UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

GEC-001

01 OVERVIEW OF THE SELF

Self Discovery - process of learning, understanding, or knowing more about yourself and
who you are, becoming aware of one's true potential, character, motives, and the like.

Self Awareness - knowledge of yourself and your worth as a person. An example of

awareness is what you hope to gain from meditating. Self-awareness is a result of doing
self-discovery.

Nature vs Nurture

● Nature - is often defined as genetic or hormone-based behaviors, traits, and

dispositions. It refers to all of the genes and hereditary factors that influence who
we are—from our physical appearance to our personality characteristics.
● Nurture - refers to all the environmental variables that impact who we are, including
our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our social relationships, and
our surrounding culture.

Self vs Identity

● Self - based on the lexical definition, “the person that someone normally or truly is
or the entire person of an individual”.
● Identity - based on the lexical definition, refers to “the qualities, beliefs,
characteristics that make a particular person or group different from others or the
distinguishing character or personality of an individual”.
● Personality - refers to the patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that make one
unique from others.

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02 THE PHILOSOPHICAL SELF

Philosophy - is the study of acquiring knowledge through rational thinking and inquiries
that involves answering questions regarding the nature and existence of man and the
world we live in. It originated from the Greek words Philo- (loving) and Sophia (knowledge,
wisdom). At its simplest, philosophy means “loving knowledge” or “loving wisdom.” The
term philosophy as originally used by the Greeks meant “the pursuit of knowledge for its
own sake.”

The Philosophy of the self has been defined through distinct philosophical lenses:

● Empiricism - derives explanations of the self from sensory and bodily responses. We
know things because we have experienced them through our bodily senses.
● Rationalism - there is innate knowledge; they differ in that they choose different
objects of innate knowledge. Rationalism explains self from the standpoint of what
is “ideal” and the “truth”, not rooted in what is felt by the senses nor our body.
● Dualism - In the modern world “dualism” most often refers to “mind-body dualism,”
or the idea that the mind is separate from the body.

Naturally, the need to understand the “self” did not escape the philosopher’s curious mind.
Hence, here are the most relevant philosophical views that will give you a historical
framework in understanding yourself:

SOCRATES: “The unexamined life is not worth living”

- Know Thyself is the most important task one can undertake is to examine oneself,
for it alone will give one the knowledge necessary to answer the question 'how
should I live my life.'
- known as the "father of Western philosophy" was believed to be the first thinker to
focus on the full power of reason on the human self - our existence in the universe,
who we are, who we should be, and who we will become.
- the self exists in two parts: the physical body and the soul.
- physical body is a tangible aspect of us. It is mortal (it dies), constantly
changing, imperfect, transforming, disappearing.

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 - Our soul, which Socrates believed to be immortal, is eternal, perfect, or ideal.

PLATO: “The first and the best victory is to conquer self.”

- Plato is a dualist; there is both an immaterial mind (soul) and a material body, and it
is the soul that represents the self. Plato believed the soul exists before birth and
after death. For him, one should care about his soul rather than his body.
- The soul (mind) is divided into three parts:
- Reason is our divine essence that enables us to think deeply, make wise
choices and achieve a true understanding of eternal;
- Physical Appetite is our basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst, and
sexual;
- Will or Spirit is our basic emotion or passion, such as empathy,
aggressiveness, love, anger.
- Plato was one of the first philosophers who believed in an enduring self that is
represented by the soul. He argued that the soul is eternal and constitutes to exist.

ARISTOTLE: “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

- the human person is a “rational animal”. In other words, for Aristotle, the human
person is simply an animal that thinks.

ST. AUGUSTINE: “Accepting God is the path to know thyself.”

- St. Augustine’s reflections on the relations between time and memory greatly
influenced many fundamental doctrines of psychology.
- Time is something that people measure within their own memory. It is not a feature
or property of the world, but a property of the mind.
- He believed that the times present of things past, present, and future coexist in the
soul; the time present of things past is memory; the time present of things present is
direct experience; and the time present of things future is expectation.
- The existence of past and future for St. Augustine is only possible through memory
and expectation.

RENE DESCARTES: “I think; therefore I am.”

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 - For Descartes, this is the essence of self— you are a "thinking thing" (I exist because
I think: I think, therefore I exist).
- Descartes declares that the essential self, or the self as a thinking entity, is radically
different from the self as a physical body.
- The thinking self—or soul—is a non-material, immortal, conscious being,
independent of the physical laws of the universe. The physical body is a mortal,
non-thinking material that is fully governed by the physical laws of nature.
- Further, your soul and your body are independent of one another. Each one can
exist and function without the other.

JOHN LOCKE: "The Self Is Consciousness"

- John Locke is known for his theory that the mind is a tabula rasa, a blank slate. Locke
believed that we are born without thoughts, or our mind was empty and that
knowledge is instead determined only by experience.
- Consciousness is the perception of what passes in a Man’s own mind. He concluded
that personal identity is not in the brain but in one’s consciousness.
- He supports that consciousness can be transferred from one substance (body and
soul) to another. This philosophy can be understood easily in his illustration of “The
Prince and the Cobbler”. It supports the possibility that the same person may
appear in a different body at the time of resurrection and yet still be the same
person.

DAVID HUME: "There Is No “Self”

- For Scottish philosopher David Hume, there is no self as a mental entity for “what
we call a mind is nothing but a heap or collection of different perceptions…” The self
is a bundle of perceptions.
- There is no stable thing called self, for the self is nothing but a complex set of
successive impressions or perceptions. Thus, we cannot observe any permanent self
because we continuously undergo change.

