Understanding the Self PDF

**Introduction** **Understanding the Self** **The Self from Various Perspectives** **Objectives** a. Compare and contrast the philosophical perspective on the self, b. Examine yourself against the different philosophical views on the self, c. Distinguish how philosophical perspectives o...

**Introduction** **Understanding the Self** **The Self from Various Perspectives** **Objectives** a. Compare and contrast the philosophical perspective on the self, b. Examine yourself against the different philosophical views on the self, c. Distinguish how philosophical perspectives on the self are applied, and d. Create your own theory of the self. "Who am I?" \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-- Possible sources of the answer is philosophy or science **Philosophy**, one may point at religion in defining a human being as composed of body and soul created by a supreme being **Scientifically** - may attempt to break down the body parts composed of the heart, brain, arms, legs, and face. - It has been successful in unlocking many secrets about human anatomy. - It has enlightened us on many mysteries about human evolution. - But it has limits, it attempts to reproduce human beings through the process of cloning. It cannot install or breathe the" spirit" of" soul" on a clone which will make one truly human. Philosophy as a subject presents various philosophers offering multiple perspectives on just about any topic including the self. Philosophically, discussion of the self is a basic search for meaning and purpose in life. Determination, rationalization, and identification of the self set the direction from which an individual travels to fulfill his or her purpose in life. The inability to define oneself leads to a lot of contradictions within the self later on, hence, it is one of the imperatives in life to know oneself and to go on with the business of leading a life chartered by oneself. **Socrates** *"Know thyself"* No historical document proves that Socrates really existed. We know Socrates because his illustrious students (Plato and Aristotle), spoke eloquently and generously about his wit, intellect, and wisdom. He is credited for his many contributions to western Philosophy. He posited that if a person knows who he or she is, all basic issues and difficulties in life will vanish and everything will be clearer and simpler. One could now act according to his or her own definition of the self without any doubt or contradiction. Self-knowledge for Socrates means knowing one's degree of understanding about the world and knowing one's capabilities and potential. It is only through self-knowledge that one's self-emerges. Possession of knowledge is virtue and ignorance is vice. He argued that a person's acceptance of ignorance is a springboard for the acquisition of knowledge later on. So, one must first have the humility to acknowledge his or her ignorance so as to acquire knowledge. The body is vulnerable to basic emotions and actions. **Plato** *"Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others."* Plato was the student of Socrates. He wrote the Socratic Dialogue where Socrates was the main character and speaker. Plato's philosophical method was what he identified as collection and division. In this method, the philosopher would collect all the generic ideas that seemed to have common characteristics and then divide them into different kinds until the division of ideas became specific. He is best known for his Theory of forms that the physical world is not really the real world because the ultimate reality exists beyond the physical world. Plato is perhaps the single most important influence on the Western concept of "self". According to Plato, the soul is indeed the most divine aspect of a human being. However, his concept of the divine is not a spiritual being but rather one that has an intellectual connotation. The self(soul)mind according to Plato is the aspect of the human beings by which the FORMS(ideas) are known. Three parts of the soul according to Plato: - The Appetitive(sensual) The element that enjoys sensual experiences, such as food, drink, and sex. - The Rational(reasoning) The element that forbids the person to enjoy sensual experiences, the part that loves truth, hence, should rule over the other parts of the soul through the use of reason. - The spirited(feeling) The element that is inclined toward reason but understands the demands of passion, the part that loves honor and victory. **St. Augustin** *All Knowledge leads to God* Reflection on the relations between time and memory greatly influences many fundamental doctrines of psychology. Time is something people measure within their own memory. Time is not a feature or property of the world, but a property of the mind. He believed that the time present of things past in memory, the time present of things present is direct experience, and the time present of things future is expectation. He emphasized that the memory of the past is significant in anticipation of the future and the presence of the present. He advanced the idea that the past and future could be seen as equivalent entities that exist. However, time past and time future are not real in themselves but they are only real as long as they exist in the mind or consciousness. **Rene Descartes** A French Philosopher and mathematician, is best known for his dictum cogito, ergo sum translated as "I think therefore I am." The existence of anything that you register from your senses can be doubted. One can always doubt the certainty of things but the fact that one doubts is something that cannot be doubted. This is what "I think Therefore I am" means Whichever thought a person chooses is the one that is carried over into his or her "I am". Only humans have the *hubris*(excessive pride) of musing such irrelevant questions on the existence and purpose of life. And only humans have satisfied themselves with their own answers to their own musings. Human brain- greatest computer of all. More than the computations, memories, and capabilities for practical daily purposes, no computer is ever self-aware of its own existence. Just as no animals would be musing about the purpose of life. Only humans have the audacity and impertinence to try to figure out the meaning of life and are actually self-aware of their own existence. He believed that the self is a thinking thing or a substance whose whole essence or nature is merely thinking. The self is real and not just an illusion. He also reassured that the self is different from the body hence, the self and body exist but differ in existence and reality. The self is a feature not of the body but of the mind and thus a mental substance rather than a physical sub-stance (Northoff, 2013) The self is nothing else but a mind-body dichotomy. Thought(mind) always precedes action (Body). It has always been in that sequence. Humans are self-aware and being such proves their own place in the Universe. Humans create their own reality and they are masters of their own universe. Filipinos have a unique term, "diskarte" a derivative of the surname of Descartes, which denotes finding a way or making things possible. **John Locke** Personal Identity or the self is founded on consciousness or memory. Consciousness is the perception of what passes in a man's own mind. He rejected that the brain has something to do with consciousness as the brain as well as the body may change, while consciousness remains the same. He concluded that personal identity is not in the brain but in one's consciousness. **David Hume** **All knowledge is derived from the human senses.