Philosophical Perspective Of The Self PDF

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF GE1: Understanding the Self Christian Ferguson, RPm Lesson objectives Identify the role of philosophy in understanding the self. Determine the different concepts of the self from the philosophical view. Define the...

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF GE1: Understanding the Self Christian Ferguson, RPm Lesson objectives Identify the role of philosophy in understanding the self. Determine the different concepts of the self from the philosophical view. Define the relevance of the philosophy of the self to how the youth define their sense of self. PHILOSOPHY Philo-(loving) and Sophia (knowledge, wisdom) Philosophy is a study of fundamental nature, knowledge, reality, and existence. Most of them agree that self-knowledge is a prerequisite to a happy and meaningful life discipline.  PHILOSOPHICAL ORIENTATION RATIONALISM - emphasizes knowledge acquired through logic and reasoning. EMPIRICISM - focuses on knowledge acquired through personal experience. It relies on sensory perception and experimentation. REALISM - realism posits that the external world exists independently of our perceptions. It emphasizes empirical evidence and objective reality. PRAGMATISM - focuses on practical consequences and action. value what works in practice and reject rigid dogmas. When you are studying or reviewing lessons, are you more likely to take the rationalist or empiricist viewpoint? The Philosophy of the Self Self has been defined as “as a unified being, essentially connected to consciousness, awareness, and agency (or, at least, with the faculty of rational choice) “. Over time, these meanings have transformed from pure abstractions to explanations that hold scientific evidences. SOCRATES Socrates was a Greek philosopher. Though, unlike other philosophers during his time, he never wrote anything. All the information about him today is through second-hand information from his student Plato and historian Xenophon Self is synonymous with the soul. Socrates believed that the real self is not the physical body, but rather the psyche (or soul). Socrates is concerned with the problem of the self; “Who we are, who we should be, and whom we will become” “An unexamined life is not worth living” The state of your inner being (soul/self) determines the quality of your life. Virtue is the basic and most basic propensity of man Self-knowledge is the source of all wisdom, an individual may gain possession of oneself and be one’s master through knowledge Body + soul = Man imperfect/permanent (body) + perfect & permanent (soul) = Individual the worst thing that can happen to anyone is to live but die inside. KNOW THYSELF -Socrates How can self-examination lead to a more meaningful existence? PLATO Plato (428-347 BCE) was Socrates’ leading student. Theory of Forms asserts that the physical world is not the “real” world because the ultimate reality exists beyond the physical world “The soul is immortal” The self/soul/mind is the best aspect of the human beings by which the FORMS (ideas) are known. Three parts of Soul PHYSICAL SPIRIT/PASSION REASON APPETITIVE Basic needs - Driven Emotional and Reason and intellect. by the desire and Passion - Can be - Seek truth and is satisfy oneself - attributed to the swayed by facts and Includes hunger, courageous of the arguments thirst, and sexual person. desire.  ST. AUGUSTINE A Saint and a Philosopher of a church. He integrated the ideas of Plato and Christianity. He follows the idea that God encompasses us all and that everything will be better if we are with God. He believed that humankind is created in the image and likeness of God.  A human being was both a soul and body, and the body possessed sense, such as imagination, memory, reason, and mind through which the soul experienced the world. St. Augustine believes that a virtuous life is the dynamism of love. The aspects of the self/soul according to St. Augustine are: It can be aware of itself. It recognizes the self as a holistic one. It is aware of its unity. “Knowledge can only come seeing the truth that dwells within us.” RENE DECARTES French Philosopher known to be the father of modern philosophy. He knows for the statement “Cognito Ergo Sum” which means “I think, therefore I am” The act of thinking about the self – of being self-conscious – I in it is the proof that there is a self.  A person is comprised of mind and body. Descartes’ claims about the “self” are: 1. It is constant; it is not prone to change; and it is not affected by time. 2. Only the immaterial soul remains the same throughout time. 3. The immaterial soul is the source of our identity. Some distinctions between the soul and body as pointed out by Descartes are: SOUL MIND The thinking self (soul) is a non- the physical body is a material, immortal, conscious material mortal, non- being, and independent of the thinking entity, fully physical laws. governed by the physical Self as a thinking thing that laws of nature doubts understands, wills, forms judgments, imagines and perceives.  JOHN LOCKE Was an English philosopher and Physician. Sense experience is the primary source of a person’s knowledge while, on the other hand, reason plays a secondary role in arriving at intelligent conclusions. The human mind at birth is “Tabula Rasa” which means a blank slate.  “self” or personal identity is constructed from the experiences – like what people see, smell, taste, hear and feel He also interpreted that to mean the “self” - it must consist of memory; meaning the person existing today is the same yesterday DAVID HUME Examine the sense of experience through the process of introspection, and discover that there is no self. Bundle Theory wherein he described the “self” or person (which Hume assumed to be “mind”) as a bundle or collection of different perceptions that are moving in a very fast manner. Mind’s Perceptions into two groups: 1. Impression. Perceptions that are the most strong. These are directly experienced; they result from inward and outward sentiments. 2. Ideas. The less lively counterparts of impressions. These are mechanisms that copy and reproduce sense data formulated based on the previously perceived impressions.  Self is only the accumulation of different impressions. According to him, “what we call mind is nothing but a heap or collection of different perceptions.” Can we hold someone accountable without a fixed, enduring self? IMMANUEL KANT Self takes an active role in synthesizing different sensations to create an organized experience of the world. He affirms that knowledge begins with sense experience, but he goes on to say that it does not necessarily follow that all knowledge comes from experience  Kant’s view of the “self” is transcendental, which means the “self” is related to the spiritual or nonphysical realm. Two kinds of consciousness of self (rationality): 1) Consciousness of oneself and one’s psychological states in the inner sense, and 2) Consciousness of oneself and one’s state by performing acts of appreciation. GILBERT RYLE The self is the way people behave. Behavioristic approach to self, he said that the self is the behaviour presented by the person. His notion of dualism is that the behaviour that we show, emotions, and actions are the reflection of our mind and such is the manifestation of who we are. Behaviorism- The view that the “self” is defined by observable behaviour. Category mistake- Representing the facts or concepts as if they belonged in one logical category when they belong in another.  PAUL CHURCHLAND He has the idea that “self is defined by the movements of our brain.” Self is nothing else but the brain and the self is contained entirely within the physical brain He believed that all that exists is ultimately physical.  The concepts and theoretical vocabulary we use to think about ourselves—using such terms as belief, desire, fear, sensation, pain, and joy— misrepresent the reality of minds and selves. Eliminative materialism - vocabulary and conceptual framework that is grounded in neuroscience that will be a more accurate reflection of the human mind and self. MAURICE MERLAU-PONTY He was a French philosopher Everything that we are aware of is contained within our consciousness. Phenomenology is distinctive in the sense that its goal is not to explain experience, but rather to clarify our understanding of it. MAURICE MERLAU-PONTY He distinguished the body into two types: subjective body and objective body. The use of mind is inseparable from our bodily, situated, and physical nature. The body cannot be viewed solely as an object, or material entity of the world. Which theory resonates more with your understanding of personal identity? Thank you.