PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF
SOCRATES : An unexamined life
is not worth living
"Know thyself"
For Socrates the self is synonymous of
the soul.
He believes that every human possesses
an immortal soul that survives the
physical body.
Socrates was the first to focus on the
full power of reason on the human self:
who we are, who we should be, and who
we will become.
Two dichotomous realms:
Physical realm - changeable,
transient and imperfect.
Ideal realm - unchanging, eternal
and immortal.
The body belongs to the physical realm.
The unchanging, eternal and perfect
realm includes the intellectual essences
of the universe, concepts such as truth,
goodness, and beauty.
The soul belongs to the ideal realm.
The soul strives for wisdom and
perfection and reason is the soul's tool
to achieve this exalted state.
He suggests that man must live an
examined life and a life of purpose and
value.
For him, an unexamined life is not worth
living.
The individual person can have a
meaningful and happy life only if he
becomes virtuous and knows the value of
himself that can be achieved through
incessant soul-searching.
The Socratic method or the introspection
- is a method of carefully examining one's
thoughts and emotions --- to gain self-knowledge
PLATO : The self is an immortal
soul
His philosophy can be explained as a
process of self knowledge and
purification of the soul.
The idea of a three-part soul/self :
REASON - the divine essence that
enable us to think deeply, make wise choices
and achieve a true understanding of eternal
truths.
PHYSICAL APPETITE - includes our
basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst,
and sexual desire.
SPIRIT OR PASSION - includes basic
emotions such as love, anger, ambition,
aggressiveness and empathy.
Plato believes that further happiness
can only achieved by people who
consistently make sure that their
Reason is in control of their Spirits
and Appetites.
If man lives accordance to his nature,
then he is giving justice to his existence.
In his theory of forms, he introduces the
concepts of two worlds:
World of forms (non-physical ideas)
-real and permanent
World of sense (reality)
-temporary and only a replica of
the ideal world.
Plato claims that the sensible world is
dependent on the ideal world where the
concepts of the soul belongs.
Since the soul is regarded as something
permanent, man should give more
importance to it than the physical body
which resides in the world of sense.
ARISTOTLE: The soul is the
essence of the self
He believes that the soul is merely a
set of defining features and does not
consider the body and soul as
separate entities.
He suggests that anything with life has
a soul.
He holds that the soul is the essence
of all living things.
The soul is the essence of the soul.
Three kind of souls:
VEGETATIVE SOUL - physical body
that can grow.
SENTIENT SOUL - sensual desires,
feelings and emotions.
RATIONAL SOUL - what makes man
human.
It includes the intellect that allows man to
know and understand things.
Aristotle suggests that the rational
nature of the self is to lead a good,
flourishing and fulfilling life (self-
actualization)
The pursuit of happiness is a search for
a good life that includes doing virtuous
actions.
He posits that part of the rational soul
is characterized by moral virtues such
as justice and courage.
ST. AUGUSTINE: The self has
an immortal soul
An African philosopher, regarded as a
saint. (St. Augustine of Hippo) in the
Catholic Church.
He believes that the physical body is
radically different from and inferior
to its inhabitant, the immortal soul.
He ultimately came to view the body
as "spouse" of the soul, both
atttached to one another by a natural
appetite.
He believes that the body is united with
the soul, so that man may be entire
complete.
He believes that the soul is what governs
and defines man.
In his work, Confession, he describes
that human kind is created in the image
and likeness of God. Everything created
by God who is all good is good.
Augustine is convinced that the self is
known only through knowing God
For him, "knowledge can only come by
seeing the truth that dwells within us."
He believes that time is not infinite
because God “created” it. Augustine tries
to reconcile his beliefs about freewill,
especially the belief that humans are
morally responsible for their actions, with
his belief that one's life is predestined.
RENE DESCARTES: I think
therefore I am
•French philosopher
•Father of modern philosophy
•The Latin phrase “cogito ergo sum” –
“I think therefore I am” is the keystone of
his concept of self.
