GED-101-Understanding-the-Self.pdf

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GED 101 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
Bersoto, M.A., Arcega, A.M., & Cullar, D. S.
GED 101 Understanding the Self
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
Module
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Course Title UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
Course Code GED 101
Course Category GENERAL EDUCATION
Prerequisite(s) NONE
Semester/ year FIRST SEMESTER/ YEAR 1
Credit Hours 3 (3 HOURS LECTURE)
Reference CMO CMO NO.20 SERIES OF 2013
Date Prepared JULY 16, 2020
Period of Study 18 WEEKS
Contact Hours 3 HOURS LECTURE
COURSE RATIONALE AND DESCRIPTION
The course deals with the nature of identity, as well as the factors and forces that affect the development
and maintenance of personal identity. This course is intended to facilitate the exploration of the issues and
concerns regarding self and identity to arrive at a better understanding of one’s self. It strives to meet this
goal by stressing the integration of the personal with the academic- contextualizing matters discussed in the
classroom and in the everyday experiences of students- making for better learning, generating a new
appreciation for the learning process, and developing a more critical and reflective attitude while enabling
them to manage and improve themselves to attain a better quality of life. (Adopted from CHED’s prescribed
course description)
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (ILO)
Upon completion of this course, the students should be able to:
1. Examine the aspects of the self, and the different influences, factors, and forces that shape the self;
2. Demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the development of one’s self and identity
and integrating the various aspects of self and identity by developing a theory of the self; and
3. Apply new skills and learnings about self-care to one’s self and functioning for a better quality of
life.
CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT
40% Activities/ Exercises/Quizzes
20% Projects/Outputs
40% Major Examinations
100% Total
TEACHING, LEARNING, AND ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES
Teaching and Learning Strategies
1. Lecture. Lecture notes with links to related resources and other Web sites embedded in the will be
placed on Google Classroom (GED 101) and/or group chat via FB Messenger for the learners to
review. Presentation of lectures via audio or video; and access on Open Educational resources will
also be uploaded in the Google classroom for students to revisit as needed.
2. Self-Directed Learning. The study and activity guide will be placed on Google Classroom and/or
group chat via FB Messenger to facilitate individualized and self-paced learning activities. This
will allow students to work at a convenient time and pace to search and utilize vast resources. The

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Discussion Group. Students will be asked to reflect on a subject under discussion and present their
views through Stream post (Google Classroom) and/or group cat (FB Messenger).
Assessment Strategies
1. Activity/Exercises/Quizzes Activities/exercises will be given to students to discover by questions or
practical activities or reflection assignments, what the students know about the lesson or what they
can do or like.
2. Projects/Outputs. Group and/or individual projects including concept papers, and plan development
and implementation, will be required for the students to pursue special interests, write or create and
publish or present their outputs via the internet.
3. Major Examinations. There will be two (2) written major examinations including Midterm and Final
exams, to be conducted to evaluate the students' progress in the course. The test questions will be sent
via Google Classroom (Classwork) and/or FB Messenger (Group Chat) on the scheduled date of
examination.
BOOKS AND OTHER REFERENCES
1. Avelino, S.E., Sanchez, C.A. (1996). Personality Development and Human Relations. Rex
Book Store Inc., Sta Mesa Heights, Quezon City, Philippines
2. Personality Traits. Edward Diener and Richard E. Lucas. Accessed July 25, 2020.
https://nobaproject.com/modules/personality-traits#discussion-questions
3. Self-Understanding & Self-Concept: How We Perceive Ourselves. Natalie Boyd. Accessed
July 25, 2020. https://study.com/academy/lesson/self-understanding-and-self-concept.html
4. Personality. Accessed July 25, 2020.
https://sg.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/148426/12/12_chapter%205.pdf
5. 4 Reasons Why Self-understanding is Essential. Kee’s Blog. Accessed July 25, 2020.
https://intuitivehaven.com/4-reasons-why-self-understanding-is-essential/
6. Self and Personality. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
Accessed July 25, 2020. http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/l/lepy102.pdf
7. What Is Self-Concept? The Psychological Exploration of "Who Am I?". Kendra Cherry.
Accessed July 25, 2020. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-concept-2795865
8. Arcega, A M., Cullar, D. S., Evangelista, L. D. & Falculan, L. M. (2018). Understanding the
Self. Malabon City: Mutya Publishing House Inc.
9. Villafuerte, Salvacion L.(PhD), et al. (2018) Understanding the Self. Quezon City, Philippines:
Nieme House Co. Ltd.
10. Understanding the Self. Accessed July 16, 2020. ched.gov.ph/wp-
content/uploads/2017/10/Understanding-the-Self.pdf
11. Alata, E.J.P., Caslib, B.N., Serafica, J.P.J., Pawilen, R.A. (2018). Understanding the Self. Rex
Book Store Inc., Sta Mesa Heights, Quezon City, Philippines
12. Gazzingan, L. B. et al. (2019). Understanding the Self. Muntinlupa City: Panday-Lahi
Publishing House, Inc.
13. Hewstone, et.al. (2015). An Introduction to Social Psychology. UK: British Psychological
Society and John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
14. Krueger, D.W. 2002 Integrating body self and psychological self: Creating a new story in
psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. Accessed date: July 24, 2020.
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-06051-000
15. McKinley, N. M. (2012). Continuity and change in self-objectification: Taking a life-span
approach to women’s experiences of objectified body consciousness. Accessed date: July 24,
2020. https://doi.org/10.1037/12304-005
16. Santrock, J (2014) Adolescence. New York, USA: McGraw Hill International edition
17. Santrock, M (2016) Essentials of LifeSpan Development 4th Ed. New York, USA: McGraw
Hill International Edition

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18. Douglas, M (1973) Self-Evidence. Accessed July 24, 2020.
https://us.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-assets/66916_book_item_66916.pdf
19. Seventeenth congress (First Regular session). Accessed July 20, 2020.
http://www.congress.gov.ph/legisdocs/first_17/CR00101.pdf
20. Marshall, E. and Tanner, S. Introduction to Psychology. Accessed July 28, 2020.
https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/chapter/6-3-adolescence-developing-
independence-and-identity/
21. Master, A. and Johnson, T. Human Sexual Response. Accessed July 28, 2020.
https://canvas.du.edu/courses/24161/files/1152570
22. Remez, R. Developing Adolescent. Accessed July 28, 2020.
https://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/develop.pdf
23. Rosenthal, M. (2013). Human Sexuality from Cells to Society. Asia: Cengage Learning
24. The Material/Economic Self. Steven C. Valerio's Blog. Accessed July 20, 2020.
https://utsged101portfolio.wordpress.com/section-3-the-material-economic-self/
25. Gaines, J (1980). Material Possession. Accessed July 24, 2020.
https://faculty.washington.edu/jdb/452/452_chapter_02.pdf
26. Boorstin, D. J. (1973).The Americans: The democratic experience. New York: Random House.
27. Goffman, E. The presentation of Self in everyday life. Accessed July 29, 2020.
https://monoskop.org/images/1/19/Goffman_Erving_The_Presentation_of_Self_in_Everyday_
Life.pdf
28. The Material/Economic Self. Steven C. Valerio's Blog. Accessed July 20, 2020.
https://utsged101portfolio.wordpress.com/section-3-the-material-economic-self/
29. Tuan, J. Extending Theory of self. Accessed July 30, 2020.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1998.tb01685.x
30. https://www.actionresearch.net/living/rawalpdf/Chapter7.pdf
31. Daskeo , K. Self-awareness and Self-knowledge. Accessed July 28, 2020.
https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/2077/30157/1/gupea_2077_30157_1.pdf
32. Frankle, V & Stein, G. Examination of Self. Accessed July 28. 2020.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1163278.pdf
33. Frankl, V. Man’s Search for meaning. Accessed July 28, 2020.
https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/3403095/mod_resource/content/1/56ViktorFrankl_Ma
ns%20Search.pdf
34. Giddens, A. Self-Identity in Modernity. Accessed July 30, 2020.
https://skemman.is/bitstream/1946/12134/1/Self-Identity%20in%20Modernity.pdf
35. Magos.J. Invisible Voices. Accessed July 28, 2020. https://www.diva-
portal.org/smash/get/diva2:788803/FULLTEXT01.pdf
36. McClenon, J. Handbook of Self and Identity. Accessed July 29, 2020.
https://dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/782/docs/handbook_of_self_and_identity_-
_second_edition_-_ch._4_pp._69-104_38_pages.pdf
37. The Political Self: Developing Active Citizenship. Steven C. Valerio's Blog. Accessed July 19,
2020. https://utsged101portfolio.wordpress.com/section-1-the-political-self-developing-active-
citizenship/rio's
38. The Digital Self: Why Do We Express Ourselves On Social Media Like We Do? Accessed
July 27, 2020 from https://sensum.co/blog/the-digital-self-why-do-we-express-ourselves-on-
social-media-like-we-do
39. Goal-Setting Theory. Accessed July 21, 2020 https://gostrengths.com/what-is-goal-setting-
theory/#:~:text=Goal%2Dsetting%20theory%20refers%20to,who%20set%20general%2C%20
easy%20goals.
40. Golden Rules for Goal-Setting. Accessed July 21, 2020.
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_90.htm
41. Healthy Lifestyle: 5 Keys to a Longer Life. Accessed July 21, 2020
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/healthy-lifestyle-5-keys-to-a-longer-life-2018070514186
42. Living Healthy Lifestyle. Accessed July 27, 2020
(https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/108180).
43. Healthy Lifestyles for College Students. Accessed July 27, 2020 from
https://miami.asa.edu/about-asa/news/maintaining-healthy-habits-
college/#:~:text=LOAD%20UP%20ON%20HEALTHY%20FOODS,fresh%20foods%20for%
20each%20meal.

