Anthropological Conceptualization • Plato

of the Self: The Self as Embedded • Aristotle

in Culture • St. Augustine
• Descartes
In the Anthropological perspective, • Locke
there are two ways in which the • Hume
concept of self is viewed in different • Kant
societies: egocentric and • Freud
sociocentric. • Ryle
• The egocentric concept of the self • Churchland
suggests that each person is defined • Merleau-Ponty
as a replica of all humanity but
capable of acting independently MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY: THE
from others. SELF IS EMBODIED
• In the sociocentric concept of the SUBJECTIVITY
self, the self is viewed as dependent • All knowledge of our selves and our
on the situation or social setting. world is based on subjective experience.
• In egocentric view, the self is viewed • The self can never be truly objectified
as autonomous and distinct individual or known in a completely objective sort
with inherent characteristics. of way.
• The Americans are egocentric. They
believe that they should be The Western and Eastern Concepts of
assertive and independent. Self

THE PHILOSOPHICAL Western Thoughts

PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF • The Western thoughts conducted
scientific investigations in the effort to
• The etymological definition of understand the self and have
philosophy is love of wisdom. developed theories and concepts to
• Philosophy employs the inquisitive account for the similarities and
mind to discover the ultimate causes, differences among them.
reasons, and principles of everything. • They emphasized the importance of
• The nature of the self is a topic of scientific me t h o d s o f i n v e s t i g a t
interest among philosophers. i o n t o p r o v i d e satisfactory answers
• Th e p h i l o s o p h i c a l fr a m ewo to
rkforunderstandingthese understanding the self.
l f w a s f ir s t introduced by ancient • In the Western thought, the
Greek philosophers emphasis is individualistic rather than
Socrates and Plato. relational.
• Socrates suggests to “know
thyself.” Eastern Thoughts
• What is self and the qualities that • Many movements of Eastern
define it? thoughts raise questions about the
• Philosophers agree that ultimate meaning of human life and have
self-knowledge i s a p r e r e q u i s i t developed theories of self insofar as
e t o a h a p p y a n d meaningful they have investigated
life. what it means to be a human being.
• Eastern thoughts aim at
Notable Philosophers:
• Socrates
transformations in consciousness,
feelings, emotions, and one's
relation to other people and the world.•
In the Eastern thought, the emphasis
is relational rather than individual. The
self is considered not in isolation but in
relation to others, society, and the
universe.
• Eastern theories are highly practical.
• They offer a variety of techniques for
cultivating a deeper
understanding of the self. they do not
utilize the scientific techniques of
investigation. Buddhism
• Siddharta Gautama known as
Buddha is the founder of Buddhism.
• The root word of Buddhism is budh
meaning awake.
• To be awake may imply that when the
eyes are open, it would lead to
understanding more about the self and
the world.
• According to the teachings of
Buddhism, every person has the seed of
enlightenment, hence,
potential to be a Buddha. But the seed
should be nurtured.
• In Buddhist philosophy, man is just a
title for the summation of the five parts
(matter, sensation, perception, mental
constructs, and
consciousness) that compose the
individual, however each of the
parts distinctly is not man.
• There is no self (or no-soul).
• There is only nothing and all else is an
illusion.
• There is nothing permanent, but
change.
• In Buddhism, anicca
(impermanence) means
that everything in life is always changing,
that nothing lasts forever.
• The ignorance of the
impermanence of everything may
lead to an illusion of selfhood.
• The ideal is to experience Nirvana, a
state of transcendence devoid of
self-reference.
• This state of transcendence can be Nature
achieved through meditation. that is the foundation of all that
exists.
Hinduism • It is not bounded by time and space.
• The goal of man is to have a • The ideal is to identify with the Tao.
knowledge of the true reality – • The perfect man has no self.
Brahman. • The selfless person leads to a
• Law of karma is the most important balanced life, in harmony with both
doctrine of Hinduism. nature and society.
• All actions are subject to karma. • Taoists believe that simplicity,
• Individual actions will lead to either a spontaneity, and harmony with
good or bad outcomes in one’s life. nature should govern one’s life.
• Hindus believe that Atman being an • There should be unity and harmony
immortal soul continues to be among opposing elements: the Yin and
reincarnated from lifetime to lifetime Yang.
until it is freed from the cycle of rebirth
and reach a state of nirvana or non-
birth.
• Karma does not end with a body’s
death, so its influence may extend
through incarnation of the
soul.

Confucianism
• The core of Confucian thought is the
Golden Rule or the principle of
reciprocity: “Do not do to others what
you would not want others to do to
you”.
• Another important feature in
Confucian thought is the individual’s
greatest mission of attaining
self-realization wherein self-
cultivation is instrumental.
•Self-cultivationcouldbe
accomplished by knowing one’s role in
the society and act
accordingly.
• Moral character is perfected through
continuously taking every opportunity
to improve oneself in thought and
action.

Taoism
• To them, the self is an extension of
the cosmos, not of social
relationships.
• The self is described as one of the
limitless forms of the Tao.
• The Tao is commonly regarded as