IMMANUEL KANT: "We Construct the Self'

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 - Consciousness is formed by one’s inner self and outer self; · The inner self includes
rational reasoning and psychological state while the outer self includes the body and
physical mind.

SIGMUND FREUD: “There Are Two Selves: One Conscious, One Unconscious”

- Self is multi-layered. It is composed of three structures of the human mind—id, ego,

and superego.
- Id exists since birth, pertaining to instinct. It serves as a storeroom of wishes and
obsessions related to sexual and aggressive desires.
- Ego operates according to the reality principle. This structure’s role is to maintain
equilibrium between the demands of id and superego in accordance with what is
best and practical in reality. If ego is successful, it turns out to be a brilliant, creative,
and emotionally-balanced individual.
- Superego is the last layer to develop. It operates according to the morality principle.
Superego is the reservoir of moral standards. It ensures compliance with the norms,
values, and standards prescribed by society. If superego is dominant, a law-abiding,
morally upright, god-fearing, and socially acceptable individual appears.
- Superego has two systems: the conscience and the ideal self. Conscience can
sanction the ego through the feeling of guilt. The ideal self, an imaginary picture of
one’s self, is rewarded by the superego when one conforms with the standards
imposed by the society.

GILBERT RYLE: "I act, therefore I am".

- A British philosopher that opposed Rene Descartes that the self is a thinking thing.
- People learn that they have their own minds because they behave in certain ways.
- The self is a combination of the mind and the body. For him, the mind is not the seat
of self but the behavior, opposing Descartes’ immaterial mind in a material body.
The self is the way people behave.

PAUL AND PATRICIA CHURCHLAND: "The Self Is the Brain".

- Paul & Patricia Churchland are both neuroscientists. It is the physical brain, not the
imaginary mind, that gives us our sense of self. To Churchland, the self is the brain.

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MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY: "The Self is An Embodied Subjectivity"

- The French phenomenological philosopher distinguished the body into two types:
the subjective body, as lived and experienced, and the objective body, as observed
and scientifically investigated.
- The former is the body as-it-is-lived. “But I am not in front of my body, I am in my
body, or rather I am my body.”
- He regarded self as embodied subjectivity. It sees human beings neither as
disembodied minds (existing without body) nor as complex machines, but as living
creatures whose subjectivity (consciousness) is actualized in the forms of their
physical involvement with the world.
- To sum it up, Merleau-Ponty’s, “I am my body” cannot simply be interpreted as
advocating a materialist, behaviorist type position. He accepts the idea of mental
states but he also suggests that the use of the mind is inseparable from our bodily,
situated, physical nature.

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03 THE SOCIOLOGICAL SELF

Sociology - is the study of the role of society in shaping behavior. The sociological
perspective of the self looks into self as a social construction, which means that who you are
as a person all through your lifetime is developed under the influence of people, meaning,
the self is shaped through interaction with other people in a society.

Social construction - means that individuals develop a sense of self based on how they
think other people see and judge them. They see themselves and construct a sense of
identity, by interpreting what they think they see reflected about themselves in others'
opinions and reactions.

Socialization - is the process of learning one’s culture and how to live within it. In other
words, it is the process whereby an individual learns to adjust to a group and behave in a
way that is approved by the group.

The Self and the Social Agencies

● Family - it is the most pervading, influential social group that impacts ourselves in
the entire course of development.
● School - we are expected to meet certain criteria of achievement and oftentimes, in
collaborative learning conditions. We harness the knowledge that we get from our
mentors and apply the socialization skills we got from our families in developing
relationships with our school peers.
● Communities - From an anthropological and sociological perspective, our cultural
beliefs and practices are influenced by what our communities and societies dictate.
Values such as faith in God, respect for the elderly, task persistence & dedication,
and love for our country are often the products of communal settings we belong to
and societal expectations imposed on us.

George Herbert Mead: Social Self

- Self is not biological but social. Self is something that is developed through social
interactions. The self is developed as one grows and ages.

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 - Role playing is the process in which one takes on the role of another by putting
oneself in the position of the person with whom he or she interacts. Through role
playing, the individual develops a concept of self. By putting oneself in the position
of others, one is able to reflect upon oneself.
- Babies cannot interpret the meaning of other people’s behavior. It is usually learned
during childhood which comes in three stages of development.
- Imitation or the preparatory stage, a stage in which a child imitates the behavior of his
or her parents like sweeping the floor.
- Play stage involves the child playing the role of others. In doing these, he or she
becomes aware that there is a difference between himself or herself and the role
that he or she is playing.
- Game stage, comes to see himself or herself from the perspective of other people.
To play the game, the child must be aware of his or her relationship to other people
and place himself or herself in their roles in order to appreciate his or her particular
role in the game.

The"I" Self and "Me" Self Theory

- The “I” is the phase of the self that is unsocialized and spontaneous. It is the acting
part of the self, an immediate response to other people. It represents the self that is
free and unique. It is the subjective part of the self.
- The “Me” is the self that results from the progressive stages of role playing or
role-taking and the perspective one assumes to view and analyze one’s own
behaviors. It represents the conventional and objective part of the self.

Charles Horton Cooley: Looking Glass Self

- The self developed as a result of one’s perceptions of other people’s opinion. People
are the way they are at least partly because of other people’s reactions to them and
to what they do. They are constantly picking up feedback and incorporating it into
their sense of self.
- The self is built through social interaction which involves three steps; first, people
imagine how they must appear to others; second, they imagine the judgment on
that appearance; and finally, they develop themselves through the judgment of
others.