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44. Managing Stress. Accessed July 29, 2020 from https://campusmindworks.org/help-
yourself/self-care/managing-stress/
45. Self Care and Wellness: Taking Care of Yourself So You Can Be Your Best. Accessed July 28,
2020 from https://www.ferris.edu/RSS/eccc/tools/wellness.htm
46. Raphailia Michael, MA. What Self-Care Is- and What It Isn’t. Last updated: 8 Jul 2018.
Accessed June 11, 2020. https://psychcentral.com/blog/what-self-care-is-and-what-it-isnt-2/.
COURSE POLICIES
Grading System
The grading system adopted by this course is as follows:
Excellent 1.00 98 - 100
Superior 1.25 94 - 97
Very Good 1.50 90 - 93
Good 1.75 88 - 89
Meritorious 2.00 85 - 87
Very Satisfactory 2.25 83 - 84
Satisfactory 2.50 80 - 82
Fairly Satisfactory 2.75 78 - 79
Passing 3.00 75 - 77
Failure 5.00 Below 70
Incomplete INC
*Students who got a computed grade of 70-74 will be given an appropriate remedial activity in which the
final grade should be either passing (3.0) or failure (5.0).
Class Policy
Prompt and regular attendance of students is required. Total unexcused absences shall not exceed ten (10)
percent of the maximum number of hours required per course per semester (or per summer term). A
semester has 18 weeks.
Missed Examinations
Students who failed to take the exam during the scheduled date can be given a special exam provided
he/she has a valid reason. If it is a health reason, he/she should provide the faculty with the medical
certificate signed by the attending Physician. Other reasons shall be assessed first by the faculty to
determine its validity.
Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty includes acts such as cheating during examinations or plagiarism in connection with
any academic work. Such acts are considered major offenses and will be dealt with according to the
University’s Student Norms of Conduct.
Dropping
Dropping must be made official by accomplishing a dropping form and submitting it at the Registrar’s
Office before the midterm examination. Students who officially drop out of class shall be marked
“Dropped” whether he took the preliminary examination or not and irrespective of their preliminary
grades.
A student who unofficially drops out of class shall be given a mark of “5.0” by the instructor.
OTHER COURSE POLICIES AND REQUIREMENTS
1. Show up! To succeed in this course, you must choose to accomplish every scheduled class session
and activities in its entirety. See “Course Schedule” for your reference.
2. Do the work! To succeed in this class, you must choose to do your very best work in studying for
each class session and on all your assignments and activities. See “Course Schedule”, for additional
information on completing assignments.

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3. Respect. You will be exposed to a variety of viewpoints, values and opinions in college that will
differ from your own. All students in this class should feel comfortable expressing their viewpoints
and concerns in class. You are an important part of creating an atmosphere that makes this possible.
4. Flex Days/Late Work. Due dates for every assignment/activities are provided on the Study and
activity guide (and posted in Google Classroom and GED 101 group chat via FB messenger). Unless
otherwise stated, assignments/activities are due on those days.
However, I recognize that sometimes “life happens.” In these instances, you may use your allotted
two flex days. These days allow you to submit an assignment up to two days late without penalty.
You can use these days for any assignment and for any reason. You do not need to provide me with
the reason: simply message me and tell me how many of your flex days you would like to use.
Once you’ve exhausted your flex days, then point deductions will occur for any assignment submitted
after the deadline.
● An assignment submitted 24 hours after the due date will only be eligible for 80% of the
maximum number of points allotted.
● Assignments submitted more than 24 hours after the due date will not be accepted.
5. Take care of yourself. Do your best to maintain a healthy lifestyle this semester by eating well,
exercising, avoiding drugs and alcohol, getting enough sleep, and taking time to relax.
TEACHING, LEARNING, AND ASSESSMENT (TLA) ACTIVITIES
Week Topics / Reading List Topic Outcomes Delivery Method
1 COURSE ORIENTATION &
INTRODUCTION Reading List:
GED 101 Course Information Syllabus
(CIS) GED 101 Study Guide
Develop a sense of school
spirit and identity with the
culture of the course
Demonstrate positive
attitude towards the start
of the classes
Navigate the syllabus and
identify the course policy
and schedule
Introduce the lessons on
understanding the self
Lecture and Discussion
Group (via Google
Classroom and/or FB
messenger (Group chat))
1 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF Differentiate the concepts
of self, personality, traits,
and it contribution to self
knowing and
understanding.
Self Directed Learning,
Lecture, and Group
Discussion (via Google
Classroom and/or FB
Introduction to Self Understanding
Personality
Determinants of Personality
Personality Traits
Who am I?
Reading List: 1-7
Activity #1: The Mini-IPIP
(International Personality Item Pool
Representation of the NEO PI-R) Scale
Reinforce understanding
of some of the topics
covered in Week 1
The activity guide will be
sent via Google Classroom
(Classwork) and/or FB
Messenger (Group Chat)
2 THE SELF ACCORDING TO
PHILOSOPHY
Compare and contrast the
different philosophical
foundations and
conceptualization of self
Lecture, and Group
Classroom and/or FB
Socrates, Plato, St. Augustine, Descartes,
Locke, Hume, Kant, Freud, Ryle,
Churchland, Merleau-Ponty
Reading List: 8, 11, 13

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Activity #2: SELF IN ONE LINE Assess understanding of
the topics covered in
Week 2
SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
Examine various
sociological and
anthropological
perspectives that shapes
the self.
Lecture, and Group
Classroom and/or FB
The Self as a product of modern society
among other constructions
Mead and the Social Self
The Self and person in contemporary
anthropology
The Self embedded in culture
ACTIVITY #3: COMPARE ME UP! Assess understanding of
Week 3
PSYCHOLOGY
Analyze the psychological
underpinnings that
describe the self.
Lecture, and Group
Classroom and/or FB
The Self as a Cognitive Construction
William James and the Me-Self and I-Self
Real and Ideal Self
Multiple versus Unified Self
True versus False Self
The Self as Proactive and Agentic
ACTIVITY # 4: THE VERSUSES! Assess understanding of
Week 4
5 THE SELF IN THE WESTERN AND
ORIENTAL/EASTERN THOUGHT
Examine the western,
oriental, and eastern
perspectives on the
formation of self.
Lecture, and Group
Classroom and/or FB
Individualistic versus Collective Self
The Social Construction of the Self in
Western Thought
The Self as embedded in relationships and
through spiritual development in Confucian
thought
ACTIVITY # 5: MY SELF: AN
INDIVIDUALISTIC OR
COLLECTIVE?
Assess understanding of
Week 5
6 to 7 UNPACKING THE SELF
THE PHYSICAL SELF Self Directed Learning,
Lecture, and Group
Classroom and/or FB
The concept of Physical Self Describe the concept of
Physical Self
The self as impacted by the body Translate how the self is
impacted by the body
The impact of culture on body image and
Self-esteem
Assess how culture affects
their own body image and
self-esteem
Reading List: 8,13-17
6 ACTIVITY #6: MY BODY, MY LIFE Reinforce understanding
of the topics covered in
Week 6 and 7
7 ACTIVITY #7: BIRTH OF A BEAUTY
ACTIVITY #8: HOW IT AFFECTS
ME?

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8 to 9 THE SEXUAL SELF Self Directed Learning,
Lecture, and Group
Classroom and/or FB
Development of Secondary Sex
Characteristics and human reproductive
system
Discuss the different
secondary characteristics,
erogenous zones, STIs and
methods of contraception
Erogenous Zones
Understanding Human Sexual response
The basic biology of sexual behavior
Understanding the chemistry of lust, love
and attachment
Compose a personal
poem/song/spoken word
poetry to express the
understanding on love and
its psychological aspects
The Psychological Aspect: What turns
people on
The diversity of sexual behavior and gender
differences, solitary, heterosexual,
homosexual, bisexual, transsexual
Defend your side on the
issues regarding gender
differences, SOGIE, STIs
and other related issues in
the community
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STIs)
Methods of Contraception
Reading List: 8, 13, 20-23
8 ACTIVITY #9: SEXUAL SELFHOOD Reinforce understanding
Week 8 and 9
OUTPUT# 1: CASE ANALYSIS
9 ACTIVITY #10: EXPLORING LOVE
OUTPUT#2: PHOTOJOURNAL (by
group)
10 MIDTERM EXAMINATION Evaluate the students'
progress
The test questions will be
on the scheduled date of
examination.
11 THE MATERIAL SELF/ECONOMIC
SELF
Lecture, and Group
Classroom and/or FB
I shop, therefore, I am: I have therefore I
am?
Explore the different
aspect of
material/economic self
Shaping the way we see ourselves: the role
of consumer culture on our sense of self and
identity
Examine one's self against
the consumer culture of
the community
ACTIVITY #11: SEMIOTIC
ANALYZING
Week 11
ACTIVITY #12: WHAT IS THE
FUNCTION?
Week 11
12 THE SPIRITUAL SELF Self Directed Learning,
Lecture, and Group
Classroom and/or FB
The practice of religion: belief in
supernatural being and power
Compare and Contrast
different rituals and
ceremonies and other
practices
The concept of "dungan" spirit or soul
Religion, Spirituality, Magic, Witchcraft
and Identity
Finding and creating meaning Integrate and assess the
meaning of their lives
Three ways of discovering meaning in life
Reading List: 8, 12-13, 16, 30-36
ACTIVITY #13: ARE YOU
RELIGIOUS?
Week 12
OUTPUT #3: MEANING OF LIFE
13 THE POLITICAL SELF Discuss the nature of
politics, elements of active
citizenship, and how they
shape one’s political self
Lecture, and Group
Politics, Citizenship, and the Self
Active Citizenship

