P.A.T.

: The chosen 1ne

Understanding Self
“I am me, nothing more, nothing less and that is enough.” -Rose Vergara
What is the Meaning of Self ?
• The Self is what makes someone an individual; it is the essential being of a person,
one’s ego, and the awareness of one’s own inner person.
• The union of elements (such as body, emotions, thoughts, and sensations) that constitute
the individuality and identity of a person
Self in Different Philosophical Branches:
Metaphysics - The self has been seen as the starting point of inquiry (both in the empiricist
and rationalist traditions) or as the entity whose investigation is most deserving and
challenging (Socratic philosophy).
Ethics and Philosophy - The self is the key concept to explain freedom of the will as well as
individual responsibility.
Self According to Different Philosophers:
Socrates - Self has two distinct parts. A physical body and a soul. Your physical body is
imperfect and bound to the earth. The soul on the other hand, is perfect and is an unchanging
thing of beauty that transcends death that goes on forever. Thus, it also holds our ability to
reason.
Plato - The Self has three (3) parts. Reason, Physical appetite and Passion. Reason is your
logic and ability to look at situations rationally. Your physical appetite is the collection of
things that your body naturally yearns for like water and food. This part of yourself is very
strong for it helps you to survive but cannot control your every action. The last of these parts
is passion. The passion is the collection of your emotions like love and anger.
Descartes - There are two parts of the Self. The mind and the body. The mind is an internal
dynamic thinking thing that has no shape or substance. It is responsible for all of our thoughts
and feelings. The body, is simply a vessel for the mind and It is more material.
Kant - Self has two unified parts. The transcendental self and the empirical self. The
empirical self organizes all of your experiences and sends input that makes it understandable.
the transcendental self analyzes these inputs, informs your thoughts and feelings on wat you
have perceived
Locke - Self is singular and it is one’s conscious. A person is an intelligent being that is capable
of reason and can reflect on it’s past. A person considers itself samples at different points of
time and space. Since a person can think and reflect, it can have consciousness. Therefore, you
can be conscious of your identity at different times and places. This consciousness of your
identity through time is yourself.
All About Self:
Self-Concept – Picture or perception of yourself.
Self-esteem/Self-worth – refers to the extent to which we like, accept or approve of ourselves,
or how much we value ourselves.
Ideal Self – The way you would like to be.
The Self can serve various social psychological functions; having a self is not only knowing
where your skin ends, but also how to get along with a group.

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(Fiskie, 2004)
Self-complexity - Refers to the extent to which a person organizes self-knowledge into
independent self-aspects.
All About Self:
Social Self - The public person we show in social situations.
Self-efficacy - a person's belief that they can be successful when carrying out a particular task.
Existential Self - The sense of being separate and distinct from others and the awareness of
the constancy of the self.
The Categorical Self-Having realized that he or she exists as a separate experiencing being,
the child next becomes aware that he or she is also an object in the world.

• According to Maslow, any unmet basic

need causes problems and tensions that we seek
to resolve.
• The first four levels are called as
Deficiency Needs and the top level is known as
Growth or Being needs.
• Deficiency needs arise due to deprivation
and are said to motivate people when they are
unmet. Also, the motivation to fulfill such needs
will become stronger the longer the duration they
are denied.
• Growth needs do not stem from a lack of
something, but rather from a desire to grow as a
person. Once these growth needs have been reasonably satisfied, one may be able to
reach the highest level called self-actualization.
• Every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of
self-actualization.
Understanding Society
How a Society is Formed ?
Societies are formed by our social groupings at varied levels – Small Towns, Through
Countries, To broader Cultural groups
What is Society ?
A society is a group of people involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group
sharing the same geographical or social territory, typically subject to the same political
authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societies are characterized by patterns of
relationships (social relations) between individuals who share a distinctive culture and
institutions; a given society may be described as the sum total of such relationships among its
constituent of members. In the social sciences a larger society often evinces stratification or
dominance patterns in subgroups.
Social Group, Categories and Aggregates:
Categories - One particular kind of person across time and space. They’re sets of people who
share similar Characteristics.

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Social Groups - A collection of people who have something in common and believe that what
they have in common is significant
Aggregates - A set of individuals who happen to be in the same place at the same time.
Types of Social Groups:
Primary Groups - Small and tightly knit, bound by a very strong sense of belonging. (Ex.
Family and Friends)
Secondary Groups - Large and impersonal groups, whose members are bound by a shared
goal or activity, rather than by strong emotional ties. (Ex. A company)
Voluntary Groups - If you belong to that group, it’s because you chose to be a member of that
group.
Involuntary Groups - Membership are assigned. (Ex. Prison)
Importance of Society:
• Society gives us a system as well as a platform to work together for the betterment of
our lives as well as the world. We can take collective efforts to improve our social and
living conditions.
• One of the primary purposes of society is the formation of an organized group of
individuals who can support each other in various ways. It is in the difficult times that
you realize the importance of being a part of society. It is the members of your social
group who come forward to give you the help needed. The support given by society can
be of the physical, emotional, financial, or medical form.
Society Terms:
Conformity – Describes how we adjust our behavior or thinking to follow the behavior or rules
to the group we belong to.
Deviance – Anything that deviates from what people generally accept as normal.
Social Control – Attempts by society to regulate people’s and behaviors in ways that limit, or
punish deviant.
Formal Sanctions – Formal sanctions occurs when norms are codified into law and violation
almost always results in negative sanctions from the criminal justice system.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Society:
Advantages Disadvantages
• We are never alone • Discrimination
• Celebrations • Societal norms
• Community Service
• Social Equality
Characteristics of Society
 society is a large human group
 It satisfies the needs of its members
 having sense of belonging and cooperation. It is more or less permanent association
 It is abstract (Because social relationships can be felt and imagined and cannot be seen).
 Everyone in society is dependent upon every other member.
 It should be organized i.e. will be having division of labor.

