Philosophical Perspective of the Self - Notes

PHILOSOPHERS AND THEIR PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF Prof. Jessica M. Chozas Instructor  WHAT IS ? The Thephilosophy philosophy ofofself...

PHILOSOPHERS AND THEIR PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF Prof. Jessica M. Chozas Instructor  WHAT IS ? The Thephilosophy philosophy ofofself selfis is thethe study study of many of the the many conditions of conditions of identity identity that make onethat make subject one subject of experience of from distinct experience distinct The other experiences. from other self experiences. is sometimes The as understood self a is sometimes understood as a unified being unified being essentially connected to consciousness, essentially connected to consciousness, awareness, awareness, and agency. and agency. PHILOSOPHERS AND THEIR PERSPECTIVE  Undestanding the Self Thinkers for centuries have search for explanations and reasons for everything that exists around him For instance, Greek Philosophers chose to seek natural explanations instead of seeking for supernatural explanations They labored to search for explanations into how the world works through understanding the elements, mathematics, heavenly bodies and even atoms From trying to understand nature and the universe, questions now center on the inner world of man, such as Who am i?, Why am I here?, What do I want out of life? (Price 2000) SOCRATES In ancient Greece, specifically in Athens, to be powerful, one must do it in words. Athenians settle arguments by discussion and debate. People skilled in doing this we.re called “Sophists,” the first teachers of the west One great sophist emerges in this era in the person of Socrates, a stonemason with a sharp mind, he was a brilliant debater and was idolized by many Athenians THE SOCRATIC METHOD or DIALECTIC METHOD This method involves the search for the correct/proper definition of a thing. In this method, Socrates did not lecture, he instead would ask questions and engage the person in a discussion. The goal of this method is to bring the person closer to the final understanding. Socrates View of Human Nature The “true self” is not the body but the soul. “the unexamined life is not worth living,” one has to reach inside himself to their deepest nature. Thus, one has to think, seek and ask again and again to arrive at a better understanding of oneself.  PLATO- his real name was Aristocles, he was nicknamed Plato because of his physical built which means “wide/broad. He established a school called ‘The Academy’ He wrote a book entitled, The Dialogues, which contains the many dialogues he had with his teacher Socrates. PLATOS VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE Plato also believed that knowledge lies within the person’s soul. Plato describes the soul as having three components: The Reason The Spirited The Appetites Plato believe that people are intrinsically good. In his Theory of Being, he said that the more the person knows, the more he is and the better he is. LOVE is a force that paves the way for all beings to ascends to the higher stages of self-realization and perfection.  ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO A great sinner who became a great saint. According to St. Augustine GOD is the source of all good, without GOD man could never understand eternal truths. Real happiness can only be found in God because GOD is Love and He created humans for them to also love. “My soul is restless until it rest in thee”  DAVID HUME (1711-1776) Generally regarded as one of the most important philosophers to write in English, David Hume was also well known in his own time as a historian and essayist. A master stylist in any genre, his major philosophical works A Treatise of Human Nature (1739–1740), Human Understanding (1748) The Principles of Morals (1751), Dialogues concerning Natural Religion (1779) Empericism- the theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience. “Self” is also a product of the imagination. He believes that there is no such thing as personal identity because perception and feelings come and go. So for Hume, “ there is no permanent/unchanging self”  RENE DESCARTES He is known as the “father of modern philosophy” He is a rationalist who upholds rationalism Rationalism is the belief that REASON rather than experience is the foundation of certainty in knowledge. Descartes believed that reasoning could produce absolute truths about nature, existence, morality and God. The truth that can be discovered are a “priori”, these do not rely on experiences but rather are innate in the human mind. “I think, therefore I am” this phrase is Descartes legacy. He believes that a thinker is someone who doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses and that also imagines and feels. The cognitive aspect of human nature is his basis for the existence of the self  JOHN LOCKE He is also an empiricist He believes that knowledge results from ideas produced a “posteriori” or by objects that were experienced. The process involves two forms: sensation wherein objects are experienced through the senses and reflection by which the mind looks at the objects that were experienced to discover relationships that may exists between them. Sensation is the conscious awareness that follows immediately upon the stimulation of a sense organ. Perception which is the interpretation of the stimulus giving it order and meaning. Locke contended that ideas are not innate but rather the mind at birth is a “tabula rasa” (blank slate)  IMMANUEL KANT He is the founder of German Idealism. Idealism is premised on knowledge are held in some way dependent on the activity of the mind. Contrary to what the empiricist believed, Kant argued that the mind is not just a passive receiver of sense experiences but rather actively participates in knowing the objects it experiences. He defined knowledge as a result of human understanding applied to sense experience. He formulated the theory of “Transcendental Apperception”, the unity of all impressions that are organized by the mind through perceptions.  SIGMUND FREUD (1856-1939) Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst. One of Freud's most important contributions to the field of psychology was the development of the theory and practice of psychoanalysis. Some of the major tenets of psychoanalysis include the significance of the unconscious, early sexual development, repression, dreams, death and life drives, and transference. Considered the father of modern psychology, his theories and ideas on the connections that exist between the conscious mind, the subconscious mind, the body, and the world around us are still as widely known as they were when he first espoused them at the turn of the 20th century.  GILBERT RYLE (1900 – 1976) Gilbert Ryle was a 20th Century British philosopher, mainly associated with the Ordinary Language Philosophy movement. He had an enormous Influence on the development of 20th Century Analytic Philosophy, particularly in the areas of Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Language. According to Ryle, there are two types of knowledge, “knowing-that” and “knowing-how” Just knowing that is considered to be empty intellectualism. What is more important is how to make use of tis facts. Thus Ryle’s point of view on this is that knowing involves an ability and not just an intellect.  PATRICIA AND PAUL CHURCHLAND Husband and wife team who coined the term “Neurophilosophy”, the combination of neurology- the study of the nervous system, its structures and physiology and Philosophy- thelove of wisdom in search for the truth. It aims to explorethe relevance of neuroscientific experiments/studies to the philosophy of the mind. The issue of the brain-mind is central to this study. The Churchland’’s believe that the man’s brain is responsible for the identity known as the self, because the biochemical properties of the brain is responsible for man’s thoughts, feelings and behavior. It seems that what and who the person is, ex. How he makes decision, controls impulses and how he sees himself is largely determined by his neurons, hormones, and overall genetic make – up.  MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY He was a French Philosopher who wrote books on perception, art and political thought. He was the proponent of “Phenomenology of Perception,” it described the nature of man’s perceptual contact with the world. The world is a field of perception, and human consciousness assigns meaning to the world. Thus man cannot separate himself from his perception of the world.