Student-s-Copy-SOCIOLOGICAL-PERSPECTIVE-The-Self-from-Various-Perspective.pdf

Understanding the self

1. THE SELF, SOCIETY, &
CULTURE
CHAPTER 2: SOCIOLOGY
THE SELF, SOCIETY, &
CULTURE

3. The self, as a social being, is influenced by one’s
culture.
As products of it, we mirror the values, traditions,
and beliefs that out society holds dear.
THE
SOCIOLOGICAL
VIEW OF THE
SELF

4. THE SELF AND CULTURE
How influential is culture to your
self-understanding?

5. The Self as Embedded in Culture
Founder of cultural anthropology
Classically defined culture as
“that complex whole which
includes knowledge, beliefs, arts,
morals, law, customs, and any
other capabilities and habits
acquired by [a human] as a
member of society
EDWARD B. TAYLOREDWARD B. TAYLOR

6. ANTHROPOLOGYANTHROPOLOGY
Is the inclusive study of the human race, its
culture and society, and its physical
development
The physical development of man is
significant in humanity’s self-understanding.
As we grow up, we adjust ourselves and our
culture to where it could be beneficial to us.
Man created culture on his own, altered it,
and will always have the power to change it
as he deems it fit.
Understanding man in light of its cultural
context.
Scientific study of human life, social
groups, whole societies and the
human world whose subject matter is
our own behavior as social beings in a
relationship with many other people.
Digs into understanding the self in
reference to the behavior of the
society.
SOCIOLOGYSOCIOLOGY
NORMS are what dictate our behavior in the society.

7. Culture is the meeting point of anthropology and sociology in our
self-understanding, digging deep into how we see ourselves, in light
of the diverse cultural influences.
In the early stages of our socialization, primarily with our immediate
family, we were familiarized with the ‘ought and ought not’ of our
very small world then.
As we get older, and as we discover much of the world around us,
we realize the complexities of our culture, as our decisions should
mirror the very foundations of our culture.
Culture has become an integral and an inescapable part of our
humanity.

8. Made up of all the ideas, beliefs, behaviors, and products common to,
and defining a group’s way of life.
Group’s way of living, our actions then as part of the group are
supposed to be understood based on our cultural context.
CULTURECULTURE
2 COMPONENTS
Material Culture Non-material Culture

9. Consists of human technology—all the things that people make
and use.
Everything that we see, from clocks, kitchen utensils, nipa huts,
to gym equipment, and clothes are part of our material culture.
The physical manifestation of the culture itself.
The goods we buy, and the products we use.
MATERIAL CULTUREMATERIAL CULTURE
Pinoy Material Culture

10. What material culture
has influenced you
so much?

11. Inclusive of intangible human creations that include beliefs,
values, norms and symbols.
Help shapes our perspective of the society, of ourselves, and
even of the material world.
Components: Gestures, Language, Values, Norms, Sanctions,
Folkways
NON-MATERIAL CULTURENON-MATERIAL CULTURE

12. The more we get to know our culture, the more we become aware
of how we were influenced by it.
Similarly, the more we get to know people from other cultures, the
more we are surprised at how different they are, not only in the
way they look, or in their language, but more so, in how they view
themselves as individuals and members of the social group.
Our social self can be traced from how we were raised in our
society, inclusive of its beliefs, traditions, ideas, perspective, and the
changes that comes with it.
We can never understand the self apart from the culture since it is
the very personality of the society. In fact, our social personality is a
reflection of culture itself.
Take note:

13. What is the SELF?
• According to Marcel Mauss, every self has two faces:
MOI refers to a person’s sense of who he is, his
body, and his basic identity, his biological givenness.
1.
2. PERSONNE is composed of the social concepts of
what is means to be who he is.
It has much to do with what it means to live in a
particular institution, a particular family, a particular
religion, a particular nationality, and how to behave
given expectations and influences from others.
If a self is born into a particular society or culture,
the self will have to adjust according to its exposure.

