Philosophical Perspectives PDF

Philosophical Perspectives Psyc 031 Understanding the Self Rennyvonne Fae V. Ledesma, MP, RPsy, LPT, EXA-F Instructor Take 1 whole paper pref. bond paper Use any art material / writing material Illustrate your own idea of your self. Thou...

Philosophical Perspectives Psyc 031 Understanding the Self Rennyvonne Fae V. Ledesma, MP, RPsy, LPT, EXA-F Instructor Take 1 whole paper pref. bond paper Use any art material / writing material Illustrate your own idea of your self. Thoughts to ponder…  What do we even mean by the word “SELF”?  Am I really in control of my actions and thoughts?  Will we exist after bodily death?  Do we get reincarnated?  Am I just a fragment of some else’s imagination?  How would you characterize yourself?  What makes you stand out from the rest ?  What makes your self special?  What will happen to your self after you die? What is Philosophy?  Greek words “Philos” and “Sophia” “love” and “wisdom” “The love and pursuit of Wisdom” What is Philosophy?  Finding answers to serious questions about ourselves and about the world we live in. What is a good life? Does God exist? What is the mind? Do I get reincarnated after death? What makes moral, moral and immoral, immoral? Questioning existing knowledge and intuitions to get closer to the truth.  PHILOSOPHY IS “A way of looking at the world and giving it meaning. It can provide a high quality method of examining our beliefs.” ORIGIN OF PHILOSOPHY AND LOGIC  The never ending search for truth (importance, significance, valuable). Search for meanings: importance, significance, value, relevance Ask a lot of questions PHILOSOPHY AND SELF What is the SELF? “a unified being, essentially connected to consciousness, awareness and agency (at least with the faculty of rational choice” Classical Antiquity “a unified being, essentially connected to consciousness, awareness and agency (at least with the faculty of rational choice”  “Know Thy Self” He agreed that self-knowledge is a prerequisite to a happy and meaningful life.  “An unexamined life is not worth living”: meaning we should learn to "reflect“  "One thing only I know, and that is I know nothing.“: the more that we know, the more questions we ask. SOCRATES  “Know Thy Age Self” comes with more questionsand answers. To answer unanswered questions, we continue to seek for answers  concerned with the problem of the self  concerned about the self and existence  question about the meaning of the self SOCRATIC METHOD: How knowledge is brought (teaching by asking questions). SOCRATES SOCRATES “Dualistic approach” Used in understanding the self: BODY and SOUL Body : imperfect and impermanent Soul: perfect and permanent SOCRATES “Dualistic approach” Dichotomous Realms  Physical realm: changeable, transient and imperfect, the body belongs to this realm  Ideal realm: unchanging, eternal, and immortal; the soul belongs to this realm.  There is a soul before the body: Once the soul comes into the material world, he forget everything: By being born in this world we disconnect from being wise as we were before from the realm of ideas.  Ideal Realm: We focus on who we are, who we should be and who will become.  The soul strives for wisdom and perfection and reason is the souls tool to achieve exalted/happy state of life.  What keep us from attaining wisdom?: focuses on material possessions.  PLATO "Student of Socrates" Founded the Academy: considered as prototype of today’s universities. Dichotomy between ideal (world of forms/realm of ideas beyond our consciousness) and material world (the world we exist right now is just a replica of the real world) Believe in the existence of the SOUL.  Soul as the most divine aspect of the self.  Divine means the soul is the most intellectual aspects of the person.  3 components of SOUL: Rational soul Spirited soul Appetitive soul  RATIONAL soul: reason, intellect, enables us to think deeply, make wise choices, thinking soul  Spirited soul: emotion and passion  Appetitive soul: basic needs, The 3 elements are in dynamic relationship but sometimes in conflict. When conflict arises, reason's responsibility to sort things out. E.g: If you are angry and you want to hurt others. Reason would tell you to do the right thing without hurting somebody. RENE DESCARTES "Cogito ergo sum" "I think,, therefore I am.“ Father of modern philosophy. HYPERBOLICAN DOUBT: " doubting the existence of his own physical body“  The existence of the body is NOT the proof that you exist.  RENE DESCARTES "Cogito ergo sum" How can Descartes prove that I exist?  The mere fact that I can DOUBT is enough to prove that I can exist.  Your ability to question things is the proof that you can exist. RENE DESCARTES "mind-body dualism"  Descartes believed that a man consisted of: Matter: The physical stuff that walks, talks, and plays the accordion. Mind: The nonphysical substance (sometimes equated with the soul) that thinks, doubts, and remembers  RENE DESCARTES "mind-body dualism"  The nature of the mind (that is, a thinking, non- extended thing) is completely different from that of the body (that is, an extended, non- thinking thing).  Therefore, it is possible for one to exist without the other.  The mind is united with the body to form a human being. JOHN LOCKE “TABULA  The personRASA” is born like a blank slate. Clueless about the world. With experience we write in our blank slate/mind, and it got encoded. MEMORY: Our identity is not locked in the mind, soul or body only.  If we don’t have memory we cannot have a CONTINOUS Identity. JOHN LOCKE “TABULA  We RASA” learn more because of experiences and our ability to remember these experiences allows us to remember who we are today. Example: You are so hardworking, because when you were a child, you were rewarded for being hard working DAVID HUME  "All knowledge is derived from human senses. “  Influenced by empiricism (they don’t believe on what can’t be seen or observe. We make use of our senses.)  Bundle theory: collection of impressions. The person is a collection of impressions.  Impressions: vivid, products of direct experiences (perceptions of reality)  Ideas: copies of impressions; imaginations Example of impression: What you feel when we talk to someone we love is happiness. Example of Idea: Do you have an idea how does it feel to touch a hot water? DAVID HUME THERE IS NO SELF: "Personal identity is just a result of imagination”. The mind is simply a container for fleeting sensations. IMMANUEL KANT There is SELF. We construct self. The self constructs its own reality, actively creating a world that is familiar, predictable, and most significantly, mine. The self is a product of reason. Through RATIONALITY, people can understand certain abstract ideas that have no corresponding physical object or sensory experience. IMMANUEL KANT There is SELF. We construct self. Self is not just what gives one his personality but also the set of knowledge acquisition for all human persons. The self constructs its own reality creating a world that is familiar and predictable. Example: For example, imagine that your abandoned by your group mates and you got zero in the activity.  What is Philosophy of Self and why it is important?  A philosophy is the pinnacle of one’s life: Without philosophy we are subject to aimless bouts where life seems sometimes void and meaningless.  Philosophy adds structure and balance, to implement goals and reach one’s dreams: It is the roadmap to our actions and thoughts, the processing tool of reason.  What is Philosophy of Self and why it is important?  Improve critical thinking, argument skills, analysis skills, problem solving skills, and communications.  Allows you to: justify your opinions , spot a bad argument, explain to people and why they are wrong, and you are right, philosophy teaches us to think, and it Answers our WHY.