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The Self Embedded in Culture

- Culture influences what will affect you emotionally, as well as how you express
yourself, such as showing your feelings in public or keeping it private.
- Culture is everything that makes up the way a group of people lives. It includes their
beliefs, values, and traditions.

There are two components of culture that are essential in understanding how the self is
being influenced by it:

● Material culture - consists of human technology; all the things that people make
and use. These are the physical manifestations of culture. The goods and products
we buy and the products we use are also included here.
● Non-material culture - includes intangible human creations like beliefs, values,
norms, morals, rules, language, and organizations.

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04 THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SELF

Anthropology - is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior,

human biology, cultures, societies and linguistics, in both the present and past, including
past human species. Anthropology is the study of people and cultures in the past and
today.

There are four branches of Anthropology:

● Archeology – is the study of how people lived in the past. Archaeologists learn from
things people leave behind or artifacts like pottery, tools, relics, ceramics, weapons,
or anything made or used by humans.
● Physical Anthropology – is the study of human biology, including how people adapt
to where they live and how bodies change over time (human evolution). Physical
anthropologists also study non-human
● Linguistic anthropology – is the study of how people speak and the words they use
and how their language developed and evolved. Linguistic anthropology also studies
the evolution of language and how it changed what people think and how people
change their language.
● Cultural anthropology – is the study of how people live their lives in the present and
how they may have lived in the past, including the tools they used and the food they
produced and consumed. It is also related to sociology and social science.

Cultural Identity and National Identity

- Culture is derived from the Latin word cultura or cultus meaning care or cultivation.
It is analogous to an infant, because an infant has prolonged dependency, he or she
has to be taken care of by the people around him or her. The infant has to learn
from them so he or she can better adjust while showing up in his or her immediate
cultural environment.
- Cultural Identity refers to the identity or feeling of belongingness to a certain
group. It is an individual’s perception about himself or herself anchored on race,
gender, nationality, religion, ethnicity, and language.

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 - The cultural identity theory explains why a person acts and behaves the way he or
she does. It makes sense of how an individual is influenced by the cultural contexts
he or she is situated in. A single person can possess many cultural groups.
- A nation is a group of people built on the premise of shared customs, traditions,
religion, language, art, history and more.
- National identity is socially constructed. It is influenced and shaped by material
and non-material cultures.
- Material culture such as the national flag, emblem, or seal is representative of all
the people who are part of a nation.
- Non-material culture embodies the shared understanding of a group of people
which includes norms, beliefs, and traditions.

Brian Morris’ Anthropology of the Self

- Brian Morris reiterated that the self is not an entity but a process that orchestrates
an individual’s personal experience. As a result of this process, a person becomes
self-aware and self-reflective about his or her place in the surrounding world.
- Morris stated that the most crucial form of interaction and exchange takes place in
the self and his or her cultural environment as mediated by social practices.

Dialogical Self

- The dialogical self theory was introduced in 1992 by Hubert Hermans. The theory
regarded self as the society of Mind. He posited the idea that the self is considered
as extended to significant others in the environment that populate the self as
dynamic multiplicity of I-positions in which dialogical and monological relationships
may emerge.
- In this theory, individual sense of self is established through how one identifies
himself or herself with the different positions he or she holds, internally or
externally, to himself or herself. For instance, one may say, “I” as a member of my
family, “I” as an educator.
- An internal I-position refers to how one functions in himself or herself while an
external I-position refers to how one identifies himself or herself based on
particular external factors. (e.g. internal: I am empathic, “I am diligent, external). The

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 dialogic self approach calls for the need for the I-positions to come in contact with
each other.

Individual Self, Relational Self and Collective Self

There are three fundamental selves, namely the individual self, the relational self, and the
collective self:

● The individual self – reflects the cognitions related to traits, states and behaviors
that are stored in a memory. (e.g. I am religious, I feel cold,..)
● The relational self – reflects cognitions that are related to one’s relationships (e.g. I
am the father, I am the godfather..)
● The collective self – reflects cognitions that are related to one’s group (I am an
Ilocano or I am a Filipino).

Identity Struggles

- People are quick to judge who others are. People’s actions in every situation vary
depending on physiological and psychological states. This is called identity struggles.
- Identity struggle is a term introduced by Anthony Wallace and Raymond Fogelson.
It characterizes the discrepancy between the identity a person claims to possess and
the identity attributed to that person by others.

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05 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SELF

Psychology - is commonly defined as the scientific study of behavior and mental

processes. Psychology delves into the physiological aspect that speaks of an organism’s
physical processes and the cognitive aspect that deals with an organism’s thinking process.

The Psychology of self - focuses on the representation of an individual based on his/her

experiences.

William James: The Me-Self /The I-Self

● The “Me-self” is the phenomenal self, the experienced self or the self as known. It is
the self that has experienced the phenomena and who has known the situation. Self
corresponds to the self as an object of experience (self as object) or the self as
known.
● The “I-self” is the self-thought or the self-knower. Self as a subject of experience
(self as subject) or the self as knower that is considered to be pure ego and the
consciousness itself.

The Constituents of the Self

● The Material Self - is constituted by our bodies, clothes, immediate family, and
home. It is in this that we attach more deeply into and therefore, are most affected
by because of the investment and the consequent attachment we give to these
things.
● The Social Self - is based on our interactions with society and the reaction of people
towards us. It is our social self that is thought to have multiple divergences or
different versions of ourselves. It varies as to how we present ourselves to a
particular social group.
● The Spiritual Self - is our inner self or our psychological self. It comprises our
self-perceived abilities, attitudes, emotions, interests, values, motives, opinions,
traits, and wishes.