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Reading List: 8, 37 Classroom and/or FB
ACTIVITY # 14 DEVELOPING
CITIZENSHIP
Week 13
14 THE DIGITAL SELF Discuss the development
of digital self
Lecture, and Group
Classroom and/or FB
The Self in the Digital World
The Digital Self: Why do we express
ourselves on Social Media like we do?
ACTIVITY # 15 ME AND MY SOCIAL
MEDIA
Week 13
ACTIVITY # 16 NETIQUETTE
MANAGING AND CARING FOR THE SELF
15 LEARNING TO BE A BETTER
STUDENT
Develop personal self-care
routine plan to
demonstrate one's
understanding of
managing and caring for
one self
Lecture, and Group
Classroom and/or FB
How Learning Happens in the Human
Brain
Metacognition and Study Strategies
Managing your Own Learning: Self-
Regulated Learning
Reading List: 8, 9
SETTING GOALS FOR SUCCESS
The Importance of Goals
Goal- Setting Theory
Golden Rules for Goal-Setting
Reading List: 8, 9,39-40
ACTIVITY # 17 EFFECTIVE
LEARNING STRATEGY
ACTIVITY# 18 PLANNING WITH
GOAL-SETTING SHEET
16 TAKING CHARGE OF ONE’S
HEALTH
Lecture and Group
Discussion ( via Google
Classroom and/orFB
messenger (group Chat))
Living a Healthy Lifestyle
Managing Stress
Self-care and Wellness
17 OUTPUT#4 GET REFRESHED: A 15-
DAY CHALLENGE PLAN TO TAKE
BETTER CARE OF YOURSELF
18 FINAL EXAMINATION Evaluate the students'
progress
The test questions will be
on the scheduled date of
examination.
HOW TO USE THE MODULE
Thee icons will help you journey with this Module.

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STUDY SECTION
In the study section you are tasked to look at closely in order to read the articles.
You are expected to devote time and attention to acquiring knowledge on the topic
in each lesson.
ACTIVITY SECTION
Activity section aims to discover by questions or practical activities, what you
know about the lesson or what can you do or like.
END OF WEEK SECTION
This section signals the end of the lessons and activities for each week.
WHAT COULD YOU LEARN NEXT SECTION
This section provides you the preview of the lesson/topic the following week.
FINAL ASSESSMENT SECTION
In this section your progress in the course will be evaluated.

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WEEK 1: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
Introduction to Self Understanding
Understanding oneself is essential to understand behaviors and beliefs that
affects ourselves and others specifically in becoming effective and successful
person in life, work, and relationship. Moreover, self-understanding (1) provides
a sense of purpose; (2) leads to healthier relationships; (3) helps harness your
natural strength; and (4) promotes confidence.
This module will introduce you to the basic concepts of self and
personality, and how they are related with each other. Self and personality
characterized the way we define our existence, also these refers on how we organized
our experiences that are reflected to our behavior. On the other hand, people have different ideas about
themselves. These ideas represent the self of the person. Moreover, we behave in different ways in a given
situation, but people also behave fairly stable in different circumstances. The relatively permanent pattern
of behavior represents personality of the person. In details,
Personality
 The etymological derivative of personality comes from the word “persona”, the theatrical masks
worn by Romans in Greek and Latin drama. Personality also comes from the two Latin words “per”
and “sonare”, which literally means “to sound through”.
 Personality have no single definition since different personality theories have different views on
how to define it. However, the commonly accepted definition of personality is that it is a relatively
permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a
person’s behavior (Roberts & Mroczek, 2008).
 Personality plays a key role in affecting how people shape their lives. It involves the complex
relationship of people with their environment, how they cope and adjust through life, and how they
respond to demands of physical and social challenges.
 Personality is the overall pattern or integration of a person’s structure, modes of behavior, attitudes,
aptitudes, interests, intellectual abilities, and many other distinguishable personality traits.
Personality is the conglomeration of the following components: physical self, intelligence,
character traits, attitudes, habits, interest, personal discipline, moral values, principles and
philosophies of life.
Determinants of Personality
Personality refers to the total person in his/her overt and covert behavior. The determinants of factors
of personality are as follows:
 Environmental Factors of Personality. The surroundings of an individual compose the
environmental factors of personality. This includes the neighborhood a person lives in, his school,
college, university and workplace. Moreover, it also counts the social circle the individual has.
Friends, parents, colleagues, co-workers and bosses, everybody plays a role as the determinants of
personality.
 Biological Factors of Personality. This further includes:
1) hereditary factors or genetic make-up of the person that inherited from their parents. This
describes the tendency of the person to appear and behave the way their parents are;
2) physical features include the overall physical structure of a person: height, weight, color,
sex, beauty and body language, etc. Most of the physical structures change from time to
time, and so does the personality. With exercises, cosmetics and surgeries, many physical
features are changed, and therefore, the personality of the individual also evolves; and
3) brain. The preliminary results from the electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB) research
gives indication that better understanding of human personality and behavior might come
from the study of the brain.

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 Situational Factors of Personality. Although these factors do not literally create and shape up an
individual’s personality, situational factors do alter a person’s behavior and response from time to
time. The situational factors can be commonly observed when a person behaves contrastingly and
exhibits different traits and characteristics.
 Cultural Factors. Culture is traditionally considered as the major determinants of an individual’s
personality. The culture largely determinants what a person is and what a person will learn. The
culture within a person is brought up, is very important determinant of behavior of a person. Culture
is complex of these belief, values, and techniques for dealing with the environment which are
shared among contemporaries and transmitted by one generation to the next.
Personality Traits
Personality traits reflect people’s characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Personality traits imply consistency and stability—someone who scores high on a specific trait like
Extraversion is expected to be sociable in different situations and over time. Thus, trait psychology rests on
the idea that people differ from one another in terms of where they stand on a set of basic trait dimensions
that persist over time and across situations.
The most widely used system of traits is called the Five-Factor Model. This system includes five
broad traits that can be remembered with the acronym OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness,
Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. Each of the major traits from the Big Five can be divided
into facets to give a more fine-grained analysis of someone's personality. In addition, some trait theorists
argue that there are other traits that cannot be completely captured by the Five-Factor Model. Critics of the
trait concept argue that people do not act consistently from one situation to the next and that people are very
influenced by situational forces. Thus, one major debate in the field concerns the relative power of people’s
traits versus the situations in which they find themselves as predictors of their behavior.
The Five-Factor Model of Personality
Research that used the lexical approach showed that many of the personality descriptors found in
the dictionary do indeed overlap. In other words, many of the words that we use to describe people are
synonyms. Thus, if we want to know what a person is like, we do not necessarily need to ask how sociable
they are, how friendly they are, and how gregarious they are. Instead, because sociable people tend to be
friendly and gregarious, we can summarize this personality dimension with a single term. Someone who is
sociable, friendly, and gregarious would typically be described as an “Extravert.” Once we know she is an
extravert, we can assume that she is sociable, friendly, and gregarious.
The most widely accepted system to emerge from this approach was “The Big Five” or “Five-
Factor Model” (Goldberg, 1990; McCrae & John, 1992; McCrae & Costa, 1987). The Big Five comprises
five major traits shown in the Figure 2 below. A way to remember these five is with the acronym OCEAN
(O is for Openness; C is for Conscientiousness; E is for Extraversion; A is for Agreeableness; N is for
Neuroticism). The table below provides descriptions of people who would score high and low on each of
these traits.
Table 1. Descriptions of Personality Traits
Big 5 Trait Definition
Openness The tendency to appreciate new art, ideas, values, feelings, and behaviors.
Conscientiousness The tendency to be careful, on-time for appointments, to follow rules, and
to be hard working.
Extraversion The tendency to be talkative, sociable, and to enjoy others; the tendency to
have a dominant style.
Agreeableness The tendency to agree and go along with others rather than to assert one
owns opinions and choices.
Neurotism The tendency to be frequently experience negative emotions such as anger,
worry, and sadness, as well as being itnerpersonally sensitive.

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Table 2. Example behaviors for those scoring low and high for the big 5 traits
Big 5 Trait Example Behavior for LOW
Scorers
Example Behavior for HIGH Scorers
Openness Prefers not to be exposed to
alternative moral systems; narrow
interest; inartistic; not analystica;
down-to-earth
Enjoys seeing people with new types
of haircuts and body piercing;
curious; imaginative; untraditional
Conscientiousness Prefers spur-of-the-moment action
to planning; unrealiable;
hedonistic; careless; lax
Never late for a date; organized;
hardworking; neat, persevering;
punctual; self-disciplined
Extraversion Preferring a quiet evening reading
to a loud party; sober; aloof;
unenthusiastic
Being the life of the party’ active;
optimistic; fun-loving; affectionate
Agreeableness Quickly and confidently asserts
own rights; irritable;
manipulative; uncooperative; rude
Agrees with other about political
opinions; good-natured; forgiving;
gullible; helpful; forgiving
Neurotism Not getting irritated by sall
annoyances; calm, unemotional;
hardy; secure; self-satisfied
Constantly worrying about little
things; insecure; hypochondrical;
feeling inadequate
Scores on the Big Five traits are mostly independent. That means that a person’s standing on one
trait tells very little about their standing on the other traits of the Big Five. For example, a person can be
extremely high in Extraversion and be either high or low on Neuroticism. Similarly, a person can be low in
Agreeableness and be either high or low in Conscientiousness. Thus, in the Five-Factor Model, you need
five scores to describe most of an individual’s personality. In the exercises part of this module there is a
short scale to assess the Five-Factor Model of personality (Donnellan, Oswald, Baird, & Lucas, 2006). You
can take this test to see where you stand in terms of your Big Five scores.
Traits are important and interesting because they describe stable patterns of behavior that persist
for long periods of time (Caspi, Roberts, & Shiner, 2005). Importantly, these stable patterns can have broad-
ranging consequences for many areas of our life (Roberts, Kuncel, Shiner, Caspi, & Goldberg, 2007). For
instance, think about the factors that determine success in college. If you were asked to guess what factors
predict good grades in college, you might guess something like intelligence. This guess would be correct,
but we know much more about who is likely to do well. Specifically, personality researchers have also
found the personality traits like Conscientiousness play an important role in college and beyond, probably
because highly conscientious individuals study hard, get their work done on time, and are less distracted by
nonessential activities that take time away from school work. In addition, highly conscientious people are
often healthier than people low in conscientiousness because they are more likely to maintain healthy diets,
to exercise, and to follow basic safety procedures like wearing seat belts or bicycle helmets. Over the long
term, this consistent pattern of behaviors can add up to meaningful differences in health and longevity.
Thus, personality traits are not just a useful way to describe people you know; they actually help
psychologists predict how good a worker someone will be, how long he or she will live, and the types of
jobs and activities the person will enjoy.
Who Am I?
Have you ever ask yourself the question, “Who am I?”? Answering the question 'Who am I?' can
lead to a solid self-concept and self-understanding. For many people, answering this question isn't very
easy. For others, a solid understanding of who they are is a big part of their lives. Understanding of who
you are as a person is called self-concept and understanding what your motives are when you act is
called self-understanding.
In definition, self-concept is generally thought of as our individual perceptions of our behavior,
abilities, and unique characteristics—a mental picture of who you are as a person.For example, beliefs such
as "I am a good friend" or "I am a kind person" are part of an overall self-concept.

