THE SELF IN PHILOSPHICAL PERSPECTIVE Flashcards
What are the root of effectiveness?
Personality and Character
can be shed, can change, its
health depends on the environment
Personality
it’s immovable, takes longer to
develop, stays strong even in the harshest of
weathers
Character
“We live in a world of loneliness.”
– Johann Yari-
Journalist
Pinoy millennials are more stressed, anxious than
global peers – study
The survey revealed that 57% of Filipino
millennials feel anxious or stressed all or most of
the time, compared to 44% of their peers
globally. Top stressors being their current
financial situation and concern for the welfare of
their family.
➢ For this fraction of Filipino millennials, the study
said that 65% reported that concerns about the
welfare of their family contribute a lot to their
feelings of stress, followed by their physical
health (54%), their long-term financial future
(53%), their day-to-day finances (51%), and their
job/career prospects (47%).
“Knowing others is intelligence, but knowing yourself
is WISDOM.”
– Lao Tzu
Aspects of the self that make up its integral parts:
Self-awareness, Self-esteem, Self-knowledge,
Self-perception
With these aspects, the person is able to alter,
change, add, and/or modify himself or herself for the
purpose of gaining social acceptance.
Self-awareness, Self-esteem, Self-knowledge,
Self-perception
is an important study in psychology. It holds
that the “__” is either the cognitive or the affective
representation of the individual.
“self”
relating to or involving conscious
intellectual activity
Cognitive
relating to or arising from feelings
influenced by emotions
Affective
sees the “self” as a product of social
interactions, developed over time through social
activities and experiences.
Sociology
views the “self” as a culturally shaped
constructor idea. Anthropologists assert that it is an
autonomous participant in the society as much as it is
submerged in the community.
Anthropology
sees the “self” as having characteristics
or properties that can be used to describe it.
Psychology
in the study pointed out that the “self” is
related to its physical and social environment, it is
unique, and it is necessary to its experiences.
Pioneers
(known for his
interpretations of Eastern philosophy and mythology)
talked about the great “myths” of the self.
British philosopher Alan Watts
The term __” is not used to describe a
false story but a means to interpret a reality
“myth
“the world is an artifact”
- there is a clear distinction between the
creator and the creation
- possesses an internal distinction from its
external environment
- even though the “self” functions in the world,
the “self” is still its own
West
“the world is a drama and all things are actors
with specific parts to play”
- there is no distinction between the creator
and the creation as all that exists is immersed
in one and the same existence
- the “self” is seen through the eyes of a
community, rather than a detached, single
entity
East
no matter how intimately bound it is
with the bearer, however, is not the person. It
is only a signifier. A person who was named
after a saint most probably will not become
an actual saint. The SELF is thought to be
something else than the name. The SELF is
something that a person perennially molds,
shapes, and develops.
A name,
man’s attempt to think most speculatively,
reflectively, and systematically about the
universe in which he lives and his relationship to
that universe
Philosophy
Greek words: philo means
loving
Greek words: sophia means
knowldge or wisdom
The term __ is originally used by the Greeks
meant “the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake.”
philosophy
The physical structure of a person or an animal,
including the bones, flesh, and organs
body
The physical structure of a person or an animal,
including the bones, flesh, and organs
body
The spiritual or immaterial part of a human being
or animal, regarded as immortal (a person’s
moral or emotional nature or sense of identity)
soul
Emotional or intellectual energy or intensity,
especially as revealed in a work of art or an
artistic performance
Soul
The essence or embodiment of a specified
quality
Soul
is not to be identified with what we own, with
our social status, our reputation, or even with our
body
Socrates
Famously maintained that our true self is our soul
socrates
He was more concerned with understanding one
SELF rather than how the world works
→ Every man is composed of body and soul
→ Every human person is dualistic, that is, he is
composed of two important aspects of personhood
→ All individuals have an imperfect, impermanent
aspect, the body, while maintaining that there is also
a soul that is perfect and permanent
→ Affirms that “the unexamined life is not worth living”
Socrates
“I know that I don’t know”
▪ He never wrote anything
Socrates
Knowledge about him is through second-hand
information from the writings of his student Plato
Socrates
Known for his method of inquiry in testing an idea
called the Socratic Method whereby an idea was
tested by asking a series of questions to determine
underlying beliefs and the extent of knowledge to
guide the person toward better understanding
Socrate
At 70 years old, he was sentenced to death by
drinking a cup of poison hemlock
Socrates
➢ The soul is immortal.
➢ The care of the soul is the task of philosophy.
➢ Virtue is necessary to attain happiness.
