The Western and Eastern Concepts of Self

THE WESTERN AND EASTERN CONCEPTS OF 3.
Western Self as Individualistic

SELF
 Western individualism exhibits the
“One of the most effective ways to learn about coexistence of favorable and unfavorable
oneself is by taking seriously the cultures of conditions inherent in personal freedom
others. It forces you to pay attention to those
4. Western Self as Materialistic and
details of life which differentiate them from you.”
Rationalistic
- Edward T. Hall
 The Western way of thinking is focused on
WESTERN CONCEPT OF SELF
material “things” and favors a rational-
 Geertz (van Meijl, 2008) defines the Western empirical approach over magical approach
concept of Self as “a bounded, unique, more and superstitious explanations of immaterial
or less integrated motivational and cognitive “things”.
universe, a dynamic center of awareness,
THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE
emotion, judgment, and action organized
WESTERN CONCEPT OF SELF
into a distinctive whole and set contrastively
both against other such wholes and against 1. Pre-Christian time until 1850
its social and natural background.
 There were philosophical and theological
attempts to characterize the self through the
WESTERN CONCEPT OF SELF IS HOLISTICALLY concepts of soul and mind with emphasis on
DEFINED IN TERMS OF THE FOLLOWING conscious experience of the individual,
ASPECTS: distinction between physical and mental
nature of man (mind-body dualism), and
1. Western Self as Analytic
thee causality of human behavior.
 The western of thinking is analytic-deductive
2. 1850 -1940
with emphasis on the casual link (part-to-
whole relationships)  The establishment of experiment psychology
in mid-nineteenth century led to a change in
 The whole is understood when
emphasis from abstract concepts of soul and
differentiated into parts.
mind to observable and measurable aspect
 One must categorize and make distinctions of human faculties.
to pursue cause.
 The concept of self-re-emerged within the
2. Western Self as Monotheistic social interactionist framework in the early
1900s
 The belief in one Supreme Being coexisting
with the universe condenses the 3. 1940-present
supernatural and human capabilities into
 There is a multi-directional and continuous
bipolarity of qualities of existence (.eg.
development of concept of self:
Beautiful/ugly: kind/cruel)
 And categories of identity and existence. a. Sociological and psychological theories of
self encompass all three levels of self,
namely inner self, interpersonal self and
social self.
b. Existentialist and phenomenologist, Sociology
both in philosophy and psychology,
 The scientific study of human life, social
engaged in holistic approach integrating
groups, while societies and the human world
the inner, interpersonal, and social
whose subject matter is our own behaviour
aspects of self.
as social beings in relationship with many
c. At present, there is convergence in some other people (Giddens, A. & Sutton,
conceptualizations of the self among P.W.,2016).
psychologists, anthropologist,
CULTURE
sociologists, philosophers, and linguist
whose studies focus on the actual,  Anthropology
multivariate and situational contest of
the self-employing new frameworks and - Understanding man in its cultural context.
methodologies.  Sociology
EASTERN CONCEPT OF SELF - Digs into understanding the self in reference to
 Philosophy and religion are twisted together, the behaviour of the society.
thus the major Eastern religion such as MATERIAL CULTURE
Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and
Taoism are also the common representatives  Consist of human technology – all the things
of Eastern thought. that people make and use
 It changes from time to time. The fluidity of
 Eastern thought is described as pluralistic the culture can be ascribed to mans’ distinct
(Garcia ,2013) ability to create, transform, and re-create
THE SELF IN FOUR GREAT SYSTEMS OF EASTERN culture itself.
THOUGHT  The evolution of the material culture can be
attributed to the technological advances
What is the importance of our culture? that humanity was able to make.
 Culture sets the cultural standards of our
NON – MATERIAL CULTURE
community.
 inclusive of the intangible human creations
NORMS – dictates our behavior in the society.
that include, beliefs, values, norms, and
 Culture is made up of all the ideas, beliefs, symbols.
behaviors, and products common to defining  non- material culture helps in shaping our
a group’s way of life (Stolley, 2005). perspective of the society, of ourselves and
 All human beings have these diverse cultures even of the material world.
and it contributes on how we were raised in  non-material culture could also manifest in
the society and affects the way we see the material culture of people.
things.  material culture changes overtime, non-
material culture may or may not change
Anthropology
depending on outside factors in the society.
 Is the study of human race, it’s culture and
society, and its physical development?
 Deals on the origin of humanity and the
development of its society and culture.

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THE WESTERN AND EASTERN CONCEPTS OF 3.

Western Self as Individualistic

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