14
Self-concept tends to be more malleable when people are younger and still going through the
process of self-discovery and identity formation. As people age, self-perceptions become much more
detailed and organized as people form a better idea of who they are and what is important to them.
According to the book Essential Social Psychology by Richard Crisp and Rhiannon Turner:
 The individual self consists of attributes and personality traits that differentiate us from other
individuals. Examples include introversion or extroversion.
 The relational self is defined by our relationships with significant others. Examples include siblings,
friends, and spouses.
 The collective self reflects our membership in social groups. Examples include British, Republican,
African-American, or gay.
At its most basic, self-concept is a collection of beliefs one holds about oneself and the responses
of others. It embodies the answer to the question "Who am I?". The lesson to follow will facilitate learning
about the self, and self concept.
ACTIVITY # 1: The Mini-IPIP (International Personality Item Pool Representation of the NEO PI-
R) Scale (20 points)
This section aims to reinforce your understanding of the topics covered in
Week 1 through the activity below.
Instructions: Below are phrases describing people’s behaviors. Please use the
rating scale below to describe how accurately each statement describes you.
Describe yourself as you generally are now, not as you wish to be in the
future. Describe yourself as you honestly see yourself, in relation to other
people you know of the same sex as you are, and roughly your same age.
Please read each statement carefully and put a number from 1 to 5 next to it to
describe how accurately the statement describes you. Answer the guide questions at the end of the
activity.
1 = Very inaccurate
2 = Moderately inaccurate
3 = Neither inaccurate nor accurate
4 = Moderately accurate
5 = Very accurate
1. _____ Am the life of the party (E)
2. _______ Sympathize with others’ feelings (A)
3. _______ Get chores done right away (C)
4. _______ Have frequent mood swings (N)
5. _______ Have a vivid imagination (O)
6. _______Don’t talk a lot (E)
7. _______ Am not interested in other people’s problems (A)
8. _______ Often forget to put things back in their proper place (C)

15
9. _______ Am relaxed most of the time (N)
10. ______ Am not interested in abstract ideas (O)
11. ______ Talk to a lot of different people at parties (E)
12. ______ Feel others’ emotions (A)
13. ______ Like order (C)
14. ______ Get upset easily (N)
15. ______ Have difficulty understanding abstract ideas (O)
16. ______ Keep in the background (E)
17. ______ Am not really interested in others (A)
18. ______ Make a mess of things (C)
19. ______ Seldom feel blue (N)
20. ______ Do not have a good imagination (O)
Scoring: The first thing you must do is to reverse the items that are worded in the opposite direction. In
order to do this, subtract the number you put for that item from 6. So if you put a 4, for instance, it will
become a 2. Cross out the score you put when you took the scale, and put the new number in representing
your score subtracted from the number 6.
Items to be reversed in this way: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
Next, you need to add up the scores for each of the five OCEAN scales (including the reversed numbers
where relevant). Each OCEAN score will be the sum of four items. Place the sum next to each scale
below.
__________ Openness: Add items 5, 10, 15, 20
__________ Conscientiousness: Add items 3, 8, 13, 18
__________ Extraversion: Add items 1, 6, 11, 16
__________ Agreeableness: Add items 2, 7, 12, 17
__________ Neuroticism: Add items 4, 9,14, 19
Compare your scores to the norms below to see where you stand on each scale. If you are low on a trait, it
means you are the opposite of the trait label. For example, low on Extraversion is Introversion, low on
Openness is Conventional, and low on Agreeableness is Assertive.
19–20 Extremely High,
17–18 Very High,
14–16 High,
11–13 Neither high nor low; in the middle,
8–10 Low,
6–7 Very low,
4–5 Extremely low

Guide Questions: Answer the following questions in an essay form with a maximum of 300 words. Write
your answers in a clean sheet of paper. Take a photo and turn it in using GED 101 group chat via FB (10
points each).
1. How do you describe your scores on Mini IPIP Scale? Do you think the results are accurate? Why?
2. Do you think personality changes through time? How?
3. Discuss how we develop our personality.
4. Differentiate personality from self.
5. How will you answer the question, “Who am I?”?
References/Sources:
Personality Traits. Edward Diener and Richard E. Lucas. Accessed July 25, 2020.
https://nobaproject.com/modules/personality-traits#discussion-questions
Self-Understanding & Self-Concept: How We Perceive Ourselves. Natalie Boyd. Accessed July 25, 2020.
https://study.com/academy/lesson/self-understanding-and-self-concept.html
Personality. Accessed July 25, 2020.
https://sg.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/148426/12/12_chapter%205.pdf
4 Reasons Why Self-understanding is Essential. Kee’s Blog. Accessed July 25, 2020.
https://intuitivehaven.com/4-reasons-why-self-understanding-is-essential/
Self and Personality. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). Accessed July
25, 2020. http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/l/lepy102.pdf
What Is Self-Concept? The Psychological Exploration of "Who Am I?". Kendra Cherry. Accessed July
25, 2020. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-concept-2795865
END OF WEEK 1
Well done on finishing Week 1!
WHAT COULD YOU LEARN NEXT?
Week 2: THE SELF ACCORDING TO PHILOSOPHY

WEEK 2: THE SELF ACCORDING TO PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy
Philosophy is defined as the study of knowledge or wisdom from its Latin roots,
philo (love) and sophia (wisdom). This field is also considered as “The Queen
of All Sciences” because every scientific discipline has philosophical
foundations.
Various thinkers for centuries tried to explain the natural causes of everything
that exist specifically the inquiry on the self preoccupied these philosophers in
the history. The Greek philosophers were the ones who seriously questioned myths
and moved away from them in attempting to understand reality by exercising the art of questioning that
satisfies their curiosity, including the questions about self. The following lecture will present the different
philosophical perspectives and views about self.
Socrates
 A philosopher from Athens, Greece and said to have the
greatest influence on European thought.
 According to the history he was not able to write any of
his teachings and life’s account instead, he is known from the
writings of his student Plato who became one of the greatest
philosophers of his time. Socrates had a unique style of asking
questions called Socratic Method.
 Socratic Method or dialectic method involves the search
for the correct/proper definition of a thing. In this method,
Socrates did not lecture, he instead would ask questions and
engage the person in a discussion. He would begin by acting as if
he did not know anything and would get the other person to clarify
their ideas and resolve logical inconsistencies (Price, 2000).
 The foundation of Socrates philosophy was the Delphic
Oracle’s that command to “Know Thyself”. Here, Socrates would like to emphasize that knowing
or understanding oneself should be more than the physical self, or the body.
 According to Socrates, self is dichotomous which means composed of two things: The physical
realm or the one that is changeable, temporal, and imperfect. The best example of the physical
realm is the physical world. The physical world is consisting of anything we sense – see, smell,
feel, hear, and taste. It is always changing and deteriorating. The ideal realm is the one that is
imperfect and unchanging, eternal, and immortal. This includes the intellectual essences of the
universe like the concept of beauty, truth, and goodness. Moreover, the ideal realm is also present
in the physical world. One may define someone as beautiful or truthful, but their definition is
limited and imperfect for it is always relative and subjective. It is only the ideal forms themselves
that are perfect, unchanging, and eternal.
 For Socrates, a human is composed of body and soul, the first belongs to the physical realm because
it changed, it is imperfect, and it dies, and the latter belongs to ideal realm for it survives the death.
Socrates also used the term soul to identify self.
Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/275648.Socrates

