Philosophical Perspectives on Self

Lesson 1: Philosophical Perspective

• This chapter studies the concept of self across philosophical eras and its historical development.
• Western Philosophy started with a sense of awe, a philosophical engagement that triggers thinking and rationalization.
• Creative thinking and questioning are tools for understanding oneself.
• Philosophers are categorized by the trends of their era.

Western Philosophy

• Philosophizing goes beyond Socrates, with earlier philosophers focusing on Cosmo-centric views.
• Cosmo-centric views seek the ultimate meaning and composition of the world.
• Ancient philosophers focused on introspection and self-knowledge.

Socratic Period

• Socrates (469/470-399 BCE) was known as the Father of Ancient Western Philosophy.
• Socrates shaped the intellectual world and claimed that he knew nothing, only seeking the Truth.
• Socrates said life is not worth living without self-examination.
• Examining one's life leads to happiness and meaning, as Socrates said, "Know Thyself."

Socratic Method

• The Socratic Method seeks to understand the world through philosophy by questioning without answering.
• The Socratic Method is also known as the midwifery method and it aids the person to reach an authentic answer through questions, and ends with "I do not know."
• Socrates didn't write anything, so Plato wrote about him in "The Republic" and "The Apology."
• Socrates questioned people in the marketplace (Agora), believing the gods called him to do so.
• Socrates was sentenced to death at age 70 for questioning the gods' existence and corrupting youth so he died by drinking poison hemlock.
• Socrates was deemed critical for not accepting the existence of the gods and myths.
• Socrates thought "divine is benevolent, truthful, authoritative and wise; for him, divinity operates with the standards of rationality".
• Socrates believed the soul is more important than external factors like wealth and was a proponent of virtue.
• A virtuous life is achieved through self-examination and moral living.
• Right before his death, Socrates proclaimed, "The unexamined life is not worth living as a man."
• According to Socrates, self-knowledge determines the quality of life, and the primary goal is happiness, achieved through virtue, moral excellence, and self-examination.

Plato (428-348 BCE)

• Plato was a follower of Socrates from a wealthy Athenian family.
• Plato founded the Academy in Athens.
• Plato wrote "The Apology" and "The Republic."
• Plato Presented his philosophy using Socrates in "Platonic Dialogues" to extract Socrates' views through conversations with Athenian thinkers and scholars.
• Plato is noted to be the teacher of Aristotle- which formed the golden era of Ancient Greek thinkers.
• Plato utilized Socrates’ views to create innovative ideas.

Theory of Form and Matter

• Plato's Theory of Form and Matter asserts that the physical world is an inaccurate imitation of the perfect "World of Form."
• The world of form is perfect and exists beyond matter.
• Man can know the world of form through reason but can never understand it fully.

Parts of The Soul

• Plato considered the self, soul, and mind as one.
• Rational: associated with the brain, drives logic, and seeks wisdom, but may lead to pride or sloth.
• Spirited: linked to the heart, drives feelings, which seeks courage, but may cause anger or envy.
• Appetitive: connected to the stomach/genitals, drives desire, seeking moderation, but may cause greed.
• Rationality is the highest part of the soul to achieve wisdom.

Aristotle (384-322 BCE)

• Father of Western Logic and a student of Plato.
• He made contributions to science, ethics, and metaphysics.
• Aristotle's ideas about the self include the nature of the soul, the goal of virtue, and insights about the human soul.

Nature of The Soul

• Aristotle conceptualizes that "all that exists has a soul," building on Plato's Forms and Matter.
• Soul (form) and matter (body).
• For Aristotle, "the soul is the actuality of the body that has life", and the soul is defined by its relationship with organic matter.
• All living things have souls in a hierarchy: plants (nutritive), animals (sensitive with motion and perception), and humans (rational).
• Humans are defined as rational animals.

