GE 100 – Understanding the Self
Philosophical
Perspective
of the Self
MS. MARJORIE J. RUZOL
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of lesson, the students
should be able to:
[Link] the role of philosophy in
understanding the self;
[Link] the different concepts of the
self from the philosophical
perspective;
[Link] the various concepts of
the self and identify their similarities
and
Do you truly
know yourself?
Ask Yourself
1. How would you characterize yourself?
2. What makes you stand out from the
rest? What makes you self special?
3. How has your self transformed itself?
4. How is your self connected to your
body?
5. How is your self related to other
selves?
6. What will happen to your self after you
What is
Philosophy?
Philosophy is
about:
Finding answer to serious questions about
ourselves and about the world we live in:
• What is morally right and wrong? And why?
• What is good life?
• Does God exist?
• What is the mind?
• …and much, much more
Questioning existing knowledge and intuitions to
get closer to the truth
What will you get out of
Philosophy?
The skills are:
• Critical thinking
• Argument skills,
• Communication,
• Reasoning
• Analysis,
• Problem solving…
What will you get out of
Philosophy?
Which allow you to:
• Justify your opinions
• Spot a bad argument no matter what
the topic
• Explain to people why they are wrong
and you are right
• Philosophy basically teaches you to
think!
PYTHAGORAS
the first to use
the term
philosophy
Love of
Wisdom
PHILO SOPHIA
Greek word of Love Greek word of
Wisdom
Origin of Philosophy
+ Logic
• search for truth
• search is to look for something
• search for meaning
Importance
Significance
Value
relevance
• philosophy ask a lot of questions
Philosophy and
the Self
Ancient Greek
Philosophers
Socrates Aristotle
Plato
“Know Thyself”
-Socrates
Philosophers agree that self-
knowledge is a prerequisite to a
1. SOCRATES
An unexamined life
is not worth living.
Socrates
Every man is dualistic
Composed of body and soul
Two important aspects of his
personhood
Body – imperfect and impermanent
Soul – perfect and permanent
Socrates’ two (2)
Dichotomous Realms
[Link] REALM
[Link] REALM
Socrates
Socrates was the first thinker to focus on
the power of reason on the full power of
reason on the human self: who we are,
who should be, and who we will become.
The soul strives for wisdom and perfection
and reason is the soul’s tool to achieve an
exalted state of life.
Our preoccupation with bodily need such as food
drink sex, pleasure material possessions and
wealth keep us from attaining wisdom.
A person can have a meaningful and happy only
if he becomes virtuous and knows the value of
himself that can be achieved through constant
soul-searching.
For him, this is best achieved when one tries to
separate the body from the soul as much as
possible.
2. PLATO
The soul is
immortal.
Plato
A student of Socrates
Philosophy of the self can be explained as a
process of self-knowledge and purification of
the soul.
He believed that in the existence of the mind
and soul
Mind and soul is given in perfection with God.
Plato: Soul has Three
Parts
[Link] SOUL
reason and intellectual
divine essence that enables us to think deeply,
make wise choices, and achieve true
understanding of eternal truths.
[Link] SOUL
emotion and passion
basic emotions such as love anger, ambition,
empathy, and aggressiveness.
3. APPETITIVE SOUL
basic needs
includes our basic biological needs such
as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire.
3. Aristotle
The soul is the self
essence of the self.
Aristotle
A student of Plato
The body and soul are not two
separate elements but are one thing.
The soul is simply the form of the
body, and is not capable of existing
without the body.
The soul is that which makes a
person a person. The soul is the
essence of the self.
Aristotle suggests that the rational
nature of the self is to lead a good,
flourishing, and fulfilling life.
Without the body the soul cannot
exist. The soul dies along with the
body.
Soul and body, I suggest
react sympathetically
upon each other. A
change in the state of the
soul produces a change in
the shape of the body
and conversely, a change
in the shape of the body
produces a change in the
state of the soul.
Aristotle
Aristotle suggested that anything with
life has soul.
His decisions about the self centers on
the kinds of soul possessed by a man.
He introduced the three kinds of soul.
Aristotle: Kinds of
1. VegetativeSoul
– includes the physical
body that can grow.
2. Sentient – includes the sensual
desires, feelings, and emotions.
3. Rational – is what makes man
human. It includes the intellect that
makes man know and understand
things.
4. ST. AUGUSTINE
I am doubting,
therefore I am.
St. Augustine
Integrated the ideas of Plato and Christianity.
Augustine’s view of the human person
reflects the entire spirit of the medieval world.
The soul is united with the body so that man
may be entire and complete.
Believed Humankind is created in the image
and likeness of God.
Therefore, the human person
being a creation of God is always
geared towards the good.
The self is know only through
knowing God.
Self-knowledge is a consequence
of knowledge of God.
“Knowledge can only come
by seeing the truth that
dwells within us”
-St. Augustine
The truth of which Augustine
spoke refers to the truth of
knowing God.
5. RENE DESCARTES
I think, therefore I
Cogito ergo sum
am.
Rene Descartes
The act of thinking about self –
of being self-conscious – is in
itself proof that there is self”
Descartes’ two (2)
Distinct Entities
[Link]
[Link]
6. John Locke
The self is consciousness
John Locke
The human mind at birth is tabula
rasa or blank slate
He felt that the self is constructed
primarily from sense experiences.
Locked theorized
that when they are
born, all babies
know absolutely
nothing
In essence, he
argued that the
inside of a baby’s
brain was empty –
ready to learn
everything through
experience
The Self is
Consciousness
CONCIOUSNESS
necessary to have a coherent
personal identity or knowledge of
the self as a person.
what makes possible our beliefs
that we are the same identity in
different situation.
7. DAVID HUME
There is no self.
David Hume
Self is simply a bundle or collection of
different perceptions, which succeed each
other with an inconceivable rapidly and
are in a perpetual flux and movement
The idea of personal identity is a result of
imagination
There is no self.
8. IMMANUEL KANT
We construct the self.
Immanuel Kant
Self is not just what gives one his
personality but also the seat of knowledge
acquisition for all human persons.
The self constructs its own creating a
world that is familiar and predictable
Through our rationality, the self
transcends sense experience.
9. GILBERT RYLE
The self is the way
people behave.
Gilbert Ryle
Self is not an entity one can locate and
analyze but simply the convenient name
that people use to refer to all the
behaviors that people make.
“I act therefore I am”, in short, the self is
the same as bodily behavior
The self is the way people behave
10. PAUL
CHURCHLAND
The self is the
brain.
Paul Churchland
The self is inspirable from the brain and
the physiology of the body
All we have is the brain and so, if the
brain is gone, there is no self
The physical brain and not the imaginary
mind, gives us our sense of self
The mind does not really exist
It is the brain and not the
imaginary mind that gives us our
sense of the self
The self is the brain
11. MAURICE
MERLEAU-PONTY
The self is embodied
subjectivity.
Maurice Merleau -
Ponty
The mind-body bifurcation that has been going
on for a long time is a futile endeavor and an
invalid problem.
All knowledge of our selves and our world is
based on subjectivity experience
The self can never be truly objectified or known
in a completely objective sort of way
The self is embodied subjectivity
ACTIVITY
What is your Philosophy in life and among
the Philosophers discussed, who among
of them is aligned to what you believe in.
Explain.
