Philosophy of the Self

Philosophical Perspective of the Self

• Philosophy combines the Greek words "philo" (love) and "sophia" (wisdom), meaning love of wisdom.
• Pythagoras was the first to use the term philosophy.
• Socrates emphasized the importance of self-examination, famously stating, "An unexamined life is not worth living," asserting dualism between the changeable body and the immortal soul.
• Plato declared that "the soul is immortal," dividing it into three parts: rational (thinking), spirited (emotions), and appetitive (biological needs).
• Aristotle defined the soul as the essence of the self, classifying it into three types: vegetative (plants), sentient (animals), and rational (humans).
• St. Augustine believed that knowledge comes from seeing the truth within oneself and that the soul completes the body.
• René Descartes coined "Cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am), proposing body-mind dualism.
• John Locke viewed the self as consciousness, describing the mind at birth as a "tabula rasa" or blank slate.
• Immanuel Kant asserted that the self constructs its reality to create familiar experiences.
• Gilbert Ryle claimed that the self manifests through behavior, encapsulated in "I act therefore I am."
• Paul Churchland reduced the self to the brain, denying the existence of the mind as separate from the brain.
• Maurice Merleau-Ponty focused on "embodied subjectivity," stating knowledge comes from subjective experience.
• Sigmund Freud introduced Psychoanalytic Theory, outlining the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious levels of the mind, alongside the Id, Ego, and Superego models.

Social Perspective

• Sociology studies groups, social interactions, and societies.
• Personality refers to individual behavioral uniqueness.
• Socialization teaches individuals essential societal skills.
• Charles Horton Cooley's "Looking Glass Theory" suggests that our self-concept is influenced by how others perceive us.
• George Herbert Mead introduced the dual nature of self: I-self (subjective) and Me-self (object), describing self-development in three stages: preparatory (symbol use), play (role-taking), and game (understanding broader perspectives).
• Erving Goffman's theory of front stage and back stage describes public and private selves.

Anthropological Perspective

• Anthropology studies human behavior and culture (Anthropos = man; Logos = study).
• Culture comprises material components (tangible items), cognitive components (beliefs, knowledge), and normative components (social norms, folkways, mores).
• Cultural change can occur through cultural lag (disparity between social progress and cultural beliefs) and cultural borrowing (adopting elements from other cultures).
• Socialization helps individuals adapt to group norms and behaviors through agents like family, school, religion, and media.

Psychological Perspective

• William James identified the I-self (who we are) and Me-self (empirical self) composed of material, social, and spiritual dimensions.
• David Lester discussed the concept of multiple vs. unified selves across roles and relationships.
• Donald Winnicott differentiated between true and false selves, where false selves protect the true self.
• Carl Rogers emphasized human goodness, free will, and psychological growth through self-concept, self-image, and self-esteem.
• Freud's structures of personality include the Id (pleasure principle), Ego (reality principle), and Superego (moral conscience), along with psychosexual stages defining childhood development.
• Psychological defense mechanisms include denial, repression, rationalization, and projection, among others.
• Albert Bandura highlighted human agency and proactive behaviors through intentionality, forethought, self-reactiveness, and self-reflectiveness.
• Carl Jung introduced personality archetypes such as Persona (public self), Shadow (dark self), Anima (feminine aspect), and Animus (masculine aspect), with Self as the central archetype.

Western vs. Eastern Perspective

• Western thought emphasizes scientific investigation and individualism.
• Eastern thought questions human life’s ultimate meaning, focusing on the self through various philosophies.
• Buddhism posits that self and soul are illusions; individuals consist of five parts: matter, sensation, perception, mental constructs, and consciousness, emphasizing impermanence (Anicca).
• Hinduism introduces the concept of Atman and the law of karma.
• Confucianism emphasizes ethical behavior and self-cultivation principles.
• Taoism views the self as a cosmic extension rather than a social construct.