Understanding the Self: Philosophical Journey

Understanding the Self

• The aim is to explore issues of self and identity
• The study aims to unfold mysteries of self-realization
• It defines self as a person
• It unpacks every aspect of self
• It will then address concerns of adolescent learners in managing and caring for themselves
• Written by Ms. Leah Hermogenes, LPT
• Instruction given by Erwin Marlon R. Sario

Lesson 1: Definition of the Self: Philosophical Journey

• What is the role of philosophy in understanding the self?
• What are the different concepts of the self from the philosophical view?
• What are the various concepts of the self and identify their similarities?
• How to develop your own philosophy of the self?

Philosophy

• Finding answers to questions about ourselves and the world
• Exploring what is morally right and wrong, and why
• Investigating the meaning of a good life
• Questioning the existence of God
• Exploring the nature of the mind
• Questioning existing knowledge and intuitions to get closer to the truth

Outcomes of Studying Philosophy

• Develop critical thinking skills
• Hone argument skills
• Improve communication
• Enhance reasoning abilities
• Build problem-solving capabilities
• Sharpen analytical abilities
• Ability to justify opinions
• Identify flawed arguments
• Able to explain views and perspectives effectively
• Teaches you to think

Etymology of Philosophy

• Comes from φιλοσοφία (philosophia)
• "Philia" (φιλία) means love
• "Sophia"(σοφία) means wisdom
• Therefore, philosophy translates to "love of wisdom"

Pythagora of Samos

• First to use the term philosophy
• From Ionian Greek

Origin of Philosophy and Logic

• Driven by the search for truth, meaning, answers, importance, significance, value, and relevance
• Philosophy asks a lot of questions

Philosophy and the Self

• Key figure is Hypatia of Alexandria
• She was an ancient Greek philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer

Socrates

• "Know Thyself"
• "An unexamined life is not worth living"
• Self-knowledge is a prerequisite to a happy and meaningful life
• Every man is a dualistic being composed of a body and soul
• The two aspects of personhood are the body, which is imperfect and impermanent, and the soul, which is perfect and permanent

Socrates' Two Dichotomous Realms

• The Physical Realm: Changeable, transient, and imperfect
  • The body belongs to this realm
• The Ideal Realm: Unchanging, eternal, and immortal
  • The soul belongs to this realm
• Socrates focused on the power of reason on the human self
• Considers WHO WE ARE, WHO WE SHOULD BE, AND WHO WE WILL BECOME
• The soul strives for wisdom and perfection
• Reason is the soul's tool to achieve an exalted state of life
• Focus on bodily needs distracts from attaining wisdom
• A meaningful and happy life is achieved through virtue and soul-searching
• Separating the body from the soul enables focus on the soul

Plato

• A student of Socrates
• Believed that the human soul is immortal
• The philosophy of self is a process of self-knowledge and purification of the soul
• Believed that the mind and soul exist
• Mind and soul is given in perfection with God
• The human soul has three parts

Parts of the Soul according to Plato

• Rational Soul: encompasses reason and intellect

  • A person gets divine essence, enabling deep thought, wise choices, and understanding of eternal truths

• Spirited Soul: includes emotion and passion

  • Emotions present are love, anger, ambition, empathy, and aggressiveness

• Appetitive Soul: includes basic needs

  • Basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire

• These three elements' relationships are dynamic and, at times conflicting

• It is our reason that needs to sort things out and take action

• Genuine happiness is only achieved when reason is in control of our spirits and appetites

Aristotle

• A student of Plato
• Believes the soul is the essence of the self
• The body and soul are not two separate entities; they are one
• The soul is simply the form of the body
• The soul isn't capable of existing without the body
• "Soul is that which makes a person a person"
• The soul is the essence of the self
• Rational nature of the self leads to a good, flourishing, and fulfilling life.
• Without the body, the soul dies
• The soul and body react sympathetically upon each other
• Changes in the soul affect the body, and vice versa
• Anything with life has a soul
• Focuses on the kinds of soul possessed by man
• Introduced three kinds of soul

Three Kinds of Soul

• Vegetative Soul
  • Includes the physical body that can grow
• Sentient Soul
  • Deals with sensual desires, feelings, and emotions
• Rational Soul
  • That which makes a man human
  • Includes the intellect to know and understand things
• Vegetative Soul is for plant reproduction and growth
• Sensitive Soul is for animals mobility and sensation
• Rational Soul is for humans thought and reflection

Saint Augustine

• "I am doubting, therefore I am"
• Integrated ideas from Plato and Christianity
• The view of the human person reflects the spirit of the medieval world
• The soul is united with the body so that man may be entire and complete
• Humankind is created in the image and likeness of God
• The human person is a creation of God geared towards the good
• The self is known only through knowing God
• Self-knowledge is a consequence of knowledge of God
• "Knowledge can only come by seeing the truth that dwells within us"

Rene Descartes

• "I think, therefore I am" or "Cogito ergo sum"
• The act of thinking about self or being self-conscious is proof of the self

Two Distinct Entities

• COGITO: The thinking thing or the mind
• EXTENZA: The extension or the body

John Locke: The Self is Consciousness

• The human mind at birth is a "tabula rasa" or blank slate
• He theorized that the self is constructed primarily from sense experience
• When a person is born, they know absolutely nothing
• A baby's brain is empty and ready to learn through experience
• Consciousness is necessary to a coherent personal identity

David Hume: There is No Self

• Self is simply a bundle or collection of different perceptions
• Perceptions succeed each other rapidly in a perpetual flux and movement
• Personal identity is a result of imagination
• There is no self

Sigmund Freud

• Believes the ego is not master in its own house
• Main drivers are Eros and Thanatos
• The mind consists of the id, ego and super ego

Immanuel Kant

• Self is not just what gives one their personality
• Also the seat of knowledge acquisition for all human persons
• Self constructs its own reality to make the word familiar and predictable
• Through rationality, the self transcends sense experience
• Constructs the self

Gilbert Ryle: The Self is the Way People Behav

• The self is a convenient name to refer to all human behaviours
• The statement "I act therefore, I am is correct
• "The self is the way people behave

Paul Churchland: The Self is the Brain

• The self is inseparable from the brain
• The physical brain gives humans sense of self
• Self is the brain
• If the brain is gone, there is no self

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

• The mind-body bifurcation is futile
• All knowledge is based on subjective experience
• The self cannot be objectified
• The self is embodied subjectivity