1. Know yourself
Unit 1

2. LESSON 1. What type of
factors determine your
behaviour?

3. • Human behaviour is determined by a
considerable variety of factors that
form our behaviour: our impulses and
desires, feelings and compassion, our
intelligence and will that we show to
other people.

4. 1.1. Impulses, desires
and feelings
• An impulse is an involuntary reaction, that pushes us
to do a simple action, like drinking to avoid thirst.
• Our impulses come from our body; for this reason we can
not be considered responsible for them. What we are
responsible for is its control.
• Impulses are primary desires. But not every desire is
simply an impulse. There are more elaborated desires
that, unlike impulses, do not proceed from our body,
but our mind. For example, you can pass an exam; in
this type of desire interfere with your intelligence
and your will, because of this you are responsible for
it, at least in part.

5. • Our behaviour is also
determined by our feelings
and affection, that are
negative or positive attitudes
that we have for other
people, and we should learn to
control them too.

6. 1.2. Intelligence and
interests
• We have to control our impulses, desires and
emotions, because often it is not good to let them
take us over.
• Human beings, unlike animals, can
foresee/anticipate the consequences of our
actions, through/because of our intelligence, and
to judge with reason. Because of this, we can
realize that, sometimes, what we are attracted by
in one case can be dangerous in the future, and
certain things we dislike now, may be beneficial in
the long term.

7. • We know, for example, that smoking, even if we
feel like, it will damage when we are older. And we
are aware that waking up early to go to school is
necessary, even if it is unpleasant for us, it is
good for our future.
• Human beings are able to control their
behaviour thanks to their intelligence valuing
the consequences of our actions. Because of
the use of reason we can define our interests,
that it is to say, the objectives that are going
to benefit us in the long term and for this
reason they should guide our conduct.

8. 1.3. Will
• It is not enough to use intelligence to act
according to our convenience. Apart from this,
willpower is required to carry out what would be
right.
• Will is a faculty through which we make
decisions and carry them out, although
decisions do not coincide with what we want to
do.
• The verb “want” has different meanings; it
depends on the way you approach it (through will,
impulses or desires). In the point of view of will,
“to want” is above impulses and desires and
sometimes it lets act freely from them, following
what dictates our idea of what is correct.

9. LESSON 2. Your identity as a
person

10. • Factors that determine your
behaviour depend on the type of
person you are, on your personality.
How is your personality? Do you like
how it is? Do you want to change
anything about it? How could you do
that?

11. 2.1. The components of
your personality
• Our body: is a physical base of our condition as
human beings. We should accept it, in spite of its
possible defects, if we want to develop a mature
personality, and we must also take care of it.
• Temperament: our natural propensity to be extrovert
or introvert, cold or passionate, optimistic or
pessimistic. Although we are as we are by nature, we
can change it in part using our intelligence and our
will.
• Sexuality: we should learn to control our sexual
impulses through reasoning.

12. • The surrounding environment, especially the
education we receive: we must take advantage of
educational opportunities to develop our potential
as human beings.
• Character: the way we act in different situations
in life. It is based on our temperament, but it`s
also the product of our education, our habits, our
intelligence and our will.
• Our projects: are the goals we want to achieve
and that allow us to develop.

13. 2.2 Respect for people
identity
• Other element of our personality is the image we
have of ourselves, what we are for ourselves. It is
important because we almost always act according to
it. To be happy in our life, we should have a
satisfactory image of ourselves. This image is going
to be the base of our feelings and identity as
individuals.
• The personal identity of everybody needs to be
respected. Everybody must respect the identity
of other, eventhough the identities do not agree
with our own.

14. 2.3. How can you improve
your personality?
• We should strive to have a mature, creative and
satisfactory personality. But, sometimes, some
traces of our temperament or certain character
defects prohibit our developement to achieve an
adequate personality to be successfull in life. How
can we have a stronger character and personality?
– To analyze ourselves, to assess our strengths and
weaknesses.
– By proposing realistic targets for improvement in the
areas where our shortcomings are most evident.
– Applying our willpower to achieve these objectives.

15. LESSON 3. How will you
achieve your freedom?

16. Everybody has the obligation to create a good,
balanced and valuable personality, for ourselves
and for others.

17. 3.1. Your personal and
social fulfilment
• Personality should be the basis and instrument of
your freedom and success in life. Firstly, you
should become to be a free, autonomous person,
to make the most important decisions of your life
and secondly, that freedom should not lead you to
failure, in contrast, you have a moral obligation to
use your freedom to integrate into society,
because only then you will lead a successful and
useful existence.

18. • In the development of your personality, you
should realize your free fulfillment and your
successful integration in society, to aspire to a
happy life.
• It is unwise to be free and fulfill if we
marginalize ourselves from society. Neither
should we have to integrate in society if we lose
our autonomy as individuals.

19. 3.2. The dimensions of your
responsibility as a person
• You must exercise your freedom, but your
responsibility, at for every level of your
personality:
• You have to take care of your body by avoiding
risky behaviours.
• You must learn to control your temper.
• You need to be sexually responsible.

20. • You have to improve your character.
• You must build your life plan and propose
achievable goals, you should pursue with
perseverance.