Understanding the self

Lesson 1-5

Socrates

Know Thyself

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” (Socrates)

This means we must take time to reflect on our lives, choices, beliefs, and values. Socrates believed that self-reflection and asking deep questions were essential to living a good and meaningful life.

Socratic Method

a technique of asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and self-discovery.

According to Socrates:

- Knowing others is wisdom.

- Knowing yourself is enlightening.

- Mastering yourself requires strength.

For Socrates, ——-

Self-knowledge alone could bring happiness and even lead to absolute perfection. Understanding the self was the highest goal of philosophy.

Plato

The Soul and Its Struggles

Socrates’ student

Plato

self is composed of two main parts. (Plato)

1. The rational soul (reason and logic) 

2. The irrational appetites (desires and cravings)

 The rational soul

reason and logic

The irrational appetites

desires and cravings

Dualism (Plato)

The idea that the mind (soul) and body are separate. He argued that the soul is immortal and existed before birth and continues after death. The soul, not the body, is where true knowledge lives.

Three parts of the Soul

- Reason: logic and intellect 

- Appetite: physical urges like hunger and thirst 

- Will (spirit): emotions like anger, ambition, and love

Reason, Appetite, Will (Plato)

If these parts are not in harmony, we experience inner conflict. Plato believed that people need to develop the rational part of the soul to gain wisdom and control the other parts.

Aristotle

Balance for a good life

Plato’s student

Aristotle

Aristotle

He believed that self is a harmonious blend of reason, emotion, and perception.

eudaimonia

flourishing or fulfilling life

soul (plato)

essence of living being

soul (plato)

doesn’t exist separately from the body

Aristotle

believed that humans have bodies for rational activity, and the purpose of life is to use reason to its fullest. Self-awareness helps us grow morally and intellectually.

We should strive to balance our: (helps us live with virtue and happiness)

Thoughts (reason)

Feelings (emotions)

Experience (senses and perception)

St. Augustine

Faith and Self-Understanding

St. Augustine combined Christian theology with philosophy to explore the self. He believed that

the self is flawed because of original sin (from Adam and Eve) But it can be redeemed through God’s grace and love

to truly understand ourselves, we must have (St. Augustine)

- Faith 

- Repentance 

- Obedience to God’s commandments

Humility and spiritual reflection

we can better understand our purpose and be closer to God through

René Descartes

Mind over body

(Cogito, ergo sum)

“I think, therefore I am.”

“I think, therefore I am.”

This means that if you are capable of thinking, then you exist. Even if you doubt everything else, your ability to think proves you are real.

Descartes introduced dualism, the belief that the mind and body are two separate things:

- The mind is for thinking and reasoning 

- The body is like a machine

Descartes

we must use our minds to investigate, question, and grow. the self is the thinking mind, not the physical body.

From a young age, we learn:

- What’s right and wrong (social norms) 

- What’s important in life (cultural values) 

- How to act around others (social behavior)

Feral Children

kids who have grown up without human contact, often due to extreme isolation, abandonment, or even being raised by animals.

Feral children often:

- Can’t speak or understand language 

- Don’t know how to behave socially 

- Struggle to form relationships

 Charles Cooley’s Looking Glass Self

explains how we develop our self-image based on how we think others see us.

There are three steps of looking glass self

1. We imagine how we appear to others (Do they think I’m smart, funny, shy?) 

2. We interpret how they react to us (Are they smiling, ignoring, praising, or judging us?) 

3. We develop our self-image based on these imagined reactions

Family

Primary social institution and the basic unit of society. It is one of the oldest institutions in the world, and while families look different across cultures, they share common goals: raising children, providing support, and teaching values.

Education

teaches not only academic knowledge but also values, discipline, and social skills. It shapes our worldview by exposing us to different ideas, cultures, and ways of thinking.

Religion

explains life’s mysteries, such as why we are here and what happens after death. It provides moral guidance and a community where people share the same beliefs and traditions

Government

sets laws and policies that shape society’s norms and protect people’s rights. It gives structure and order. influencing our sense of citizenship and national identity

Economy

decides how resources are produced, shared, and accessed. It affects our lifestyle, education, job opportunities, and even self-worth.

Enculturation

Learning the culture of our own society from birth

acculturation

adopting traits from another culture after coming into contact with it

assimilation

fully adopting another culture, often losing your original culture in the process.

George Herbert Mead (1863-1931)

believed the self develops through social interaction. His theory of Social Behaviorism shows how relationships shape our personality.

Social Interaction

We are not born with a complete sense of self, we don’t automatically know who we are, how to behave, or what our place is in society. Instead, we discover and develop our identity through interacting with other people, talking, playing, working, sharing experiences, and even disagreeing with them.

Symbolic Interactionism

about how we give meaning to things through the symbols we learn in society, words, gestures, and social customs. The same object can mean different things to different people, depending on their experiences and culture

I

This is the spontaneous, impulsive, and creative side of you. It acts based on your personal desires or emotions without immediately thinking of social rules.

Me

This is the socialized side of you, shaped by how society expects you to behave. It’s like your “inner voice” reminding you of rules, values, and consequences.

Role-taking

ability to imagine yourself in someone else’s position and see things from their perspective. It’s like “borrowing” another person’s eyes, ears, and feelings for a moment.

Albert Bandura

Known for his Social Cognitive Theory and Concept of the Self. world-renowned psychologist (1925–2021) whose work significantly influenced our understanding of human behavior and learning.

SCT explains that our behavior is not shaped by just one thing, it is a mix of

our thoughts, actions, and environment

Reciprocal Determinism

Constant interaction:

1. Personal factors (your thoughts, feelings, beliefs)

2. Behavior (what you do)

3. Environment (the people and situations around you)

Observational Learning (Modeling)

We don’t just learn by doing; we also learn by watching others. explains why we often copy behaviors we see on social media, in school, or even at home.

Steps of modeling

1. Attention - You must first pay attention.

2. Retention - You need to remember what you saw.

3. Reproduction - You should be able to do it yourself.

4. Motivation - You must want to do it.

Self-efficacy

believing in your ability to do something. If you believe you can, you are more likely to try and keep going, even when it gets difficult.

Outcome Expectations

when we think about what might happen if we do something. Our expectations influence whether we choose to act.

Bandura’s Concept of the Self

self is not passive, we can monitor, control, and direct our own behavior. He called this the self-system.

Self-system (Concept of the Self)

1. Self-Observation - monitoring your own behavior.

2. Judgmental Process - comparing your actions with your personal goals or standards.

3. Self-Response - rewarding or punishing yourself based on what you observe.

Self-Observation

monitoring your own behavior.

Judgmental Process

comparing your actions with your personal goals or standards.

Self-Response

rewarding or punishing yourself based on what you observe.

Self- Regulation

This means controlling your behavior to achieve your goals

Self-Reflective Capability

Bandura emphasized that humans can reflect on themselves. This means thinking about your thoughts and actions. It includes:

● Self-Evaluation - assessing your own performance.

● Self-Efficacy Judgments - evaluating if you can succeed in the future.

Self-Evaluation - assessing your own performance.

assessing your own performance.

Self-Efficacy Judgments

evaluating if you can succeed in the future.

Proxy Agency

asking help from others to reach your goals.

Collective Efficacy

believing in your group’s ability to achieve a shared goal.