Socrates
Believed that philosophy had a very important role to
play in the lives of the people
sorates
Existence is of two kinds:
visible and invisible
– changes (the body)
visible
remains constant (the kind that
is invisible to humans yet sensed and
understood by the mind)
invisible
Plato wrote what Socrates
said about the body and the soul: “When the soul and
body are together, nature assigns our body to be a
slave and to be ruled and the soul to be ruler and
master”
In the Socratic Dialogue,
He said that the body was a reluctant slave, and the
soul gets dragged toward what is always changing.
This would leave the soul confused.
Socarets
he also believed that the goal of life is to be
happy. The virtuous man is a happy man.
socrates
one and only supreme good that will secure
his/her happiness; moral excellence; an individual is
considered virtuous if his/her character is made up of
the moral qualities that are accepted as virtues, i.e.,
courage, temperance, prudence, and justice
Virtue
Was a student of Socrates who became known
through his dialogues
→ “Man is the soul enclosed in a body.”
Plato
“Man is the soul enclosed in a body.”
Plato
3 components to the soul, accodring to Plato:
rational, spirited, appetetive
(awareness of a goal or a
value) – reasoning; the element that forbids the
person to enjoy the sensual experiences; the
part that loves truth, hence, should rule over the
other parts of the soul through the use of reason
The rational soul
(drive toward action) –
feeling; The element that is inclined toward
reason but understands the demands of passion;
the part that loves honor and victory
The spirited soul
(desire for the things of the
body) – sensual; The element that enjoys
sensual experiences, such as food, drink, and
sex
The appetitive soul
is the life of inner harmony of well-
being, of happiness.
good life
“Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire
good actions in others.”
palato
“Balance between mind and body”
plato
Wrote the Socratic Dialogue where Socrates was the
main character and speaker
plato
the
philosopher would collect all the generic ideas that
seemed to have common characteristics and then
divided them into different kinds until the subdivision
of ideas became specific
Collection and division
Best known for his Theory of Forms that asserted
the physical world is not really the “real” world
because the ultimate reality exists beyond the
physical world
plato
The “soul” is indeed the most divine aspect of the
human being
plato
His concept of the divine is not a spiritual being but
rather one that has an intellectual connotation. The
self/soul/mind according to _- is the aspect of
the human beings by which the Forms (ideas) are
known.
Plato
Hippo, Latin Father of
the Church, Doctor of the Church, a significant
Christian thinker)
St. Augustine
Following the ancient view of Plato and infusing it with
the newfound doctrine of Christianity, he agreed that
man is of bifurcated (divided into 2 branches or parts)
nature.
St. Augustine
There is an aspect of man, which dwells in the world,
that is imperfect and continuously yearns to be with
the divine while the other is capable of reaching
immortality.
st.
The “self” was an inner, immaterial “I” that comprises
self-knowledge and self-awareness.
st.
“All knowledge leads to God”
St.
Deeply influence by Plato’s ideas
▪ Adopted Plato’s view that the “self” is an immaterial
(but rational) soul
st.
Christian perspective of the Theory of Forms
st
held the Truth and was capable of scientific
thinking
soul
The human being was both a soul and body, and the
body possessed senses, such as imagination,
memory, reason, and mind through which the soul
experienced the world
st
Aspects of the self/soul are:
➢ It is able to be aware of itself.
➢ It recognizes itself as a holistic one
➢ It is aware of its unity.
st.
The human being was both a soul and body,
st
everything related to the physical world
belongs to the physical body, and if a person
concerns himself/herself with this physical world then
he/she will not be any different from animals.
st.
Pointed out that a person is similar to God as regards
to the mind and its ability; that by ignoring to use
his/her mind (or the incorrect use of the mind) he/she
would lose his/her possibility to reach real and
lasting happiness
st
(French Philosopher, Mathematician,
Scientist)
→ Father of Modern Philosophy
Rene Descartes
He belived,
is the seat of our consciousness
because it houses our drives, intellect, and passions,
it gives us our identity and our sense of self
Min, rene secartes
Proposed that doubt was a principal tool of
disciplined inquiry
descartes
I think, therefore I exist. (cogito ergo sum) –
rene d
secured
the foundation for knowledge in the face of radical
doubt
→ I think, therefore I exist. (cogito ergo sum)
(cogito ergo sum)
I think, therefore I exist.
“We do not describe the world we see, we see the
world we can describe”
redne d
The first thinker to emphasize the use of reason to
describe, predict, and understand natural phenomena
based on observational and empirical evidence
rene d
His method was called hyperbolical/metaphysical
doubt, also sometimes referred to as
methodological skepticism; a systematic process
of being skeptical about the truth of one’s beliefs in
order to determine which beliefs could be ascertained
as true
rene
a systematic process
of being skeptical about the truth of one’s beliefs in
order to determine which beliefs could be ascertained
as true
hyperbolical/metaphysical doubt
Claims about the “self” are:
➢ It is constant; it is not prone to change; and it
is not affected by time.
