Understanding the Self

I. The Self From Various Perspectives

a. Philosophical Self
i. Ancient Period
1. Socrates
2. Plato
3. Aristotle
ii. Modern Period
1. Descartes
2. Locke
3. Hume
4. Kant
5. Freud
6. Ryle
7. Churchlad
8. Marleu-Ponty
b. Sociology
i. The self as a product of modern society among other constructions.
ii. Mead and the social self.
c. Anthropology
i. The self as embedded in one’s culture.
ii. The Self and person in contemporary culture.
d. Psychology
i. William James
1. The Self as a Cognitive Construction
ii. Me-Self; I-Self
iii. Global vs. differentiated models
iv. Real and Ideal Self Models
v. Multiple vs. Unified Self
vi. The Self as Proactive and Agentic
vii. The Self in Western and Eastern Thought
1. Individualistic vs. Collective Self
2. The Social Construction of the Self in Western Thought
3. The Self as embedded in relationships and through spiritual
development in Confucian thought.
II. Unpacking The Self
a. The Physical Self: The Self as impacted by the body.
i. The impact of Culture on body image and self-esteem: The importance of
beauty.
b. Sexual Self
 i. Development of Secondary sex characteristics and the human reproductive
system.
ii. Discussing the Erogenous Zones
iii. Understanding the Human Sexual Response
1. The basic biology of sexual behavior.
2. Understanding the Chemistry of lust, love, and attachment.
3. The Psychological aspect: What turns people on: the phases of sexual
response.
4. The diversity of sexual behavior
c. The Material and Economic Self
i. I shop, therefore I am: I have, therefore I am?
ii. Shaping the way we see ourselves: the role of consumer culture on our sense of
self-identity
d. The Political Self
i. Developing a Filipino identity: values, traits, community, and institutional
factors
ii. Establishing a democratic culture
e. The Spiritual Self
i. The practice of religion: Belief in the supernatural being and power
ii. The concept of “dungan” spirit of soul
iii. Rituals and ceremonies:
1. The Function of rituals
2. Religion, magic, and witchcraft
iv. Finding and creating meaning
f. The Digital Self
i. I, me, myself and my user ID online identity
ii. Selective self presentation and impression management
iii. Impact of online interaction on the self
iv. Boundaries of the self online: private vs. public, personal/individual vs. social
identity online
III. Managing and Caring For The Self

a. Learning to be a better student

i. What happens during learning? Brain and behavior changes

ii. Metacognition and study strategies

iii. Managing your own learning: self-regulated learning

b. Setting goals for success

i. The importance of goals

 ii. Aristotle’s teleological principle

iii. Locke’s goal setting theory

c. Taking care of one’s health

i. Stressors and responses

ii. Sources of coping and stress

iii. Taking care of the self: The need for self-care and compassion