Understanding the Self (Unit 1 and Unit 2)

UNIT 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE

LESSON 1: PHILOSOPHY

Ancient Philosophy

(1000 BC to 500 AD)

The Ancient Triumvirate

1. Socrates

• Further explained how the self understood

• His teaching: method of questioning until reach specific topic

• Know thyself (kilalanin ang sarili mo

• Deny supernatural

• Was killed from poison

• Dualistic Reality: Body and soul

• Our soul strives for wisdom and perfection

1. Plato

• Student of Socrates

• He tampo to socrates exiled and go to athens

• 3-Part Soul/self (Psyche) = Reason (wisdom), Physical Appetite (basic need of our body) & Spirit/Passion (motivation in life)

1. Aristotle

• he started that when we were born we don't know anything

• The mind (self) is a tabula rasa (a blank tablet).

• Self is composed of matter and form

• The Process of Completion is through experiences

The Post-Artistotelians (wants to answer morality)

1. Stoicism

• Let go emotions (fight)

• Passion hindrance to virtue

• Self control emotions

• Carefree

1. Hedonism

• Only good in life is pleasure and pain the only evil

• Maximize pleasure minimum pain

• Kung saan ka masaya dun ka

1. Epicureanism

• Content with simple things

• Less disappointment

Medieval Philosophy

(500 AD to 1350 AD)

Focus on supernatural

Theo-centric

• Aim to merge philosophy and religion

• Dictate, lecture

• Avoid barbaric (uncivilized)

St. Augustine

• Connect to religion

• Self strives to achieve union with God through faith and reason

• Kailangan maniwala to attain

St. Thomas Aquinas

• Self-knowledge is dependent on experience of the world

• Labels we attribute are take to our encounter in our environment

• The things that we love tells us what we are

St. Thomas Aquinas

• Knowing and learning about a thing requires long process of understanding

• Experiencing that something exist doesn't tell us what it is

Modern Philosophy

(14th century to early 20th century)

Anthropocentric

• Thinkers began to reject the medieval thinkers excessive reliance on authority

Rene Descretes

• Distinct from the body

• Self is thinking think

• the mind does all the thinking, and imagining, while your body does things in the world.

John Locke

• Personal identity is made possible by self consciousness

• As we grow up, we start to experience the world that helps shape who we are.

David Hume

• No self

• bundle of constantly changing perceptions

Immanuel Kant

• Self is unifying subject

• Organizing consciousness that makes intelligible experience possible

• own ways of organizing and knowing things, even before we experience them

Gilbert Ryle

• Self is the way people behave

• our thoughts are just part of what we do

• no secret "mind"

• things we do and how we act

Paul & Patricia Churchland

• The self is the brain

• Mental states will be superseded by brain states

• Brains are like amazing machines that help us do everything we do

• our brains are very adaptable and can change over time

Contemporary Philosophy

(Late 19th Century)

Edmund Husserl

• Experience our self as a unity which the mental and physical are seamlessly woven together

• paying really close attention to our experiences, we can understand the world better.

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

• Self is embodied subjectivity

• our bodies are amazing tools (our senses) that help us understand the world

Embodied subjectivity:

• Both Husserl and Merleau-Ponty Agree

  • Our body's natural synthesis of mind and biology

Phenomenological approach:

• Phenomena of the lived experience (reducing biases)

• Describing immediate response are – physically, emotionally, cognitively

LESSON 2: SOCIOLOGY

Classical Sociological Perspective:

• Set of perspectives of who we are in relation to ourselves, others and to social systems

The self in the sociological perspective

• Self is shaped through interactions with other people

• As with socialization, the person is not passive participant and have powerful influence over how this process and its consequences develop

The Looking Glass self

(Charles Horton Cooley)

• Peron’s self grows out of social interaction with others

• View of ourselves comes from contemplation of personal qualities and impressions of how other perceive us

How we see ourselves not come from who we are but rather how we believe other people see us