➢ Only the immaterial soul remains the same
throughout time.
➢ The immaterial soul is the source of our
identity.
rene d
Further asserted that this thinking entity could exist
without the body because it is an immaterial
substance (self) that possesses a body and is so
intimately bound/joined by it that the “self” forms
a union with its body. Despite this body-soul
union, he reasoned that the soul is still distinct
from the body.
Rene d
It is a conscious, thinking
substance that is unaffected by
time.
soul
It is a material substance that
changes through time.
body
It is known only to itself (only you
know your own mental event and
others cannot correct your mental
states).
soul
It can be doubted; The public can
correct claims about the body.
body
It is not made up of parts. It views
the entirety of itself with no hidden
or separate compartments. It is
both conscious and aware of itself
at the same time.
soul
It is made up of physical,
quantifiable, divisible parts.
body
(Philosopher, Physician, Enlightenment
thinker)
John Locke
Speaks of personal identity and survival of
consciousness after death
j locke
Holds that personal identity is a matter of
psychological continuity
→ Considered personal identity (or the self) to be
founded on consciousness (viz. memory), and not on
the substance of either the soul or the body
j locke
“Human mind at birth is a tabula rasa, which means
that knowledge is derived from experience”
j locke
was an intellectual and philosophical movement that
dominated the ideas in Europe during the 18th
century
The Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason
to include the
memories of that thinking thing.
self, by locke
is identified with
consciousness and this “self” consists of sameness of
consciousness; usually interpreted to mean that the
“self” consists of memory; the person existing now is
the same person yesterday because he/she
remembers the thoughts, experiences, or actions of
the earlier self
self, locke
Since the person is the same “self” in the passing
of time, he/she can be held accountable for past
behaviors as long as he/she can remember them;
punishing someone for behaviors he/she has no
recollection of doing is equivalent to punishing
him/her for actions that was never performed
john locke
(Scottish Philosopher, Empiricist,
Economist, Historian during the Age of
Enlightenment)
david hume
Argues that the SELF is not an entity over and beyond
the physical body
david hume
The SELF is nothing but bundle of impressions. If one
tries to examine his/her experiences, he finds that
they can all be categorized into two: impressions and
ideas.
hume
A person can never observe oneself without some
other perceptions.
hume
2 Groups of the Mind’s Perceptions stating that the
difference between the two “consists in the degrees
of force and liveliness with which they strike upon the
mind”
hume
an idea, feeling, or opinion about
something or someone, especially one formed
without conscious thought or on the basis of little
evidence; perceptions that are the most strong; enter the senses with most force; directly experienced;
result from inward and outward sentiments
impression
a thought or suggestion as to a possible
course of action; less forcible and less lively;
mechanisms that copy and reproduce sense data
formulated based upon the previously perceived
impressions
ideas
“All knowledge is derived from human service
(senses)”
hume
is the theory that reason, rather than
experience, is the foundation of all knowledge.
Rationalism
is the idea that the origin of all knowledge
is sense experience. It emphasized the role of
experience and evidence (especially sensory
perception) in forming concepts, while discounting the
notion of innate ideas
Empiricism
Concluded that the “self” is merely made up of
successive impressions
hume
Argued that if you can directly know, then what you
know are mere objects of what your senses are
experiencing
hume
Believed there is no logical justification for the
existence of anything other than what your senses
experienced
▪ The “self” was nothing but a series of incoherent
impressions received by the senses; revealed no
permanently subsisting self
▪ Compared the “self” to a nation; whereby a nation
retains its “being a nation” not by some single core or
identity but by being composed of different, constantly
changing elements, such as people, systems, culture,
and beliefs
▪ In the same manner, the “self” is not just one
impression but a mix and a loose cohesion of various
personal experiences. He insisted that there is no one
constant impression that endures throughout your
life.
david hume
Did not believe on the existence of the “self”
david hume
is a passive observer similar to
watching one’s life pass before the eyes like a play or
on a screen; whereby the total annihilation of the
“self” comes at death
d hume
(Central Figure in Modern Philosophy)
Immanuel Kant
His view on the “SELF” is transcendental, which
means the “self” is related to a spiritual or nonphysical
realm
→ The self is not in the body, the self is outside the body,
and it does not have the qualities of the body.
