Philosophical Views: Socrates and Plato

Philosophical Perspective on Self

• Self is a person's essential being, shaped by experiences
• Philosophical study looks at the fundamental nature of the self
• Views on the self can be understood by revisiting Greek philosophers

Socrates

• Socrates was a Greek philosopher who helped develop Western philosophy.
• The Socratic method encouraged critical thinking
• Believed true wisdom is understanding you know nothing
• Gaining wisdom requires acknowledging you are an empty cup
• Knowing oneself leads to opportunities for growth

Plato

• Plato was a Greek philosopher and student of Socrates
• Human behavior stems from desire, emotion, and knowledge
• Introduced the concept of dualism
• Dualism states the body and soul are separate and the soul lives on after death
• The soul has three parts determining behavior
  • Rational / Logical (Ruling Class) seeks truth and is swayed by facts and arguments
  • Spirited / Emotional (Military Class) expresses feelings
  • Appetitive / Physical Desires (Commoner) drive you with desires

Aristotle

• Aristotle was Plato's student and explored knowledge through natural philosophy
• Growth begins from within
• Human actions have seven causes:
  • Chance
  • Nature
  • Compulsions
  • Habit
  • Reasoning
  • Passion
  • Desire

St. Augustine

• Unified Greek philosophy with Divine Truths from Scripture
• Humans were created by God
• Self can be achieved through:
  • Self-Presentation which expresses oneself to make a desired impression
  • Self-Realization which is discovering one's true self beyond the physical form

René Descartes

• Supported dualism
• The self is the subject that thinks and has full human reason
• The self finds truth and authenticity within its capacity to think

John Locke

• Term "tabula rasa" means empty slate
• People are born with a blank mind filled with experiences, sensations, and reflections
• Personal identity stems from psychological continuity and consciousness

David Hume

• The self is a bundle of outside impressions.
• Finding the true self is hard since it changes with time and situations

Immanuel Kant

• Everyone has an inner and outer self forming consciousness
• Consciousness relies on being in touch with both
  • Inner self refers to psychological states and rational intellect
  • Outer self refers to senses and the physical world

Psychological Perspective on Self

• Psychology studies behavior and mental processes
• Self refers to a person's single, autonomous experience separate from others
• Self is experienced continuously through time and place
• Self includes consciousness of physicality, inner character, and emotional life

Nature of the Psychological Self

• The self has facets such as self-awareness, self-esteem, self-knowledge, and self-perception
• All parts change aspects of the self to gain acceptance

William James: Me vs. I

• Self is the distinction between I, the subjective knower, and Me, the object known
  • Me refers to knowledge of who we are (self-concept)
  • I refers to self-awareness

Sigmund Freud: Provinces of the Mind

• Self comes from interaction of three provinces of the mind
  • Id relating to pleasure
  • Ego relating to reality
  • Superego relating to morality
• Defense mechanisms deal with anxious thoughts and feelings

Erik Erikson: Psychosocial Theory of Development

• Self-identity progresses in eight stages
• Each stage poses a psychosocial dilemma
• Each stage has interaction of conflict, harmonious and disruptive elements

Donald Winnicott: True Self vs. False Self

• People develop a False Self to protect their True Self
• The false self is classified as:
  • Healthy False Self which enables one to be functional in society
  • Unhealthy False Self which occurs through forced compliance

Eric Berne: Transactional Analysis Theory

• Childhood experiences influence the formation of three ego states:
  • Parent which is thoughts and feelings from parents
  • Adult which is response to the here and now
  • Child which is replayed thoughts, feelings and behaviors from childhood
• Feeling of self is mobile and moves the three ego states

Carl Rogers: Self-Concept

• Self-concept is three components:
  • Self-image how you see yourself
  • Self-esteem how you accept yourself
  • Ideal self how you envision yourself to be
• Congruence occurs when one's self-image and ideal self are consistent
• Incongruence is when difference between selves is high

Self as Product of Modern Society

• Modernization offers people opportunities to detach from societal limitations
• Freedom to choose our own identity

Self as a Necessary Fiction

• Self is the sum of actions, thoughts, and feelings projected to others
• Everyone needs some necessary fiction in life to keep from chaos
• Firm beliefs and opinions unify oneself

Post-Modern View of Self

• Self-Identity changes to the demands of social contexts, new technologies, and globalization

• Self is a narrative and one can choose their identity for self-cultivation

Self as Artistic Creation

• Oneself negotiates for the definition of oneself
• Artistic creation does not simply follow established norms

Self Creation and Collective Identity

• Collective identity influences self creation
• Collective identity defines oneself in relation to others and the outside world

Self Creation and Struggle for Cultural Identity

• Pluralized selves and collective identity contribute to one's sense of self
• Conflicts arise concerning personal identity and belonging

Anthropological Self

• Anthropology studies people, their evolutionary history, and how they adapt
• Lens provides insights to oneself by studying diversity
• Concept of generation understands dynamics of social change over time
• Culture is the environment shaped by practices
• Culture refers to customary beliefs, social forms, traits of racial, religious, or social group
• Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory studies a person in the context of multiple environments:
  • Microsystem is direct contact in the environment
  • Mesosystem is the interaction of the microsystem with each other
  • Exosystem covers people without direct contact but still affects you
  • Macrosystem is exosystem in a wider scope
  • Chronosystem is how time impacts us

Moi

• A person's sense of who he is

Personne

• Social concepts of what it means to be who he is

Tabula Rasa

• At birth all individuals are basically the same in their postnatal experiences
• These experiences differ due to culture

Culture

• Historically transmitted patterns of meanings embodied in symbols