The Self in Western and
Eastern Thought
CULTURE: SOME DEFINITIONS
• It refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge,
experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings,
hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial
relations, concepts of the universe, and material
objects and possessions acquired by group of people
in the course of generations through individual and
group striving.
CULTURE: SOME DEFINITIONS
• Consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior
acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the
distinctive achievement of human groups, including their
embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture
consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached
values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered
as products of action, on the other hand, as conditioning
influences upon further action.
CULTURE: SOME DEFINITIONS
•It is the sum total of the learned behavior of a
group of people that are generally considered to
be the tradition of that people and are
transmitted from generation to generation
CULTURE: SOME DEFINITIONS
•In its broadest sense, it is cultivated behavior;
that is the totality of a person’s learned,
accumulated experience which is socially
transmitted, or more briefly, behavior through
social learning.
CULTURE: SOME DEFINITIONS
•It is symbolic communication. Ome of its
symbols include a group’s skills, knowledge,
attitudes, values and motives. The meanings of
the symbols are learned and deliberately
perpetuated in a society through its institutions.
CULTURE: SOME DEFINITIONS
•.
• Defined broadly, culture includes all the things
individuals learn while growing up among
particular group: attitudes, standards of
morality, rules of etiquette, perceptions of reality,
language, notions about the proper way to live,
beliefs about how females and males interact,
ideas about how the world works and so forth.
This is cultural knowledge.
INTRODUCTION:
•Different cultures and varying
environments tend to create
different perceptions of the
“self”
INTRODUCTION:
• Classic case is the Eastern vs Western dichotomy wherein eastern
represents Asia and western represents Europe and North America
• While countries that that are closer to each other geographically may
share commonalities, there are also a lot of factors that create
differences
• In the Philippines, each region may have similar or varying perception
regarding the “self”
There are actually a lot of sources in which one can
analyze the perspective of each culture and country about the
concept of “self”.
It can be seen in their literature like how one culture
depicts a hero or a villain in their stories.
It can also be in their social organization like how they see
their boss or their subordinate. Art works, dances, even
clothing may also show the clues about the “self”.
For the purposes of this lesson
however, we will look at religious
beliefs and political philosophies that
greatly influenced the mindset of each
nation or culture.
First is Confucianism
• Can be seen as a code of ethical conduct, of how one should
properly act according to their relationship with other people.
• Also focused on having a harmonious social life.
• Identity and self-concept therefore of the individual is
interwoven with the identity and status of his/her community or
culture, sharing its pride as well as its failures.
• Self-cultivation is seen as the ultimate purpose of life but the
characteristics of chun-tzu, a man of virtue or noble character, is
still embedded in his/ her social relationships
Cultivated Self
- Also called by the scholars as the “SUBDUED
SELF”
- Personal needs are repressed (subdued) for
the good of many
- Making Confucian society as hierarchal for
the purpose of maintaining order and
balance in society
Second is Taoism
• Is living in the way of the Tao or the universe.
• Taoism rejects the hierarchy and strictness brought by Confucianism
and would prefer a simple. Thus, its teachings aim to describe how to
attain that life.
• The ideal self is selflessness but this is not forgetting about the self, it
is living a balanced-life with society and nature, being open and
accepting to change, forgetting about the prejudices and egocentric
ideas and thinking about equality as well as complementarity among
humans as well as other beings.
Third is Buddhism
• The self is seen as an illusion, born out of ignorance, of trying to hold
and control things, or human-centered needs, thus the self is also the
source of all these suffering.
• Forget about the self, forget the cravings of the self, break the
attachments you have with the world.
• To renounce the self which is the cause of all suffering and in doing so
attain the state of Nirvana.
• The self, with all its connections and selfish ideas, is totally taken, not
just out of the center of the picture, but out of the whole picture as a
whole.
The self or the individual is not the focus of the mentioned
Asian or Eastern philosophies or belief. Even with extended
discussions about how the self should work, Confucianism and
Taoism still situates the self within a bigger context.
The person, in striving to a better person, does not create a
self above other people or nature but a self that is beneficial to
his/her community as well as in order and in harmony with
everything else.
Western perspective
• “Individualistic culture” since their focus is on the person.
• Does not discount the role of environment and society in the formation of
the self but the focus is always looking towards the self.
• You compare yourself in order to be better; you create associations and
bask in the glory of that group for your self-esteem; you put primacy in
developing yourself.
• Looks at the world in dualities wherein you are distinct from the other
person, the creator is separate from the object s/he created, in which the
self is distinguished and acknowledge.
Western perspective
• Westerners may seem to have loose associations or even loyalty to their
groups.
• Also emphasize more on the value of equality even if they see that the
individual can rise above everything else. Because everyone is on their own
in the competition, one can say that they also promote ideals that create a
“fair” competition and protect the individual.
Eastern perspective
• “Collectivistic culture” as the group and social relations is given more
importance than individual needs and wants.
• Sees the other person as part of yourself as well as the things you may
create, a drama in which everyone is interconnected with their specific
roles.
• Look after the welfare of their groups and values cooperation. Also be more
compromising and they tend to go around the bush in explaining things,
hoping that the other person would “feel” what they really want to say.
Eastern perspective
• Asians, with their collective regard, puts more emphasis on hierarchy – as
the culture wants to keep things in harmony and in order.
Example:
Westerners would most likely call their boss, parents, or other seniors
by their first name. The boss can also be approached head-on when
conflicts or problems about him/her arises.
Easterners we have respectful terms for our seniors and a lot of
workers would not dare go against the high ranking officials.
Several studies showed that Americans, for example, talk more
about their personal attributes when describing themselves while
Asians in general would talk about their social roles or the social
situations that invoked certain traits that they deem positive for
their self (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011, 618).
Evaluation of the self also differs as Americans would highlight
their personal achievements while Asians would rather keep a low
profile as promoting the self can be seen as boastfulness that
disrupts social relationships (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011,
618).