→ 2 components of the “SELF” are:
kant
– how we became aware of alterations
in our own state; includes your rational intellect
and your psychological state, such as moods,
feelings, sensations, pleasure, and pain
Inner self –
includes the senses and the
physical world; the common boundary between
the external world and the inner self; gathers
information from the external world through the
senses, which the inner self interprets and
coherently expresses
Outer self
“Morality is not properly the doctrine of how we may
make ourselves happy, but how we make ourselves
worthy of happiness
Immanuel Kant
is the final authority of morality. Morality is
achieved only when there is absence of war because
of the result of enlightenment.”
reason
Proposed that it is knowledge that bridges the “self”
and the material things together
kant
is the mental process by which a
person makes sense of an idea by assimilating it to
the body of ideas he or she already possesses.
Apperception is
“self” has a unified point of self-reference.
You are conscious of yourself as the subject, and you
are conscious of yourself as a common subject of
different representations; confirms that the
impressions you perceive point to one single common
fact - the “self” is the subject of these experiences
Kant
(Philosopher, Physiologist,
Psychologist, One of the Most Influential Thinkers of
the 20th century)
Sigmund Freud
A famous neurologist and the creator of
psychoanalysis, a practice devised to treat those
who are mentally ill through dialogue
Sigmund Freud
is the first part of the self to develop. It’s the
seat of all our desires and wants. It operates on
the pleasure principle. Every wishful impulse
should be satisfied immediately, regardless of
the consequences. When the id achieves its
demands, you experience pleasure; when it is
denied, you experience “unpleasure” or tension.
Id
is the reason and self-control. It operates
according to the reality principle. It works out
realistic ways of satisfying the id’s demands
(often compromising or postponing satisfaction
to avoid negative consequences of society). The
.. considers social realities and norms,
etiquette, and rules in deciding how to behave. If
the ego fails to use the reality principle, anxiety
is experienced, and unconscious defense
mechanisms are employed to help ward off
unpleasant feelings.
ego
is your quest for perfection where
conscience and your concept of ideal self. It
incorporates the values and morals of society.
The superego’s function is to control the id’s
impulses. It persuades the ego to choose
moralistic goals and to strive for perfection rather
than simply realistic ones.
Superego
“Wish fulfillment is the road to the unconscious”
freud
which deals with awareness of
present perceptions, feelings, thoughts,
memories, and fantasies at any particular
moment
concious
which is related
to data that can readily be brought to
consciousness
Pre-conscious/subconscious,
which refers to data retained but
not easily available to the individual’s conscious
awareness or scrutiny
Unconscious,
is a personality theory
based on the notion that an individual gets motivated
by unseen forces, controlled by the conscious and the
rational thought.
Psychoanalytic Theory
If the ego gives in to the id’s
demands, the superego may make the person feel
bad through guilt.
➢ Conscience.
is an imaginary picture of how you
ought to be. It represents career aspirations; how
to treat other people; and how to behave as a
member Unconscious of society.
Ideal self.
A famous 20th century ordinary language
philosopher who authored The Concept of Mind
(1949) where he rejected the notion that mental states
are separable from physical states
Gilbert Ryle
Believed that the SELF comes from behavior
gilbret ryle
Provided the distinction between mind and body as
“the dogma of the ghost in the machine” where he
explained that there is no hidden entity of ghost called
“soul/self” inside a machine called the “body”
ryle
“I act, therefore I am”
ryle
Called the distinction between mind and matter a
“category-mistake” because of its attempt to analyze
the relation between “mind” and “body”” as if the two
were terms of the same categories
ryle
your actions define your own
concept of “self” (who you are)
ryle
Known for the study of neurophilosophy
→ Adheres to materialism, the belief that nothing but
matter exists; if it can’t somehow be recognized by the
senses then it’s akin to a fairy tale. There is nothing
beyond the sensory experience.
Paul Churchland
argues that the ordinary folk
psychology of the mind is wrong. It is the physical
brain and not the imaginary mind that gives us our
sense of self.
→ Eliminative materialism
“The physical brain and NOT the imaginary mind
gives us our sense of self.”
churchland
Insisted that the idea of a mind or soul is not in
consonance with the physical changes that have
occurred in the hereditary characteristics of the
human species over successive generations.
churchladn
idea is called eliminative
materialism or the claim that people’s common-
sense understanding of the mind (or folk psychology)
is false, and that certain classes of mental states
which most people believe in do not exist
Churchland’s
Believed the physical body to be an important part
of what makes up the subjective self.
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
asserts that reason and mental
perception, rather than physical senses and
experience, are the basis of knowledge and self.
Rationalism
“The (physical) body is an important part of the self”
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
The body acts what the mind perceives as a
unified one.
Ponty
is a man’s attempt to think most
speculatively, reflectively, and systematically about
the universe in which he lives and his relationship to
that universe.
is a man’s attempt to think most
speculatively, reflectively, and systematically about
the universe in which he lives and his relationship to
that universe.
will lead you to your LEGACY which
you will imprint in the minds of the people around you
while we continue to explore the world being just a
tourist in this physical world.
passion