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Carl Rogers' Self Theory: Real Self and Ideal Self

● The real self - is what intrinsically we are. It's the self that feels most true to what
and who we really are; the honest self that leaves us most comfortable in our skin.
It may not be perfect, but it's the part of us that feels most real. And it's the one we
need to learn to love the most.
● The ideal self - on the other hand, is the self that we think we want to be, that we
strive to be and that we feel we are expected to be. This self is borne out of
influences outside of us. It is the self that holds values absorbed from others; a
culmination of all those things that we think we should be, and that we feel others
think we should be.

Andras Angyal: Multiple vs. Unified Self

● Multiple Selves - are the capacities we carry within us from multiple relationships.
These are not discovered but created in our relationships with other people.
● Unified Selves - emphasizes that well-being comes when our personality dynamics
are congruent, cohesive, and consistent.

Dr. Donald Winnicott: True Self vs. False Self

● The true self - refers to a sense of self that is based on authentic experience, and
the feeling of being truly present and alive.
● The false self - is a defensive façade, behind which the person can feel empty, its
behaviors being learned and controlled rather than spontaneous and genuine.

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06 The Self in Western and Oriental Thought

Western culture - basically is about the focus on oneself and personal needs. Western
culture is predicated on putting egoism or individualism first.

Eastern culture - is about focusing on others and the feelings of others. Eastern culture is
about collectivism.

Individualism - orientation concerned with the independence and self-reliance of the

individual. Individualistic cultures put more emphasis on promoting the individual and the
immediate family’s welfare. It gives more emphasis on freedom and choice.

Collectivism - orientation characterized by belongingness to larger groups or collectives.

Collectivistic cultures give more importance to loyalty to the in-group, which in turn takes
care of the individual’s welfare. It gives more importance on relationships, roles, duties,
obligations, and the preservation of culture and tradition. It prioritizes the needs and goals
of society over the needs and desires of every individual.

The Difference Between Western and Eastern Thoughts

Western Culture Eastern Culture

Is focused on oneself and personal needs Ss focused on others and the feelings of
others.

Is predicated on putting egoism first. Is all about collectivism .

Is inclined in the acquisition of more Is tilted towards fewer assets (thus the
material things. mantra less is more).

Is obsessed with being successful. More inclined towards long life; long life is
equated with wealth.

Celebrates the youth and being young. Values the wisdom of years and seniority.

Wealth and poverty are the results of Wealth and poverty is the result of fortune
enterprise and hard work. and luck.

Subscribes to the idea of evolution. Subscribes to the concept of reincarnation.

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Hinduism

- Brahman - refers to the highest universal principle, also called the ultimate, is an
absolute reality.
- Atman - soul or spirit, is the true knowledge of self.
- Vedanta - Its basic teaching is that our real nature is divine; characterizes human
suffering as the result of failure to realize the distinction between the true self
(permanent and unchanging) and the non-true self (impermanent and changes
continually).
- Law of karma - is the most important doctrine of Hinduism. Individual actions will
lead to either good or bad outcomes in one’s life. Thus good actions will reward
good things and bad actions will reap bad things.

Buddhist

- There is no ātman (soul or spirit), no eternal self, that could accompany or exist
behind the rebirth process of individual consciousness.
- There are four Noble truths that express the orientation of Buddhism: Life
ultimately leads to suffering; suffering is caused by attachment to desires; suffering
can be eliminated and the elimination of sufferings.

Confucianism

- anchored in the golden rule of “Do not do to others what you would not want others
to do to you”. A good relationship with other people is a virtue. Similarly, we treat
them the way we want them to treat us.

Taoism

- believes that simplicity, spontaneity, and harmony with nature should govern one's
life. An individual should live in his heart, accept himself, fully understand himself,
accept himself, and live at peace.

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07 The Physical Self

The Physical Self - is defined by the physical characteristics that are visible. These
characteristics are the defining traits and features of the body. Sex, height, weight,
complexion, hair, and facial features are among the common, physical features identified
when one is asked to describe another person.

Factors that Shape the Physical Self

● Biological Blueprint
○ Heredity - has been defined as the transmission of traits from parents to
offspring.
○ Gene
■ Genotype - refers to the specific information embedded within our
genes; not all genotypes translate to an observed physical
characteristic. Genotype can only be determined through blood
testing.
■ Phenotype - is the physical expression of a particular trait. Phenotype
can be directly observed.
○ Chromosomes - each individual carries 23 chromosomes, where 22 of which
are called the autosomes, and the 23rd pair is known as the sex
chromosomes which identify the sex of an individual. The XY is for males
while the XX is for females.
○ DNA - within each chromosome lies the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). DNA is
considered the blueprint of life.
○ Maturation - is known as the completion of the growth of genetic character
within an organism or the unfolding of an individual’s inherent traits or
potential.
● Environmental Conditioning
○ Family
○ Larger Social Group
○ Social Media

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The Impact of Culture on Body Image and Self-Esteem

● Self-esteem - is all about how much you feel you are worth — and how much you
feel other people value you. It is how you value and respect yourself as a person.
● Body image - is how you view your physical self — It refers to how individuals
perceive, think, and feel about their body and physical appearance.
● Appearance - refers to everything about a person that others can observe, such as
height, weight, skin color, clothes, and hairstyle. Through appearances, an individual
can show others the kind of person he or she is.