 The self, according to Socrates is the immortal and unified entity that is consistent over time. For
example, a human being remains the same person during their childhood to adulthood given the
fact that they undergone developmental changes throughout their lifespan.
Plato
 A student of Socrates, who introduced the idea of a three-
part soul/self that is composed of reason, physical appetite and
spirit or passion.
o The Reason enables human to think deeply, make wise
choices and achieve a true understanding of eternal truths.
Plato also called this as divine essence.
o The physical Appetite is the basic biological needs of
human being such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire.
o And the spirit or passion is the basic emotions of human
being such as love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness and
empathy.
 These three elements of the self works in every individual
inconsistently. According to Plato, it is always the responsibility
of the reason to organize, control, and reestablish harmonious
relationship between these three elements.
 Plato also illustrated his view of the soul/self in “Phaedrus” in his metaphor: the soul is like a
winged chariot drawn by two powerful horses: a white horse, representing Spirit, and a black horse,
embodying appetite. The charioteer is reason, whose task is to guide the chariot to the eternal realm
by controlling the two independent-minded horses. Those charioteers who are successful in setting
a true course and ensuring that the two steeds work together in harmonious unity achieve true
wisdom and banquet with the gods. However, those charioteers who are unable to control their
horses and keep their chariot on track are destined to experience personal, intellectual, and spiritual
failure.
St. Augustine
 He is considered as the last of the great ancient
philosophers whose ideas were greatly Platonic. In melding
philosophy and religious beliefs together, Augustine has been
characterized as Christianity’s first theologian.
 Like Plato, Augustine believed that the physical body is
different from the immortal soul. Early in his philosophical
development he described body as “snare” or “cage” of the soul
and said that the body is a “slave” of the soul he even characterized
that “the soul makes war with the body”. Later on he came to view
the body as “spouse” of the soul, with both attached to one another
by a “natural appetite.” He concluded, “That the body is united
with the soul, so that man may be entire and complete, is a fact we
recognize on the evidence of our own nature.”
 According to St. Augustine, the human nature is
composed of two realms:
Image Source: https://www.alamy.com/plato
Image Source: http://lexchristianorum.blogspot.com/

1. God as the source of all reality and truth. Through mystical experience, man is capable of
knowing eternal truths. This is made possible through the existence of the one eternal truth
which is God. He further added that without God as the source of all truth, man could never
understand eternal truth. This relationship with God means that those who know most about
God will come closest to understanding the true nature of the world.
2. The sinfulness of man. The cause of sin or evil is an act of mans’ freewill. Moral goodness
can only be achieved through the grace of God.
 He also stated that real happiness can only be found in God. For God is love and he created humans
for them to also love. Problems arise because of the objects humans choose to love. Disordered
love results when man loves the wrong things which he believes will give him happiness.
Furthermore, he said that if man loves God first and everything else to a lesser degree, then all will
fall into its rightful place.
Rene Descartes
 A French philosopher, mathematician, and considered the
founder of modern philosophy.
 Descartes, famous principle the “cogito, ergo sum—“I
think, therefore I exist” established his philosophical views on
“true knowledge” and concept of self.
 He explained that in order to gain true knowledge, one
must doubt everything even own existence. Doubting makes
someone aware that they are thinking being thus, they exist.
The essence of existing as a human identity is the possibility of
being aware of our selves: being self-conscious in this way is
integral to having a personal identity. Conversely, it would be
impossible to be self-conscious if we did not have a personal
identity of which to be conscious. In other words, the essence
of self is being a thinking thing.
 The self is a dynamic entity that engages in metal operations – thinking, reasoning, and perceiving
processes. In addition to this, self-identity is dependent on the awareness in engaging with those
mental operations.
 He declared that the essential self or the self as the thinking entity is radically different from the
physical body. The thinking self or soul is a non-material, immortal, conscious being, independent
of the physical laws of the universe while the physical body is a material, mortal, non-thinking
entity, fully governed by the physical laws of nature.
 He also maintained that the soul and the body are independent of one another and each can exist
and function without the other. In cases in which people are sleeping or comatose, their bodies
continue to function even though their minds are not thinking, much like the mechanisms of a clock.
 He identified the physical self as part of nature, governed by the physical laws of the universe, and
available to scientific analysis and experimentation, and the conscious self (mind, soul) is a part of
the spiritual realm, independent of the physical laws of the universe, governed only by the laws of
reason and God’s will. And because it exists outside of the natural world of cause-and-effect, the
conscious self is able to exercise free will in the choices it makes.
Image Source: https://www.sapaviva.com/

John Locke
 An English philosopher and physician and famous in his
concept of “Tabula Rasa” or Blank Slate that assumes the
nurture side of human development.
 The self, according to Locke is consciousness. In his essay
entitled On Personal Identity (from his most famous work, Essay
Concerning Human Understanding) he discussed the reflective
analysis of how an individual may experience the self in
everyday living. He provided the following key points:
1. To discover the nature of personal identity, it is important
to find out what it means to be a person.
2. A person is a thinking, intelligent being who has the
abilities to reason and to reflect.
3. A person is also someone who considers themself to be
the same thing in different times and different places.
4. Consciousness as being aware that we are thinking—
always accompanies thinking and is an essential part of the thinking process.
5. Consciousness makes possible our belief that we are the same identity in different times and
different places.
 Although Locke and Descartes believed that a person or the self is a thinking intelligent being who
has the abilities to reflect and to reason, Locke was not convinced with the assumptions of Plato,
St. Augustine and Descartes that the individual self necessarily exists in a single soul or substance.
For Locke, personal identity and the soul or substance in which the personal identity is situated are
two very different things. The bottom line of his theory on self is that self is not tied to any particular
body or substance. It only exists in other times and places because of the memory of those
experiences.
David Hume
 He was a Scottish philosopher and also an empiricist.
 His claim about self is quite controversial because he
assumed that there is no self! In his essay entitled, “On Personal
Identity” (1739) he said that, if we carefully examine the
contents of [our] experience, we find that there are only two
distinct entities, "impressions" and "ideas".
 Impressions are the basic sensations of our experience, the
elemental data of our minds: pain, pleasure, heat, cold,
happiness, grief, fear, exhilaration, and so on.
 On the other hand, ideas are copies of impressions that
include thoughts and images that are built up from our primary
impressions through a variety of relationships, but because they
are derivative copies of impressions, they are once removed
from reality.
 Hume considered that the self does not exist because all
of the experiences that a person may have are just perceptions
and this includes the perception of self. None of these perceptions resemble a unified and
permanent self-identity that exists over time.
Image Source: https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/
Image Source: https://www.britannica.com/

 He further added that there are instances that an individual is limited in experiencing their
perception like in sleeping. Similarly, when someone died all empirical senses end and according
to him, it makes no sense to believe that self exists in other forms. As an empiricist, Hume provide
an honest description and analysis of his own experience, within which there is no self to be found.
 Hume explained that the self that is being experienced by an individual is nothing but a kind of
fictional self. Human created an imaginary creature which is not real. “Fictional self” is created to
unify the mental events and introduce order into an individual lives, but this “self” has no real
existence.
Sigmund Freud
 A well-known Australian psychologist and considered as
the Father and Founder of Psychoanalysis. His influence in
Psychology and therapy is dominant and popular in the 20th to
21st century.
 The dualistic view of self by Freud involves the conscious
self and unconscious self.
 The conscious self is governed by reality principle. Here,
the self is rational, practical, and appropriate to the social
environment. The conscious self has the task of controlling the
constant pressures of the unconscious self, as its primitive
impulses continually seek for immediate discharge.
 The unconscious self is governed by pleasure principle. It
is the self that is aggressive, destructive, unrealistic and
instinctual. Both of Freud’s self needs immediate gratification
and reduction of tensions to optimal levels and the goal of every individual is to make unconscious
conscious.
 Freud proposed how mind works, he called this as provinces or structures of the mind. By illustrating
the tip of the iceberg which according to him represents conscious awareness which characterizes the
person in dealing with the external world. The observable behavior, however, is further controlled by
the workings of the subconscious/unconscious mind.
 Subconscious serves as the repository of past experiences,
repressed memories, fantasies, and urges. The three levels of
the mind are:
1. Id. This is primarily based on the pleasure principle. It
demands immediate satisfaction and is not hindered by
societal expectations.
2. Ego. The structure that is primarily based on the reality
principle. This mediates between the impulses of the id
and restraints of the superego.
3. Superego. This is primarily dependent on learning the
difference between right and wrong, thus it is called
moral principle. Morality of actions is largely
dependent on childhood upbringing particularly on
rewards and punishments.
Image Source: https://www.researchgate.net/
Image Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/

 According to Freud, there are two kinds of instinct that drive individual behavior – the eros or the life
instinct and the thanatos of the death instinct. The energy of eros is called libido and includes urges
necessary for individual and species survival like thrist, hunger, and sex.in cases that human behaior is
directed towards destruction in the form of aggression and violence, such are the manifestations of
thanatos.
Gilbert Ryle
 A British analytical philosopher. He was an important
figure in the field of Linguistic Analysis which focused on the
solving of philosophical puzzles through an analysis of
language.
 According to Ryle, the self is best understood as a pattern
of behavior, the tendency or disposition for a person to behave
in a certain way in certain circumstances.
 He opposed the notable ideas of the previous
philosophers and even claimed that those were results of
confused conceptual thinking he termed, category mistake.
 The category mistake happens when we speak about the
self as something independent of the physical body: a purely
mental entity existing in time but not space
Immanuel Kant
 A German Philosopher who made great contribution to
the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Kant is
widely regarded as the greatest philosopher of the modern
period.
 Kant maintained that an individual self makes the
experience of the world comprehensible because it is
responsible for synthesizing the discreet data of sense
experience into a meaningful whole.
 It is the self that makes consciousness for the person to
make sense of everything. It is the one that help every individual
gain insight and knowledge. If the self failed to do this
synthesizing function, there would be a chaotic and insignificant
collection of sensations.
 Additionally, the self is the product of reason, a regulative
principle because the self regulates experience by making
unified experience possible and unlike Hume, Kant’s self is not the object of consciousness, but it
makes the consciousness understandable and unique.
 Transcendental apperception happens when people do not experience self directly, instead as a
unity of all impressions that are organized by the mind through perceptions. Kant concluded that
Image Source: https://mediaethicsmorning.wordpress.com/
Image Source: https://www.jstor.org/

