INTRODUCTION

The course deals with the nature of identity, as well as the factors and forces that affect
the development and maintenance of personality identity.

The directive to Know Oneself has inspired countless and varied ways to comply. Among
the questions that everyone has had to grapple with at one time or other is “Who am I?” At no
other period is this question asked more urgently than in adolescence – traditionally believed to
be a time of vulnerability and great possibilities. Issues of self and identity are among the most
critical for the young.

This course is intended to facilitate the exploration of the issues and concerns regarding
self and identity to arrive at a better understanding of one’s self. It strives to meet this goal by
stressing the integration of the personal with the academic – contextualizing matters discussed
in the classroom and in the everyday experience of students – making for better learning,
generating a new appreciation for the learning process, and developing a more critical and
reflective attitude while enabling them to manage and improve their selves to attain a better quality
of life.

The course is divided into three major parts:

The first seeks to understand the construct of the self from various disciplinal
perspectives: philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and psychology – as well as the more
traditional division between the East and West – each seeking to provide answers to the
difficult but essential question of “What is the self?” And raising, among others, the
question: “Is there even such a construct as the self?”
The second part explores some of the various aspects that make up the self, such as the
biological, material and the more recent Digital Self.
The third and the final part identifies three areas of concern for young students: learning,
goal setting, and managing stress. It also provides for the more practical application of
the concepts discussed in this course and enables them the hands-on experience of
developing self- help plans for self-regulated learning, goal setting, and self-care.

This course includes the mandatory topics on Family Planning and Population Education.

1
 THE SELF FROM VARIOUS
PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES

LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the end of this section, you are expected to:

1. Discuss the different representations and conceptualizations of the self from various
disciplinal perspectives.
2. Examine the different influences, factors and forces that shape the self.
3. Compare and contrast how the self has been represented across the different disciplines
and perspectives.
4. Demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the development of one's self and
identity by developing a theory of the self.

PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy is a training guide for your mind, showing how
INTRODUCTION you think in clear, analytic, and powerful ways.
Studying philosophy in a serious and reflective way will
change you as a person. Learning to think philosophically will inspire you to be more thoughtful,
more open-minded, more attuned to the complexities and subtleties of life, more willing to think
critically about yourself and all of life’s important issues, and less willing to accept superficial
interpretations and simplistic answers. And will help you develop the understanding and insight
you will need to make intelligent choices and fulfill your potential as an individual.
This is the special power of philosophy: to provide the conceptual tools required to craft a
life inspiring in its challenges and rich in its fulfillment. Philosophy is not intended to limit your
options or dictate your choices. Your responsibility as a student is to explore, to reflect, to think
critically- and then to create yourself in the image you have envisioned.
PHILOSOPHY OF THE SELF
LESSON PROPER Philosophy is often called the mother of all disciplines simply
because all fields of study began as philosophical
discourses.
What is Philosophy? study of acquiring knowledge through rational thinking and inquiries that
involves in answering questions regarding the nature and existence of man and the world we live
in.
What is Self? It is defined as “a unified being, essentially connected to consciousness,
awareness and agency (or, at least, with the faculty of rational choice).

