Philosophical Perspectives on Self

• The lesson is about understanding the self from various philosophical perspectives.

Philosophers of the Self

• Philosophers discussed include Socrates, Plato, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Ryle, and Merleau-Ponty.

Socrates

• Socrates focused on the problem of the self, engaging in systematic questioning.
• He believed the true task of philosophy is to know oneself.
• "The unexamined life is not worth living" is attributed to Socrates by Plato.
• Socrates thought the worst thing is to live but die inside.
• Man is composed of body and soul, meaning every human person is dualistic
• Individuals have an imperfect, impermanent body, but also a perfect and permanent soul.

Plato

• Plato, Socrates' student, supported the idea that man is a dual nature of body and soul.
• The three components of the soul are the rational soul, the spirited soul, and the appetitive soul.
• Justice is attained when the three parts of the soul work harmoniously.
  • The rational soul governs with reason and intellect.
  • The spirited part, in charge of emotions, should be kept in check.
  • The appetitive soul controls base desires like eating and having sex.
• The human soul becomes just and virtuous when this ideal state is achieved.

Augustine

• Augustine agreed that man is of a bifurcated nature.
• One aspect dwells in the imperfect world, yearning for the Divine.
• The other aspect can reach immortality.
• The body dies on earth, but the soul anticipates living eternally in spiritual bliss with God.
• The soul can stay after death in a realm with the transcendent God.
• The goal is communion and bliss with the Divine through virtuous living on earth.

Aquinas

• Man is composed of matter (hyle) and form (morphe).
  • Matter is the common stuff of the universe, making up the body.
  • Form is the essence of a substance or thing.
• The human body is shared with animals.
• The soul animates the body and is the essence that makes a human.

Descartes

• Known as the Father of Modern Philosophy, saw the human person as having a body and a mind.
• In "The Meditations of First Philosophy," he claimed there is so much we should doubt.
• Only accept what we cannot doubt.
• The only thing one cannot doubt is the existence of the self.
• "Cogito ergo sum" means "I think therefore, I am."
• The self is the combination of the cogito (mind) and the extenza (body).
• The body is merely a machine attached to the mind.
• The mind is the essence of what makes man a man.

Hume

• Hume was a Scottish empiricist.
• Believed knowledge comes from senses and experiences
• The self is a bundle of impressions categorized into impressions and ideas.
  • Impressions are basic objects of experience or sensation, forming the core of thoughts.
  • Ideas are copies of impressions, not as lively or vivid.
• Self is a collection of different perceptions that succeed each other rapidly. Reality: what we think as a unified self is a combination of experiences with a particular person

Kant

• Kant recognized that everything starts with perception and sensation of impressions.
• The mind organizes impressions from the external world.
  • Time and space are apparatuses of the mind;
• The "self" organizes impressions in relation to one's own existence.
• An actively engaged intelligence synthesizes knowledge and experience.
• The self gives personality and is the seat of knowledge acquisition.

Ryle

• Gilbert Ryle denied the concept of an internal, non-physical self.
• What truly matters is the behavior a person manifests
• The "self" is a name to all the behaviors that make up a person.

Merleau-Ponty

• The mind and body are intertwined and cannot be separated.
• All experience is embodied.
• The body opens existence to the world.
• The living body, thoughts, emotions, and experiences are all one.

The Self, Society, and Culture

• The self is separate, self-contained, independent, consistent, unitary, and private.
  • Separate: Distinct from other selves, with a unique identity, even for twins. -Self-contained: Can exist independently with its own thoughts, characteristics, and volition. -Consistent: Has an enduring personality that persists over time.
• Traits, characteristics, tendencies more or less the same
• Unitary: The center of experiences and thoughts in a person. Private: Each person sorts information, and thought processes within the self -This process is not accessible to anyone else.
• Social constructionists say boundaries of the person and social context cannot be easily separated.
• Constructivists say the self is in unceasing flux and malleable in its dealings with society.

The Self and Culture

• Marcel Mauss refers to the self with two faces: personne and moi
  • Moi is a person's sense of self, body, identity, and biological givenness.
  • Personne is composed of social concepts of what it means to be who he is
• Personne has to do with living in a particular institution, family, religion, nationality, and how to behave according to expectations and influences.

The Self and The Development of The Social World

• Shaping of the self: active participation
• It is normally processing information is a form of internal dialogue in our head.
• Cognitive and emotional development comes from mimicry in the external reality.
• Language constitutes through dialogue with others.
• As a child assumes the "other" through language and role-play it takes place.
• Vygotsky focused on how a child internalizes real-life dialogs, applying them to mental and practical problems.