all objects of knowledge, which includes the self, are phenomenal. That the true nature of things is
altogether unknown and unknowable (Price, 2000).
 For Kant, the kingdom of God is within man. God is manifested in people’s lives therefore it is
man’s duty to move towards perfection. Kant emphasized that people should always see duty as a
divine command (Price, 2000).
Paul and Patricia Churchland
 An American
philosopher interested in the
fields of philosophy of mind,
philosophy of science, cognitive
neurobiology, epistemology, and
perception.
 Churchlands’ central
argument is that the concepts and
theoretical vocabulary that people
use to think about the selves—
using such terms as belief, desire,
fear, sensation, pain, joy—
actually misrepresent the reality
of minds and selves. He claims
that the self is a product of brain
activity.
 The behavior of the self can be attributed to the neuropharmacological states, the neural activity in
specialized anatomical areas.
 Neurophilosopy was coined by Patricia Churchland, the modern scientific inquiry looks into the
application of neurology to age-old problems in philosophy. The philosophy of neuroscience is the
study of the philosophy of science, neuroscience, and psychology. It aims to explore the relevance
of neurolinguistic experiments/studies to the philosophy of the mind.
 Patricia Churchland claimed that man’s brain is responsible for the identity known as self. The
biochemical properties of the brain according to this philosophy of neuroscience is really
responsible for man’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
 Paul Churchland is one of the many philosophers and psychologists that viewed the self from a
materialistic point of view, contending that in the final analysis mental states are identical with,
reducible to, or explainable in terms of physical brain states. This assumption was made due to the
physiological processes of the body that directly affecting the mental state of the person. The advent
of sophisticated technology and scientific research gives hope to understand the connection
between the physical body and the mind/brain relationship that integrated in the self.
 Being an eliminative materialist, he believes that there is a need to develop a new vocabulary and
conceptual framework that is grounded in neuroscience. This new framework will be a more
accurate reflection of the human mind and self.
Image Source: http://thesciencenetwork.org/

Maurice Merleau-Ponty
 A French philosopher and phenomenologist.
 He took a very different approach to the self and
the mind/body “problem.” According to him, the division
between the “mind” and the “body” is a product of
confused thinking. The self is experienced as a unity in
which the mental and physical are seamlessly woven
together. This unity is the primary experience of selves
and begin to doubt it when an individual use their minds
to concoct abstract notions of a separate mind and body.
 Developed the concept of self-subject and
contended that perceptions occur existentially. Thus, the
consciousness, the world, and the human body are all
interconnected as they mutually perceive the world.
 According to him, the world and the sense of self
are emergent phenomena in the ongoing process of man’s
becoming.
 Phenomenology provides a direct description of the human experience which serves to guide man’s
conscious actions. He further added that, the world is a field of perception, and human
consciousness assigns meaning to the world. Thus man cannot separate himself from his
perceptions of the world.
 Perception is not purely the result of sensations nor it is purely interpretations. Rather consciousness
is a process that includes sensing as well as interpreting/reasoning.
References/Sources:
Arcega, A M., Cullar, D. S., Evangelista, L. D. & Falculan, L. M. (2018). Understanding the Self. Malabon
City: Mutya Publishing House Inc.
Gazzingan, L. B. et al. (2019). Understanding the Self. Muntinlupa City: Panday-Lahi Publishing House,
Inc.
Alata, E.J.P., Caslib, B.N., Serafica, J.P.J., Pawilen, R.A. (2018). Unsertanding the Self. Rex Book Store
Inc., Sta Mesa Heights, Quezon City, Philippines
Image Source: http://all-to-human.blogspot.com/

ACTIVITY # 2: SELF IN ONE LINE (55 points)
This section aims to assess your understanding of some of the topics covered
in Week 2 through the activity below.
Instructions: Write a one-sentence description of self according to the
following philosophers. Write your answers in a clean sheet of paper. Take a
photo and turn it in using Google Classroom (GED 101 Class) GED 101
group chat via FB.
Philosophers One sentence definition of self
Socrates
Plato
St. Augustine
Descartes
Locke
Hume
Kant
Freud
Ryle
Churchland
Merleau-Ponty

END OF WEEK 2
Week 3: THE SELF ACCORDING TO SOCIOLOGY AND
ANTHROPOLOGY

WEEK 3: THE SELF ACCORDING TO SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
Sociology and Anthropology
Sociology and Anthropology are two interrelated disciplines that
contributes to the understanding of self. Sociology presents the self as a
product of modern society. It is the science that studies the development,
structure, interaction, and collective behavior of human being. On the other
hand, Anthropology is the study of humanity. This broad field takes an
interdisciplinary approach to looking at human culture, both past and present.
The following set of sociologists and anthropologist offered their views about
self.
George Herbert Mead and the Social Self
 Mead is an American philosopher, sociologist, and
psychologist. He is regarded as one of the founders of social
psychology and the American sociological tradition in general.
Mead is well-known for his theory of self.
 He postulated that, the self represents the sum total of
people’s conscious perception of their identity as distinct from
others. Mead argued that the self like the mind is social
emergent. This means that individual selves are the products of
social interaction and not logical or biological in nature.
 He claimed that the self is something which undergoes
development because it is not present instantly at birth. The self
arises in the process of social experience and activity as a result
of their relations to the said process as a whole and to other
individuals within that process. In other words, one cannot
experience their self alone, they need other people to experience
their self.
 The social emergence of self is developed due to the three forms of inter-subjective activity, the
language, play, and the game.
 He proposed the stages of self formation:
1. Preparatory Stage. Mead believed that the self did not exist at birth. Instead, the self
develops over time. Its development is dependent on social interaction and social
experience. At this stage, children’s behaviors are primarily based on imitation. It was
observed that children imitate the behaviors of those around them. At this stage, knowing
and understanding the symbols are important for this will constitute their way of
communicating with others throughout their lives.
2. The Play Stage. Skills at knowing and understanding the symbols of communication is
important for this constitutes the basis of socialization. Through communication, social
relationship are formed. Now children begin to role play and pretend to be other people.
Role-taking in the play stage is the process of mentally assuming the process of another
Image Source: https://wannabeinsociology.wordpress.com/

person to see how this person might behave or respond in a given situation (Schefer, 2012).
The play stage is significant in the development of the self. It is at this stage where child
widens his perspective and realizes that he is not alone and that there are others around him
whose presence he has to consider.
3. The Game Stage. Here, the child is about eight or nine years of age and now does more
than just role-take. The child begins to consider several tasks and various types of
relationships simultaneously. Through the learnings that were gained in stage two, the child
now begins to see not only his own perspective but at the same time the perspective of
others. In this final stage of self development, the child now has the ability to respond not
just to one but several members of his social environment.
 Generalized other the person realizes that people in society have cultural norms, beliefs and values
which are incorporated into each self. This realization forms basis of how the person evaluate
themselves.
 The self, according to Mead is not merely a passive reflection of the generalized other. The
responses of the individual to the social world are also active, it means that a person decides what
they will do in reference to the attitude of others but not mechanically determined by such
attitudinal structures. Here, Mead identified the two phases of self:
1. the phase which reflects the attitude of the generalized other or the “me”; and
2. the phase that responds to the attitude of generalized other or the “I”.
 In Mead’s words, the "me" is the social self, and the "I" is a response to the "me". Mead defines
the "me" as "a conventional, habitual individual and the “I” as the “novel reply” of the individual
to the generalized other.
 Generally, Meads theory sees the self as a perspective that comes out of interactions, and he sees
the meanings of symbols, social objects, and the self as emerging from negotiated interactions.
The Self as a product of modern society among other constructions
Georg Simmel
 Simmel was a German sociologist, philosopher, and
critic. He was intensely interested in the ways in which
modern, objective culture impacts the individual’s subjective
experiences.
 In contrast to Mead, Simmel proposed that there is
something called human nature that is innate to the individual.
This human nature is intrinsic to the individual like the natural
inclination to religious impulse or the gender differences. He
also added that most of our social interactions are individual
motivations.
 Simmel as a social thinker made a distinction between
subjective and objective culture. The individual or subjective
culture refers to the ability to embrace, use, and feel culture.
 Objective culture is made up of elements that become
separated from the individual or group’s control and identified
as separate objects.
Image Source: https://www.imdb.com/

