Philosophy of the Self: Concepts and Thinkers

The Philosophy of the Self

• The philosophy of the self explores the nature of the self and what it means to be an individual
• The self is defined as a unified being, connected to consciousness, awareness, and agency
• Different philosophers have different interpretations of the self
• Empiricism asserts that knowledge is derived from sensory experiences, while Rationalism emphasizes innate knowledge.

Classical Antiquity

• Socrates believed that self-knowledge is the ultimate virtue and that “Know Thyself” is the key to happiness
• Plato believed that moral virtue is rooted in intellect and leads to happiness
• Plato suggested that wisdom and knowledge lead to virtue, ultimately leading to happiness

Middle Ages

• St. Augustine fused Plato's ideas with Christianity.
• St. Augustine believed that all knowledge leads to knowing God.
• He viewed the self as intrinsically marked by sin and its redemption through Christ.
• He believed that only the pure in heart can see God.
• He believed that love of God would ultimately lead to happiness, and this love requires humility and self-sacrifice.

Renaissance

• Descartes was a rational philosopher, famous for his statement "I think, therefore I am."
• He believed that the mind and soul can exist apart from the body.
• He argued for the distinction between the mind and body and suggested that this distinction would lead to a belief in an afterlife and the immortality of the soul.
• Locke believed that personal identity is rooted in consciousness, not in the body or soul.
• Locke emphasized the importance of experience in shaping the self.
• He believed that a change in the soul does not affect personal identity, as long as consciousness remains intact.
• Hume was an empiricist who believed that all knowledge originates from sense experience.
• He emphasized the role of perception in creating our identity.
• He denied the existence of a permanent, unchanging self.
• Kant believed that our understanding and knowledge are shaped by the structure of our minds.
• He believed in a distinction between inner and outer selves, with the inner self encompassing reason and psychological states and the outer self including the body and the physical mind, where representation occurs.

Modern Times

• Freud emphasized the unconscious mind and its influence on the self.
• Freud believed that the self is composed of the Id (pleasure principle), Ego (reality principle), and Superego (morality principle)
• Ryle rejected the idea of the mind as a separate entity from the body.
• Ryle argued that the real self is revealed through our actions.
• He saw the mind as a category mistake, resulting from habitual use, and argued that the mind can affect the external world only through the physical body.
• Churchland argued that neuroscience can explain the self, and believes that a fully developed neuroscience will eliminate the need for beliefs because "they aren't real."
• She viewed the brain as the source of our sense of self.
• Merleau-Ponty argued that both empiricism and rationalism are flawed, and emphasized the importance of embodiment in understanding the self.
• He believed that our body plays a vital role in our perception, and that the mind and body are not separate entities.
• The idea of the self is an ongoing philosophical debate that continues to be explored, and there is no single answer to the question of what constitutes the self.