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Self in Western and Eastern Thought

In the United States, off-springs who reach the age of eighteen (18) years are expected to ‘move out’ of the house, support himself and make his own decisions. Though, family is important, individual freedom and the ability to stand on his own is expected.

Philippines, on the other hand, is well-known in having a close long-term commitment to the member ‘group’, be that a family, extended family, or extended relationships. The society foster strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group.

Individualism

a tradition, ideology, or personal outlook that emphasizes the primacy of the individual and his or her rights, independence, and relationships with other individuals

Collectivism

a tradition, ideology, or personal orientation that emphasizes the primacy of the group or community rather than each individual person

Ecological Self

a broad, expansive sense of self, related not only to other humans but also to our home—the living earth—and the nonhuman others that co-inhabit it.

Confucius (551-479 BC)

Chinese Philosopher and Politician

Confucianism - often characterized as a system of social and ethical philosophy rather than a religion

The Self in Confucian Thought

The philosophical concept of Confucianism is centered on the ren (humanity, humaneness, human goodness, love).

Ren can be realized through li, xiao, and yi.

Li

rendered as “ritual,” “proper conduct,” or “propriety.”

Xiao

or filial piety, is a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors.

"Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself."

Yi

it means "justice, righteousness; meaning,"

it involves a moral disposition to do good, and also the intuition and sensibility to do so competently

Anthropology

-came from the Latin words ‘ánthrōpos” which means ‘human’ and ‘logos’ which means ‘study of’

-scientific study of humans, human behavior, and societies in the past and present

The four subfields of anthropology includes:

Archaeology

Biological Anthropology

Linguistic Anthropology

Cultural Anthropology

Archaeology

-the study of the ancient and recent human past through material remains

-archaeological records consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts, and cultural landscapes.

Archeologists’ focus on studying the past and how it may have contributed to the present ways of how people live.

Archaeologists’ discovered that the most important aspect of human nature is survival.

Biological Anthropology

also called physical anthropology

a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings

biological anthropologists focus primarily on human adaptability and evolution

Primatology

study of non-human primate behavior, morphology and genetics

primatologists use phylogenetic methods to infer which traits humans share with other primates and which are human-specific adaptations

Paleopathology

the study of diseases in ancient organisms

“Biological Anthropologists have shown that while humans do vary in their biological characteristics and behavior, they are more similar to one another than different”

American Anthropological Association

Linguistic Anthropology

branch of anthropology that studies the role of language in the social lives of individuals and communities

an essential part of human communication is language—a system of communication used by a particular country or community

Linguistic anthropologists also study how language and modes of communication change over time.

English as the Universal Language

Other forms of language have evolved which represent subculture of a particular group

Cultural Anthropology

the study of contemporary human cultures and how these cultures are formed and shape the world around them

Culture - a way of life of a group, that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next.

Theory of Cultural Determinism

a belief that the culture in which we are raised determines who we are at emotional and behavioral levels.

Cultural Relativism

-the idea that a person's beliefs, values, and practices should be understood based on that person's own culture, rather than be judged against the criteria of another

-Cultural determinism suggests that we are shaped/formed to have the kind of life we prefer but it may also mean that we have no control over what we learn.

Culture may manifest itself in people in the following ways:

Symbols

Heroes

Rituals

Values

Cultural Anthropology

Symbols

it pertains to words, gestures, pictures, or objects that may have a recognized/accepted meaning in a particular culture

e.g. cross, rings, colors, national symbols like eagle and sampaguita

Cultural Anthropology

Heroes

persons from the past or present who have characteristics that are important in a culture

e.g. National Heroes, Marvel Heroes, DC Heroes

Cultural Anthropology

Rituals

activities (may be religious or social) participated in by a group of people for the fulfilment of desired objectives and are considered to be socially essential

e.g. weddings, baptisms, birthdays, graduations, reunions

Cultural Anthropology

Values

-considered to be the core of every culture, which involve human tendencies/preferences towards good or bad, right and wrong

-e.g. respect for elders, hospitality, utang-na-loob, pakikisama, nationalism, hiya

Sociology

-derived from the French word sociologie, coined by a French Philosopher Isidore Auguste Comte in 1830

-came from the Latin word socius which means companion, and logos which means ‘the study of’

-a social science that studies human societies, their interactions, and the processes that preserved and change them.

George Herbert Mead

-he was born on February 27, 1863 and died on April 26, 1931

-he graduated at Oberlin College

-he enrolled at Harvard University in 1887 taking up his MA in Philosophy

-prominent in the field of social psychology, sociology, philosophy, and pragmatism

Mead’s Social Self

Social Behaviorism

-people develop their self-image through interactions with people.