The Flourishing "The Good Life"

• Eudaimonia represents that everyone has a purpose and needs to discover it.
• "Flourishing" is reached by realizing one's potential.
• Potential must be used before actions/decisions are made.
• Aristotle's "De Anima" emphasizes self-reflection to understand oneself and capacity to present oneself effectively.

Virtue and Development

• Moral character is essential.
• Flourishing is achieved through habit, and repetitive consistency.
• The self is part of a community, needing connections with others.
• Holistic understanding is needed for self-potential, the existence of other souls, and a harmonious relationship.

Medieval Period

• The Medieval Period was the Christian Philosophical Era.
• Thinkers tried to prove faith with reason or philosophy.
• The period sought the origin/purpose of self through the interplay between the Supreme Being and man.
• St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas shaped the understanding of man, his soul, and his relationship with nature and the Divine.

St. Augustine (354-430 A.D.)

• Bishop of Hippo, traditionally believed to have converted due to the prayers of his mother.
• Augustine’s most popular work; "The Confessions", presents his journey to self-discovery and conversion to Christianity to understand the importance of "Esse Purum" or "Pure Essence."
• According to Augustine introspection and conscience examination should coincide with man's memory, intellect, and actions aligned with the Divine.

Freedom of the Will

• The will is the faculty of the mind deciding based on reason.
• Choice of good or bad remains in the individual's hands.
• Shaping oneself is a personal action.

The Platonic Influence

• St. Augustine was a follower of Plato.
• A Platonic idea Augustine adopted was the Theory of Forms.
• He believed that the use of reason in faith was the final authority.
• St. Augustine used the Tripartite Self to further explain how these faculties interact and contribute to understanding the self.
• Memoria goes beyond memory, it contributes to identity, and encompasses lessons and future aspirations.
• Intellectus is man's faculty to reason and contemplate Truth, directed towards the Supreme Being and it battles worldly distractions.
• Voluntas makes decisions to follow the intellect or be tempted by the Supreme Being.
• Judgements can be clouded by memories.
• Decisions to connect to the Creator always remain in man's hands.
• The tripartite model of Augustine tried to unravel the complexities of man's soul and find meaning and harmony by man's will.
• Augustine's "My heart is restless unless it rests unto You," shows the importance of the Divine.

St. Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274)

• Church doctor and philosopher.
• He blended Aristotle's works with Christian thought.
• Aristotle's influence earned him the title "The Philosopher" in Aquinas' writings.
• Aquinas focused on humanity, the soul and the relationship of faith/reason.
• The Summa Contra Gentiles is a book presenting Catholic truths against the non-believers, which helps in directing people to faith.
• The Summa Theologica is a book explaining theology to theology students.

View of The Self

• The philosophical view of St. Thomas Aquinas regarding the self is based on the perfection of man's nature.
• Man is the body and soul which creates unity.
• Thomas Aquinas claimed that the soul is the body's form, immortal, and created by God.
• Humans achieve perfection by fulfilling union with God, pursuing virtue/morality.
• Intellect helps contemplate truth, enabling choices, and will enable spiritual connection.
• The self reaches harmony with faith and reason.

Modern Philosophy

• Modern Philosophy challenged traditional thinking.
• Modern Philosophy approached questions about knowledge, the self, and reality from different angles and offered a distinctive insight into the origin of knowledge.
• "Self" unveils man's view based on what he himself knows.

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

• Rene Descartes was known as the father of Modern Philosophy.
• He initiated methodic doubt, or a new means of inquiring about the Truth.
• Descartes' "Cogito, ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am) directs rationalism, believing truth in proven knowledge, scrutinized for errors.
• Senses can be deceived whether intentionally or unintentionally.
• Starting with the certainty of one's existence defines their essence as a thinking entity.
• He explains man is made of body (material) and soul (thinking substance).
• Self is composition of body and soul, needing each other known as "dualism".
• Self-awareness creates use of doubt to understand one's self.