 There are interrelated forces in modern society that tend to increase objective culture according to
Simmel. These are urbanizations, money, and the configuration of one’s social network.
 Urbanization is the process that moves people from country to city living. This result to the
concentration of population in one place brought about by industrialization. This paved way to the
organization of labor or increased division of labor, which demands specializations wherein this
creates more objective culture.
 Simmel also stressed that the consumption of products has an individuating and trivializing effect
because this enables the person to create self out of things. By consumption, an individual able to
purchase things that can easily personalized or express the self. People used commodities to create
self-concept and self-image. Simmel also said that products used in the modernity to express and
produced the self is also changing. It becomes more and more separated from subjectivity
(subjective culture) due to division of labor and market economy. Many products are easily
replaced, subjected to the dynamics of fashion and diversification of markets which leads to
inappropriate sign use.
 Money creates a universal value system wherein every commodity can be understood. Money also
increases individual freedom by pursuing diverse activities and by increasing the options for self-
expression. Money also makes the individual to be less attached to the commodities because the
individual tends to understand and experience their possession less in terms of their intrinsic
qualities and more of their objective and abstract worth. Additionally, money also discouraged
intimate ties with people. Money comes to stand in the place of almost everything – and this
includes relationship! Money further discourages intimate ties by encouraging a culture of
calculation.
 Because of urbanization, Simmel observed that social networks also changed. Group affiliations in
urban is definitely different from rural settings wherein the relationship are strongly influenced by
family. An individual tends to seek membership to the same group which makes the family as basic
socialization structure. This natural inclination to join groups is called by Simmel as organic
motivation and the grouping is called primary group. This group is based on ties of affection and
personal loyalty endure over long periods of time, and involve multiple aspects of a person’s life.
 On the other hand, in the modern urban settings, group membership is due to rational motivation
or membership due to freedom of choice. This characterized the secondary group which is goal and
utilitarian oriented, with a narrow range of activities, over limited time spans. As a result, it is more
likely that an individual will develop unique personalities. Moreover, Simmel said that a complex
web of group affiliations produces role conflicts and blasé attitude. Role conflict is a situation that
demands a person of two or more roles that clash with one another. Blasé attitude is an attitude of
absolute boredom and lack of concern. This is the inability or limited ability to provide emotional
investment to other people.
The Self and Person in the Contemporary Anthropology
 The four subfields of anthropology – Archeology, Biological Anthropology, Linguistics, and
Cultural Anthropology, suggest that human beings are similar and different in varying ways and
tendencies. For example, people have the same need for food and water, but they have different
means on how to satisfy them. These similarities and differences make life so interesting. As one
learn facts/information that make them similar to the other, they will also discover that they have

different characteristics the define them. This knowledge aims to highlight the uniqueness of each
person and making them value life and existence even more. The subfields of Anthropology are as
follows:
o Archeology. Focus on the study of the past and how it may have contributed to the
present ways of how people conduct their daily lives. Archeologists have so far
discovered the unique ways in which human beings adapted to the changes in their
environment in order for them to survive. Among their discoveries around the world is
the species, homo sapiens did not become extinct because of their ability to think, use
tools and learn from experience. In relating to the contemporary society, people still aim
for survival, for their basic needs to be fulfilled and to live legacy to their society.
o Biological Anthropology. Focus on how the human body adapts to the different earth
environments. Among the activities of Anthropologists are identification of probable
causes of diseases, physical mutation, and death, evolution, and comparison of dead and
living primates. They are interested in explaining how the biological characteristics of
human being affects their way of living. Accordingly, human beings at present still share
the same biological strengths and vulnerabilities. Like eating balanced nutrients and
minerals that are beneficial to all human beings while being exposed to a virus in a
pandemic might cause negative implications to many.
o Linguistic Anthropology. Focused on using language as means to discover a group’s
manner of social interaction and their worldview. Anthropologists in this field want to
discover how language is used to create and share meanings, to form ideas and concepts
and to promote social change. Furthermore, they also study how language and modes
of communication changes over time.
o Cultural Anthropology. Focused in knowing what makes one group’s manner of living
forms an essential part of the member’s personal and societal identity. This encompasses
the principles of Theory of Cultural Determinism which suggests that the human nature
is determined by the kind of culture he is born and grew up in. Cultural diversities are
manifested in different ways and different levels of dept. The following are the ways in
which culture may manifest itself in people:
 Symbols. These are the words, gestures, pictures or objects that have recognized
or accepted meaning in a particular culture. Example: colors have similar meaning
across all cultures.
 Heroes. These are persons from the past or present who have characteristics that
are important in culture. They may be real of work of fictions. Example: Fiction
– Thor, Captain America; Real – Jose Rizal, Apolinario Mabini.
 Rituals. These are activities participated by a group of people for the fulfilment of
desired objectives and are concerned to be socially essential. Example: Wedding,
fiesta, Christmas celebration, graduation, etc.
 Values. These are considered to be the core of every culture. These are
unconscious, neither discuss or observed, and can only be inferred from the way
people act and react to situations. Example: hospitality, respect for elders etc.
 The field of Anthropology offers another way by which a person can view themselves. As self is
formed or determined by the past and present condition, by biological characteristics, the
communication and language use, and the lifestyle we choose to live.

The Self Embedded in the Culture
Clifford Geertz
 Clifford Geertz was an Anthropology Professor at the
University of Chicago. He studied different cultures and
explored on the conception of the self in his writings entitled,
“The Impact of the Concept of Culture on the Concept of Man”
(1966) in his fieldwork at Java, Bali and Morrocco.
 The analysis of Geertz (1966) in his cultural study about
the description of self in Bali is that the Balinese person is
extremely concerned not to present anything individual
(distinguishing him or her from others) in social life but to enact
exclusively a culturally prescribed role or mask. In one instance,
Geertz (1973) gave an example of the stage fright that pervades
persons in Bali because they must not be publicly recognizable
as individual selves and actors points precisely to the fact that
agency or an ability to act in one’s own account is an integral
ability of human beings—an ability which continually threatens
the culturally established norm of nonindividuality
ACTIVITY # 3: COMPARE ME UP! (20 points)
Instructions: Differentiate the Sociological and Anthropological views on
self based on the above discussions in an essay form with maximum of 150
words. Write your answers in a clean sheet of paper. Take a photo and turn
it in using Google Classroom (GED 101 Class) GED 101 group chat via FB.
Sociology Anthropology
Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Geertz

References/Sources:
Inc.
END OF WEEK 3
Week 4: THE SELF ACCORDING TO PSYCHOLOGY

WEEK 4: THE SELF ACCORDING PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology
Psychology is a scientific study of mental processes and
human behavior. It aims to describe, analyze, predict, control human
behavior in general. Self is an essential construct in psychology
because it fulfills the goals of the discipline in studying human and
the reason for their action. Many psychologists tried to define the
origin of mental processes and behavior but they all settle down with
numerous theories and assumptions. The following descriptions on
the formation of self were presented for you to have a clear picture on
the psychological perspective of self.
The Self as Cognitive Construction
 The cognitive aspect of the self is known as self-concept. Self-concept is defined as self-knowledge,
a cognitive structure that includes beliefs about personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities,
values, goals, and roles, as well as the knowledge that an individual exist as individuals. As humans
grow and develop, self-concept becomes abstract and more complex.
 According to the psychologist Dr. Bruce A. Bracken in 1992, there are six specific domains that
are related to self-concept these are:
1) the social domain or the ability of the person to interact with others;
2) the competence domain or the ability to meet the basic needs;
3) the affect domain or the awareness of the emotional states;
4) the physical domain or the feelings about looks, health, physical condition, and overall
appearance;
5) academic domain or the success or failure in the school; and
6) family domain or how well one function within the family unit.
William James and the Me-Self and I-Self

 William James is a well-known figure in Psychology who
is considered as the founder of functionalism. He brought
prominence to U.S. psychology through the publication of The
Principles of Psychology (1890) that made him more influential
than his contemporaries in the field.
 James made a clear distinction between ways of
approaching the self – the knower (the pure or the I – Self) and
the known (the objective or the Me – Self). The function of the
knower (I-Self) according to James must be the agent of
experience. While the known (Me-Self) have three different but
interrelated aspects of empirical self (known today as self-
concept): the Me viewed as material, the Me viewed as social,
and the Me viewed as spiritual in nature.
 The material self is consists of everything an individual
call uniquely as their own, such as the body, family, home or
style of dress. On the other hand, social self refers to the
recognition an individual get from other people. Lastly, spiritual
self refers to the individual inner or subjective being.
Real and Ideal Self
Carl Rogers
 Carl Rogers is best known as the founder of client-
centered therapy and considered as one of the prominent
humanistic or existential theorists in personality. His therapy
aimed to make the person achieve balance between their self-
concept (real-self) and ideal self.
 The real self includes all those aspects of one's identity
that are perceived in awareness. These are the things that are
known to oneself like the attributes that an individual possesses.
 The ideal self is defined as one’s view of self as one
wishes to be. This contains all the aspirations or wishes of an
individual for themselves.
 A wide gap between the ideal self and the self-concept
indicates incongruence and an unhealthy personality.
Psychologically healthy individuals perceive little discrepancy
between their self-concept and what they ideally would like to
be.
Multiple versus Unified Self
 According to Multiple Selves Theory, there are different aspects of the self exist in an individual. From
here, we can say that self is a whole consist of parts, and these parts manifest themselves when need
arise.
 Gregg Henriques proposed the Tripartite Model of Human Consciousness, wherein he described that
self is consist of three related, but also separable domains these are the experimental self, private self,
and public self.
Image Source: https://the-mouse-trap.com/
Image Source: https://socialworkpodcast.blogspot.com/

o The experiential self or the theater of consciousness is a domain of self that defined as felt
experience of being. This includes the felt consistency of being across periods of time. It is tightly
associated with the memory. This is a part of self that disappears the moment that an individual
enter deep sleep and comes back when they wake up.
o The private self consciousness system or the narrator/interpreter is a portion of self that verbally
narrates what is happening and tries to make sense of what is going on. The moment that you read
this part, there is somewhat like a “voice” speaking in your head trying to understand what this
concept is all about.
o Lastly, the public self or Persona, the domain of self that an individual shows to the public, and
this interacts on how others see an individual. Henriques’ Tripartite Model attempts to capture the
key domains of consciousness, both within the self and between others.
 Unified being is essentially connected to consciousness, awareness, and agency. A well-adjusted
person is able to accept and understood the success and failure that they experienced. They are those
kinds of person who continually adjust, adapt, evolve and survive as an individual with integrated,
unified, multiple selves.
True versus False Self
Donald Winnicott
 Donald Winnicott was a pediatrician in London who
studied Psychoanalysis with Melanie Klein, a renowned
personality theorist and one of the pioneers in object relations
and development of personality in childhood.
 According to him, false self is an alternative personality
used to protect an individual’s true identity or one’s ability to
“hide” the real self. The false self is activated to maintain social
relationship as anticipation of the demands of others.
Compliance with the external rules or following societal norms
is a good example of this. false self can be a healthy self if it is
perceived as functional for the person and for the society and
being compliant without the feeling of betrayal of true self. On
the other hand, unhealthy false self happens when an individual
feels forced compliance in any situation.
 On the contrary, true self has a sense of integrity and
connected wholeness that is rooted in early infancy. The baby
creates experiences of a sense of reality and sense of life worth living. Winnicott claimed that true
self can be achieved by good parenting that is not necessarily a perfect parenting.
The Self as Proactive and Agentic
Albert Bandura
Image Source: http://freudquotes.blogspot.com/