Johari Window

(Joseph Luft & Harrington Ingham)

• Techniques used to enhance individual’s perception on self and others

Symbolic Interactionism

(George Herbert Mead)

• self is created and developed through human interaction

“I and the Me” self

• “me” - socialized aspect of the person

• “I” - active aspect of the person

LESSON 3: PSYCHOLOGY

Sigmund Freud

• Self is Multi-layered

1. Conscious - thoughs and feeling that we are aware of

2. Preconscious - experiences that unconscious but could become conscious with little effort

3. Unconscious - drives urges or instincts beyond our awareness but motivate our feelings, thoughts and behavior

Structure of Self

1. ID (Biological self)

• Present at birth

1. Ego (social self)

• values and morals of society which learned from one’s parents and others

• Defense mechanisms

1. Sublimation (unwanted impulses to creative cultural accomplishments

2. Regression (revert back to stress or anxiety)

3. Displacement (unacceptable urges to less threatening thing)

4. Repression (ego is threathened; forgets unpleasant feelings)

5. Projection (impulse to other person)

6. Superego (Psychological self)

• Contact with reality

• Realistic demands of world

• Job: balance the pleasure seeking drives of ID with moral control of superego

Imaginary Audience

• thought to believe that others are always watching and evaluating them

Self Esteem

• Describe person’s overall sense of worth

Real and Ideal Self

(Carl Rogers)

Self as defined by Social Comparison

1. Temporal Comparison

• Considering your present condition in relation to how you were in the past

1. Social Comparison

• Evaluating yourself in comparison to others –using others as a basis for evaluating your attributes

Two Modes of Social Comparison

1. Upward Social Comparison

• compare ourselves with those who we believe are better than us

1. Downward Social Comparison

• compare themselves to others who are worse off than ourselves

• Making ourselves feel better about our abilities

• Two Modes

1. Passive

• takes into consideration the previous condition in making comparison

1. Active

• compares himself/herself with others by demeaning or causing harm to them

Self Evaluation - someone looks for positive traits in himself/herself

Self Enhancement - aspects of himself/herself need to be improved to reach the level of goodness

Reference Group - any group are used as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior.

Creation of Identites - One’s identity must balance the need to be similar to one’s reference group with the need to be a unique individual

LESSON 4: ANTHROPOLOGY

Western Self - autonomous and egocentric

Non-Western/Eastern Self - identity shared with others

Individualism - independent part of the universe and the society

Collectivism - integral part of the universe and the society

Asian Schools of Thought

1. Buddhism - source of all sufferings

2. Hinduism - karma the bad or good actions fetermines his her caste

3. Taoism - self does not exist without existence of others

4. Confucianism - teach how one should properly act according to relationship with other people

UNIT 2: UNPACKING THE SELF

LESSON 1: PHYSICAL SELF

• Aspect of the person directly observed and examined

Psychosexual Theory of Development (Sigmund Freud)

• construction of self and personality makes the physical body the core of human experience

Psychosexual Stages of Personality Development

1. Oral Stage (Birth-1.5 years)

2. Anal Stage (1.5-3 years)

3. Phallic Stage (4-5 years)

4. Latent Stage (5 years – puberty)

5. Genital Stage (puberty)

Psychosocial Theory of Development (Erik Erikson)

• help see whether person will achieve a sense of competence and ability to choose demanding roles in a complex society.

Somatic Society (Bryan Turner)

• new found importance of the body in contemporary society.

Bodyshaming - Criticizing own appearance through judgment or comparison to another person.

Physical Self Issues and Conflicts

• Eating Disorders (DSM-5)

  • Anorexia Nervosa - loss of body weight and refusal to eat

  • Bulimia Nervosa - binge eating with or without vomiting.

• Body Dysmorphic Disorder - distressing with slight defect in appearance.

