Palope, Clarina Apilado

Physical self
"Man is a transitional being? This body is a bridge." (Sri Arubindo).

Physical Self refers to the body, this marvelous container and complex, finely tuned,
machine with which we interface with our environment and fellow beings. The Physical Self
is the concrete dimension, the tangible aspect of the person that can be directly observed and
examined.
William James considered body as the initial source of sensation and necessary for the
origin and maintenance of personality. He considered body subservient to the mind, for e.g.,
mental concentration can be so tightly focused as not only to banish ordinary sensations,
but even the severest pain (James, 1890, Vol. 1, p.49). A simple example could be the
numerous reports of soldiers in the battle or a boxer in the ring who suffer severe wounds
but do not notice them until the intensity of the fighting abates. For James the body is an
expressive tool of indwelling consciousness and good physical health is something that wells
up from every part of the body of a muscularly well-trained human being, and soaks the
indwelling soul in him with satisfaction. It is an element of spiritual hygiene of supreme
significance (James, 1899. p. 103).
For Erik Erikson, experience is anchored in the ground-plan of body (Erikson, 1963).
According to him the role of bodily organs is especially important in early developmental
stages of a person’s life. Later in life, the development of physical as well as intellectual skills
help determine whether the individual will achieve a sense of competence and ability to
choose demanding roles in a complex society. For example, healthy children derive a sense
of competence as their bodies become larger, stronger, faster and more capable of learning
complex skills. However, as a stage theorist, Erikson is aware of the constant interaction of
the body, psychological processes and social forces. He acknowledges the classical Freudian
view of fundamental biological drives but insists that these drives are socially modifiable.
Carl Gustav Jung in his exposition to Analytical Psychology didn't deal explicitly with
the role of the body and choose to direct his efforts to analyzing the psyche only. He has
argued that physical processes are relevant to us only to the extent they are represented in
the psyche. The physical body and the external world can be known only as psychological
experiences: I'm chiefly concerned with the psyche itself, therefore I'm leaving out body and
spirit. The body and spirit are to me mere aspects of the reality of the psyche. Psychic
experience is the only immediate experience. Body is as metaphysical as the spirit. (Jung,
1973).
B. F. Skinner was a staunch behaviorist and for him the role of body is of primary
importance. For Skinner the terms personality and self are mere explanatory fictions and all
there is, is the body. However, in spite of this, body never truly interested the skinner. He
treats human being as an unopened, but certainly not empty box.
As for me, physical self is not all about our physical appearance. It is not all about how
our face looks like and also the shape of our body. It is also about how our body reacts from
our environment, how our body reacts from all the actions that we are doing. Our body is the
foundation of our life and the bridge of success. Our body is the greatest source of our success
and the initial source of our strength.

https://www.all-about-psychology.com/the-concept-of-physical-self-in-psychology.html