 Albert Bandura is a psychologist and Professor Emeritus
of Social Science in Psychology at Stanford University. He
is known for his theory of social learning by means of
modeling. He is famous for his proposed concept of self-
efficacy.
 His personality theory, The Social Cognitive Theory
asserts that a person is both proactive and agentic, which
means that we have the capacity to exercise control over our
life. This theory emphasized that human beings are
proactive, self-regulating, self-reflective, and self-
organizing.
 Self as proactive means an individual have control in any
situation by making things happen. They act as agent in
doing or making themselves as they are. Agency is a
defining feature of modern selfhood. Agents assume some
degree of ownership and control over things, both internally
(I control my own thoughts) and externally (I make things
happen in the environment). The ability of an individual to
pursue their goals in life is an example of agentic approach
to self.
 According to Bandura (1989), self-efficacy beliefs
determine how people feel, think, motivate themselves and
behave. Such beliefs produce these diverse effects through four major processes. They include
cognitive, motivational, affective and selection processes. A strong sense of efficacy enhances human
accomplishment and personal well-being in many ways.
 In contrast Bandura (1989) said that people who doubt their capabilities shy away from difficult tasks
which they view as personal threats. They have low aspirations and weak commitment to the goals they
choose to pursue. When faced with difficult tasks, they dwell on their personal deficiencies, on the
obstacles they will encounter, and all kinds of adverse outcomes rather than concentrate on how to
perform successfully. They fall easy victim to stress and depression.
Image Source: https://www.uky.edu/

ACTIVITY # 4: THE VERSUSES! (50 points)
This section aims to assess your understanding of some of the topics
covered in Week 4 through the activity below.
Instructions: Differentiate the following terms in the box in one
sentence. Write your answers in a clean sheet of paper. Take a photo
and turn it in using Google Classroom (GED 101 Class) and/or GED
101 group chat via FB (5 points each).
Me-Self I-Self
Real Self Ideal Self
Multiple Self Unified Self
True Self False Self
Proactive Self Agentic Self

References:
Inc.
END OF WEEK 4
Week 5: THE SELF IN THE WESTERN AND
ORIENTAL/EASTERN THOUGHT

WEEK 5: THE SELF IN THE WESTERN AND ORIENTAL/EASTERN
THOUGHT
Western and Oriental/Eastern Thought
Cultural differences and environment creates different perceptions of
the self. The most common distinction between people and cultures is the
Eastern-Western distinction. Eastern are known as the Asian countries, and
Western represents the Europe and Northen America. It must be noted that
countries who are geographically closer to each other my share
commonalities, but factors that may create diffrences must be considered.
Individualistic versus Collective Self
Understanding individualism and collectivism could help in the understanding of the cross-cultural
values of a person. Not every culture is at one end or the other of the spectrum, but the majority tend to
favor one over the other in everyday life.
Individualistic Self
 Individualism is not the idea that individuals should live like isolated entity, nor the idea that they
should never get or give help from others, nor the idea that an individual never owes anything to other
people.
 Individualism is the idea that the fundamental unit of the human species that thinks, lives, and acts
toward goals is the individual. This means that we can form our own independent judgments, act on
our own thoughts, and disagree with others.
 Each adult individual can consider what is in his own best interests. Each can act on his own private
motivations and values and can judge other people as good people to form relationships with, or as bad
people to be avoided. Each can decide whether to cooperate with others to solve problems. Each can
choose to think for himself about the conclusions that the majority of others in a group come to,
accepting or rejecting their conclusions as indicated by his own thought.
 Example of the description would include an individual identifies primarily with self, with the needs of
the individual being satisfied before those of the group. Looking after and taking care of ourselves,
being self-sufficient, guarantees the well-being of the group. Independence and self-reliance are greatly
stressed and valued.
 In general, people tend to distance themselves psychologically and emotionally from each other. One
may choose to join groups, but group membership is not essential to one’s identity or success.
Individualist characteristics are often associated with men and people in urban settings.
 Western cultures are known to be individualistic.

Collective Self
 Collectivism is the idea that the fundamental unit of the human species that thinks, lives, and acts
toward goals is not the individual, but some group. In different variants, this group may be the
family, the city, the economic class, the society, the nation, the race, or the whole human species.
The group exists as a super-organism separate from individuals: A group may make its own
decisions, acts apart from the actions of individuals, and has its own interests apart from those of
the individuals that compose it.
 Under collectivism, individuals are analogous to ants in the protection of their queen ant. The
individual ant doesn’t have minds of their own, and generally cannot disagree with the hive. Any
ant that acts in a way contrary to the interests of the group is a malfunctioning ant. If an ant does
not follow the certain pattern of how they protect their queen, it will be entirely unable to support
itself, find other ants that support other queen ant and will surely die in short order. If the
malfunctioning ant stays within the group, it will be a threat to the line appropriate to protecting
the queen ant.
 Examples of the collectivist thinking is when our identity is in large part, a function of our
membership and role in a group, e.g., the family or work team. The survival and success of the
group ensures the well-being of the individual, so that by considering the needs and feelings of
others, one protects oneself. Harmony and the interdependence of group members are stressed and
valued. Group members are relatively close psychologically and emotionally, but distant toward
non-group members. Collectivist characteristics are often associated with women and people in
rural settings.
 Asian countries are known to be collective in nature.
The Social Construction of the Self in Western Thought
 Self has been an area of interest by French and English philosophers, and evident in the ideas of
Greek philosophers like Socrates and Plato.
 Descartes in 17th
century emphasized the self in his dictum “I think therefore I am” which claims
that cognitive basis of the person’s thoughts is proof for the existence of the self.
 Kant believed that the self is capable of actions that entitles it to have rights as an autonomous
agent.
 Here are some qualities imparted to the Western subjective self. It sketches some features on
subjectivity and ways of thinking of western persons. This provides an impressionistic profile
through the use of a few strokes characterizing some ways of being and thinking of many western
persons.
o Western self as analytic. Since analytic and inductive modes of thinking were
prominent for person in western cultures, to see objects as divisible combinations of
yet smaller objects. Real things are not only visualized but immaterial things like
thoughts, ideas and memories would be given emphasis.
o Western self as monotheistic. Monotheism can be known as the rigid consequence of
the doctrine of normal human being. It is like forcing the concentration of supernatural
capabilities.

o Western self as individualistic. The emphasis on individualism has direct and indirect
effects on both the presentation of self (in public ways) and the experience of the self
(in private awareness).
o Western Self as materialistic and rationalistic. The western accentuation of rational,
scientific approach to reality has tended to define spiritual and immaterial phenomena
as potentially superstitious and dangerous. In any society, belief system is stratified
and composed of a hierarchy of interrelated, causal-explanatory models.
The Self as Embedded in Relationships and through Spiritual Development in Confucian Thought
 Confucius was born in the period of the Zhou Dynasty in 551 BCE
in the state of Lu. He grew up poor although he was descended from
scholarly family.
 Confucius philosophy is known as humanistic social philosophy
which focusses on human beings and the society in general.
 Confucianism is centered on ren which can be manifested through
the li (propriety), xiao (filiality), and yi (rightness). For Confucius,
ren reflects the person’s own understanding of humanity. It is found
within each person and can be realized in one’s personal life and
relationship. Ren guides human actions that makes life worth living
which can be realized through li, xiao, and yi:
o Li the propriety. Rules of propriety should be followed to guide
human actions. These rules are the customs, ceremonies, and
traditions that forms the basis of li. According to Confucius, “to
master oneself and return to propriety is humanity” (Koller, 2007). Self mastery
involves self development. Self mastery is characterized by self-control and the will to
redirect impulses to change these to socially accepted expression of human nature. Li
conforms to the norms of humanity, thus one must fulfill their duties and
responsibilities in this five (5) relationships: father and son, ruler and subject, older
and younger brothers, husband and wife, friend and friend.
o Xiao the filiality. This is the virtue of reverence and respect for the family. Parents
should be revered for the life they and given. Children show respect to their parents by
exerting efforts to take care of themselves. Reverence for parents and family is further
demonstrated by bringing honor to the family, making something of himself and to
earn respect of other. If, however, the person is having difficulty giving his family the
honor that they deserved, he should just do this best to not disgrace the family.
Relationship that exist in the family reflect hoe the person relates to others in the
community. The family is the reflection of the person. How the person interacts
socially and the values they emulate can all be traced back to their family environment.
This forms the bases of the person’s moral and social virtues (Koller, 2007).
o Yi the rightness. The right way of behaving which is unconditional and absolute. Right
is right, and what is not right is wrong. Actions must be performed and carried out
because they are right actions. Confucius emphasized that actions should be performed
because they are right and not for selfish benefits that they provide.
Image Source: https://www.oshonews.com/

ACTIVITY # 5: MY SELF: AN INDIVIDUALISTIC OR COLLECTIVE? (20 points)
Instructions: In a maximum of 300 words, write an essay with the title, My
Self: an Individualistic or Collective? Explain how you consider yourself as
individualistic or collective in nature. Write your answers in a clean sheet of
paper. Take a photo and turn it in using Google Classroom (GED 101 Class)
GED 101 group chat via FB
Name:
Section:
My Self: an Individualistic or Collective?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
References/Sources:
Inc.

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GED-101-Understanding-the-Self.pdf