•
For him, the act of thinking about the self–
of being conscious is in itself proof that
there is a self.
According to him, we all have an inner and
an outer self which together form our
consciousness. The inner self is comprised
of our psychological state and our rational
intellect. The outer self includes our sense
and the physical world.
JOHN LOCKE: The self is
consciousness
•English philosopher
The human mind at birth is tabula rasa or
a blank slate.
He feels that the self, or personal
identity, is constructed primarily from
sense experiences or more specifically
what people see, smell, hear, taste and
feel.
For Locke, conscious awareness and
memory of previous experiences are the
keys to understanding the self.
Consciousness is what makes identity of a
person similar in different situations.
Locke is proposing that people could use
power of reason to gain knowledge and
consequently use his knowledge to
understand experiences
Knowledge is based on careful
observation of experience.
Reason plays an important role in helping
to figure out the significance of sense
experience and to reach intelligence
conclusions.
In his Essay, Locke suggests that the self
is “a thinking intelligent being, that has
reason and reflection, and can consider
itself as itself, the same thinking thing, in
different times and places” and continues
to define personal identity simply as “the
sameness of a rational being”
DAVID HUME : There is no sself
Scottish philosopher
He suggests that if people carefully
examine their sense experience
through the process of introspection,
they will discover that there is no self.
Distinct entities:
Impression -basic sensation of people's
experience such as hate, love, joy, grief, pain,
cold and heat.
Ideas - thoughts and images from
impressions so they are less lively and vivid
The idea of personal identity is a result
of imagination.
IMMANUEL KANT : We construct
the self
German philosopher
According to him, we all have an inner
and an outer self which together form
our consciousness.
Inner self - psychological state and
rational intellect.
Outer self - our sense and physical
world.
It is the self that makes experiencing an
intelligible world possible because it is the
self that is actively organizing and
synthesizing all of our thoughts and
perceptions.
The self, in form of consciousness, utilizes
conceptual categories which he calls
transcendental deduction of categories, to
construct an orderly and objective world
that is stable and can be investigated
scientifically.
SIGMUND FREUD : The self is
multilayered
Austrian Psychoanalyst
Freud holds that the self consists of
three layered : Conscious, unconscious
and pre conscious.
Conscious - "reality principle". It consists
of everything inside of our awareness.
Unconscious - "pleasure principle" It
continues to influence behavior even though
people are unaware of these underlying
influences.
Preconscious - The preconscious also
acts as something of a guard, controlling
the information that is allowed to enter
into conscious awareness.
Unconscious - "pleasure principle" It
continues to influence behavior even though
people are unaware of these underlying
influences.
Preconscious - The preconscious also
acts as something of a guard, controlling
the information that is allowed to enter
into conscious awareness.
GILBERT RYLE : The self is is
the way people behave.
British philosopher
He believes that the self is best
understood as a pattern of behavior,
the tendency or disposition of a person
to behave in a certain circumstances.
Ryle's concept of the human self thus
provides the philosophical principle
"I act therefore I am"
Ryle considers the mind and body to be
intrinsically linked in complex and
intimate ways.
Ryle believed that self comes from
behavior.
PAUL CHURCHLAND : The self is
the brain.
Canadian philosopher
Advocates the idea of eliminative
materialism or the idea that the self is
inseparable from the brain and
physiology of the body.
All a person has is the brain, and so if
the brain is gone, there is no self.
MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY:
The self is embodied subjectivity
French philosopher
He argues that all knowledge about the
self is based on phenomena of
experience.
The "I" is a single integrated core
identity of the mental, physical and
emotional structures around a core
identity of the self.
He further articulates that when people
examine the self at the fundamental
level of direct human experience, people
will discover that the mind and body are
unified, not separate.
Consciousness is a dynamic form
responsible for actively structuring
conscious ideas and physical behavior.
He believed the physical body to be an
important part of what makes up the
subjective self.
