Philosophical Self PDF

PHILOSOPHICAL SELF OUTLINE Pre-Socratic Era: Thales, Democritus Classical Philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle Neoplatonism: Plotinus, St. Augustine Synthesis of Faith and Reason: St. Thomas Aquinas Modern Philosophy: Descartes, Locke, Hume, and Kant Sigmund...

PHILOSOPHICAL SELF OUTLINE Pre-Socratic Era: Thales, Democritus Classical Philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle Neoplatonism: Plotinus, St. Augustine Synthesis of Faith and Reason: St. Thomas Aquinas Modern Philosophy: Descartes, Locke, Hume, and Kant Sigmund Freud and the Unconscious Organismic/ Hoslistic View: Kurt Goldstein A. PRE-SOCRATIC ERA Essence- the “thingness” of the thing “What makes a table a table?” Soul- according to Ancient Greeks: source of consciousness, essence of life, no theological connotation Mind- expression of the soul or the collective name of the different functions of the soul (thinking, feeling, remembering, and awareness) Vitalistic View- the soul/ mind is what makes a person possess a self and allows for experience Mechanistic View- places more importance on the physical body PRE-SOCRATIC ERA Thales of Miletus Democritus Vitalistic View Mechanistic View - All things were animated and living, - Physical characteristics of matter are more therefore, life is the core component of a than enough to explain the characteristics of thing’s essence. activities of living things. - Living things possess a life principle which is - Movement is inherent in living things and the soul. don’t need a prime mover to get them  The soul is separate from the physical moving. characteristics of a person since physical characteristics cannot fully explain activities living things do.  Objects need to have a “prime mover” to explain action. PRE-SOCRATIC ERA Democritus Mechanistic View - Physical characteristics of matter are more than enough to explain the characteristics of activities of living things. - Movement is inherent in living things and don’t need a prime mover to get them moving. B. CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHERS 1. SOCRATES (“Know thyself”) - The mind could look within itself to obtain knowledge - The I is capable of perceiving, knowing, and understanding what it is experiencing - Asserts the importance of examining one’s own life as a condition of worth “ An unexamined life is not worth living.” - Self-reflection makes a life more meaningful and purposeful Psyche (Soul)- central identity that makes one unique - consciousness experienced by the self is connected to the soul  A path to happiness is what the soul seeks can be attained through living a life of wisdom and self-reflection.  CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHERS 2. PLATO - Vitalistic View - A world of Forms and Phenomenon  Forms- the essence of something, permanent and eternal  Phenomenon- physical characteristics of a thing (size and shape), constantly changing  View of Learning- knowledge is already within the self, we can understand the world around us through reason and thoughtful introspection. TRIPARTITE STRUCTURE OF THE SOUL SOUL RATIONAL IRRATIONAL - Defined by - Seen as a wild reason beast that needs to be tamed  CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHERS 3. ARISTOTLE - Having a soul means being alive and only living things have a soul - A soul differentiates living and non-living thing Hylomorphism- a philosophical theory that states that things are composed of both matter and form Both body and soul cannot exist without each other Without a body, the self cannot experience the world Rational Psyche- applicable to humans: possess the capacity for reason Sensitive Psyche- applicable to animals: locomotion and perception Nutritive Psyche- applicable to plants: basic nourishment and reproduction C. NEOPLATONISM - often linked to religious thinking PLOTINUS - Influenced greatly by Plato’s philosophy - The soul is a prisoner of the body - The body and soul are united but not necessarily combined - Pushes people to live a life of pursuing goals guided by values and virtues “ Between nourishment of the soul and demands of the flesh, the soul shall overcome.” C. NEOPLATONISM - often linked to religious thinking ST. AUGUSTINE - The soul is given primacy over the body - The soul is different from the body and is superior to the body - There is a need for the soul to find unity with God through faith and reason - The soul is a prisoner in the body which is filled with personal interests, pride, gain, and vanity. The soul must free itself in order to find unify with God  Forms the concept of selfishness and selflessness.  