2
 PHILOSOPHERS
A. SOCRATES - First martyr of education, knowledge, and philosophy. His philosophy underlies
in the importance of the notion "knowing oneself". A person's acceptance of ignorance is the
beginning of acquisition of knowledge. But, possession of knowledge is a virtue; ignorance is a
depravity (evil, corruption, wickedness). Knowing ourselves, lies in our own abilities, and wisdom.
Understanding ourselves is through internal questioning or introspection (understanding our
strengths and weaknesses, like vs. Dislike)
His way of teaching called Socratic Method or Socratic conversation (role of both the
teacher and the student is known to the world; asking and answering questions to stimulate critical
thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions). However, he was charged with
corruption of minors and died as a martyr that fought against ignorance and narrow-mindedness.
But for him, men's goal in life is to obtain happiness. It motivates us to act towards or avoid
things that could have negative effects in our lives. As such, by fully knowing oneself a person
will be able to achieve happiness.
B. PLATO – He is a student of Socrates that is the reason he followed the idea of Socrates in
knowing thyself. He was called the Father of academy (a place where learning and sharing of
knowledge happens; Later became one of the pillars and basis of what schools and education is
now in the present). He also wrote several literatures that tackles politics, human nature and
established the idea of virtue and intelligence.
According to Plato, a person who is a follower of truth and wisdom will not be tempted by
vices and will always be correct/moral/ethical. He believed in the division of a person's body and
soul which forms the person as a whole aside from the material things and that could be observed
and associated with a person. He believed that the soul is divided into 3 different parts that has
different views, leading to different behaviors
1. Appetitive soul - the part of the person that is driven by desire and need to satisfy
oneself. This satisfaction involves physical needs, pleasures and desires, objects, and
situations
2. Spirited soul- courageous part of a person. One who wants to do something or to right
the wrongs that they observe. This is very competitive and is very active. Competitiveness
drives one to expect positive results and winning.
3. Rational soul- the drive of our lives. The part that thinks and plan for the future (the
conscious mind). It decides what to do, when to do it and the possible results one could
have depending on their actions.
C. ST. AUGUSTINE - A saint and a philosopher of the church. He follows the idea that God
encompasses us all, that everything will be better if we are with God. He believed that God and
his teachings affects various aspects in life (that everything is better if we devote ourselves in
mending our relationship with God). His idea of a man and how to understand who we are as a
person is related to our understanding of who we are and how we question ourselves. He also
relates our existence to God being modelled in his likeness though being alive means that we are
still far from god and has yet to be truly with him. But he rejected the doubtfulness of the academy
in which one cannot or should not accept ideas from others.
St. Augustine emphasized that we may not be able to give our agreement to everything
other people tell us, but we can still agree to those who we are from our own perception. His
believes that teaching the church and establishing our sense of self with God identifies the
essence of our existence and role in the world (the reason for this is because our bodies are
limited).

3
D. RENE DESCARTES – a French philosopher known to be the father of modern philosophy
because of his radical use of systematic and early scientific method to aid his ideas and
assumptions. He believed in modern dualism or the existence of body and mind and its
importance to on e's existence were presented with the evidences from experiments as well as
philosophical reasoning.
Descartes is known to be the proponent of the "methodical doubt" (continuous process of
questioning) doubting, asking questions are part of one's existence. He defined the roles of the
mind and body to the notion of one's existence and sense of self.
He is known for the statement "cogito ergo sum" (I think therefore I am) and according to
him, a person is comprised of mind (thinks and questions what the body has experienced) and
body (perceives from the different senses). The body and its perceptions cannot fully be trusted
or can easily be deceived (for example: there are times that we feel that a dream is real before
actually waking up or having different perception of size based on an objects distance from the
viewer).
Descartes believes that we should focus on the mind in order to perceive as who we are
or the essence of our existence because we cannot always trust our senses. He explained that
the more we think and doubt what we perceived from our senses and the answer that came from
such thin king or doubting leads to better understanding of ourselves. He also emphasizes that
being in constant doubt regarding one's existence is proof that a person exists.
E. JOHN LOCKE – An English philosopher and physician. He is the Father of Classical Liberation.
His works paved the way to several revolutions to fight the absolute powers of monarchs and
rulers of his time that led to the development of governance, politics, and economic system that
we now know. He works on the self is most represented by the concept "tabula rasa" (blank slate).
The experiences and perceptions of a person is important in the establishment of who that
person can become. Locke does not disregard the experiences of the person in the identification
and establishment of who we are as a person. He stated that a person is born with knowing
nothing and that is susceptible to stimulation and accumulation of learning from the experiences,
failures, references, and observations of the person
F. DAVID HUME – A Scottish philosopher. He focused his work in the field of empiricism,
skepticism, and naturalism. He explained that the Self is the accumulation of different impressions
and does not exceed the physical realm. For him, there is no permanent self because impressions
of things are based from our experiences where we can create our ideas and knowledge. Thus,
it may improve or totally be replaced
G. IMMANUEL KANT – A German philosopher that is known for his works on empiricism and
rationalism. He established that the collection of impressions and different contents is what it only
takes to define a person. He believes that the awareness of different emotions that we have,
impressions and behavior is only a part of ourselves.
He emphasizes that a person who fully understand the self has a certain level of
consciousness or sense that uses our intuition which synthesizes all the experiences, impressions
and perceptions of ourselves will pave the way to define and know who we are really are. But he
argued that the sense called "transcendental apperception" is an essence of our consciousness
that provides basis for understanding and establishing the notion of self by synthesizing one's
accumulation of experiences, intuition, and imagination
H. SIGMUND FREUD – An Austrian psychologist and physician. The Father of psychoanalysis.
Freud is well known for his work on human nature and the unconscious. He believed that man