-‘self’ is the dimension of personality that is made-up of the individual’s self-awareness and self-image.

Preparatory Stage (birth – 2 years old)

-the ‘self’ is not present at birth but it develops over time through social interaction and social experience

-at this stage, children learn through the process of imitation

-children will become familiar with symbols that people use in their interaction

Play Stage (2 – 7 years old)

skills at knowing and understanding the symbols of communication is important for this constitutes the basis for socialization

-children start role-playing and taking on the role of significant people in their lives

-he ‘self’ is developing

Game Stage (8 – 9 years old)

-children learn their role in relation to others and how to take on the everyone else in a game

-children begin to become able to function in organized groups and most importantly, to determine what they will do within a specific group

Stages of Self Formation

The ‘I’ and ‘Me’

I Self

-when the person initiates or performs a social action, the self functions as a subject (e.g. I will run inside the house.)

Me Self

-when the person takes the role of the other, the self functions as an object (e.g. The choice for the most outstanding student was awarded to me.)

Charles Horton Cooley (1864 – 1929)

-American Sociologist

-Sociopsychological Approach

-Earned his Doctorate at University of Michigan and became a sociology professor at the same university

-In his written work Human Nature and the Social Order (1902), he discussed the formation of the self through social interaction

Charles Horton Cooley (1864 – 1929)

Looking-Glass Self Theory

-a person's self grows out of society's interpersonal interactions and the perceptions of others it develops in three phases

-People imagine how they present themselves to others.

-People imagine how other evaluate them.

-People develop some sort of feeling about themselves as a result of those impressions.

Erving Goffman (1922 – 1982)

-Canadian-American Sociologist, Social Psychologist, Writer

-deemed by others as ‘the most influential American -Sociologist of the

-73rd President of the American Sociological Association

-isted as sixth most-cited author in the humanities and social sciences by the Times Higher Education Guide

-The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life – people, at initial phase of social interactions, tends to slant their presentation of themselves to create preferred appearances and satisfy particular people (impression management).

-Dramaturgical Approach – Goffman uses the imagery of a theater/theatrical presentation in order to portray the nuances and significance of face-to-face social interaction.

\Philosophy

-started in Athens of Ancient Greece at around 600 BCE

-“philos” – love, “sophia” – wisdom

-understanding elements, mathematics, heavenly bodies, atoms, and man.

Socrates

-ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar, Teacher

-mentor of Plato

considered to be the main source of Western Thought

-Socrates was not a writer and his works were only known through Plato’s writing (The Dialogues).

Socratic Method

-also called dialectic method

-method of inquiry consisting of series of questions to search for the correct/proper definition of a thing.

-the goal of this method is to bring the person closer to the final understanding

Socrates’ View of Human Nature

-“the unexamined life is not worth living”

-touching the soul may mean helping the person to get in touch with his/her true self

-According to him, real understanding comes from within the person.

Plato

-Aristocles (428-348 BCE)

-The Academy

-He wrote more than 20 Dialogues with Socrates as protagonist in most of them.

-Theory of Forms – the physical world is not the real world; ultimate reality exists beyond our physical world

--Forms - abstract, perfect, unchanging concepts or ideals that transcend time and space; they exist in the Realm of Forms

Characteristics of Forms

-ageless and therefore are eternal

-unchanging and therefore permanent

-unmoving and indivisible

Plato’s Dualism

-Realm of Shadows – composed of changing, ‘sensible’ things which are lesser entities and therefore imperfect and flawed

-Realm of Forms – composed of eternal things which are permanent and perfect. It is the source of all reality and true knowledge.

-Plato’s View of Human Nature

-people are intrinsically good and ignorance equates with evil

Three (3) Components of the Soul (Tripartite Soul)

-The Reason – rational and is the motivation for goodness and truth

-The Spirited – non-rational and is the will or drive toward action

-The Appetites – irrational and lean towards the desire for pleasures of the body

St. Augustine of Hippo

-Christian Philosopher

-He initially rejected Christianity for it seemed to him that it could not provide him answers to questions that interested him

-He wanted to know about moral evil and why it existed in people and he also questions sufferings in the world

St. Augustine’s View of Human Nature

Two (2) Realms in Understanding Human Nature

  • God as the source of all reality and truth
  • The sinfulness of man
  • The Role of Love
  • “God is love and he created humans for them to also love.”
  • “Disordered love results when people loves the wrong things which was believed to give him/her happiness.”
  • Physical objects = sin of greed
  • Not lasting and excessive love for people = sin of jealousy
  • Self = sin of pride
  • God = supreme virtue and real happiness

Rene Descartes

  • “Father of Modern Philosophy”
  • Rationalist
  • Employed scientific method and mathematics in his philosophy.
  • Cartesian Method and Analytic Geometry

Descartes’ System

Two (2) Powers of the Human Mind

  • Intuition – ability to apprehend direction of certain truths
  • Deduction – power to discover what is not known by progressing an orderly way from what is already known.

