Self vs Identity: The Foundation

Think of self as your inner "who am I?" - it's shaped by both your genes (nature) and your experiences (nurture). Your personality has four key parts: physical (your body), social (how you interact), sociological (your cultural background, like being Filipino), and mental (your psychology).

Identity is different - it's your "social face" or how others see you. It has accidental properties (things that can change, like your hairstyle) and essential properties (core traits that make you uniquely you).

There are four versions of yourself to understand: your real self (the authentic you), your self-image (how you present yourself), your looking glass self (how society sees you), and your ideal self (who you want to become). These different versions help explain why you might act differently in various situations.

Key Insight: Your self is like a multifaceted diamond - different angles show different aspects, but it's all one precious stone.

Ancient Greek Wisdom: Know Thyself

Socrates gave us the famous advice "know thyself" - basically, you can't live a meaningful life without understanding who you are. He believed your soul is immortal and that virtue leads to happiness. His Socratic Method of asking questions to find truth is still used in classrooms today.

Plato took this further, saying your soul has three parts: the rational soul (your thinking mind), spiritual soul (your emotions), and appetitive soul (your basic needs like hunger). He believed genuine happiness comes when your reason controls your emotions and desires.

For Plato, there are two realms - the physical world (your body, which is changeable) and the ideal realm (your soul, which is eternal). This explains why you might feel torn between what your body wants and what your mind knows is right.

Remember: Ancient Greeks saw the soul as the most important part of you - your body is temporary, but your soul defines who you really are.

Medieval and Renaissance Thinkers

Aristotle disagreed with his teacher Plato - he said body and soul aren't separate but work as one unit. Without your body, your soul can't exist. He identified three types of souls: vegetative (growth, like plants), sentient (feelings, like animals), and rational (thinking, which makes humans unique).

St. Augustine blended Christian beliefs with philosophy, saying we're made in God's image. He believed self-knowledge comes from knowing God - the truth lives within us, and we discover it through spiritual understanding.

St. Thomas Aquinas argued that we learn about ourselves through our experiences with the world around us. Unlike some philosophers who thought the mind was "always on," he believed our self-awareness develops through interacting with our environment.

René Descartes, the "Father of Modern Philosophy," gave us "I think, therefore I am." He used doubt as a tool - by questioning everything, he proved that the act of thinking proves you exist. He saw the mind (cogito) and body (extenza) as separate entities.

Fun Fact: Descartes' method of doubting everything to find truth is like being a detective of your own existence!

Enlightenment and Modern Views

John Locke believed "the self is consciousness" - your memories create continuity and make you the same person over time. He famously said babies are born with minds like blank slates (tabula rasa), learning everything through experience.

David Hume challenged everyone by saying "there is no lasting self" - you're just a bundle of perceptions flowing rapidly through your mind. What you think is your "self" is actually just your imagination connecting these fleeting experiences.

Immanuel Kant countered that "we construct the self" - your mind actively organizes experiences into a coherent sense of self. He divided this into your inner self (thoughts, feelings, moods) and outer self (gathering information through your senses).

These philosophers show how our understanding of selfhood evolved from ancient soul-based ideas to modern psychological concepts. Each perspective offers valuable insights into the complex question of what makes you "you."

Think About It: If you're just a collection of memories and perceptions, what happens to your sense of self when you forget things or have new experiences?

Psychological Foundations

Sigmund Freud, the "Father of Psychoanalysis," revolutionized how we think about the self. He identified three levels of consciousness (conscious, preconscious, unconscious) and three parts of your psyche: Id $pleasure-seeking$, Ego $reality-based$, and Superego (moral conscience).

Gilbert Ryle rejected the mind-body separation, arguing "the self is the way people behave." Instead of "I think, therefore I am," he'd say "I act, therefore I am." Your self isn't hidden inside you - it's visible in everything you do.

George Mead developed the social self theory - you're not born with a self, but develop one through social interactions. He identified two sides: the "Me" (learned behaviors from society) and the "I" (your spontaneous, unsocialized responses).

Paul Churchland takes a purely scientific approach: "the self is the brain." No brain, no self. Meanwhile, Maurice Merleau-Ponty argues the self is embodied subjectively - the mind-body split is pointless because they're inseparably connected.

Reality Check: Modern psychology shows that your sense of self comes from complex interactions between biology, psychology, and social experiences.

Self, Society, and Culture

Society shapes who you are through different sociological perspectives. Structural functionalism shows how institutions like family, school, and church have both obvious functions (manifest) and hidden ones (latent) - like how teachers don't just educate but also care for students.

Conflict theory explains tensions when different groups compete for limited resources, leading to class conflicts and social divisions. Symbolic interactionism focuses on how we communicate through symbols and seek social validation to boost our self-esteem.

Your self-schema is a flexible mental framework including your hobbies, religion, nationality, and family background. This cognitive construct is controlled by your frontal lobe and constantly develops through experiences.

You actually have multiple selves that vary across different relationships, but also a unified self - your core personality that emerges when you're alone or with people you completely trust. Understanding this helps explain why you might act differently with friends versus family.

Cultural Connection: As a Filipino student, your sociological self includes values like family closeness, respect for elders, and community spirit that shape your identity.

Freud's Psychosexual Development

Freud believed your personality develops through five critical phases where sexual energy (libido) focuses on different body parts. Problems during these stages can create lifelong patterns or "fixations."

The oral stage $0-18 months$ centers on the mouth - if needs aren't met, you might develop habits like nail-biting or smoking. The anal stage $18 months-3 years$ focuses on control and cleanliness - overly strict toilet training can make you either obsessively neat or messy.

During the phallic stage $3-6 years$, children become curious about sexuality and need proper guidance about gender identity. The latency stage $6 years-puberty$ is calm - libido rests while you develop skills and talents.

The genital stage $post-puberty$ brings back sexual energy, focusing on mature relationships. If earlier stages went well, you'll have a balanced personality and healthy relationships. If not, you might struggle with various fixations or immature behaviors.

Important Note: While Freud's theories are controversial today, they highlight how early childhood experiences significantly impact adult personality development.

Piaget's Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget showed how your thinking abilities develop in four distinct stages. During the sensorimotor stage $0-2 years$, you learn through your senses and discover that objects exist even when you can't see them (object permanence).

The preoperational stage $2-7 years$ brings language and symbolic thinking, but you're still egocentric - seeing the world only from your own perspective. You can't yet understand that others have different viewpoints.

In the concrete operational stage $7-11 years$, logical thinking develops but only about concrete, real things. You understand conservation (that amount stays the same even if appearance changes) and can see other perspectives.

Finally, the formal operational stage $11+ years$ allows abstract thinking, hypothetical reasoning, and problem-solving. You can now think about thinking itself and consider multiple possibilities for any situation.

Study Tip: Understanding these stages helps explain why younger siblings might seem "selfish" - they're not being mean, their brains just haven't developed the ability to see other viewpoints yet!