Self in Families

• Disposition comes from general conditions of life and the genes of parents, and the impact of one's family when understanding the self
• This includes resources available to the family and development available
• Self hood comes from learning the ways of living within a family
• Basis comes from what a family initiates for a person's progress
• Imitation comes from ways and styles that babies internalize from observing their family

Gender and The Self

• Gender is a part of the self that is subject to alteration, change and development
• Social sciences' point of view is to allow one the leeway to express, find, and live his identity
• Taking note of gender identities influences how one maneuvers through the society to identify himself.
• A gendered self is shaped within a context of space and time
• Sense of self is taught and also makes sure individual fits in a particular environment
• Self-determination, growth of the self, and true finding of oneself is dangerous and detrimental
• The society and the culture should not dictate, but only guide, the personal discovery that occurs

The Self as Cognitive Construct

• 1980 William James thought that the two aspects of self were "I" and "me"
  • I: the acting, thinking, and feeling self.
  • me: The physical characteristics well as psychological capabilities
• Similar to the "I" and "me" concepts above, Carl Rogers' concepts below are similar
• I: the one who acts and decides
• me: what you feel and think as an object
• Other concepts include self-concept and identify -Identity - affiliations, social roles. responsibilities, personal characteristics, etc. -Self- concept: what comes to your mind about who you are
• One time one cannot fix self, both are fixed for life nor ever-changing.
• Self schema is capturing of the idea in collections of knowledge about you
• Change and adaptation is driven by growth
• They shape passive receivers who affect think, see, and feel about how things grow.
• Mental constructs theory entails theories of mental constructs created and recreated in memory
• Processes of concision is associated with current researches that points to the frontal lobe of the brain.

Key Figures

• Sigmund Freud believed and emphasized the significance of the interrelationship between the id, superego, and ego
• However, earlier as mentioned, there is a discount with the effects on society, culture, self concept and identity
• People and theories use dig deeper into the mind to understand the person

Symbolic Interactionism

• Under the theory of symbolic interactionism is when Mead argued the self is create and is developed through human interaction
• There are reasons why self and identity consist of social products: -We do not create ourselves from nothing, as society foundations made in order to help the creation of who we are Even if one still makes a choice, he or she will still socially and in historical context
• We tend to admit, as society reinforces and affirms who we are as needed with points of reference about our identity
• What is important has also influence the social or historical context.

Social Identity

• Therefore, social group affiliation and interaction are very are vital to creating and shaping our self-concept
• We are also inevitably able to play roles since we can have overlapping social identities that are a part of the self concept
• Self-awareness consists of two concepts:
  • Private self - feelings, thoughts. private and internal standards. -Public self - having a good image and presentation for others
• At self- awareness, there are schemas: -Ought self - how you should be -Ideal self -who you would like to be -Actual self- who you are during the present moment Can be positive or negative depending on circumstances or future activities that are up next to come. It creates a remind and a guard to dangerous scenarios. We need to know what we are doing. Occurring at too must. concerned about others and too much self- consciousness. Experience deindividuation with "loss in individual self", losing both individual accountability and self or awareness.

Social Comparison

• Through comparison also affects, our social relationships, the social relationship consists of comparing ourselves to aspects and qualities that we ourselves are comparing to other people
  • downward social comparison which is more common
    • creating a positive self concept via comparing those who are worse with positive concept by comparing worse people.
    • having advantage that results in higher self esteem -** upward social comparison** which is those in better position in comparison to ourselves -Can be form motivation for others although it makes others lower self esteem -We feel threatened because of the person who outperforms, so we either distance ourself, reconsider the aspect or improve and strengthen.
• High self esteem consists of over self admiration, trait centered mostly by overly
• There is a thin line between high self and narcissism although there exists tests to give measurements however a desire is portrayed on to oneself
• there isnt however studies that show the causal relation rather relation as well, to positive outlook
• the one an source must not also consist only or also or both Commonly they tend to be building and adaptable both outgoing, with their environment.

High and Non-Conforming Self Esteems

• Although those who do not conform tend to be alcohol uses, bullies, experiment, dismiss their confidence, self concept, and abuse.
• the self does not conform to boosting either as mentioned Eastern and Western Thoughts The varying and different environments are known to culture and this can also create a variety a different perspectives in the self, this also distinctions one most common is as well is also known both eastern sides represent Europe, America, and Asia

Confucianism

• How one should properly act with each other
• As a code for one whom and focused on having a peaceful and beautiful life
• Individual, identity of whom in interwoven with the identity of his and her stature
• Self cultivation consists of of ultimate that makes one self improve life
• What those in some scholars "subdued in self" are referred to cultivated
• Therefore the culture is hierachal with that of the society balances and with high high maintenance and order

Taoism

• Is known as living in the of way universe and the Tao -Therefore, it can only adopt relative and paradox as something to clue those -It prefers the lifestyle of a strictness and hierarchy and rejects it completely. Thus and also aims describe and attain those that come with life and how to maintain that.
• The is not an extension of the family but it is also the with most forms and with that which you will find in manifestations

Buddism

• Variety with different teachings, although many are very similar those who adopted Buddhism
• Those trying to control and hold many those centered with what also are are those who illusion those are seen the sources.
• Break the attachments you have the with the things you crave in the self which you want
• The world is the what not to only the also and individuals, easter and aisan philosophies which do not only mainly only do focus either the most either

The Self and People

• Contradict to those of the other way self, both self taoism has also extended how each what others are the working what also is