Eating Disorders

- Bulimia Nervosa - engages in binge eating followed by behavior to prevent weight

gain.
- Anorexia - eating disorder that refuses to eat for fear of gaining weight.

Beauty - the dictionary’s definition of beauty is, “the degree to which a person’s physical
traits are considered pleasing or beautiful.”

Physical beauty - always begins with non-physical beauty first.

Non-physical beauty - is that which can’t be measured, but it can certainly be felt. It
emanates from within. Non-physical beauty manifests through things like kindness, love,
appreciation, harmony, joy, and peace.

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08 The Sexual Self

Biological sex - is one’s assignment upon birth and is dependent on the physical features
the person has.

Gender - is an identity that is learned and embraced by the individual.

Sexual Orientation - a person's physical, romantic, and emotional attraction towards

other people.

Gender Identity - deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender.

Adolescence - when physiological changes are triggered within an individual’s reproductive

system, an adolescent is likely to experience sexual urges, become more sensitive to sexual
stimuli, and feel sexual arousal. The hormones that affect sexual desire for men are
testosterone and estrogen and progesterone for women.

Consequences of Irresponsible Sexual Choice

● Early Pregnancy
● Sexual Transmitted Diseases (STD) - usually being acquired by those who are
engaging in multiple sex partners and it's made unprotected.
○ HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) - the most alarming
sexually-transmitted disease. It is a virus that can be transmitted by anal,
oral, or vaginal sex with an infected person, as well as through breast milk,
during childbirth, and by coming into contact with the blood of an HIV
positive person.
○ AIDS - untreated, HIV can lead to AIDS, which compromises the immune
system and puts the person at risk of illness and death.

Prevention of HIV/AIDS

- There is no vaccine for HIV and no cure for AIDS—yet. But the spread of the virus
can be prevented. For people with HIV, taking antiretroviral medication. But more
importantly, using a condom during intercourse can avoid transmission.

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Key points for Responsible Sexual Behavior

● Respect for one’s body - this would mean taking care of one’s body and avoiding
activities that undermine one’s worth and respect.
● Maturity in thoughts and deeds - this would refer to being objective, rational, and
calm, instead of being swept by one’s emotions.
● Being guided by one’s personal beliefs and core values - an adolescent should
always be grounded by his personal principles and self-worth.
● Being future-oriented - instead of focusing on the present, always weigh your
actions now with possible consequences in the future. Sexual pleasure might be
overwhelming at the moment but always focus on what it will entail in the future.

Family planning - is deciding the number and spacing of your children; through the use of
contraception: such as abstinence, natural planning, or hormonal birth control.

Four Pillars of Family Planning

● Responsible Parenthood - it is the will and ability to respond to the needs and
aspirations of the family. It promotes the freedom of responsible parents to decide
on the timing and size of their families in pursuit of a better life.
● Respect for life - the 1987 Constitution protects the life of the unborn from the
moment of conception. Family Planning aims to prevent abortions thereby saving
the lives of both women and children.
● Birth Spacing - this is the proper spacing of 3 to 5 years from recent pregnancy
enabling women to recover from pregnancy and to improve their well-being, the
health of the child, and the relationship between husband and wife, and between
parents and children.
● Informed Choice - couples and individuals are fully informed on the different
modern FP methods. Couples and individuals decide and may choose the methods
that they will use based on informed choice and exercise responsible parenthood in
accordance with their religious and ethical values and cultural background, subject
to conformity with universally recognized international human rights.

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Natural Family Planning Method

- It is the method that uses the body’s natural physiological changes and symptoms to
identify the fertile and infertile phases of the menstrual cycle. Such methods are
also known as fertility-awareness methods.
● Abstinence
● Withdrawal Method (Coitus Interruptus) - one of the oldest methods of
contraception. The withdrawal method of contraception is the practice of
withdrawing the penis from the vagina and away from a woman's external genitals
before ejaculation to prevent pregnancy. This method is only 75% effective because
the pre-ejaculation fluid that contains a few spermatozoa may cause fertilization.
● Basal Body Temperature - your basal body temperature is your temperature when
you're fully at rest. Ovulation may cause a slight increase in basal body temperature.
You'll be most fertile during the two to three days before your temperature rises. By
tracking your basal body temperature each day, you may be able to predict when
you'll ovulate.
● Calendar Method (Standard Days Method/ Rhythm Method) - you track your
menstrual history to predict when you'll ovulate. This helps you determine when
you're most likely to conceive.
● Cervical mucus method - detecting ovulation from cervical mucus. You are not
● ovulating when it is dry or sticky; ovulation may be coming when it is creamy;
ovulation is very close when it is wet and watery; ovulating is when it is very wet,
stretchy and resembles a raw egg white.
● Lactation Amenorrhea method (LAM) - a natural, short-term birth control method in
which a woman relies on exclusive breastfeeding after birth to prevent pregnancy.
When a baby suckles frequently at the breast, hormones are released that interrupt
a woman's normal ovulation cycle by stopping the ovaries from releasing an egg.

Artificial Family Planning Method

● IUD (Intra-Uterine Device) - molded plastic devices which disrupts the normal
uterine environment.
● Barrier Method/ Condoms - a plastic balloon-like material that is worn over the male
organ to prevent the sperm from entering the vaginal canal. Aside from birth

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 control, condoms have the advantage of preventing AIDS and other
sexually-transmitted diseases. It is 96% effective.