David Hume (1711-1776)

• David Hume explains the self through experience.
• Hume emphasizes experience and the role of senses to building knowledge.
• His perspective rejects the idea of innate nature for learning and prior knowledge must be rejected.
• The Bundle theory views Self as sensations of experiences; the self collects them through impressions and creates ideas to describe a phenomenon.
• Self-experience processed presents a certainty and continuous learning.
• Personality and self-identity claims are mere perceptions of the mind.

John Locke (1632-1704)

• John Locke proposed "tabula rasa" (blank slate).
• Personal development occurs at birth because there is no present innate knowledge, in which knowledge comes from sensory experiences being recorded.
• Understanding of self is built by past experiences, memories, and discernment.
• Experience and reason are vital in understanding the self to shape personality through introspection.

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

• Knowledge, according to Kant, is gained through experience and rationalization.
• Self- categorizes knowledge as empirical (understanding) and rationale (intrinsic).
• Self-categorization is referred to as Transcendental Self.
• External self is concerned with the empirical experiences and enters process through senses.
• Sensual Inputs are considered raw, processed in mind but not accepted as universal reality.
• Kant Accepts reality and depicts accepted principles without experiencing; it depicts transcendental self.
• Transcendental self creates a unified perception with continuous processes.

Post-Modernism

• Whether people have ultimate purpose to be created/essence of existence is a philosophical endeavor.
• Existentialism is within man's reality and is obedient to reason.

Gabriel Marcel (1889-1973)

• He is best known as a Christain Existentialist where his philosopical and existential endeavous are answering relevant questions through a Christian perspective.
• Encounters with primary and secondary reflection where a person faces problems and mystery for understanding himself.
• Primary Reflection -perceiving breaks and examines the object of the man's action.
• The break is healed through "Second Reflection"-unifies action and presents meaning.
• Idealism should be refjected and deconstructed to respond it.
• By not dweling on a breaks or actions it will ground the ehtical view of "Ethical- Self".
• Reflection of man's thoughts ends in a discovery to act appropriately in the world.
• As a dual- critiquing process rational thoughts and a recovering of expereinces will allow profound reflection of events.

Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995)

• The ego of the self is focus and preserve.
• Ego follows rule of the strong
• A person recognizes in the discovery the responsibility, resperct and love
• "I" develops but never stays with the beginning, has a primal identity.
• Liberty senses throught ego's actions.
• Value provides signs of growth as egos improves with others.
• Discource is neccesary
• Other is higher than one's Self
• Encounter develpos interest.

Maurice Merleau-Ponty (embodied Subjectivity)

• Self is a realization and all knowledge is a phenomenon
• People know self through learning/experiences.
• It is objective, the simultaneous acceptance and realization of phenomenon are subjetive
• People's awareness is always contained by the objective factor but subjective where the self is able percieves.
• Embodying of the objective world but experience differenlty create subjective experience of the objective reality.

Lesson 2: Western and Eastern Philosophical Perspective

• Diverse origins cause disagreement in approaching the self.
• Western begins with awe to unravel mysteries.
• Eastern has various routes, to explore the root causes of human suffering.
• West starts with wonder and embarks on quest and contrast starts with answering the meaning of life"s suffering.
• The study compares Eastern and Western Origins and deeper discussion of Eastern philosophical to comapre and to analyze the self, and appreciate its richness.

Contrasting Western and Eastern Traditions

Epistemological (Western) vs. Eastern.

• West was epistemoligcal in studying the origin of knowledge from sense of awe.

• West uses the intellect to rationalize and uses scientific methods.

• Eastern philosophy sees the connection of everything, interconnectedness, and collectiveness; part of life of belief, and religious practices so it's denies to individual's self, for it causes pain

• Eastern deals with main idea of how to live in harmony with world understand through that essence of existence.

• Man struggle and become only selfish and ignores wordliness.