4
has different constructs of personality. He conceptualized about the different levels of
consciousness that provides an idea how a person develops a sense of self:
Man has 3 aspects of personality
1. Id- the child aspect of a person; attention is on satisfaction of one's needs and self-
gratification. Driven by pleasure principle.
2. Super ego- the conscience of one's personality. Has the inclination to uphold justice
and do what is morally right and socially acceptable actions. Involved in the notion of right
or wrong that is imparted to us by our parents or people that took care for us during
childhood
3. Ego - police or the mediator between id and super ego. Operates within the boundaries
of reality, primary function is to maintain the impulses of the id to an acceptable degree.
Introduced the Levels of Consciousness:
1. Conscious- where minority of our memories are being stored and the memories that
are in the conscious is easier to be to be tapped or accessed
2. Pre-conscious - the middle part of the entirety of our consciousness; the memories
stored in this area can still be accessed but with a little difficulty
3. Unconscious- this area is where majority of our memories since childhood are deeply
stored. It is very difficult to tap the memories. It would need a trained professional and
several special techniques in order to make some memories resurface

He believed that we are a by-product of our experiences in the past and that are actions
are driven by the idea of resisting or avoiding pain, and are molded from our need for pleasure or
being happy
I. GILBERT RYLE – He used behavioristic approach to self. According to him, self is the behavior
presented by the person. The behavior that we show, emotions, and actions are the reflection of
our mind and as such is the manifestation of who we are. He does not believe that the mind and
body are two separate entities which is said to be evident in the unexplainable phenomenon or
abilities of the mind where the soul is considered; however, to some they can co-exist.
He explained that the self is exemplified in his "ghost in the machine" view (man is a
complex machine with different functioning parts, and the intelligence, and other characteristic or
behavior of man is represented by the ghost in the said machine. His idea is saying that the things
that we do, how we behave and react and all other components like the way we talk, walk and
look is generally who we are as a person
J. PAUL CHURCHLAND - A Canadian philosopher whose focus is on the idea that people should
improve our association and use of worth in identifying the self.
The self is defined by the movement of our brain. A constant movement of the brain can
be the basis of who the person is (emphasized by Churchland and his wife in the statement "the
brain as the self"). He focuses on the philosophy of "eliminative materialism" and understanding
the different neural pathways, how they work, and what implications are those movement to
people is a measurable classification on one's behavior
K. MAURICE JEAN JACQUES MERLEAU-PONTY – A French philosopher. He is known for his
works on existentialism and phenomenology. He coined the idea of phenomenology of perception
(unity of the function of the mind and the body) which is divided into three division. Merleau-Ponty
regarded that the body and mind are not separate entities but rather those two components is

5
one and the same. His idea of perception follows the idea of Gestalt psychology (gives importance
on the whole rather than the sum of its parts). The perception guides our action based from our
experiences. The body perceives while our consciousness provides the meaning or interprets the
various perception we have in the world and the self could be established by the perceptions we
have in the world. One's actions, behavior and language used could be said to be the reflection
of our united perception of the world.
L. THOMAS AQUINAS - The most eminent 13th century scholar and stalwart of the medieval
philosophy, appended something to this Christian view. He explained that Man is composed of
two parts: Matter or hyle in Greek, refers to the “common stuff that makes up everything in the
universe.” and Form or morphe in Greek refers to the “essence of a substance or thing”.
In the case of human person, the body of the human person is something that he shares
even with animals. The cells in man's body are akin to the cells of any other living, organic being
in the world. However, what makes a human person a human person and not a dog, or a tiger is
his soul, his essence. To Aquinas, the soul is what animates the body; it is what makes us
humans.
Write your philosophy in life. Express your ideas as completely
and clearly as you can. Think deeply and beyond ACTIVITY I
superficialities and refuse to be satisfied with the first idea that
you have. Guide questions:
1. What do you most value in life? Why?
2. What gives your life meaning?
3. What is the purpose of your life?
4. What do you hope to achieve in your life?
Answer the following questions about yourself as fully and
precisely as you can. ASSESSMENT I
1. How would you characterize yourself?
2. What makes you stand out from the rest? What makes yourself special?
3. How has yourself transformed itself?
4. How is yourself connected to your body?
5. How is yourself related to other self?
6. What will happen to yourself after you die?

SUMMARY

The philosophical framework for understanding the self was first introduced
by the ancient Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. In particular, Socrates:
“Know thyself”. But what exactly does “know thyself” mean that is self and the qualities
that define it. The different views of prominent philosophers regarding the nature of the
self are discussed and while there are disagreements in how philosophers view of the
self, most of them agree that self-knowledge is a prerequisite to a happy and meaningful
life

6
 SOCIOLOGY
How do you see yourself in the social world? Do you need to
INTRODUCTION just observe or are you oblige to interact with them just to get
the definition of your self? These are just two questions that
will be answered by different proponents in sociological perspective of self. Read more below and
check how these ideas can be related to you.