Permanent Family Planning Methods

● Vasectomy for Men

● Tubal Ligation for Women

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09 The Material Self

Materialistic Self - focuses on how people maintain extensions of themselves through

material possessions and the maintenance of particular lifestyles.

In the process of acquiring material goods, people generally consider two things:

● Utility - which is concerned with how things serve a practical purpose.

● Significance - tells us the meaning assigned to the object. It is also concerned with
how objects become powerful symbols or icons of habit and ritual which can be
quite separate from their primary function.

William James' Concept of the Self

● The I-Self, which is being referred to as the thinking self, is the one reflecting the
soul of a person or the mind which is also called the pure ego. It is characterized by
intuition and being able to discern things for an individual to come up with a
particular decision.
● The Me-Self, on the other hand, is said to be the empirical self which refers to the
person’s individual experiences and is divided into subcategories: the material self,
social self and spiritual self.

The Composition of the Material Self

- The material self, according to James, is primarily about our bodies, cloth,
immediate family, and home. We are deeply affected by these things because we
have put much investment into them.
○ Body - innermost part of our material self is our body.
○ Clothes - next to our bodies are the clothes we use. Clothing is a form of
self-expression.
○ Immediate Family - third, in the hierarchy is our immediate family. Our
parents and siblings hold another great important part of ourselves. We
place huge investments in our immediate family when we see them as the
nearest replica of ourselves.

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 ○ Home - fourth component of material self is our home. Home is where our
heart is. It is the earliest nest of our selfhood. There was an old cliché about
rooms: “if only walls can speak.” The home thus is an extension of self,
because, in it, we can directly connect ourselves.
● The Bodily Self - the components of this are composed of the intimate parts of the
person that includes our body’s aspects such as physical (arms head, legs, etc),
emotional (feelings, desires, etc), psychological (intelligence, cognition, etc), and
moral (values, beliefs, etc).
● The Extended Self - It includes the people of great significance to us (family),
possessions (house, car, clothes), places that matter to us, products of our labor
(job, handworks, etc).

Wants vs Needs

● Needs - are basic requirements for you to survive, such as a cozy home, basic
clothes to wear, and daily food. They are indispensable and remain constant over
time.
● Wants - are desires that may change as time progresses. They apply to goods,
services, and inessential things often described as splurges. They are optional,
creating a demand for something that is not necessary to survive.

Barbara Kruger: “I Shop, Therefore, I Am”

- Kruger tries to imply with “I shop therefore I am” that the public is no longer defined
by what it thinks, but rather by what they own.
- Belk (1988) stated that “we regard our possessions as parts of ourselves. We are
what we have and what we possess.” There is a direct link between self-identity with
what we have and possess.

Consumption - defined as spending for the acquisition of utility. It is seen in contrast to

investing, which is spending for the acquisition of future income. Consumption means
using, buying, or eating something.

Conspicuous consumption - is buying something to show off.

Conscious consumption - is about practicing responsible buying habits.

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Psychological/ Sociological Consumption - many people have forgotten there are things
in life that can bring true and lasting happiness, such as spending time with family and/or
friends; to have “me” time; enjoying nature; to read, etc.

Consumerism - can be defined as an economic and social ideology and order that
encourages consumption or acquisition of goods/services in a never-ending cycle.

Russel Belk: “We are What We Have”

- Russel Belk (1988) posits that “…we regard our possessions as part of ourselves. We
are what we have and what we possess.”

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10 The Spiritual Self

The spiritual self - is the most intimate, inner subjective part of self – the most intimate
version of the self because of the satisfaction experienced when thinking of one‟s ability to
argue and discriminate, of one’s moral sensibility and conscience, and our unconquerable
will is purer than all other sentiments of satisfaction.

Spirituality - It refers to the meaning and purpose of one’s life, a search for wholeness,
and a relationship with a transcendent being. The sacred transcendence can be referred to
as a higher being.

Religion - It is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to
say, things set apart and forbidden – beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral
community called a Church, all those who adhere to them.

Religiosity - it is a formal attachment to the set of beliefs, values, and practices of a

particular church. It includes specific religious practices, religious proscriptions (what
should be done and avoided), and participation in a religious community.

Affinity with Nature - defined as “the ties that bind people and nature together.” It can
also mean nature connectedness, defined as “the extent to which individuals include
nature as part of their identity.”

Ecopsychology - It is concerned with “fundamental interconnections between humans and

the natural world through a phenomenological and sensorial link, and integration of
practices based on the notion that direct contact with the natural world has healing
potential.”

Ritual - is the performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by a tradition or sacred law

(Britannica 2017). Ritual is a specific, observable mode of behavior exhibited by all known
societies. It is thus possible to view ritual as a way of defining or describing humans.

Some of the World's Religions and their Beliefs and Practices

● Buddhism - Buddhist believe in the non-violence principle. It becomes a habit

known as the reactive cycle of wanting and hating, like and dislike, and craving and

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 aversion. This reactive cycle can be broken through the practice of mediation. There
are two types of meditation practices: Samatha and vipassana. Samatha is practiced
as mindfulness of breathing and development of loving- kindness (Metta Bhavana).
Vipassana practices aim at developing into reality.
● Christianity - Today's largest religion in the world, Christianity began 2,000 years
ago. Christians believe in Trinitarian God. One God in three persons: God the Father
(Creator), God the Son (Savior), and God the Holy - Spirit. Eternal life after death will
be achieved through faith in Jesus Christ.
● Hinduism - The oldest religion in the world. Hindus believe that existence is a cycle
of birth, death, and rebirth, governed by Karma. Karma is a concept where the
reincarnated life will depend on how the past life was spent.
● Islam - is a monotheistic religion and it follows the teaching of the prophet
Muhammad. Muslims believe in Allah, who is their "One God." They believed in the
unity and universality of God.
● Judaism - The Jews believe in the God of Abraham.

