Philosophy and the Self: Socrates

• The philosophy of self studies the conditions of identity that distinguish a subject from other experiences.
• The self is understood as unified and connected to consciousness, awareness, and agency.
• Philosophers have sought explanations for existence for centuries.
• Greek philosophers sought natural rather than supernatural explanations.
• They studied elements, mathematics, heavenly bodies and atoms to understand the world.
• Questions shifted from understanding nature to exploring the inner self: "Who am I?", "Why am I here?", "What do I want out of life?"

Socrates

• In ancient Athens, power was achieved through skillful debate and discussion.
• Sophists were the first teachers of the West, excelling in argumentation.
• Socrates, a brilliant debater idolized by Athenians, emerged as a prominent sophist.

The Socratic Method (Dialectic Method)

• The Socratic method seeks the correct definition of a thing.
• Socrates would ask questions to stimulate discussion rather than lecture.
• The method aims to bring the person closer to a final understanding.

Socrates View of Human Nature

• The true self is the soul, not the body.
• An unexamined life is not worth living, necessitating introspection.
• Understanding oneself requires continuous thinking, seeking, and questioning.

Plato

• Plato's real name was Aristocles, nicknamed Plato for his broad physique.
• He founded 'The Academy'.
• Plato wrote "The Dialogues," documenting his dialogues with Socrates.

Plato's View of Human Nature

• Knowledge resides within the soul, which has three components: reason, spirit, and appetite.
• People are intrinsically good.
• In Theory of Being, increased knowledge equates to increased being and betterment.
• Love facilitates ascension to higher stages of self-realization and perfection.

St. Augustine of Hippo

• St. Augustine was a sinner turned saint.
• God is the source of all good; understanding eternal truths requires God.
• Happiness is found in God's love and the purpose He created humans for: to love.
• Quote: "My soul is restless until it rest in thee".

David Hume (1711-1776)

• A prominent philosopher, historian, and essayist writing in English.
• Major philosophical works include "A Treatise of Human Nature" (1739–1740), "Human Understanding" (1748), "The Principles of Morals" (1751), and "Dialogues concerning Natural Religion" (1779).
• Holds empiricist view: knowledge is derived from sense-experience.
• The self is a product of imagination.
• Personal identity is non-existent because perceptions and feelings are transient.
• There is no permanent/unchanging self.

Rene Descartes

• Known as the "father of modern philosophy".
• A rationalist that upholds rationalism.
• Rationalism: reason is the basis of certainty in knowledge, rather than experience.
• Reasoning produces absolute truths "a priori" about nature, existence, morality, and God, innate to the human mind.
• "I think, therefore I am" is Descartes' legacy.
• A thinker doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses, imagines, and feels.
• The cognitive aspect of human nature grounds the existence of the self.

John Locke

• Empiricist.
• Knowledge comes from experience ("a posteriori").
• Knowledge is derived from ideas produced by experienced objects.
• Process involves sensation: experiencing the object through the senses
• Process involves reflection: mind considering the perceived objects to discover relationships
• Sensation is the conscious awareness upon stimulation of a sense organ.
• Perception interprets the stimulus.
• The mind at birth is a "tabula rasa" (blank slate), not having innate ideas.

Immanuel Kant

• Founder of German Idealism.
• Idealism: knowledge is dependent on mental activity.
• Contrary to empiricists, argues the mind isn't a passive receiver, but actively participates in knowing.
• Knowledge results from human understanding applied to sense experience.
• Theory of “Transcendental Apperception": The unity of all impressions organized by the mind through perceptions.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

• Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis.
• Developed psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue.
• Theory and practice of psychoanalysis focuses on the unconscious, early sexual development, repression, dreams, death and life drives, and transference.
• Considered the father of modern psychology.
• Theories on the connections between the conscious, subconscious mind, body, and the world are widely known.

Gilbert Ryle (1900-1976)

• 20th-century British philosopher associated with the Ordinary Language Philosophy movement.
• Influential in 20th-century Analytic Philosophy, especially in Philosophy of Mind and Language.
• Two types of knowledge: "knowing-that" and "knowing-how."
• "Knowing-that" is deemed empty intellectualism.
• Applying facts ("knowing-how") is more important.
• Knowing involves an ability, not just intellect.

Patricia and Paul Churchland

• Coined the term "Neurophilosophy"—a combination of neurology (study of the nervous system) and philosophy (the love of wisdom in search for the truth).
• Aims to explore the relevance of neuroscientific experiments/studies to philosophy of the mind.
• Central issue: the relation of Brain and mind.
• They believe the brain is responsible for the self, as biochemical properties govern thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
• A person's decisions, impulse control, and self-perception are determined by neurons, hormones, and genetics.

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

• French Philosopher who wrote on perception, art and political thought.
• Proponent of “Phenomenology of Perception," describing the nature of man's perceptual contact with the world.
• The world is a field of perception.
• The world is assigned meaning through human consciousness
• Man cannot be separated from the perception of the world.