LESSON PROPER GEORGE HERBERT MEAD

✓ Sociologist from University of Chicago
✓ Symbolic Interactions Perspective
THEORY OF SELF
Two parts of Self: Self-awareness and Self-image
Our bodies age biologically, but the self is something that emerges thorough social
interaction
Self is developed as we age, as we grow
Self develops through interacting with others, through reflecting on that interaction, to
thinking about how others are perceiving you, and that helps you generate an image
of yourself
Our self is mirrored in the reaction of the other
Self-image was developed in recognizing how others are perceiving us, we are
constantly trying to put ourselves in the shoes of another and think about how they are
seeing this event or situation or this action transpiring – this is imitation
When you have internalized the widespread cultural norms, mores, and expectations
of behaviors – this is generalized others
By taking the role of other, we can become self-aware

THE “I” and “ME” of the SELF

“I” – what is out there, acting, being spontaneous, doing things in the world
”me” – an object, the aggregate combined image of yourself that has been given to
you from interacting with society

HENRI de SAINT-SIMON (1760-1825)

Historic founder of French Socialism
Origin of many ideas elaborated into Comtism
His idea of the reconstruction of society were conditioned by the French Revolution and
by feudal and military system
He insisted on the necessity of new and positive reorganization of society
Industrial chiefs should control society
In medieval church, spiritual direction of society should fall to the men of science
Industrial state directed by modern science, in which universal association should
suppress war

7
 Men who are successfully able to organize society for productive labor are entitled to
govern it
The social aim was to produce things useful to life
Call for “society of science” – influenced his disciple Auguste Comte

HERBERT SPENCER (1820-1903)

Synthetic Philosophy - Encompasses realms of physical, psychological, biological,
sociological, and ethical
Moral Philosophy
Social Statistics
o Human happiness can be achieved only when individuals can satisfy their
needs and desires without infringing on the right of others to do the same
o In obtaining full satisfaction, one must derive pleasure from seeing pleasure in
others
Principles of Ethics – basic law of ethics and morality
o Extension of laws in the natural world, and much of his scientific justification
for his moral position
o Moral dictum: Once physical and biological realms are discovered, humans
should obey them and cease trying to construct, through political legislation,
social forms that violate these laws
o Scientific position: The laws of social organization can no more be violated
than can those of the physical universe, and to seek to do so will create, in the
long run, more severe problems
o Humans should be as free from external regulation as possible – “implicitly
obey them!”
Social Statistics
o Moral laws and laws of laissez-faire capitalism converge and how they reflect
biological laws of unfettered competition and struggle among species
o In the union of many men into one community – the law of individuation
o While decrying war as destructive, it allows more organized “races” to conquer
the ”less organized and inferior races,” increasing thereby, the level and
complexity of social organization

DAVID EMILE DURKHEIM (1858-1917)

French sociologist, cited as the principal architect of modern social sciences
Established academic discipline with Marx and Weber
How societies could maintain their integrity and coherence in modernity, an era in which
a traditional social and religious tie are no longer assumed, and in which new social
institutions have come into being
Acceptance of sociology as a legitimate science

Sociology of Knowledge
How concepts and categories of logical thought could arise out of social life
Certain aspects of logical thought common to all human did exist, but they were
products of collective life and that they were not universal a priori since the content of
categories differed from society to society

8
 Collective representations
The symbols and images that come to represent the ideas, beliefs, and values
elaborated by a collectivity and are not reducible to individual constituents
Created through intense social interaction and are products of collective activity
Controlled by society (as a whole) yet simultaneously by virtue of that individual’s
participation within the society
A language product of collective action, language contains within it a history
accumulated knowledge and experience that no individual would be capable of
creating on their own
Language – a social product that structures and shapes our experience of reality

ALBERT BANDURA (1925) Social Learning Theory

Theory that attempts to explain socialization and its effect on the development of the self
It looks at the individual learning process, the formation of self, and influence of society in
socializing individual
Formation of one’s identity is a learned response to social stimuli
An individual’s identity is not the product of the unconscious, but instead is the result of
modeling oneself in response to the expectations of others
Behaviors and attitudes develop in response to reinforcement and encouragement from
people around us