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11 The Political Self

Politics

- is concerned with power. The one who holds the power holds much influence.
- Politics is about contexts.The nature of politics and political system is dependent on
the culture of the state.
- Aristotle believed that man was a "political animal" because he is a social creature
with the power of speech and moral reasoning.
- Political self is a result of various personal and environmental factors that impact
the individual.
- It makes an individual explore the political mindset of integration, interconnection,
interaction and interrelatedness/ interdependence to another individual or society.
- Our political identity doesn't begin at the age of voting.
- Citizenship denotes membership in a political society.

Rights & Duties of a Filipino Citizen

Duties

•Pay taxes

•Honor the Philippine Flag

•Respect the duly constituted authorities

•Defend the state and contribute to the development

•Be loyaI to the Republic of the Philippines

Acquiring Philippine Citizenship

● Jus Sanguinis (right by blood)

- either one of the parents is a Filipino
● Jus soli(right of soil)
- person's nationality at birth is determined by the place of birth

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 ● Naturalization
- judiciary act of adopting a foreigner and clothing him with the privileges of a
native-born citizen,

Active citizenship

- structured forms of engagement with political processes and everyday forms of

participation in society
- means people getting involved in their local communities from towns to cities to
nationwide activity.

Concepts of Active Citizenship

- anchored on our cognitive and behavioral engagement to participate in formal and

informal political activity
- active citizenship enables democracy
- active citizenships is a social construct; the society creates the norm
- active citizenship is also associated with a sense of community.

Benefits of engaging in active citizenship

- make a significant impact on the society or positive youth development

- make adolescents aware of issues, challenges and concerns that plague
communities and states
- enhance the efficacy and competence of the young generation, as they are
considered to be "future leaders"
- enhance their value orientation and foster integrity, compassion and a sense of
justice

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12 The Digital Self

Digital Self - according to Hill (2018), our digital self can become our vivid representation of
our wants, needs, motivation and insecurities.

Three Elements of the Digital Self

● Your online behavior - the number of times you update your status on social media
● Your online voice - the conversations you do with other people on your social media
account
● Your online presentation - how you create a social media profile to present yourself

Digital Natives - refers to the individuals who were born after the widespread adoption of
digital technology.

Individuals who have grown up using technology

● Millennial Generation (1981-1996)
● Generation Z (1996-2020)
● Generation Alpha (2021-2025)

Digital Immigrants - who were born before the widespread use of digital technology.
These are individuals who were born before the Millennial generation.

Digital Identity - some people maintain one or more online identities that are somehow
distinct from their real selves; others have a single online self that’s more or less the same
as the one they inhabit in the real world.

Digital Citizenship: General Principles of Digital Citizenship

● Respecting Oneself & Others
● Educating Oneself & Others
● Protecting Oneself & Others

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 Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship

Respect Educate Protect

Digital Access Digital Commerce Digital Rights and

Responsibilities

Digital Etiquette Digital Communication Digital Health and Wellness

Digital Law Digital Literacy Digital Security

Digital Access - full electronic participation in society

Digital Etiquette - electronic standards of conduct or procedure
Digital Law - electronic responsibility for actions and deeds
Digital Commerce - electronic buying and selling of goods
Digital Communication - electronic exchange of information
Digital Literacy - teaching and learning about technology and its use
Digital Rights and Responsibilities - those freedoms extended to everyone in a digital
world
Digital Health and Wellness - physical and psychological well-being in a digital world
Digital Security - electronic precautions to guarantee safety

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13 Self Regulated Learning

Self Regulated Learning - is how students regulate their own emotions, cognition,
behavior, aspects of the context during a learning experience. It requires some degree of
choice or intentional selection of strategies to help you achieve a goal or behavior.

The Cycle of Self Regulated Learning

The Mindset Theory

- A psychologist on the faculty of Stanford University, Carol S. Dweck, proposed

mindset theory as a way to understand the effects of the beliefs that individuals
hold for the nature of intelligence. This in turn has implications for learning and
education.
● Fixed Mindset - intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we
can’t change in any meaningful way. Striving for success and avoiding failure
at all costs become a way of maintaining the sense of being smart or skilled.
● Growth Mindset - thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of
unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching
our existing abilities.

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Importance of Goals

- Goals are the aims of an action.

- Goal setting is the process of achieving these goals. It motivates a person to develop
strategies that enable him or her to perform at the required goal level.

Goal Setting Theory

- Dr. Edwin Lock pioneered goal setting theory; it states that there is a relationship
between how difficult and specific a goal was and the people’s performance task.
- Setting goals must be; SMART.
● Specific - goals should be simple, clear, and well-defined.
● Measurable - this means having a way or manner of measuring or tracking
one’s progress towards accomplishing a goal.
● Attainable - this is described as setting goals that are achievable or that can
be accomplished within a certain period of time.
● Relevant - it is necessary that when setting goals, one must also identify the
importance of why the task or goal is being accomplished.
● Time-bound - goals should be set with a clearly defined timeline or plan as to
when a task or goal must be accomplished.