Descartes’ View of Human Nature

  • Cogito ergo sum - “I think therefore I am.”
  • The cognitive aspect of human nature is his basis for the existence of the self.

The Mind-Body Problem

  • soul/mind (also the self) is a substance separate from the body.

John Locke

  • Born in Wrington, England
  • His works focuses on the workings of the human mind, particularly, acquisition of knowledge
  • He believed that knowledge results from ideas produced a posteriori or by objects that were experienced
  • Tabula Rasa (i.e. blank slate)

Locke’s View of Human Nature

  • Morals, religious and political values must came from sense experiences
  • Morality has to do with choosing or willing the good
  • Moral Good depends on conformity or non-conformity towards some law
  • Law of Opinion
  • Civil Law
  • Divine Law

David Hume

  • Born in Edinburgh, Scotland
  • Empiricism
  • After reading the Philosophy of John Locke, ‘he never again entertained any belief in religion’

The Human Mind

  • Mind receives materials from sense and calls it perceptions and it has two (2) types:
  • Impressions – immediate sensation of external reality
  • Ideas – recollections of impressions

Principles of Association

  • The Principle of Resemblance
  • The Principle of Contiguity
  • The Principle of Cause-and-Effect

Immanuel Kant

  • Born in Konisberg, East Prusia (Western Russia)
  • Founder of German Idealism
  • He wrote the three books: Critique of Pure Reason, Critique of Practical Reason, and Critique of Judgment

Kant’s View of the Mind

  • Rationalist Empiricist
  • Kant argued that the mind is not just a passive receiver of sense experience but rather actively participates in knowing the objects it experiences.
  • He also stated that instead of the mind conforming to the world, the external world is that the one who conforms to the mind.

Sigmund Freud

  • Austrian Neurologists
  • one of the pioneering figures in the field of Psychology
  • founder of psychoanalysis
  • the unconscious mind
  • hysteria
  • free association, dream analysis, hypnosis

Levels of Mental Life

  • Unconscious – contains all those drives, urges, or instincts that are beyond our awareness
  • Preconscious – contains all the elements that are not conscious but can become conscious either quite readily or with some difficulty
  • Conscious – mental elements in awareness at any given point in time

Provinces of the Mind

  • Id – its function is to seek pleasure (pleasure principle)
  • Eros – life instinct
  • Thanatos – death instinct
  • Ego – the only region of the mind in contact with reality (reality principle)
  • Superego – represents the moral and ideal aspects of personality (moralistic/idealistic principle)

Freud’s View of Human Nature

  • an individual is a product of his past lodges within his subconscious.
  • we live our lives by balancing the forces of life and death – opposing forces that make mere existence a challenge

Defense Mechanism

  • psychological strategies that are unconsciously used to protect a person from anxiety arising from unacceptable thoughts or feelings
  • Repression
  • Denial
  • Projection
  • Displacement
  • Regression
  • Sublimation
  • Reaction Formation

Gilbert Ryle

  • English Philosopher
  • he contradicted Cartesian Dualism
  • Ghost in the Machine – human consciousness and mind are very dependent on the human brain

Ryle’s View of Human Nature

  • man is endowed with freewill and it was invented to determine if an action deserves a praise or blame

Two (2) types of Knowledge

  • Knowing-that
  • Knowing-how

Patricia and Paul Churchland

  • Canadian Philosophers
  • combined Neurology and Philosophy (Neurophilosophy) in addressing the age-old problem (mind-body)
  • neurology deals with the study of nervous system, its structure, physiology, and aberrations
  • brain-mind “There isn’t a special thing called the mind. The mind just is the brain.” ~Patricia Churchland
  • Brain = Self

Churchland’s View of Human Nature

  • Abnormalities on the brain physiology leads to deviant thoughts, feelings, and actions
  • Normal Brain – facilitates socially accepted behavior
  • Compromised Brain – gives rise to aberrant behaviors

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

  • French Phenomenological Philosopher
  • Philosopher of the Body
  • He wrote books on perception, art, and political thought
  • He argued that the human body is the primary site of knowing the world

Merleau-Ponty’s View of Human Nature

Phenomenology provides a direct description of the human experience while perception forms the background of the experience which serves to guide man’s conscious actions

  • Philosopher of the Body