** A Scottish Philosopher, there is no self as a mental entity for what we call a mind is nothing but a heap or collection of different perceptions....The self is a bundle of perceptions (objects of the mind) of interrelated events. Hume divided the mind's perceptions into two groups stating that the difference between the two consists in the degrees of force and liveliness with which they strike upon the mind. 1. Impressions. These are perceptions that are the most strong, They enter the senses with the most force. These are directly experienced, they result from inward and outward sentiments. 2. Ideas. These are the less forcible and less lively counterparts of impressions. These are mechanisms that copy and reproduce sense data formulated based on previously perceived impressions. **Immanuel Kant** Reason is the final authority of morality. Morality is achieved only when there is the absence of war because of the result of enlightenment. A German Philosopher theorized that consciousness is formed by one's inner and outer senses. The inner sense is comprised of one's psychological state and intellect. The outer sense consists of one's senses and the physical world. The source of empirical self-consciousness is the inner sense. All representational states are in the inner sense such as moods, feelings, and sensations including pleasure and pain. One must be phenomenally conscious to be aware of something in the inner sense. Appreciation is the faculty that allows for the application of concepts. The act of apperceiving allows one to synthesize or make sense of a unified object. The self is therefore a transcendental unifying subject an organizing consciousness that makes an intelligible experience possible. Two kinds of consciousness of Self(rationality) 1. Consciousness of oneself and one's psychological states in inner sense 2. Consciousness of oneself and one's state by performing acts of appreciation. **Sigmund Freud** Contribution to psychology, the psychoanalytic Theory, led to an understanding of the Philosophy of the mind. Self is multi-layered. It is composed of three structures of the human mind, ego, superego **Id** -exists since birth pertaining to instinct. It serves as a storeroom of wishes and obsessions related to sexual and aggressive desires. It operates on the hedonistic or pleasure principle of pleasure and avoiding pain. It ignores reality, harmony, common sense, and reason. By nature, it is animalistic and always seeks immediate gratification. This structure does not recognize good or evil, laws, or rules, morality or belief. It is driven by the libido (sexual energy)though it remains an unknown and inaccessible part of the structure of personality. If it is dominant, an egoistic, boorish, and barbaric brute emerges. **Ego**- operates according to the reality principle. This structure's role is to maintain equilibrium between the demands of id and superego in accordance with what is best and practical in reality, It borrows some id's energy in order to deal with the demands of the environment. It is developed by the individual's personal experiences and adheres to the principles of reason and logic. ego ensures the continuous existence and protection of the individual. If the ego is successful, it turns out a brilliant, creative, and emotionally-balanced individual. **Superego** is the last layer to develop. It operates according to the morality principle. Superego is the reservoir of moral standards. It ensures compliance with the norms, values, and standards prescribed by society. It is developed by means of socialization in various agents like home, school,church, and others. Two Systems of Superego 1. Conscience and the ideal self-can sanction the ego through the feeling of guilt. The ideal self, an imaginary picture of one's self., an imaginary picture of one's self, is rewarded by the superego when one conforms to the standards imposed by god-fearing, and socially acceptable individual appears. 2. Ideal self, an imaginary picture of one's self, is rewarded by the superego when one conforms with the standards imposed by society. If the superego is dominant, a law-abiding, morally upright, god-fearing, and socially acceptable individual appears. **Gilbert Ryle** **"I act therefore I am"** A British philosopher opposed Rene Descartes's that the self is a "thinking thing". He maintained that the mind is not separate from the body. The mind consists of dispositions of people based on what they know, what they feel, what they want, and so on. People learn that they have their own minds because they behave in certain ways. Ryle supported the basic notion of behavioristic psychology. His theory is called logical behaviorism or analytical behaviorism-a theory of mind that states that mental concepts can be understood through observable events. His concept of the self, the self is a combination of the mind and the body. While the focus of the other philosopher is on the separation of mind and body(a dualistic view, the self is taken as a whole with the combination of the body and the mind. He also pointed out the maxim, I act therefore I am., the mind is not the seat of self but the behavior. The self is the way people behave. **Paul Churchland** The physical brain and not the imaginary mind give us our sense of self. Philosopher and Professor Paul Churchland is known for his philosophy stands on a materialistic view or the belief that nothing but matter exists. In other words, if something can be seen felt, heard, touched, or tasted, then it exists. There is nothing beyond the sensory experience. To prove his point, Churchland pointed out that in mental conditions, such as depression, it is technically wrong to say that the person is out of his mind because neuroscientists have found that brain activity and even brain shape appear to be associated with severe mood disorders. Moreover, he pointed out that in a severe head injury, the victims' personality change occurs. he pointed out that if the mind were a separate entity, then the victim have retained his/her personality despite the damage to the brain. Thus, Churchland asserted the sense of self originated from the brain itself, and that this self is a product of electrochemical signals produced by the brain. **Maurice Merleau -Ponty** **The physical body is an important part of the self.** A French phenomenological philosopher. He distinguished the body into two types: 1. The subjective body as lived and experienced 2. The objective body is observed and scientifically investigated. For him, these two are not different bodies. The former is the body as -it -is lived. The body is the general medium for having a world and we know not through our intellect but through our experience. The latter is the body as observed and scientifically investigated. It is the body that is known to others. These are bodies that people see, admire, imitate, criticize, or even dissect. Mind and Body are essentially correlated and it is not possible to understand subjectivity without taking into account this essential correlation.