The Self: Modern & Contemporary Philosophers PDF

The SELF according to MODERN and CONTEMPORARY Mindanao State University Main Campus PHILOSOPHERS Bataraza Extension LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of this lesson, the students are expected to: Discuss the essence of the “self” according to Modern and...

The SELF according to MODERN and CONTEMPORARY Mindanao State University Main Campus PHILOSOPHERS Bataraza Extension LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of this lesson, the students are expected to: Discuss the essence of the “self” according to Modern and Contemporary Philosophers and relate these concepts of “self” to his/her personal life. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension The Modern and Contemporary Philosophers Modern Philosophers: 1. RENE DESCARTES (1596-1650) 2. JOHN LOCKE (1631-1704) 3. DAVID HUME (1711-1776) 4. IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804) Contemporary Philosopher: 1. MAURICE MERLEAU PONTY (1908-1961) 2. GILBERT RYLE (1900-1976) 3. PAUL CHURCHLAND Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension RENE DESCARTES With his ties with Dualism, Descartes believed that the mind is the seat of consciousness. The body (which includes the human senses) is unreliable hence, should not be trusted. One can have ideas prior (a priori) to experience. Descartes is known for his “ I think, therefore I am”. The rationality and activity of the mind are at the center of man’s being. To instill virtue and to give primacy to the mind, Descartes’s advice is for us to understand and work hard enough on our passion so these passions are put under our control. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension I think, therefore I am ( also known as cogito ergo) This emphasize the consciousness of his mind which leads to an evidence of his existence- despite the fact that he is doubting the existence of everything physical, including his own body. This has led him to the conclusion that his essence lay in being a purely thinking being, because even if he doubt whether he has real body or it’s just a trick of his senses, one thing he cannot doubt is that he is thinking. This, in a way, echoes the dualism of Plato. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension  The mind and body are separate and very distinct from one another. But he also believes that the mind is conjoined with the body in such an intimate way that they casually act upon each other. For example, when I talk about myself, I talk about my body. They way I act and how I should perform something necessarily includes the use of my body. And although I say MY body, it is not mine as possessing something different from me, like a cup of coffee. This body, in a way, is also me because I cannot separate myself from it. In a way that I have a mind. When you encounter my mind, it is actually already me that you are encountering. So I am my body and mind, but these two are still distinct from each other. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension The body can be described in a precise, structured manner but the mind is not contained like that and it is allowed to pursue its own thoughts. Since there is no boxing the mind, we also have different ways of using language and responding to circumstances in an unpredictable way, because these two are products of the mind. The essence of the self is in its being a thinking being-the SELF BEING THE MIND more than the body. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension JOHN LOCKE (1632-1704)  He is known as the “Father of Classical Liberalism” because of his contribution to the formation of human rights.  He thinks that our identity is not locked in the mind, soul or body only. He included the concept of a person’s memory in the definition of the self. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension JOHN LOCKE (1632-1704)  He subscribe to the memory theory that holds that we are the same person as we were in the past for as long as we can remember something from the past. For example, I can remember how it was to stand on stage and be scared of talking to a crowd. If I can remember this, then it is very highly likely that it was I who was standing on that stage. My self then existed surely up to the time that I remember that experience. As long as somebody remembers or as long my memories are around, I am around. Also, if we want to know if the person is the same one we know ten years ago, we only have to ask and test his memory to verify THE IDENTITY. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension JOHN LOCKE (1632-1704) According to him, the mind at birth is a Tabula Rasa (blank slate). It is empty, without rules for processing data and the data is blank.  What contains the mind are the impressions and memory.  The impressions during infancy have every important and lasting consequences. He argued that the “associations of ideas” that individuals make when young are more important than those made later because they are the foundation of the self. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension JOHN LOCKE (1632-1704)  Freedom of individuals to author their own souls. Individuals are free to define the content of their character except for their basic identity as a member of human species. Ex. A person cannot change the fact that he has twenty(23) pairs of chromosomes for that is his/her nature but can develop or change his/her character. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension POP-UP QUESTION  Do you agree with Locke? If such is the case, what will happen to your existence when we forget what we have been doing three days ago? Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension DAVID HUME(1711-1776)  He believed in the existence of the mind.  What inside the mind is divided into two: Impression and Ideas Impressions are those things we perceive through our senses as we experience them. Like when I see a sky, and my sense of sight (eyes) tell me I am looking at a blue sky. That is now my impression. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension DAVID HUME(1711-1776)  Ideas are those things that we create in our minds even though we are no longer experiencing them. Example. Even when I am already inside my room and can no longer see the sky, I can still think of the idea of the sky and might even combine that idea with another idea. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension DAVID HUME(1711-1776)  For him, there is no self. “I” will be constantly changing because of the different experiences one has for every constant change will affect and re-shape that person. Thus, we cannot observe any permanent self because we continuously undergo change. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension POP-UP QUESTION Do you agree with Hume that if we look at what is happening in our minds, we will not be able to find permanent self? In light of Hume’s answer, how shall we respond when somebody tells us, Please don’t change. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804)  His argued that it is possible to find the essence of the self.  A human person has an inner and an outer self.  The INNER SELF is consists of his/her psychological state and rational intellect.  The OUTER SELF is a human person’s senses and the physical world. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804)  For his idea of the self, he believes that man is a free agent, capable of making a decision for himself. As a free agent, man is gifted with reason and free will. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804) An individual has the free will to be moral or not. A moral person is one who is driven by duty and acts towards the fulfillment of that duty. Our duty is identified by us through rational deliberation and not by mere emotions guiding us or any authority handing it to us. In refuting Hume’s idea that there is no self, he said that since man is gifted with reason and free will, man can organize the data gathered by the senses. From these data and the way we organize data, we can now have a good idea of man. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension MAURICE MERLEAU PONTY(1908-1961)  Unlike Plato and other Philosophers who look at the body as a mere tool in the service of the mind or spirit, THE SELF, according to him, is an inextricable union between body and the mind.  For him, there is no experience that is not an embodied experience. “Everything that we experience in this world---experience of joy, sadness, love,remorse—happens with our bodies. There is NEVER a moment in which we are separated from our bodies as if it is a clothing that we can shed off.” Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension MAURICE MERLEAU PONTY(1908-1961)  For him, a person is defined by virtue of movement and expression. To be a self is to be more than one’s body. It includes all the things that you do with your body, how you will act on it, how you will make it act in consonance with other human beings.  You are the sum of all the thing you make your body do. This includes the interpretation of the past and how you actually make decisions in the past, and how you actually make decisions in the present. The self is grounded on the experiences the past, the possibilities for the future and the present cognition. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension MAURICE MERLEAU PONTY(1908-1961)  He approaches the idea of self as a continuous flow of movement and expression from infancy to adulthood. Our perception of who we are is strictly tied to our own bodily development. Example. An infant can have awareness of itself only when it learns to control its eye movement and learns to interpret the data provided by the external (as opposed to its internal self) world. The self is a product of our conscious human experience. The definition of self is all about one’s perception of one’s experience and the interpretation of those experiences. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension Gilbert Ryle (1900-1976)  Unlike the dualism of Descartes but like Merleau Ponty, Ryle believes that “the workings of the mind are not distinct from the actions of the body but are the one and the same. The mind is a set of capabilities and abilities belonging to the body.  For Descartes, the mind is a non-physical entity found within the body, which then produces human behavior. This to him is the error, because a talk of the mind is simply talk about behavior. The mind is not distinct from the body, but rather refers to certain aspects of our bodies. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension Gilbert Ryle (1900-1976)  Another teaching of Ryle that relates to understanding and developing your self is the distinction among knowing how (technical ability), knowing that (facts and propositions), and knowing what. Ryle asserts that knowing that ( some facts) is empty intellectualism without knowing how to make use of the fact.  In order to know how the mind is working is through the behavior of the person, hence we can only know a person through how one behaves, their tendencies and reactions in certain circumstances. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension “ we do have an organ for understanding and recognizing moral facts. It is called the brain” - A neurocomputational Perspective, 1989. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension Paul Churchland(1942)  He believes that the self is the brain.  It is clear to Churchland that the term “mind”, our moods, emotions, actions, consciousness are deeply affected by the state of our brain.  By manipulating certain parts of our brain, our feelings, actions, and physical state are successfully altered. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension POP-UP question Do you think experience also shapes a person? How can this be reconciled with Churchland idea of self as a brain functioning? Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension Assignment Write in a yellow paper.  Make a quickie survey from anyone you know- Friends, family members, classmates and significant others by asking them to describe you as a person. Mindanao State University – Main Campus Bataraza Extension