Self-Efficacy
People’s belief about their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance
that exercise influence over events that affect their lives
This belief determines how people feel, think, motivate themselves, and behave
People with high assurance in their capabilities approach difficult tasks as challenges
to be mastered rather than as threats to be avoided
They set themselves challenging goals and maintain strong commitment to them
despite series of failures
They attribute failure to insufficient effort or deficient knowledge and skills which are
acquirable
o Not on their personal deficiencies, on the obstacles they will encounter, and all
kinds of adverse outcomes
They approach threatening situations with assurance that they can exercise control
over them

Four Main Sources of Self-Efficacy

1. Mastery Experience
Successes build a robust belief in one’s personal efficacy
A resilient sense of efficacy requires experience in overcoming obstacles
through perseverant effort
2. Vicarious Experience
Provided by social models
Seeing people similar to oneself succeed by sustained effort raises observers’
beliefs that they too, possess the capabilities to master comparable activities
required to succeed
People seek proficient models who possess the competencies to which they
aspire
9
 3. Social Persuasion
People who are persuaded verbally that they possess the capabilities to master
given activities are likely to mobilize greater effort and sustain it than if they
harbor self-doubts and dwell on personal deficiencies when problem arises
People who have persuaded that they lack capabilities tend to avoid
challenging activities that cultivate potentials and give up in the face of difficulty
4. Psychological Responses
People rely partly on their somatic and emotional states in judging their
capabilities
They interpret their stress reactions and tensions as signs of vulnerability to
poor performance

KARL MARX (1818 – 1881)

Theory of Self-Estrangement or Self-Alienation
“the alienation of man’s essence, man’s loss of objectivity and his loss of realness as
self-discovery, manifestation of his nature, objectification and realization”
When a person feels alienated from others and society as a whole
A person may feel alienated by his work by not feeling like he has meaning to his
work, therefore losing their sense of self at the workplace

MAX WEBER (1864 – 1920)

German sociologist and political economist
Capitalism developed out of a Protestant ethic, a religious calling
“iron cage” – as the religion became peripheral, capitalism decoupled from its roots and
established itself as the dominant force in society

Exercise Self-Help Imagination

✓ “Personality” makes little sense in its modern usage
✓ “an inner devotion to the subject and only to the subject”
✓ which raises one “to the height and dignity of the subject”
✓ You gain personality within a field only by stepping out of your own self
✓ Teach the subject, not your interpretation of the subject
✓ Make your students interested in the subject itself, rather than in the person teaching it

LEWIS MORGAN
The Leasguge of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee or Iroquois (1851)
This presented the complexity of Iroquois society in a path-breaking ethnography that was
a model for future anthropologists
He wanted to provide evidence for monogenesis, the theory that all human beings
descended from a common source
The structure of the family and social institutions develops and change according to a
specific sequence

Theory of Social Evolution

Kinship relations as a basic part of society
Critical link between social progress and technological progress

10
 Interplay between the evolution of technology, of family relations, of property relations,
of the larger social structure, and systems of governance, and intellectual
development.

Answer the following questions briefly. Use the idea of ACTIVITY II

proponents discussed above.
1. How important are peer groups to socialization? In what ways do they influence individuals
throughout the life course?
2. Have you ever observed someone experiencing a self-fulfilling prophecy? Explain. If you
have not personally observed this, use an example from the media, books, movies, or TV.
3. Have you ever experienced role strain or role conflict? Describe the different roles and
how they were strained or conflicted. How did you resolve this?

Identify the correct answer in each statement: ASSESSMENT II

_______1. He presented the theory of social evolution.
_______2. It is what is out there, acting, being spontaneous, doing things in the world. What is it?
_______3. It is the people’s belief about their capabilities to produce designated levels of
performance that exercise influence over events that affect their lives. What do you
call this?
_______4. It is the symbols and images that come to represent the ideas, beliefs, and values
elaborated by a collectivity and are not reducible to individual constituents. What it is
particularly?
_______5. When you have internalized the widespread cultural norms, mores, and expectations
of behaviors, what is it?

SUMMARY

✓ George Mead – Symbolic Interactions Perspective; two parts of Self: Self-awareness

and Self-image
✓ Henri de Saint-Simon – French Socialism; synthetic and moral philosophies
✓ David Emile Durkheim – Sociology of Knowledge
✓ Albert Bandura – Social Learning Theory
✓ Karl Marx – Theory of Self-Estrangement or Self-Alienation
✓ Max Weber – Self-help Imagination
✓ Lewis Morgan – Theory of Social Evolution

11