UTS – Reviewer
Lesson 1: Philosophical Perspective of the Self
Philosophy came from the word philia which means love, and sophia which means wisdom. Philosophy
basically means pursuit of wisdom, it is the search for a general understanding of values and reality by
chiefly speculative rather than observational means.
In the Ancient Greek era we have three philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
Let’s start with Socrates is known with his phrase “know thyself”, his stance is that an unexamined life is
not worth living, he believes that we must examine and question our decisions, our experiences, to
understand the meaning of our life. He also believes that the self exists in two parts: soul and body. Soul
is immortal and perfect, this belongs to the ideal realm (like heaven), our soul tries to attain perfection
or ideal. The body is mortal and impure, it resides in the physical realm (like earth), it cannot attain
perfection due to the body. These two are attached together calling it as “self” when we are in the
physical realm, but if we die the body will stay in the physical realm, and our soul will travel to the ideal
realm. Socrates is known in his “Socratic Method” this means carefully examining one’s thoughts and
emotions to gain self-knowledge. Socratic method is also the method of asking questions.
According to Plato, the self (soul) has three parts: reason, spirit/passion, physical appetite. The reason is
our ability to be rational, spirit or passion is our emotional side, physical hunger is our needs like need
for food to ease hunger and cope with life. These three have dynamic relationships but they still do have
arguments or contradictions with each other and must be in moderation. He says that genuine happiness
can be attained if reason is in control, the higher (understand) we think the better .
Lastly, Aristotle argues that the body and the soul are one thing and he doesn't believe in the afterlife.
He also believes that there are three kinds of souls: vegetative, sentient, rational. Vegetative is the
physical body, it does not have feelings. Sentient is the feelings, also animals have this. Lastly, rational,
this is the thing that makes us human, this is our intellect. He says that the rational nature of the self is to
lead a good flourishing and fulfilling life.
Now in the Medieval period, we only have St. Augustine quoted Genesis 1:27 that man is created in
accordance with God's image, therefore we are innately good, but we are also the ones who brought evil
even though we are innately good, we have free will and this is why we are away from God. He says that
our goodness is determined by our capability to return to God. He suggested that the path to God or to
return to him could be found by introspection (self-awareness/realization).
Moving forward to Modern Philosophy we have eight philosophers: Rene Descartes, John Locke, David
Hume, Immanuel Kant, Sigmeund Freud, Gilbert Ryle, Paul Churchland, Maurice Merlau-Ponty.
Rene Descartes is known with his phrase “I think therefore, I am” or in Latin “cogito ergo sum”. He argues
that if we think about the self, that means we exist. The individual’s capacity to think is what sets us
apart. For him the self is a thinking entity , it doubts, understands, analyses, questions. For Descartes,
the primary method of acquiring knowledge is to start doubting (lol). And that an individual could doubt
everything except their thinking. For him there are two dimensions of the self: thinking entity and
physical body. This is called Mind-Body Dichotomy wherein they are independent from one another, they
exist and function independently, but they are conjoined. It is like the input of the mind (brain thinks) so
the body can work.
John Locke used the term tabula rasa which means blank state. He believes that we build ourselves from
our experiences. Our memory is the core foundation of our self. Self is a collection of memories. So it is
when we get experiences it turns to memories organized by our consciousness then it becomes the
foundation of the self. But what if we forget? Do we lose ourselves?
David Hume says that we are nothing more than a collection of perceptions or mental contents that are
associated with one another. I am a product of what I think someone else’s thought about him.
Impressions are direct, vivid, and powerful products of immediate experience. Ideas are weak copies or
memorie of the original expressions. We are a product of impressions/ideas. He argued that there is no
permanent and unchanging self that persists overtime.
Immanuel Kant says that a man is a free agent (free will + reason), capable of making decisions for
himself. You have the capacity if you want to be a moral person. Moral person is driven by duty and acts
towards the fulfillment of that duty. Now that a man has free will and reason, he can now organize the
data he gathered towards his idea of himself. For Kant, the self is compromised of both outer and inner
self. Outer self is the facade, preoccupied with the demands of our daily lives. Mostly we make it
admirable and favorable. The inner self is the intangible aspects (beliefs, emotions, thoughts). If we have
a strong inner life, we won’t be swayed easily and we’ll have a sense of purpose in life. These two can
have conflict especially when contradicting.
According to Sigmund Freud, the first five years have a very significant impact on our adult lives, molding
our personality. There are three levels of the mind (this all affects your personality): conscious -
experiencing rn, preconscious - memories we can recall, unconscious - traumatic, forgotten, made deep
to protect yourself. Three provinces/structures of the mind (clash everyday): id - pleasure, principle,
amoral, demanding, ego - reality, manages both, superego - adheres moral, do’s don'ts, do what’s right.
The ego is considered as the ‘self’.
Gilbert Ryle said “I act therefore I am”, the way we do things, our behaviour, thoughts, emotions, makes
up our self.
Paul Churchland claims that the brain is the self. As in the brain talaga like science, so if wala tayong
utakdi daw tayo tao. Ok baks???? E.g. Phineas Gage
Lastly, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, the self is embodied subjectivity, means our experience of the world is
intertwined with our physical and emotional existence, and that we cannot fully understand ourselves or
the world around us without taking into account our bodily experiences and subjective experiences.
