The Self from Various Perspectives:

Philosophy, Sociology, Anthropology and Psychology

 Introduction
What is self?

Self is an individual person as the object of one’s own reflective consciousness. This reference is
necessarily subjective; thus, self is a reference by a subject to the same subject. Aristotle quotes
“knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom”. Basically, that getting to know yourself than others
is the best thing that you can do for yourself since our self is the real wisdom other than GOD. Self also
describe by some philosophers who gave their own perspective about self.

What is Philosophy?

The word PHILOSOPHY is from the word Greek roots means PHILO means LOVE and
SOPHOS means WISDOM. Basically, philosophy means love of wisdom which studies the proper
behavior or in short philosophy wants to know the meaning of LIFE. Philosophy is concern about the
fundamental of nature self. Greeks were the people who actually questioned myths and get away from
them and then try to question what is self. In this report we will know some of the philosophers gave
their own perspective about the self.

The 9 Philosophers:
Socrates:

Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher who is credited with

laying the fundamentals of modern western philosophy. He is the teacher of
Socrates and Aristotle. Socrates believes that every person is dualistic
where a man is composed of body and soul. He believed that if a man die
his body is the only one whose dying but then our soul will still live
eternally in the world because he say that a soul is composed of perfection and its permanent to the
world. Example a man is like a candle with a fire where the fire is our body and our spirit is the smoke
came from the candle where the smoke (our spirit) live freely in the air (world) and our body will stay as
it is till our body became ashes.
 Plato:

He was the student of Socrates and he support his believe and added
that the soul has three components which are: rational soul, spirited soul
and the appetitive soul. The first component is the rational soul which lies
the reason and intellect in short that the first component pointing our mind
which has our intellect and the power to make rational thinking and also in
our minds where our intellect came from. The second component will be
the spirited soul says that emotions should kept at the bay, spirited soul points out that our emotions
should be controlled to prevent it from causing problems. The third one will be the appetitive soul it says
that it our base desires (food, drink, sleep, sexual need, and etc.), appetitive soul points that self also had
desires which are the primary needs, secondary needs and other needs that human need every day for us
to be able to live. In Plato perspective self is just and virtuous.

Augustine:

He is a fourth century philosopher whose groundbreaking

philosophy infused Christian doctrine with Neo-Platonism. He follows the
belief of Plato student of Socrates but adding with Christianity. Augustine
define self with his relation to GOD he said that one could not achieve
inner peace without finding GOD’s love. He also stated that the body dies
on earth and the soul lives eternally in spiritual bliss with GOD. In
specific Augustine believe that the self has a big relation to GOD base on him that we can’t achieve
peacefulness in life even from death if we can’t find the love of GOD from us. When the human dies the
body will remain under the soil and our spirits will go to our GOD that the catholic believe that if a man
has a sin he will go to the underworld and if a man did good things in his/her life then the soul of
him/her will go to the heaven which leave the GOD.

Thomas Aquinas:

He was an Italian philosopher and theologian of medieval period.

He was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology at the peak of
scholasticism in Europe; he is also the founder of the Thomistic school of
philosophy and theology. He believes that a man is made of matter and
form. Matter is the common stuff that makes up everything in the
universe, while form is the essence of a substance or a thing. He also
stated that the body of human is similar to animals/objects, but what makes us human is the essence in
short soul is what makes us human.

Rene Descartes:

He was considered to be the father of modern western philosophy

and he is best known for the philosophical statement “Cogito ergo sum” or
also known as “I think, therefore I am”. He quote “there is so much that we
should doubt and the only thing we cannot is the existence of self”, because
the existence of self is the only clear and lucid in this world that we can
believe that is true. He also said that the body is a machine that attached to
mind; it’s the mind that makes a man because in his own perspective of self
that human self is composed of body and mind.

David Hume:

He was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist and also an

essayist, and he was known especially for his philosophical empiricism and
skepticism. For him, self is nothing but a bundle of impression and ideas.
Impression is basic objects of our experience and sensation and ideas are
copy of impressions and ideas are not real meaning what you see are just
what you feel not what you really see. Example when you see your crush
and an idea pop in your mind; seeing you and your crush together but that
idea is nothing but a feeling. For David Hume self are all combination of what we experience

Immanuel Kant:

He was a German philosopher born on April 22, 1724 and died on

February 12, 1804 at the age of 80. He agreed to Hume on how he gave his
own perspective on self and he also added that the self organizes different
impressions that get in relation to his own existence. That the self is not
only personality but also the seat of knowledge because self are set of
knowledge that you are is what you learn and what you learn is who you are
 Gilbert Ryle:

He was best known for his criticism of what he called the “official
doctrine” of “Cartesian Dualism” as a theory of mind. He said that the self
is like entering LU and looking for the university because he said that the
self is not an entity one can locate and analyze but simply the convenient
name that we use to refer to the behaviors that we make. What truly matters
is the behavior that a human manifest in his day to day life.

Merleau Ponty:

He was awarded as philosopher of the month. He was a French

phenomenologist and founded the existential of philosophy together with
Satre. He believes that the mind and body are inseparable because the body
can’t live without his/her mind because the mind (in science) is where our
emotions knowledge is store and the body make it works. He quote that
“one’s body is his opening toward his existence to the world”.

What is Sociology?

The word sociology derived from Latin and Greek origins. Where –logy means “the study of”
from Greek and the word –socius means “companion” from Latin. Sociology is the study of
development, structure, and functioning of human society. Explain the outcomes of individuals and their
personal attributes, opinions, tastes, and characteristics in terms of their social environment. More
specifically, it is an application of statistical analysis and the search for cause and effect relationships
between identifiable social variables like race, religion, income, earnings, education, gender, etc.

