Philosophical Perspectives of the Self

# The Self From Various Perspectives: PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE ## Learning Objectives At the end of this module, students should be able to: 1. Compare and contrast the philosophical perspectives on the self. 2. Examine yourself against the different philosophical views of the self. 3. Distin...

# The Self From Various Perspectives: PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE ## Learning Objectives At the end of this module, students should be able to: 1. Compare and contrast the philosophical perspectives on the self. 2. Examine yourself against the different philosophical views of the self. 3. Distinguish how the philosophical perspectives on the self are applied 4. Create your own theory of the self. ## Philosophy From two Greek words; PHILOS which means "LOVE", and SOPHIA which means "WISDOM" Philosophy deals with the rationality employed by individuals in learning The question, "Who Am I?", continuously baffled and challenged philosophers to answer. ## SOCRATES ### DUALISM Socrates believed in a distinction between the body and the soul. According to him, the soul is the immortal, rational, and essential part of a person, while the body is the physical, mortal part. The body can distract or hinder the soul from achieving wisdom and virtue. ### SOCRATIC METHOD "The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living" ## PLATO The self, for Plato has an immortal soul which originated from his ideal World of Forms. ### Soul=Psyche * **Physical Appetite**- refers to the basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire * **Reason**- refers to the divine essence that enables a person to think deeply, make wise choices and achieve a true understanding of eternal truths * **Spirit or Passion**- refers to basic emotion such as love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness, empathy * These three elements of our selves are working together. They are in a dynamic relationship with one another either sometimes working in concert or sometimes in bitter conflict. * When conflict occurs, Plato believes it is the job of our Reason to fix things out and exert control. ## Patristic and Medieval Philosophies are characterized to be theocentric because during this time, Philosophy was used by the patristic and medieval thinkers to provide reason-based support to defend the faith, specifically that of Christianity. ## ST. AUGUSTINE * For St. Augustine, the Self is a great mystery. * A person regardless of the many sins he/she had committed can have a great and mysterious life, through the mercy and forgiveness of God. * The self must continue to search for the truth in order for his/her soul to be rested * Augustine was convinced that Platonism and Christianity were natural partners * He enthusiastically adopted Plato's vision of a bifurcated universe in which "there are two realms, an intelligible realm where truth itself dwells, and this sensible world which we perceive by sight and touch," but then adapted this metaphysic to Christian beliefs St. Augustine's perspective centers on religious conviction and belief as he believed that to be a better person, one should turn to his/her religious beliefs as this would serve as a guide towards a better understanding of oneself. doing so, the end goal - happiness in and through God - would be achieved. ## RENE DESCARTES * Introduced the Modern Perspective of the Self, which focuses on humans and their capacity for reasoning which could be used to determine things in the natural world. * pioneer of Rationalism which states that knowledge is possible even if one does not have experience. * The Methodic Doubt * “Cogito ergo Sum” translated as “I think therefore I am" ## JOHN LOCKE * Advocate of Empiricism * The Self is comparable to an empty space (Tabula Rasa). * The Self is Consciousness ## DAVID HUME * THERE IS NO SELF * A "bundle or collection of different perceptions, which succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidity, and are in a perpetual flux and movement." ## IMMANUEL KANT * The "WHY NOT BOTH" * The self is always TRANSCENDENTAL * The self is the product of reason, a regulative principle because the self “regulates” experience by making unified experience possible. ## SIGMUND FREUD * The Self is Multi-layered The image shows a diagram of an iceberg, with the water line representing the division between the conscious and unconscious mind. Above the water line are the words "Preconscious" and "EGO", representing the conscious mind. Below the water line are the words "SUPEREGO", "ID", and "Unconscious", representing the unconscious mind. ## GILBERT RYLE * The Self is HOW YOU BEHAVE ## PAUL AND PATRICIA CHURCHLAND * The Self is the Brain. ## MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY * The Self is embodied SUBJECTIVITY * Phenomenology of Perception- derived from the conviction that all knowledge of the self and the world is based of the "phenomena” of experience | | | | :------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Descartes | The self is a thinking thing, distinct from the body . | | John Locke | The self is consciously aware of itself Personal identity is made possible by self-consciousness. | | David Hume | There is no “self,” only a bundle of constantly changing perceptions passing through the theater of our minds | | Sigmund Freud | The self is multi-layered. | | Gilbert Ryle | The self is the way people behave. | | Paul and Patricia Churchland | The self is the brain. Mental states will be superseded by the brain states. | ## Activity Make your "My Teaching Philosophy"