LESSON 2: SEXUAL SELF

• Understanding one’s identity and sexuality

Biological Perspective of One’s Sex

• At conception, egg and sperm, unite to createa new organism that incorporates some characteristics of each parent

• The first 22 pairs are called AUTOSOMES The last pair known as the SEX CHROMOSOMES

• Genetic basis for Sex Determination:

• X Chromosome

• Y Chromosome

Secondary Sex Characteristics

Erogenous Zones

• Where the libido is centered

• Parts of the body that experience heightened sensitivity and/or signal sexual arousal of some kind

• Needs stimulation by engaging the person in gratifying activities

The Sexual Response Cycle - pysiological response in sexual activity

Stage 1: Excitment

Stage 2: Plateau

Stage 3: Orgasm

Stage 4: Resolution

Love vs. Lust

• Love: Decision, unconditional

• Lust: Feeling (infatuation)

Chemistry of Lust, Attraction and Attachment

Lust - testosterone, estrogen

Attraction - dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin

Attatchment - oxytocin, vasopressin

Lust and attraction shut off the prefrontal cortex of brain, which includes rational behavior

Hypothalamus regulates the function of the pituitary gland secret hormones

• Hypothalamus of the brain - plays a big role in stimulating the production of the sex hormones

Attraction - “reward” behavior; first few weeks or months of relationship

High levels of dopamine and norepinephrine - released during attraction

Attatchment - long term relationships

• Lust and attraction - romantic

• Attachment - friendships, social

Primary hormones:

• oxytocin (cuddle hormone)

  • vasopressin

Sex - biological sex, physical characteristics (DNA)

• Male: Penis

• Female: Vagina

• Intersex: chromosomes and hormones of a female/male but external genital is like that of a male/female

Gender - structure of social

• Masculine and feminine behavior

• Attitudes, feelings and behaviors

Sexual Diversity - either male or female, feminine or masculine

Gender Identity (who you think you are)

• Innermost concept of self as male, female or blend of both or neither

• Self- identified

• Cisgender - gender identity matches their assigned sex

• Transgender - do not match their assigned sex

  • Transwoman - assigned sex is male and identifies as a woman

  • Transman - assigned sex is female and identifies as a man

Gender Expression (how you demonstatre who you are)

• Ways that humans choose to display their gender identity

  • Expressed: behavior, clothing, haircut, voice

Sexual Diversity

Sexual Orientation/Attraction (who you are romanticaly and sexually into)

• All about who you are physicaly, spiritually, and emotionally attractted to

• Labels describe relationships between gender and gender attracted to

• Straigth (heterosexual) - opposite gender

• Gay/Lesbian (homosexual)

• Bisexual - attracted to both

The Church and Sexuality

Sexual Intercourse

• Unitive - unite couple

• Procreative - create more people

Pope Francis on Sexuality

• need for the Catholic Church to welcome and love all people regardless of sexual orientation

Sexually Transmitted Infections

• HIV, STI, Gonorrhea, AIDS

• The Philippines has the fastes growing HIV epidemic in Asia and Pacific Region

Transmitted through

• Unprotected sex

• Drug addicts

• Blood transfusion

• Pregnancy

• Non-sterile instruments

Not Transmitted Through

• Touching

• Food

• Kissing

• Insect bites

• Swimming in pools

Philippine Laws on HIV/AIDS

• Rebublic Act 8504: AIDS prevention and control act

• Republic Act 11166: defines HIV and AIDS educationas a right, free treatment, prohibits discrimintation

How to avoid STIs and AIDs

• Abstinence - most reliable way to avoid infection, not gave sex

• Vaccination - safe, effective and recommended, prevent hepatitis B and HPV

• Mutual Monogamy - agree to be sexually active with one person, vise-versa

LESSON 3: MATERIAL/ECONOMIC SELF

Material Self - tangible objects, people, or places that carry the designation my or mine.

Bodily Self - any part of our body.

• entities are clearly an intimate part of who we are.

Extended Self - anything that is beyond our

body

Functions of Possessions

Possessions can go beyond their functional value.

