PRELIMS TO FINALS

• This module will discuss the different basic concepts and principles of the self. It includes philosophical and theoretical perspectives about the self across generations.
• In man's pursuit of knowledge and truth, thinkers for centuries have searched for explanations and reasons for everything that exists around him. Thus, Philosophy was born in Athens, Greece approximately 600 BCE.
• The self


  A unified being, essentially connected to consciousness, awareness, and agency
• Philosophers and their orientations

  • Socrates (Idealism, Socratic Philosophy)
  • Plato (Idealism, Dualism & Idealism)
  • Aristotle (Empiricist, Aristotelian Philosophy)
  • St. Augustine (Platonism, Neo-Platonism)
  • Rene Descartes (Rationalist, Mind-Body Dualism)
  • John Locke (Empiricist, Theory of Personal Identity)
  • David Hume (Empiricist, Sceptical Philosophy)
  • Immanuel Kant (Rationalist/Empiricist, Metaphysics of the Self)
  • Sigmund Freud (Psychoanalyst, Product of the past)
  • Gilbert Ryle (Empiricist, Concept of the mind)
  • Patricia Churchland (Empiricist, Neurophilosophy)
  • Maurice Merleau-Ponty (Existentialist/Empiricist, Phenomenology of Perception)
• It must be remembered that in studying the theories about the self, one should take into account the philosophers' orientation and historical background.
• Sociology


  One of the disciplines in the social sciences which aim to discover the ways by which the social environment influences people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviour
• Sociologists and their theories

  • George Herbert Mead (Social Behaviorism, Theory of the Self)
  • Charles Horton Cooley (Socio psychological, Looking Glass self)
  • Erving Goffman (Dramaturgical, Interactionism)
• Fields of Anthropology


  • Archaeology
  • Biological Anthropology
  • Linguistic Anthropology
  • Cultural Anthropology
• Theory of Cultural Determinism


  Believes that human nature is determined by the ideas, meanings, beliefs and values learned as members of a society
• Manifestations of Culture on people


  • Symbols
  • Heroes
  • Rituals
  • Values
• Comparison of Eastern and Western self

  • Collective Self (Eastern)
  • Individualistic Self (Western)
  • Collectivistic culture (Eastern)
  • Individualistic culture (Western)
  • Kinship (Eastern)
  • Competitiveness (Western)
  • Communication (Eastern)
  • Communication (Western)
• Eastern thoughts on the self

  • Confucianism (Ren, Li, Xiao, Yi)
  • Taoism
  • Buddhism
• Psychologists and their theories

  • William James (Theory of Self)
  • Murray Bowen (Family Therapy and Systemic Therapy)
  • Carl Rogers (Person-Centered Theory)
• Personal self


  Consists of the things that belong to the person or entities that a person belongs to such as body, family, clothes, etc.
• Social self


  Refers to who the person is in a particular situation
• Spiritual self


  Refers to the self that is more concrete when compared to the material and social selves
• I self


  Also known as the thinking self; it is the self that knows and recognizes who they are and what they have done
• Global self


  Represents the over-all value that a person places upon himself
• Differentiated self


  A balance should be maintained between "togetherness" and "individuality"; This has the ability to separate feelings and thoughts
• Real self


  Refers to all information and perception the person has about himself; answers the question "Who am I?"
• Ideal self


  Model version the person has of himself; this is what the person aims for himself to be; answers the question "Who do I want to be?"
• There should be congruence between the real and ideal self
• True self


  Seen as creative, spontaneously experiencing each day; characterized by high levels of awareness
• False self


  Lacks spontaneity and is dead and empty; enables the person to form superficial but productive social relationships
• Both true self and false self should be present and functional for the advantage of person and society
• Intentionality


  Person has full awareness of his behaviour
• Forethought


  The person's anticipation of likely outcomes of his behaviour
• Self-reactiveness


  The process in which the person is motivated and regulates his behaviour as he observes his progress in achieving his goals
• Self-reflectiveness


  The person looking inward and evaluating his motivations, values, life goals and other people's effect on him
• Results in self-regulation which allows the person to set goals that are better and higher than the former, challenging his capabilities and making him a wiser and self-actualized individual
• The development of the individual is caused by 2 interacting forces: heredity (nature) and environment (nurture)
• Fertilization is the meeting of the female sex cell and the male sex cell
• Heredity


  The transmission of traits from parents to offspring
• Genotype


  Specific information embedded within one's genes
• Phenotype


  The physical expression of a particular trait
• Each individual carries 23 pairs of chromosomes. The last pair is known as the sex chromosomes which determine the sex of an individual. The XX combination indicates a female and XY combination indicates male
• Maturation


  The completion of growth of a genetic character within an organism or the unfolding of an individual's inherent traits or potential
• Developmental stages


  • Pre-natal
  • Infancy
  • Early childhood
  • Middle/Late Childhood
  • Adolescence
  • Early Adulthood
  • Middle Adulthood
  • Late Adulthood
• Puberty


  A period of rapid physical changes. Girls usually reach puberty earlier than the boys
• Menarche


  The first menstrual flow