UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

“This above all, to thine own self be true” – Shakespear

- To be true to your self
“One of the greatest tragedies in life is to lose your own sense of self and accept the version of
you that is expected by everyone else. “ - Toth
- Dont deny your self to meet the expectation of other because it would be a greatest tragedy in
your life.
“You might say that we use ourselves to discover ourselves” – Lasater

WHAT THIS COURSE IS ABOUT

• It intends to facilitate the exploration of issues and concerns regarding Self and Identity.
• It hopes to help in the better understanding of one’s self and that of others
• It will stress the integration of the personal with the academic
WHAT YOU WILL ACCOMPLISH AFTER THIS COURSE?
• make you become a better learner;
• generate a new appreciation of the learning process;
• develop a more critical and reflective stance;
• Enable the students to manage and improve their selves to attain a better quality of life.
THE DESIGN OF THE COURSE
A. Understanding the Self Construct- Self by various social sciences: Philosophy, Sociology,
Anthropology, Political Science and Psychology; also Western and Eastern perspectives
B. Unpacking the Self
- The Physical Self - The Emotional Self
- The Biological Self - The Spiritual Self
- The Material/Economic Self - The Gendered Self
- The Political Self - The Digital Self

C. Managing and Caring for the Self

Three areas of concern for students:
1. Learning
2. Goal Setting

3. Managing Stress - provides new skills and learnings for better management of the
self
-enables the understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of stress, self care
and compassion
WHAT THE COURSE IS

 Interdisciplinary – present different perspectives regarding the topic

 Integrative –tie up different perspectives and views regarding the topic
 Interactive- interaction between teacher and students

What Course is about

• Experiential - practice what students learn in the classroom by enabling varied
experiences.
Benefits of Journaling

• Helps develop critical thinking

• Promotes self reflection and insight
• Enables the reduction of stress
• Helps clarify thoughts and feelings

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF

 Philosophy
- Discover the ultimate causes, reasons and principles of everything.
- Exploring all areas of knowledge such as religion, psychology, politics, physics and even
medicine.
- Greek words Philos which means love and Sophia which means wisdom, “Love of
Wisdom”.
- Desire for truth by formulating never ending questions to provide answers to every
inquiry about the nature of human existence.
SELF
- Unified being.
- Connected to consciousness and awareness.

1. SOCRATES: An unexamined life is not worth living.

• Ancient Greek Philosopher

• Know Thyself
• Real self is not the physical body, but rather the psyche (soul).
• Self is synonymous with the soul.
• Believes that every human possesses an immortal soul that survives the physical body.
 There are two Dichotomous Realms:
1. Physical Realm is changeable, transient and imperfect.
- Body belongs to physical realm.
2. Ideal Realm is unchanging, eternal and immortal.
- Intellectual essences of the universe; truth, goodness, and beauty.
- The soul belongs to the ideal realm
- The self- the soul- is the immortal entity.
  Soul strives for wisdom and perfection, and reason is the soul’s tool to achieve this exalted
state.

• If soul is tied to the body, the quest for wisdom is inhibited by imperfection of the
physical realm.
• Socrates thus suggests that man must live an examined life and a life of purpose and
value.
• Unexamined life is not worth living.
• Soul searching- to have meaningful life
• The Socrates method, the so called introspection, is a method of carefully examining
one’s thoughts and emotions- to gain self-knowledge.

2. Plato: The Self is an Immortal Soul

 Ancient Greek Philosopher

 Self is with the soul.

 Process of self-knowledge and purification of the soul.

 The Idea of a Three-part Soul/Self:
1. Reason- divine essence that enables us to think deeply, make wise choices and eternal truth.
2. Physical Appetite- basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst and sexual desire.
3. Spirit or Passion- basic emotions such as love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness and
empathy.
 These three element of our selves are in a dynamic relationship with one
another, sometimes in conflict. When conflict occurs, Reason solve it.
 Genuine happiness can only be achieved by people who consistently make sure
that their REASON is in control of their Spirits and Appetites.
 Concept of Justice- Reason control spirit and appetite.
Theory of Forms
1. The World of Forms (non-physical ideas) is real and permanent.
2. The World of Sense (Reality) is temporary and only a replica of the ideal world.

 Sensible world is dependent on the ideal world, where the concept of the soul belongs.

3. Aristotle: The Soul is the Essence of the Self

 Greek Philosopher
 Soul is rarely a set of defining features
 Body and soul as separate entities.
 Anything with life has a soul
 SOUL is the essence of all living things
 Human different from other living things because of their capacity for RATIONAL THINKING.
  THREE KINDS OF SOUL
1. Vegetative Soul- Physical Body that can grow.
2. Sentient Soul- Sensual desires, feeling and emotions.
3. Rational Soul- is what makes man human. INTELLECT that allows man to know and
understand things.

 rational Nature of the self is to lead a good, flourishing and fulfilling life (self-
actualization)

 Part of rational soul is characterized by moral and virtues such as justice and
courage.

