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Transcript
## The Self ### Ryle * Did not believe in the existence of a metaphysical sense that cannot be objectively observed and measured * Criticized dualism - if the mind and body are separate, how are they connected? Where do they intersect? How do they mingle? * Since the mind is not observable, it is...
## The Self ### Ryle * Did not believe in the existence of a metaphysical sense that cannot be objectively observed and measured * Criticized dualism - if the mind and body are separate, how are they connected? Where do they intersect? How do they mingle? * Since the mind is not observable, it is impossible to prove its existence. * Focused instead on observable behaviors. The self must be viewed in terms of the behavior we present to the world. * The 'mind' is the concept that expresses the entire system of thoughts, emotions, actions, etc. that makes up the human self ### Edmund Husserl & Maurice Merleau-Ponty * The self is experienced subjectively, not known objectively * Espoused Phenomenology - which proposes that all knowledge of ourselves and our world is based on the phenomena of personal experience * Fully rejects dualism as it views the self as the experience of the unity between the mental and the physical * The self is embodied in subjective experiences, rather than objective behaviors * In order to know the self, we must live it. The self is a lived experience. * If you have not lived, you have not known self. ### Paul Churchland * The self is a series of neurological phenomena which can be observed in the brain * The self is the brain (i.e., congruent with materialism). * Materialists believe that mental states or experiences of the self can be explained in terms of physical brain states. * To explain the self, we must be grounded on neuroscience. ### Psychological Perspectives As society developed, so did the sciences. Philosophers began to study the self as being centered in the 'mind' or the 'brain'. At the same time, Psychology was rising as a field on its own, which focused on investigating these topics as a cognitive construction. Psychology's inquiry focused on internal cognitions and asked questions such as: * What can make an effective self? Happy self? Etc. * How does the self know itself (consciousness)? * What cognitive processes are involved in forming the self? ### Sigmund Freud * As the father of psychoanalysis, Freud espoused that the self is part conscious (i.e., aware) and unconscious (i.e., unaware).
