females.
 SRY ( Sex- determining Region of the Y chromosome )- cascade of chemical reactions must be
present initiated by a single gene in the male chromosome
 Females do not have any Y chromosomes

Further Sexual Development Occurs at Puberty

 Puberty is the stage of development at which individuals become sexually mature.

 Puberty can be separated into five stages. (refer page 66-67 in UTS book)

What are the erogenous zone of the body?

 Erogenous zone- areas of the body that are highly sensitive to stimuli and are often sexually
exciting.
 Highly sensitive means these areas of the body have a high number of sensory receptors or nerve
endings that react to stimuli

The Skin- serves as the primary erotic stimulus.

Types of erogenous zone in exists in the skin

1. Nonspecific type- learned and anticipated pleasurable sensations when a stimulus is presented
 Examples of these types of skin are the sides and back of the neck, the axilla( armpit,
underarm) and the sides of the thorax (chest)
2. Specific type- found in the mucocutaneous regions of the body or those regions made both of
mucous membrane and of cutaneous skin
 Specific types sites of acute sensations are the genital regions, including the prepuce, penis,
the female external genitalia (vulva), the perianal skin, lips and nipples

Prepuce- retractable fold of skin covering the tip of the penis

Penis- is a male erectile organ of copulation by which urine and semen are discharged from the body.

Female external genitalia (vulva)

 Mon pubis
 Clitoris- a female organ that is small, sensitive, and located in front of the opening of the
vagina.
 Labia majora- are fleshy lips around the vagina
 Labia minora- inner labia, inner lips, vaginal lips or nymphae are two flaps of skin on either
side of the human vaginal opening in the vulva situated between the labia majora.
 Vaginal introitus- opening that leads to the vaginal canal
 Hymen- membrane that surrounds or partially covers the external vaginal opening.

Perianal Skin- refers to the area of the body surrounding the anus and in particular the skin
Lips- soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech.

Nipples- raised region of tissue on the surface of the beast