John Locke’s Five Principles of Goal Setting

● Clarity - when a goal is clear and specific, there is less misunderstanding about what
behaviors will be rewarded.
● Challenge - people work often motivated by a goal. A goal that is too easy or too
difficult will not motivate the person to work hard on a task.
● Commitment - a personally relevant goal will motivate a person to work on
accomplishing a goal. The harder the gaol, the more commitment is required.
● Feedback - feedback provides opportunities to clarify expectations, adjust goal
difficulty, and gain recognition.
● Considering Task Complexity - take special care to ensure that work doesn’t become
too overwhelming when goals or assignments are highly complex. People who work
in complicated and demanding roles can often push themselves too hard if they
don’t take account of the complexity of the task.

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Theories of Learning

● Self Efficacy Theory - refers to your belief in your capacity to perform necessary
actions to product-specific performance goals. It is the reflection of your confidence
in the ability to exert control over your own motivation, behavior, and social
environment.
● Human Agency - an underlying principle in learning. People are not merely products
of inner forces or environments; they are self-regulating and proactive.
● Surface Learning - leads to mere absorption of facts, rote memorization, extrinsic
motivation, focus on structured curricula and assessment that does not allow for
autonomous learning.
● Deep Learning - strategies result in knowledge construction, making meaningful
connections, use of higher cognitive skills, enhance intrinsic motivation, better
metacognition, and foster discovery learning.

Surface Learning vs Deep Learning

Surface Learning Deep Learning

Learning as reproduction Learning as understanding

Goal: to produce evidence of learning Goal: to learn for life

Focuses on unrelated details Focuses on entities and connections

New information is simply memorized Relates new and previous knowledge

Concepts and facts accepted unreflectively Uses reflection to relate theory with
experience

Aims to pass (or perform) Creates understanding, meaning and new

ideas

Leads to external engagement in schooling Leads to internal engagement in learning

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14 Self Care & Stressors

Taking care of the self - understanding one’s self is not enough, the essence of it comes to
the part where you take charge and take care of yourself. In totality, all of which is part of
understanding one’s self plays a big part in one’s health.

Self Care - self-care is defined as engaging in activities and behaviors that have a positive
effect on one’s mental and physical health (Greene, 2017).

Five Domains to Ensure Self-Care

1.) Physical self care - Physical self-care includes eating healthy, having some physical
activities, grooming, and minding some physical health issues that may need medical
attention.

2.) Social self care - Socialization is key to self-care. Close connections are important to
your well-being. The best way to cultivate and maintain close relationships is to put time
and energy into building relationships with others.

3.) Mental self care - The way you think and the things that you're filling your mind with
greatly influence your psychological well-being. Mental self-care includes doing things that
keep your mind sharp, like puzzles, or learning about a subject that fascinates you. You
might find reading books or watching movies that inspire you to fuel your mind. Mental
self-care also involves doing things that help you stay mentally healthy. Practicing
self-compassion and acceptance, for example, helps you maintain a healthier inner
dialogue.

4.) Spiritual self care - involve anything that helps you develop a deeper sense of meaning,
understanding, or connection with the universe. Whether you enjoy meditation, attending a
religious service, or praying

5.) Emotional self care - may include activities that help you acknowledge and express your
feelings on a regular basis. Whether you talk to a partner or close friend about how you
feel, or you set aside time for leisure activities that help you process your emotions, it's
important to incorporate emotional self-care into your life.

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Stressors and Response

Stress - Stress is a response experienced when a person encounters a threatening

situation. A stressor is a stimulus that causes stress. When the person feels stressed, the
body experiences a collection of changes known as a stress response or fight-or-flight
response. It is a collection of physiological changes that occur when the person encounters
a perceived threat or situations where the person feels the demands outweigh his or her
resources to cope successfully.

- In general, stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from

adverse or very demanding circumstances. It is a mental and physical response to the
demands of your environment (i.e., at home, school, work, etc.). it is normal to feel
stressed. It is a universal, human experience. What is more important is how you respond
to stress.

- Not all stress is bad. In fact, stress is good for human beings (to some degree) to maintain
overall good health. The human body may tend toward a relatively stable equilibrium,
especially those maintained by physiological processes, yet it also requires stimulation to
ensure optimal functioning of the organs and tissues, such as the heart and muscles.

Stress tolerance - it refers to the ability of an individual to endure stress. An individual's

stress tolerance is dependent on his or her psychological constitution, thus, everyone
reacts differently to stress.

Three Kinds of Stress

● Eustress
○ Considered as good stress
○ A result from a situation or activity that you find motivating or inspiring
○ Enjoyable and not threatening activity
● Neustress
○ “Neutral” stress
○ A sensory stimulus that has no direct consequences or effect on the person
○ A situation or activity that you do not find threatening yet not enjoyable.
● Distress

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 ○ Situations or activities that you consider negative, harmful, threatening
○ It could happen for just a short span of time or it could linger for prolonged
periods (hours, days, months, years)

Stressors - Any situation, activity, or individual that gives you mental or emotional strain.

Types of Stress

1.) Acute Stress - is a type of stress that comes quickly and unexpectedly but requires a
response. For instance, an exam that you do not feel adequately prepared for.
2.) Chronic Stress - is a type of stress that tends to occur on a regular basis. It may
leave the person feeling drained and can lead to burnout if not managed.
3.) Burnout - is a result of the prolonged chronic stress in situations that leave people
with a feeling of lack of control over their lives.

10 ways to reduce stress

● keep a notebook or journal

● slow down
● get more exercise
● eat a healthy diet
● make time for relaxation
● have strong connection with people
● get good quality of sleep
● leave work at work
● be thankful for what you have
● get professional help

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