Sociological Theory of Self-Development

Lawrence Kohlberg:

He was an American psychologist and known for his theory of

stages of moral development where he expand the idea of Jean Piaget about
the cognitive theory and it explains the moral development of children. He
defined the moral development with three stages: pre-conventional,
conventional, and post conventional. And each stage has two distinct
stages. He was also a professor in the psychology department
 Kohlberg Stages of Moral Development

Level 1: Pre-conventional

Where the child sense of morality is externally controlled. Children under this stage are
not yet adopted or internalized the society’s convention on what is right and wrong.

 Step 1: Obedience and Punishment orientation

Focuses on the child’s desire and avoid on being punished. Example instead of punishing
your child you will just give his/her desire for you to avoid hurting his/her.

 Step 2: Instrumental Orientation

It expresses the word “what is it for me?” In stage 2 is not about loyalty or respect it’s
about “you’ll scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” mentality. It’s like doing your
child’s favor with the exchange of household chores.

Level 2: Conventional

The child sense of morality is tied to personal and societal relationships. In this stage
children tend to accept the rules of authority figures, but this is for their belief to ensure the
positive relationships and societal order.

 Step 3: Good Boy, Nice Girl Orientation

In this stage children want the approval of others and act in good ways to avoid
disapproval. Children in this stage tend to act “nice” to others.

 Step 4: Law and Order Orientation

In this stage child blindly accepts rules and convention because of their importance in
maintaining a functioning society. Rules are seen and being obeyed by doing what is
supposed to do. Example if a child tends to violate a house rule he/she tend to obey the
consequences which is the house law.
Level 3: Post conventional

In this stage morality is independent because people now believe that some laws are
unjust and should be change or eliminated. In this stage people tend to know how to disobey and
do not like to follow on some rules and law.

 Stage 5: Social Contract orientation

In this stage, the world views are holding different opinions, rights and values. And such
perspective should be mutually respected as unique to each person.

 Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principal Orientation

The moral reasoning is now based on abstract using universal ethical principles. People
are grounded in justice, and a commitment to justice carries with an obligation to disobey
unjust law.
 Carol Gilligan:

Are an American feminist, ethicist, and psychologist and known

for her work on ethical community and ethical relationships. He revised
the works of other psychologists because she find problems on their
theories. She used the stages of Kohlberg and redefined it to women
development.

 Gilligan’s Theory of Moral Development Gender

Pre-conventional

In Gilligan’s theory morality is based on needs to survive. Woman in this stage is focused
on meeting her own basic needs, always meeting her own needs before meeting the need of
others.

Conventional

In Gilligan’s theory morality based on the need of sacrifice. Women in this stage are
satisfied on viewing themselves as well when they help others needs than to meet their own
needs.

Post conventional

In Gilligan’s theory morality based for non-violence. Women tend to find ways to get
their needs without hurting each other.
What is Psychology?

Psychology is the science of behavior and mind. The word Psychology derives from Greek word:
psyche meaning “breath, spirit, and soul” and the word logos means “study of”.

Psychology Theory of Stage of Development

Erik-Erikson

He was born on June 15, 1902 and died on May 12, 1994. Hus
full name was Erik Salomonsen. He was a German-American
developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst. He was known for his
theory of Psychosocial Development. He made eight stages of
development and it was based on theory of Freud “Psychosexual
Theory”.

 Stages of Psychosocial Development

Trust vs. Mistrust

Infant birth 12 months of age should learn how to trust adults. They should develop the
virtue of hope.

Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt

Ages 1-3 years old should begin to explore their world and know how to control their
actions and act on environment. They should develop the virtue of will.

Initiative vs. Guilt

Ages 3-6 years old they are capable of initiating activities and asserting control over their
world through social interactions and play. They should develop the virtue of purpose.

Industry vs. Inferiority

Ages 6-12 years old they tecd to compare themselves to others to measure it up. They
should develop the virtue of competency.

Identity vs. Role Confusion

Ages 12-18 years old they started to get curious about the essince of life and their
importance as a man/woman. They should develop the virtue of fidelity.
Intimacy vs. Isolation

Ages 20-early 40 years old they are curious about having serious relationship and to have
someone to keep for a lifetime. They develop the virtue of love.

Generativity vs. Stagnation

People who reach 40 years old they begin to contribute to the next generation and they
also focus on raising children. They should develop the virtue care.

Integrity vs. Despair

People reach the age of mid-60’s they tend to enjoy their life to the fullest and celebrate
their achievements through the years. They should develop the virtue of wisdom.
References:

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/teachereducationx92x1/chapter/eriksons-stages-of-psychosocial-
development/

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sociology/chapter/theories-of-self-development/

http://oer2go.org/mods/en-boundless/www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-
textbook/socialization-4/the-self-and-socialization-43/sociological-theories-of-the-self-271-10195/index.html

https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/psychologists/carol-gilligan-theory-how-women-develop-their-sense-of-
self/

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/teachereducationx92x1/chapter/kohlbergs-stages-of-moral-development/

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-purpose-of-sociology

http://informationphilosopher.com/solutions/philosophers/ryle/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Immanuel-Kant

https://www.britannica.com/biography/David-Hume

https://www.philosophybasics.com/philosophers_aquinas.html

https://www.iep.utm.edu/augustin/

https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-self-according-augustine-378193

http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/People/Socrates/

https://www.slideshare.net/shinpaiwa/understanding-the-self-lecture-1-philosophical-perspectives

https://www.google.com.ph/search?rlz=1C1CHBD_enPH811PH827&q=a%20man%20with%20a%20question%20
mark&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj8l52b0PDkAhWB7WEKHWBZBAwQsAR6BAgFEAE&biw=160
0&bih=789#imgrc=qX4rMZHEG7IJOM