14. Consider a boy named Jon. Jon is a math professor at a Catholic
university for more than a decade now. Jon has a beautiful wife whom
he met in college, Joan. Joan was Jon’s first and last girlfriend. Apart
from being a husband, Jon is also blessed with two kids, a son and a
daughter. He also sometimes serves in the church too as a lector and a
commentator.
As a man of different roles, one can expect Jon to change and adjust his
behaviors, ways and even language depending on his social situation. When
Jon is in the university, he conducts himself in a matter that benefits his
title as a professor. As a husband, Jon can be intimate and touchy. Joan
considers him sweet, something that his students will never conceive
him to be. His kids fear him. As a father, Jon can be very serious. As a
lector and commentator, on the other hand, his church mates knew him
as a guy who is calm, all-smiles, and always ready to lend a helping hand
to anyone in need.
Case of Jon

15. We play different roles, act in different ways depending on our
circumstances.
Are we being hypocrital in doing so? Are we even conscious of our
shifting selves?
According to what we have so far, this is
not only normal but it also is acceptable
and expected.
The self is capable of morphing and
fitting itself into any circumstances
it finds itself in.
Insights about the case of Jon:

16. What is the SELF?
In contemporary literature, self is commonly defined by the ff. characteristics:
SEPARATE - means that self is distinct
from other selves. The self is always
unique and has its own identity.
SELF-CONTAINED & INDEPENDENT -
it can exist in itself. Its distinctness
allows it to be self-contained with its
own thoughts, characteristics, and
volition. It does not require any other
self for it to exist.
CONSISTENCY - means that particular
self’s traits, characteristics, tendencies,
and potentialities are more or less the
same.
UNITARY - means that it is the center of
all experiences and thoughts that run
through a certain person.
PRIVATE - means that each person sorts
out information, feelings, and emotions,
and thought processes within the self.
This whole process is never accessible to
anyone but the self.

17. SELF in FAMILIES

18. The basic unit of society.
It serves important functions that are integral in the development
of humankind.
How you were cared for by your family makes a significant mark in
your self. It affects how you function, behave, and relate with other
people.
FUNCTIONS:
1. Procreation
2. Economic Provision
3. Love
4. Socialization
5. Sense of Security
FAMILYFAMILY

19. While adolescent like you is kept busy discovering the self,
growing, being independent, and expanding your own world, you
will still need a “secure-base”, a safe place where you can draw
support, comfort and reassurance especially when life becomes
challenging.
A family is expected to be able to
provide that kind of emotional
environment.
FAMILY

20. The kind of family that we are born in, the sources available to us
(human, spiritual, economic), and the kind of development that we
will have will certainly affect us.
Human beings are born virtually helpless and the dependency period
of a human baby to its parents for nurturing is relatively longer
than the most other animals.
In trying to achieve the goal of becoming a fully realized human, a
child enters a system of relationships, most important of which is the
family.
Human persons learn the ways of living and therefore their
selfhood by being in a family. It is what a family initiates a person to
become that serves as the basis for this person’s progress.
FAMILY

21. STRUCTURESSTRUCTURES
NUCLEAR FAMILY - This is the traditional type. Two parents and
their children are living together as one.

EXTENDED FAMILY - Aside from the two parents and children, the
family is joined in by relatives who live with them, like grandparents,
cousins or aunties/uncles.
FAMILY W/ WORKING PARENTS
SINGLE PARENT FAMILY
BLENDED FAMILY
CHILDLESS FAMILY
SPECIAL FAMILY

22. PARENTING STYLES
AUTHORITARIAN11.. AUTHORITARIAN1.
Impose rules and expect obedience
“Don’t interrupt.”
“Keep your room clean.” “Don’t stay out late or you’ll be grounded.”
“Why? Because I said so.”
Their children are more likely to have less social skills and low self-
esteem.

23. PARENTING STYLES
2. PERMISSIVE2. PERMISSIVE
Submit to their children’s desire. They make few demands and use
little punishment.
Their children tend to be more aggressive and more immature.

24. 3. AUTHORITATIVE3. AUTHORITATIVE
Both demanding and responsive.
They exert control by setting rules and enforcing them, but they
also explain the reasons for rules. Especially with older children,
they encourage open discussion when making the rules and allow
exceptions.
Their children tend to have highest self esteem, self reliance and
social competence.
PARENTING STYLES

25. GENDER AND
THE SELF

26. Gender is one of those loci of the self that is subject to alteration,
change, and development.
The sense of self that is being taught makes sure that an individual
fits in a particular environment, is dangerous and detrimental in the
goal of truly finding one’s self, self-determination, and growth of the
self.
It is important to give one the freedom to find, express, and live his
identity.
Gender has to be personally discovered and asserted and not
dictated by culture and society.

27. TO SUM UP...
• Our selves are truly products of our
interaction with the external reality.
• How much of you are essential?
• How much of you are now a product of
your society, culture, community, and
family?
• Has your choice of school affected
yourself now?