Understanding the Self

1. MODULE 2
CONCEPT AND
NATURE OF SELF

2. INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES:
◦ Explain the nature, concept, and meaning of the self;
◦ Describe the nature of the self your own point of view;
◦ Discuss the conceptualization and representation of the self from
various disciplines and perspectives; and
◦ Develop a pleasant and wholesome attitude towards oneself.

3. The Philosophical view of the Self
◦ Socrates: Know yourself-
Principally concerned with man. ‘’Tells each man to bring his inner self to light’’. A bad man is not
virtuous through ignorance. The man who does not follow the good fails to do so because he
does not recognize it. For Socrates, self-knowledge is one of the most important virtue a man can
have.

4. The Philosophical view of the Self
◦ Plato: The Ideal Self, the Perfect Self
According to Plato, man was omniscient or all-knowing before he came to be born into this world.
He should live a life of virtue in which in which true human perfection exists. Happiness which is
the fruit of virtue, is attained by the constant imitation of the divine exemplar of virtue.

5. The Philosophical view of the Self
◦ Immanuel Kant: Respect for Self
Man is the only creature who governs and directs himself and his actions, who sets up ends for
himself and his purpose, and who freely orders means for the attainment of his aims. The plain
dictum for this one would be ‘’ respect others as you would respect yourself’. Thus all men are
persons gifted with the same basic rights and should treat each other as equals.

6. The Philosophical view of the Self
◦ Rene Descartes: ‘’ I think, therefore I am’’
He states that self is a thinking entity distinct from the body. His first famous principle was
‘’Cogito ergo sum’’ which means ‘’ I think therefore I am.’’ Although the mind and body are
independent from each other and serve their own function man must always use his thinking
abilities to investigate, analyze, and experiment.

7. The Philosophical view of the Self
◦ John Locke: Personal Identity
Holds personal identity as a matter of psychological continuity. For him, personal identity is of
being conscious(memory), and not on the substance of either the soul or the body.
It is the concept about oneself that evolves over the course of an individual’s life such as the color
of your skin, as well as the choice he makes, like how he spends his time and what he believes.

8. The Philosophical view of the Self
◦ David Hume: The Self is the Bundle Theory of Mind.
He posits that no single impression of the self exists: rather, the self is just the thing to which all
the impressions of a man is ascribed. Thus, the impression of what we call the self is just ‘’ a
bundle theory of the mind’’.

9. The Christian Biblical View of the Self

10. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to
our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the
sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that
crawl on the earth.” So God created man in his own image; he
created him in the image of God; he created them male and
female

11. The SELF as a crown of creation

13. St. Augustine: Love and Justice as the
Foundation of the individual Self
◦ St. Augustine believes that a virtuous life is a
dynamism of love. It is a constant following of and
turning towards love while a wicked life is a
constant turning away from love. Loving God
means loving one’s fellowmen; and loving one’s
fellowmen denotes never doing any harm to
another or, as the golden principle of justice
states, doing unto others as you would have them
do unto you.

15. The psychological View of the Self

16. Sigmund Freud: The Psychoanalytic
Theory of Self
◦ Freud’s asserts that the human psyche (personality) is structured into three parts
(tripartite).These structures—the id, ego and superego—all develop at different stages in
person’s life.
◦ These three structures are systems and not physical parts of the brain. Although each part
comprises unique features and contributes to an individual’s behavior, they interact to form a
whole

17. Parts of Personality
◦ 1.Id (internal desires). Also called internal drives or
instinctive drives, it consists of the body’s primitive biological
drives and urges which are concerned only with achieving
pleasure and self-satisfaction. In lives completely in the
unconscious.
◦ 2.Ego (reality). It is the “I” part of the individual that gives
him/her the sense of his/her own identity. The ego is the
rational part of the personality.
◦ 3. Superego ( conscience)- he superego's criticisms,
prohibitions, and inhibitions form a person's conscience, and
its positive aspirations and ideals represent one's idealized
self-image, or “ego ideal.”

18. Freudian Stages of Psychosexual Development

19. Erik Erikson: The Psychosocial Stages of Self-development
◦ According to the theory, successful completion of each stage results in a healthy personality and
the acquisition of basic virtues. Basic virtues are characteristic strengths that the ego can use to
resolve subsequent crises.
◦ For Erikson (1958, 1963), these crises are psychosocial because they involve the psychological
needs of the individual (i.e., psycho) conflicting with the needs of society (i.e., social).
◦ Failure to complete a stage can result in a reduced ability to complete further stages and,
therefore, a more unhealthy personality and sense of self. These stages, however, can be
resolved successfully at a later time