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 It is always changing
 It has its own means to survive
 It is a self-sufficient social system.
 society has its own culture.
 It will be having likeness and differences. Due to these differences, variety in human
behaviors and division of labor and specialization of roles is there.
Understanding Culture
What is Culture ?
 First appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary around 1430 it meant “cultivation”
or “tending the soil,” based on the Latin culture. Into the 19th century, “culture” was
associated with the phrase “high culture”, meaning the cultivation or “refinement of
mind, taste, and manners.” This generally held to the mid-20th century when its
meaning shifted toward its present American Heritage English Dictionary definition:
“The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions,
and all other products of human work and thought.”
All About Culture:
Cultural anthropology is a major division of anthropology that deals with the study of culture
in all of its aspects.
Culture includes: Religion, Race, Age, Socio Economic Status, Sexual Orientation, Ethnicity,
Gender, Education, Generation, Nationality
Culture is a term that refers to a large and diverse set of mostly intangible aspects of social
life.
Culture consists of the values, beliefs, systems of language and communication, and practices
that people share in common
Culture includes the material objects that are common to that group or society.
All About Culture:
Low/ Popular Culture -The cultural behaviors and ideas that are popular with most people in
a society. (Ex. Fast food)
High Culture - Cultural patterns that distinguish a society’s elite. (Ex. Opera, Expensive
restaurants)
Mainstream culture – the cultural patterns that are broadly in line with a society’s cultural
ideas and values. (Ex. Fashion)
Subcultures – cultural patterns that set apart a segment of a society’s population. (Ex. Hipsters,
U.S. bikers)
Counter Culture –push back on mainstream culture in an attempt to change how a society
function. (Hipsters)
Ethnocentrism – the practice of judging once culture by the standards of another.
Multiculturalism – A perspective that, rather than seeing society as a homogenous culture,
recognizes cultural diversity while advocating for equal standing for all cultural traditions.
Elements of Culture:
Symbol – Anything that is used to stand for something else.
Language – A system of words used to communicate with other people.
Values – Culturally defined what is good or desirable.

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Norms – Culturally defined expectations of behavior.

The Function of Culture:
 The function of culture is to keep people working together in groups. The importance
of groups cannot be over-emphasized. Most of the information people learn in their
lives is learned from others. The old saying may be that 'experience is the best teacher,'
but learning from the experience of other people is vital to the survival of humans. This
goes for people in so-called civilized and uncivilized regions alike. People rely on
interactions with others for their livelihoods and even for outright survival against the
elements.
Cultures Can Change
No matter what culture a people are a part of, one thing is for certain, it will change. "Culture
appears to have become key in our interconnected world, which is made up of so many
ethnically diverse societies, but also riddled by conflicts associated with religion, ethnicity,
ethical beliefs, and, essentially, the elements which make up culture.” – De Rossi
Origin of Filipino Culture
The culture of the Philippines comprises a blend of traditional Filipino and Spanish Catholic
traditions, with influences from America and other parts of Asia.
References :
Understanding Self
https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/4998/self
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self
https://www.thoughtco.com/all-about-the-self-2670638
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHBYNx4Oims
https://www.simplypsychology.org/self-concept.html
https://www.slideshare.net/jtneill/lecture2-social-self-2
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/self-efficacy
https://psychologydictionary.org/social-self/
https://www.slideshare.net/wilsontom/understanding-self-9722064
https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
Understanding Society
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9J79xbM_Xg
https://www.quora.com/What-is-society
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wFZ5Dbj8DA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wFZ5Dbj8DA
https://opinionfront.com/purpose-of-society-why-is-society-important
http://www.anythingrelated.com/2016/06/why-is-society-important.html
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/sociology/social-control/relation-between-conformity-
deviance-and-social-control/31291
http://www.anythingrelated.com/2016/06/why-is-society-important.html

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http://www.studylecturenotes.com/social-sciences/sociology/251-characteristics-of-society-
sociology-notes
Understanding Culture
Retrieved at English Singsing (March 28,2018) Understanding one’s culture - Educational
video for Kids - Role-play conversation. Retrieved at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQGmL6jYqpA
Bruce M. Tharp (n.d.) Defining “Culture” and “Organizational Culture”: From Anthropology
to the Office. Retrieved from https://www.thercfgroup.com/files/resources/Defining-Culture-
and-Organizationa-Culture_5.pdf
Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D. (November 24, 2018) What is Culture Exactly? Retrieved from
https://www.thoughtco.com/culture-definition-4135409
Juan Miguel Palero (August 2, 2018) Understanding Culture, Society and Politics –
Introduction. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/jmpalero/understanding-culture-
society-and-politics-introduction
CrashCourse (May 22, 2017) Cultures, Subcultures, and Countercultures: Crash Course
Sociology #11. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV50AV7-Iwc
(February 11, 2016) Difference Between High Culture and Popular Culture Retrieved from
https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-high-culture-and-vs-popular-culture/
desoriente0 (October 9, 2014) Major Elements that Define Culture Retrieved
fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=jt2tikGSu98
Duane Cloud (n.d.) Definition of Culture in Anthropology: Characteristics & Concept.
Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/definition-of-culture-in-anthropology-
characteristics-concept.html
(n.d.) Philippines — History and Culture. Retrieved from
https://www.iexplore.com/articles/travel-guides%2Fsouth-and-southeast-
asia%2Fphilippines%2Fhistory-and-culture
Kim Ann Zimmermann (July 12, 2017) What Is Culture? Retrieved from
https://www.livescience.com/21478-what-is-culture-definition-of-culture.html

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