ACTIVITIES OF THE SOUL PERCEPTION REFELCTION CONTEMPLATION - Direct consciousness to - Consciousness is split into - The soul is believed to an object subject and object transcend into the - Direct experience with an - Conscious of ourselves unchanging and eternal event, person, thing sensing and perceiving - Possible through deep things meditation D. SYNTHESIS OF FAITH AND REASON ST. THOMAS AQUINAS - Aristotelian thought - All living things possess a body and soul - The human soul continues to exist after death - A soul that is separated from the body is incomplete until it is able to re-animate into a body once more The dead have a soul but it’s incomplete until it can find a new body - A soul is enriched and nourished when joined with a body > leads to the acquisition of knowledge - The body is not something bad but rather appreciated with its union with the soul E. MODERN PHILOSOPHY RENE DESCARTES - Father of modern Philosophy - Focused on the process of how to answer philosophical questions rather than the answers themselves - Stated that there is a need to doubt all things in order to come to a clear and reasonable conclusion - Allows people to create a solid foundation of their perceptions of the world and themselves - Consciousness is the key to personal identity and selfhood. Without consciousness, one cannot gain personal identity. E. MODERN PHILOSOPHY JOHN LOCKE - Placed primacy of sense experience in acquiring knowledge and that only through careful focus on sense experience can one judge the accuracy of their consciousness - Understanding the self begins with understanding what it means to be human  Reasoning and reflecting means that a person is conscious or aware that one is thinking Psychological Continuity - States that consciousness allows for consistency of self in different situations - Identical to memories and mental states - If one is able to gain ownership over different mental states, they can claim to be the same person MODERN PHILOSOPHY DAVID HUME - “There is no Self.” - After a person examines sense experience, the individual will arrive at the conclusion of the absence of the self Impressions lead to ideas but since both are fleeting and ever changing the self cannot be found. So maybe the self doesn’t exist. MODERN PHILOSOPHY IMMANUEL KANT - Worked to synthesize experience and reason - Acknowledges the role of sensory experience of the world are fairly stable - The mind is constantly working to organize and put to order a coherent meaning to information perceived by senses - A unified experience makes the person identify an encounter as something that they can claim as their own  No matter how similar experiences/ views may appear, at some point they will diverge.  F. SIGMUND FREUD AND THE UNCONSCIOUS - One of the first Psychologists to explore personality. THE MIND CONSCIOUS UNCONSCIOUS PRECONSCIOUS - Everything perceived - Things not in - Not in awareness as of in awareness awareness at any given the moment but can be moment easily retrieved - Places primacy on the unconscious in explaining behavior which comprises of thoughts, feelings, motives, intentions that dominate the self although inaccessible to the conscious mind.  SIGMUND FREUD AND THE UNCONSCIOUS STRUCTURES OF PERSONALITY ID EGO SUPEREGO - Raw instincts, urges, - Seat of - Representative of desires consciousness society in the mind - Operates on the - Is able to - Holds one’s morals pleasure principle communicate with and values the external world - Strives for perfection An act is not distinguished as coming from one of the 3 structures but is an outcome if the balance and dynamics between all 3. G. ORGANISMIC/ HOLISTIC VIEW POINT KURT GOLDSTEIN - Worked with brain damaged soldiers in WWI - The mind and the body are not distinct or separated - Therefore it is useless to imagine a mind-body split since the organism is a unified whole - Holds that a person already an organized system from the very start  The self is in constant pursuit of actualizing inherent personalities ANSWER THE FOLLOWING 1. What can you say about the argument whether the body and soul are united or separated? Which argument are you more inclined to believe? 2. Do you think that your personal experiences speak of who you are as a person? Or do you see yourself as a mere bystander in life? 3. In your opinion, how does learning about the Philosophical Self contribute to your understanding of who you are as a person?