goodness, as discoverable by human

THE SELF reasoning (Penguin English Dictionary)

Form Various Perspective
Much of philosophy concerns with the
Learning Objectives fundamental nature of self
• Define Philosophy • The Greeks were the ones who
• Explored the concept of the self from seriously questioned myths and moved
the different philosophical perspective away from them to understand reality
and respond to perennial questions of
• Appreciated the contribution of each curiosity, including the question of the
perspective to a better understanding of self.
the self
• The following are discussions of
INTRO different perspectives and
understandings of the self according to
• To know thyself is first an imperative its prime movers. From philosophers of
and then a requirement. the ancient times to the contemporary
• IMPERATIVE to know the limits of period.
the self so that one knows what one is
capable of doing and what one is not. 1. SOCRATES
• The real meaning of knowing thyself, • “the worst thing that can happen to
then, is a REQUIREMENT for self- anyone is to live but die inside”
moderation, prudence, good judgment, • “every person is dualistic”
and excellence of the soul (Ortiz de
• Man = body + soul
Landazuri, 2014)
• Individual=imperfect/permanent (body) +
What is Philosophy? perfect & permanent (soul)
• “the unexamined life is not worth living”
• Philosophy from the Greek
– an examined life is a life that is duty
or phílosophía meaning ‘the love of
bound to develop self-knowledge and self-
wisdom’. It is the study of knowledge,
dignified with values and integrity.
or "thinking about thinking"
• “I know that I do not know” – only in the
• The study of the most general and recognition of one’s ignorance that a
abstract features of the world and person can truly know oneself.
categories with which we think: mind,
PLATO
matter, reason, proof, truth,
etc. (Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy) • Psyche – core of the self
3 COMPONENTS OF THE SOUL
• Investigation of the nature, causes, or
principles of reality, knowledge, or Rational Soul (nous) conscious awareness of
values, based on logical reasoning the self – reason & intellect to govern affairs
rather than empirical methods
Spirited Soul – emotions should be kept a bay
(American Heritage Dictionary)
Appetitive Soul – base desires (food, drink,
• The study of the ultimate nature of
sleep, sexual needs, etc.)
existence, reality, knowledge and
 • When these are attained the human LOCKE
person’s, soul becomes just and
• self is comparable to an empty space –
virtuous.
EXPERIENCE (sense of perception)
AUGUSTINE (Doctor of the Church) • Consciousness – being aware that we
are thinking – always accompanies
• ‘spirit of man’ in medieval philosophy
thinking and is essential part of the
• Following view of Plato but adds
thinking process.
Christianity
• Consciousness is what makes possible
• Man is of a bifurcated nature
our belief that we are the same identity
• Part of man dwells in the world in different times and different places.
(imperfect) and yearns to be with the
Divine HUME
• Other part is capable of reaching • Agreed that all ideas are derived from
immortality impressions (subjective, temporary,
• Body – dies on earth; soul – lives provisional, prejudicial and even
eternally in spiritual bliss with “God” skewed – and therefore cannot be
(lifegoals) persisting)
• “you have made us for Yourself, O • He harshly claimed that there IS no
Lord, and our hearts is restless until it self.
finds rest in You.” • Self = a collection of different
perceptions which rapidly succeed each
2. DESCARTES other
(Father of the Modern Philosophy)
• Self = in a perpetual flux ad movement
• “I think, therefore I am”- “Cognito, ergo
• we want to believe that there is a
Sum”
unified coherent self, soul, mind etc.
• “I doubt therefore I exist” but actually is all just a combination of
• The self = cognito (the thing that experiences.
thinks) + extenza (extension of mind
body) KANT
• The body is a machine attached to the • self is always transcendental
mind. • he calls his philosophy the
• It’s the mind that makes the man Transcendental Unity of Apperception
• “I am a thinking thing… A thing that • self is not in the body
doubts, understands, affirms, denies, • our rationality unifies and makes sense
wills, refuses, imagines, perceives.” the perceptions we have in our
• We cannot really rely on our senses experiences and make sensible ideas
because our sense perceptions can often about ourselves and the world’
deceive us. • the self organizes different impressions
• Everything must be subjected to doubt. that one gets in relation to his own
• human rationality – reasons existence
 • we need active intelligence to other components like the way we talk,
synthesize all knowledge and walk and look is generally who we are
experience as a person.
• the self is not only personality but also CHURCHLAND
the seat of knowledge.
• Eliminative materialism
3. FREUD • Conceptualize about neurophilosopy
• Unconscious – this area is where wherein he believed that to fully
majority of our memories since understand one’s behavior, one should
childhood are deeply stores. It is very understand the different neurological
difficult to tap the memories. It would movement of the brain that pertains to
need a trained professional and several different emotions, feelings, actions,
special techniques in order to make and reaction and how such brain
some memories resurface. movements affect the body.
• He believed that we are a by-product of • Understanding the different neural
our experiences in the past and that our pathways, how they work, and what
actions are driven by the idea of implications are those movements to
resisting or avoiding pain and are people is a measurable classification on
molded from our need of pleasure of one’s behavior
being happy. • Constant movement of the brain can be
• Freud sees the “I” as a product of the basis of who the person is
multiple interacting processes, systems (emphasized by Churchland and his
and schemes. wife in the statement “the brain as the
• Models: Topographical and structural self”
Models (Watson, 2014) MERLEAU-PONTY
• T: Conscious and Unconscious
• S: self in 3 different agencies (id, ego • Phenomenology of Perception (Gestalt
and superego) psychology and neurology)
• 1. Empiricist take on perception.
RYLE (Concept of the mind) 2. idealist-intellectual alternative
• The mind is never separate from the 3. synthesis of both positions
body • Idea of perception follows the idea of
• Mind, therefore, is nothing but a gestalt psychology (gives importance
disposition of the self. on the whole than the sum of its parts
• Self is exemplified in his “ghost in the • Perception guides our action based on
machine” view (man is a complex our experiences.
machine with different functioning • the body perceives while our
parts, and the intelligence, and other consciousness provides the meaning or
characteristics or behavior of man is interprets thee various perception we
represented by the ghost in the said have in the world and the self could be
machine. established by the perceptions we have
• His idea saying that the thing that we in the world.
do, how we behave and react and all
• One’s actions, behavior and language
used could be said to be the reflection
of our perception of the world.