4. Saint Augustine: The Self has an Immortal Soul.

 African Philosopher, saint in the Catholic Church.
 Combine Plato and Christian teaching
 Physical body is different from THE IMMORTAL SOUL (inferior inhabitant).
 Body as “spouse of the Soul”.
 Soul as an important element of man. (as religious)
 Humankind is created in the likeness and image of God.
 Human person, being a creation of God is always geared towards the good.
 SELF is known only through knowing God.
 Self-knowledge is a consequence of knowledge of God.
 Significance of reflection, prayers and confessions; justification for the existence of God.
 Knowledge can only come by seeing the truth that dwells within us. (Truth of Knowing God)
 God is Transcendent
 United with God through FAITH and REASON.

5. Rene Descartes: I Think Therefore I Am.

 French Philosopher
 Father of Modern Philosophy.
 “COGITO ERGO SUM” (latin) – I Think Therefore I Am is the Keystone of Descartes concept of
self.
 Thinking about the self- of being self-conscious –proof that there is a self.
 The human self- a thinking entity that doubts, understands, analyzes, questions and reasons.
 Two Dimensions of the Human Self.
1. The Self as a Thinking Entity- (or SOUL) as non-material, immortal, conscious being
and independent of the physical laws of the universe.
2. The Self as Physical Body – is a material, mortal, non-thinking entity, fully governed
by the physical laws of nature.
 The Soul and Body are INDEPENDENT of one another, and each can exist and
function without the other.
6. John Locke: The Self is Consciousness.

 English Philosopher.
 The Human Mind at Birth is Tabula Rasa or a blank tablet/slate.
 Self or personal identity is constructed from SENSE EXPERIENCES
 Conscious awareness and memory of previous experiences are the keys to understand the
self.
 Conscious awareness of itself as a Thinking, Reasoning, and Reflecting Identity.
 Consciousness is what makes identity of a person similar in different situations.
 Using the power of reason and introspection enables one to understand and achieve accurate
conclusions about the self. (or personal identity)

7. David Hume: There is No Self

 Scottish Philosopher

 Carefully examine their sense experience through the process of introspection, they will
discover that there is “NO SELF”.

 experience is just a bundle or collection of different perceptions

 If people carefully examine the contents of their experiences, distinct entities:

1. Impressions are vivid perceptions and are strong and lively
2. Ideas are thoughts and images from impressions so they are less lively and vivid.

 The idea of personal identity is a result of imagination

8. Immanuel Kant: We Construct the Self

 German Philosopher

 Self that is actively organizing and synthesizing all our thoughts and perceptions.

 The transcendental self, in the form of consciousness, utilizes conceptual categories

 Self is an organizing principle that unified and intelligible experience possible.

 The Self constructs its own reality, MINE.

  The self is the product of reason, a regulating principle, because the self regulates experience
by making unified experiences possible.

 Not limited to sense

9. Sigmund Freud: The Self is Multilayered

 Austrian Psychoanalyst
Self is Consists of Three Layers:
1. Conscious Self -“reality principle” and appropriate to the environment.
2. Unconscious Self- contains the basic instinctive drives - “Pleasure Principle”
3. Preconscious Self contains material that is not threatening and easily brought to mind.
-Memories and stored knowledge.
10. Gilbert Ryle: The Self is the Way People Behave

 British Philosopher
 Self is best understood as a pattern of Behavior, the tendency to behave in a certain way in
certain circumstances.
 Concept of human self, “I Act Therefore I am”
 The self is the same as the bodily behavior.
 Mind is the totality of human dispositions that is known through the way people behave.
 Mind expresses the entire system of thoughts, emotions and actions that make up the human
self.
11. Paul Churchland: The Self is the Brain

 Canadian Philosopher
 Self is inseparable from the brain and body.
 Each person has is the brain, and so if the brain is gone, there is no self.
 The physical brain gives people the sense of self.
 The mind does not really exist because it cannot be experience by the senses.
12. Maurice Merleau-Ponty; The Self is Embodied Subjectivity.
 French Philosopher
 All knowledge about self is based on the “Phenomena” of experience.
 It is an integrated CORE IDENTITY, a combination of the Mental, Physical and Emotional
structures
 Mind and body are UNIFIED, not separated.
 Perception is consequence conscious experience.
 Self is embodied subjectivity.