Module 4

The Physical Self

Module Duration:

Week 8

GE 005
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
 SAN MATEO MUNICIPAL COLLEGE
General Luna St., Guitnang Bayan I, San Mateo, Rizal
Tel. No. (02) 997-9070
www.smmc.edu.ph

MODULE 4: The Physical Self

“Beauty is when you can appreciate yourself. When you love yourself, that’s when you’re most beautiful.”

-- ZoenKravitz
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After this module the students are expected to:

 Identify and reflect on the different forces and institutions that impact the development of the physical self.
 Explain the impact of culture on body image and self-esteem.
 Discuss the role of media on the adolescents’ understanding of beauty and self-esteem and its influence on their
body image satisfaction.
 Examine one’s self against the different concepts and aspects of the physical self.
 Propose measures to enhance the adolescents’ “body image satisfaction”.

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INPUT INFORMATION

We are living in a world where the material and immaterial self are both represented. How is that possible? Thanks to
advances in technology, we not only live in a physical world, we also have virtual reality. How do you view yourself in both
worlds?

Society shapes us in many ways, possibly more than we realize it. This involves;

 How we perceive our bodies visually;

 How we feel about our physical appearance;
 How we think and talk to ourselves about our bodies; and
 Our sense of how the other people view our bodies.

The current embedded idea of what is attractive, beautiful, or handsome is an unrealistic image, which is
generally impossible for many of us to emulate. This unrealistic image is continually driven into our minds by the
media through ads, movies, and T.V shows. The media is a very powerful tool in reinforcing cultural beliefs and values.
Although it is not fully responsible for determining the standards for physical attractiveness, it makes escaping the barrage
of images and attitudes almost impossible to escape.

A positive view of “self” involves understanding that healthy, attractive bodies come in many shapes and sizes,
and that physical appearance says very little about our character or value as a person.

We have to strive to know ourselves beyond our preconceived ideas of who we are.

We have to strive to know ourselves beyond our preconceived ideas of who we are.

What Philosophers Think About Beauty?

(The Stanford Encyclopedia Philosophy, 2016)

The nature of beauty is one of the most enduring and controversial themes in western philosophy. Beauty,
traditionally, was among the ultimate values along with goodness, truth, and justice. It was a primary theme among
ancient Greek, Hellenistic, and medieval philosophers; it was central to the eighteenth and nineteenth – century thought.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, beauty was in decline as a subject of philosophical inquiry. However there were
signs of revived interest by the early 2000s.
 The two most – debated views about beauty are:
 Beauty is objective
 Beauty is subjective

Before the 18th century, most Western philosophical views on beauty treated it as an objective quality. For
example:

 St. Augustine - asked whether things were beautiful because it gave delight, or whether it gave delight
because it was beautiful. He believed it to be the latter.
 Plato connected beauty as a response to love and desire. He asserted that beauty exists in the realm of Forms,
and that objects are found beautiful because they are a reflection of the idea of beauty that already exist in the
realm of Forms.
 Aristotle asserted that the chief forms of beauty are order, symmetry, and definiteness that can be
demonstrated by mathematical sciences. By the 18th century, however beauty was associated with pleasure as
a personal preference. Some philosophers who hold this view are:
 David Hume – “Beauty is no quality in things themselves; It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them;
and each mind perceives a different beauty. One person may even perceive deformity, where another is sensible
of beauty; and every individual ought to acquiesce in his own sentiment, without pretending to regulate those of
others” (Hume 1757, 136)
 Immanuel Kant – “The judgment of taste is therefore not a judgment of cognition, and is consequently not logical
but aesthetical, by which we understand that whose determining ground can be no other than subjective” (Kant
1790, sec. 1).
 Francis Hutcheson – “The perception of beauty does depend on the external sense of sight; however, the
internal sense of beauty operates as an internal or reflex sense. The same is the case with hearing: hearing
music does not necessarily give the perception of harmony as it is distinct from the hearing” (Inquiry I. I. X).

What did Psychology Discovers about Beauty?

Research found that a person who is perceived as attractive makes more money than a person of below –
average looks. In politics, voters who are not actively engaged in social and political issues choose candidates based on
“looks” 90% of the time.
These study results can be attributed to a cognitive bias called the “halo effect.” A cognitive bias is an error in
reasoning, evaluating, remembering, or any other mental process that is often a result of holding on to one’s preferences
and beliefs regardless of contrary information. The halo effect (also known as the physical attractiveness stereotype and
the “what is beautiful is good” principle) refers to the tendency of people to rate attractive individuals more favorably for
their personality traits or characteristics as compared to those who are less attractive.

Does your Body Image have an Impact on your Self – Esteem?

The term self-esteem was coined by William James in 1800. James
presented self-esteem as the number of successes a person achieves in the
domains of life that are important to him or her, divided by the number of failures
that occurred on those areas (The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and
Behavioral Science, 2002). In the 1960s, behavioral scientists defined self-
esteem in terms of an attitude concerning one’s worth as a person (Rosenberg,
1965). Self-esteem is about how you value yourself and how you feel others
value you. Self – esteem is important because it can affect your mental health as
well as how you behave.
Body image is how you view your physical body, whether you feel you
are attractive, and how you feel some other people like your looks. For many
people (especially teenagers) body image is closely linked to self-esteem.

If you have a positive body image, you probably like and accept yourself the way you are, even if you do not fit
the popular notion of ”beautiful” or “handsome.” This healthy attitude allows you to explore some other aspects of growing
up, such as developing good friendships, becoming more independent from your parents, and challenging yourself
physically and mentally. Developing these parts of yourself can help boost your self-esteem.
 How important is Physical Beauty?

What came into your mind could be the saying, “Do not
judge the book by its cover.” You may have heard many people say
this; you may have said this yourself. However, though it is a wise
thought from the conscious mind, your subconscious mind will
contradict you, and you will still find yourself judging people based
on their looks on your initial encounters.
Physical beauty is extremely important. You must also
understand that you need to know the correct definition of physical
beauty so that your self-esteem will not suffer. The dictionary’s
definition of beauty is “the degree to which a person’s physical
traits are considered pleasing or beautiful.” Take note that the
definition did not indicate “who” determines what type of physical
traits is attractive and unattractive. Why? Because even
though physical beauty is extremely important, the good news is
that physical beauty standards differ from one person to another.
A self-image problem happens when your looks do not
match your beauty standards. For example, if you believe that
being thin is sexy and attractive, yet you are not thin (in fact you are
on the heavier side) then you might believe you are unattractive
(even though there are others who find you attractive).

The problem here is with your own beauty standards and not with your looks. To have a positive self-image and
a self-esteem you must fix your false beliefs about physical attractiveness first.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Group Activity:
Make an advocacy video on how to enhance the adolescent’s body image satisfaction.

ASSIGNMENT

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LEARNING RESOURCES

 Otig, V. S., Gallinero, W. B., Bataga, N. U., Salado, F. B., & Visande, J. C. (2018). A Holistic Approach in
Understanding the Self. Malabon City, Philippines: Mutya Publishing