• Influence

• Power

• Sympathy

• Social status

• Emotions

Materialism

• importance a consumer attaches to worldly possessions.

• The extent to which consumption becomes the primary source of satisfaction, as well as thedominant mode of motivation

Symbolic Communication Model:

• Possessions as Symbolic Expressions of Identity

  • enhance one’s image anddevelop a positive sense of self.

• Possessions and Self-Identity

• Conspicuous Consumption (impress others – high status)

• Loss of Possessions

  • Possessions as Unstable Meanings

• Pets as Extensions of the Self

LESSON 4: SPIRITUAL SELF

Religion and Spirituality

1. Religion - an organized system of ideas about the spiritual or supernatural realm, accompanied by rituals.

2. Spirituality - This is the search for meaning and direction in life and the ways.

Religion and Spirityal related:

• Although not separate from one another. Spirituality is much more profound than religion.

Religion: Rituals

Ritual

• Religions have rituals

• These are whatever is done repeatedly.

• 2 Types of Ritual

  • Calendar (Calendric)

  • Based on crisis

Examples of Catholic Rituals

• Fasting (Pag-aayuno) - involves abstaining from food

• Healing (Panggagamot) - seeking divine intervention

• Offering (Pag-aalay) - acts of devotion

• “Panalanging walang patid” - refers to unceasing or continuous prayer,

• Attending mass (Pagmimisa)

• Praying a Novena (Pagnonobena)

• Praying the rosary (Pagrorosaryo)

• Senakulo

The Meaning of Spirituality (Yabut, 2013)

1. It is phenomenological experience

2. This has to do with the human being

Stages of Faith Development for Adolescence

1. Synthetic Conventional Stage (age 12 and up)

• Conformity to authority and the religious development of a personal identity.

• Any conflicts with one’s beliefs are ignored due to the fear of threat from inconsistence

1. Individuative - Reflective Stage (age 21 and up)

• personal responsibility for his or her beliefs and feelings.

• As one is able to reflect on one’s own beliefs, there is an openness to a new complexity of faith, but this also increases the awareness of conflicts in one’s belief.

Logotherapy (Victor Frankl)

• find personal meaning in life, whatever life situation they may be

1. Someone - special someone, friend, children, and family

2. Deed, Act or Work - finding fulfillment and/or being passionate about one’s work/deed

3. Suffering - through rumination/ contemplation, we get to have a deeper sense of our self and experiences

Religion and Spirituality in the New Normal (Feast of the Black Nazarene/Traslacion 2021)

LESSON 5: POLITICAL SELF

• increasing awareness of the deeply dysfunctional and divisive nature of many of our traditional political and economic institutions.

Politics - actions or activitiesconcerned with achieving and using power

Active Citizenship - engagement with political processes and participation in a society.

LESSON 6: DIGITAL SELF

Cyberpsychology

• New field within applied psychology

• Branch of psychology that examines:

  • how we interact with others using technology

  • how our behaviour is influenced by Technology

  • how technology can be developed to best suit our needs

  • how our psychological states can be affected by technologies

Self and identity in the cyberspace

• Identity - development of one’s self-concept, including one’s thought and feelings about oneself

• Three different selves:

  • actual self – the characteristics that an individual does actually possess;

  • ideal self – the characteristics that an individual would like to possess;

  • ought self – the characteristics that an individual feels they should possess.

• Online anonymity - engage in digital activities without revealing their true identity.

Digital Citizenship

• Being Online - how we engage and exist online

  • three digital domains:

    • access and inclusion

    • learning and creativity

    • media and information literacy.

• Well-being online - how we engage and exist online

  • three digital domains:

    • ethics and empathy

    • health and well-being,

    • e-presence and communications.

• Rights online - accountable online

  • four digital domains:

    • active participation

    • rights and responsibilities

    • privacy and security

    • consumer awareness.

Digital World issues and conflicts

• Fear of missing out (FoMO)

• Screen Dependency Disorder

• Internet gaming disorder