Philosophical Views of the Self

• Philosophy comes from the Greek words "philo" (love) and "sophia" (wisdom), signifying the love of wisdom.
• Philosophy is viewed as a way of life, an art of living, not just a subject of study.
• It aims to alleviate suffering and reshape the self according to an ideal of wisdom.
• Philosophy systematically studies ideas and issues, pursuing fundamental truths and understanding the world.
• It delves into existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, language, and the qualities that distinguish the self from others.

Philosophers' Ideas of the Self

• Socrates viewed the human person as dualistic, comprising both body and soul.
• Emmanuel Kant believed individuals construct their own self.
• David Hume argued against the existence of a permanent self.
• Plato introduced the tripartite self, consisting of rational, appetitive, and spirited components.
• René Descartes asserted "cognito ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am.")
• John Locke believed self is rooted in consciousness.

Socrates (Self = Soul)

• Socrates was the first philosopher to focus on the problem of the self.
• He equated the self with the soul (psyche).
• Socrates was a dualist, believing every person consists of a body and a soul.
• The soul is immortal, so death is merely the soul's departure to the eternal world.
• He stated: "An unexamined life is not worth living" and "One thing only I know, and that is I know nothing".
• The Socratic approach involves teaching through questioning.
• Socrates proposed that the soul exists before the body, residing in the realm of ideas as a pure mind.
• Upon entering the material world, people forget their prior knowledge, leading to ignorance.
• The solution is the dialectic method, or Socrates method which continuously asks questions.

Plato (Conflict of the Self)

• Plato founded the Academy, a prototype for modern universities.
• He distinguished between the ideal (world of forms) and the material world.
• The soul represents the divine aspect of human existence.
• The soul has three components: rational, spirited, and appetitive.
• Plato believed attaining pure knowledge requires separating from the body and contemplating with the soul alone.
• Human beings consist of a body and a soul.
• The soul is the true, permanent self found in the world of ideas.
• The body, changeable and in the material world, is merely a replica of the true self.

René Descartes (Father of Modern Philosophy Mind-Body Dichotomy)

• Descartes stated "I think, therefore, I am."
• He believed the soul and body are independent.
• The self is a thinking entity, separate from the physical body.
• Descartes doubted the existence of his own body.
• The mere act of thinking about oneself proves the existence of the self.
• The essence of the self is as a thinking entity that doubts, understands, analyzes, questions, and reasons.
• There are two dimensions of the self: the self as a thinking entity and the self as a physical body.
• The thinking self (or soul) is nonmaterial, immortal, conscious, and independent of physical laws.
• The physical body is material, mortal, non-thinking, and governed by physical laws.
• The soul and body are independent and can exist/function without each other.