Philosophical Perspective so intertwined that they cannot be

separated from one another. One

 Socrates- firmly believed that the self is
cannot find any experience that is not
dualistic, and that is composed of two
an embodied experience. All experience
distinct parts: the physical body and the
is embodied. One’s body is an opening
soul.
toward his existence to the world. Mind
 Plato- believed that if the physical body
and body are interconnected.
changes, so does the soul. Hence, he
added three components of the soul: Anthropological and Sociological Perspective
Rational, Spirited, and Appetitive Soul.
• Anthropology is the inclusive study of
 Rene Descartes- states that the self is a
the human race, its culture, and society,
thinking entity distinct from the body.
and its physical development.
His first famous principle was “Cogito,
Anthropology is the study of what
ergo sum,” which means “I think,
makes us human. On the other hand,
therefore I am.”
Sociology is defined as the scientific
 John Locke- holds that the self is
study of human life, social groups,
tantamount to personal identity.
whole societies, and the human world
Whereas, personal identity is found in
whose subject matter is our own
the consciousness or memory and not
behavior as social beings in relationship
in the body or physical being, and soul.
with many other people. Sociology is
Personal Identity is what makes you,
the scientific study of society, including
you and me, me. It is drawn from our
patterns of social relationships, social
own experiences therefore it is not tied
interaction, and culture.
to any material substance/physical
body, rather it is tied to our Mead’s Development Stages of the Self
consciousness.
 St. Augustine: Love and Justice as the • The key to developing the self, then, is
Foundation of the Individual Self- He learning to take the role of the other.
believed that there is an aspect of man Mead proposed the following stages of
that dwells in the physical world, and an development:
aspect that dwells in the eternal realm. 1. Preparatory stage- this is when a
 Immanuel Kant- Kant’s concept of the person imitates or mimics behavior
self is that man is a free agent that is without understanding underlying
capable of deciding for himself. As a intention and so, has no self yet. For
free agent, man is gifted with reason example, infants, who have a limited
and free will (Palean, et.al., 2018). social experience, respond only through
 Gilbert Ryle- Deny the concept of an imitation.
internal, non-physical self. For Ryle,
what truly matters is the behavior that a 2. Play stage— it involves assuming roles
person manifests in his day-to-day life. modeled by important people such as
Self comes from behavior. I act parents or significant others. When
therefore I am. children learn to use language and
 Maurice Merleau-Ponty- Unlike Ryle, other symbols, the self emerges in the
who simply denies the “self,” Merleau- form of play or by assuming roles and
Ponty says that the mind and body are putting themselves in the shoes of the
 other and seeing their point of view. For • Vital to establishing social relationships
example, a toddler assumes the role of at a personal or professional level are
their parents by playing “mommy” or time, effort, and commitment.
“daddy.”
• Norms are patterns or traits
3. Game stage— this is when children characterized as typical or usual for a
learn to take the roles of several others group. Norms changes over time.
at once. For example, by about age
• Social norms refer to spoken and
seven, most children have the social
unspoken rules for behaving in
experience needed to engage in team
particular situations. One example is
sports.
covering one’s mouth when sneezing
• As life goes on, the self continues to or coughing. These norms serve to
change along with our social guide or regulate how people conduct
experiences. But no matter how much themselves. Behaviors have to be
events change us; we remain creative controlled or regulated because of
beings. Thus, Mead concluded, we play social consequences. It is one’s
a key role in our own socialization. responsibility to make sure that their
behavior does not hurt, offend or
The Self and Culture by Marcel Mauss
disturb other people.
 Moi is defined as a person’s sense of
• Socialization is a lifelong process of
who he is, his body and his basic
learning the norms, values, behavior,
identity, his biological givenness. On the
and social skills appropriate to your
other hand, Personne is composed of
social position such as your age, gender,
the social concepts of what it means to
or social class.
be who he is. Personne has to do with
what it means to live in a particular • Carl Rogers, an American psychologist,
institution, a particular family, a was the proponent of the self-theory.
particular religion, a particular Rogers (1953) supports the claim that
nationality, and how to behave given self-concept plays an important role in
expectations and influences from personality because it influences human
others. behaviors, feelings, and thoughts.

Self in Social Interaction • The real self is the image or picture of

the self based on their actual
• Interaction refers to the mutual and
experiences and represents how they
reciprocal exchange of communication
really or actually see themselves. It is
or action between two or more persons
what one thinks he/she is in terms of
or groups. For example, students from
personal characteristics and abilities.
different schools who are gathered to
attend a two-day seminar may create • In contrast, the ideal self is the self
interaction with one another through based on one’s hopes and wishes. It
discussions or by exchanging views reflects how one wishes or desires to
about certain topic. see themselves to be. It is the idealized
version of the self. For example, at the
moment, your real self is a freshman
 college student taking up this subject “conditions” or expectations of others.
and your ideal self may be a renowned For instance, parents may still love and
criminologist or a CPA lawyer, or a CEO respect their child even if the child
of your own company failed their exam.

• When we feel good about ourselves, it Western Thoughts Eastern Thoughts

is said that there is congruence or
alignment or there is a small gap
Western culture is what we Collectivism or others
between our real and ideal self. This
would call an individualistic refer to as the
gives us confidence, satisfaction, and a
culture since its focus is on interdependent view of
sense of self-actualization or fulfillment
the person as a unique and the self, sees the self as an
leading to high self- esteem.
separate entity. integral part of the
• However, when we are disappointed or communal group whether
frustrated with ourselves, it is said that it is their nuclear family,
there is incongruence or misalignment friends, or co-workers
or disparity, or a huge gap between our (Palean et.al., 2018).
real and ideal self. This results in us
being distressed, and anxious, leading
to low self- esteem, being defensive in
our actions

Positive Regard

"Positive regard" refers to the

acceptance and support an individual
receives from others. Positive regard
includes love, affection, sympathy,
warmth, acceptance, and respect which
people crave from family, friends, and
other significant people.

The two types of positive

regard are as follows:

 Conditional positive regard refers to

positive regard received as a result of
acceptable behavior or when we live up
to the expectations and standards of
others. For example, a teacher may
reward students for passing a test.

 Unconditional positive regard refers to

the love and acceptance we receive
regardless of who we are or what we
do. It is the positive regard that we get
despite not being able to meet the