The Difference

• Communial Development VS Egoistic Develpoment.
• Collective VS Invidualistic.
• Interconnectedness VS Materialisitc.
• Cycle VS Linear Life.
• Colllective VS Autonomous.

The Eastern Thoughts

• Confucianism Influenced practices and philosophies.
• Confucius explained the symbolic of life where that life is recognition of the social aspect of man through self cultivation.
• Self according to Cuncianism, the importance focus importance on Approval or community.
• The importance of society and others for better than his needs.

Self cultivation

Ren (people empathy) through action and better understanding of yi.

1. Zhi - what are motives?
2. Xue - is an easier learn due to a purpose?
3. check desire and heavenly mandate to cultivate through reflection of Shu.

• Taoism practices during the Han dynasty, the way of life is to follow process, part of whole for flow of way for inclination.
• One wit nature as Laozi said, no entity, illusion that makes self selfish and selftless.

The Hindu

Commonly a religion though spiritual and philosophical movement with the Vedas writing that are connective.

Caste System

• Brahman - Highsocial and priesthood.
• Khariayas - 2nd the warrior class.
• Vaisyas - 3rd is merchangts.
• Sudas - 4th laborers and artists Karma the result of the previous actions you took Slddartha or Gautama found the religion where reaching it is the light for the people.

Buddhism Incultivating

• Need the 4 truths due too 1. 2 Suffer 3 to get rid 4 by eliminating in through the 8 Path give them right to aspire and speak to live like a Buddhist.
• There is no one and Self is non existent that is holy in the end.
• All things happen and they are all illusions in this moment.

Lesson 3: The Self From Various Prespectives

• Individuals can not exists appart individuals can not exists apart from society" - Peter.
• Peter berge and ThomLuckmann.

Social Perspective

• France 1800"s where "idiot" was placed is an isolated of mutes that a Physician by the name Itard wanted study. Thought that behavior wild resulted being away social conduct showed that socialization in importaind to shapself.
• Sociology studies human social life groups and societies to show how.
• Individuals and groups are influences to societal influcences/the result of society.

The Concept

• How humans posse self identify where all come with status a social position status can be two types. Achieved( actions) Ascribed (born).
• Changes as other member will view these status to the changing of totaly defentions.
• Self develops where are feeling thoughts and actions make individual different from group.

Socialization

1. Fundamentail developement to information
2. Socialization group is were comes from the beleiefs to show you have a role.

Perspective

1 focus child goes fro unsocilazed newborb to increasingly socialize. 2 Focus as agengents to socialize others where 5 of them in groups. a). Family most significant for is gives individuals there first system from backgrounds or religion. The child will so socialzied in this way. Family will socializing the members who also socialization child thus their childs others are also from childs. b). Schools - select skills knowledge norms or values system of rules. c.) Peer - social equal for group to lead social support. d), Religion- influenced moral beliefs and expression manner. e.) Mass - transmits information quickly.

Societal norms influence prespective's in society.

Explortant

Understant person influence. Theorie of Charles Couly and Meade interaction devlopment to which is believe that a person interaction and socilize. Charles Contributes to looking class to the self how others help see. 1 imagine how are actions appear or othe. 2 is reacred there thought the others. 3. Is preception based on of of the others.

Theory and Development

• George Herbet - development enter around the self through with action communication with a group with taking value by the norm.
• Preparation Stage.
• Play Stage. _ Game Stage. _ M and ME I want freedom other through the taught family peer school media.

the Self in Modern Culture Under Construction

• Society change for it is affected cultural, socio, political.
• Modern and self - influenced by tech for those effected or changed society to more elements.
• In community and society power have social control but in mordirty self- challedge for has a voice.
• globalizing influences of meda which is share throught others also have personal disposition make the relationship create in this way.

Disembrading

Modernity has changed the norms and tradoitnal roles.

Individuals a reflex to chlenge and make discesion and become more self aware and be what they want become self reliant. By this being in this modern they were more are of there capacities and passions