Philosophical Perspective of the Self

Philosophical Perspective of the Self By: Sir Jm de Guzman Line of Discussion  Learning Outcomes LO 1. Discuss the different representations and conceptualizations of the self from various perspectives; LO 2. Examine how the respective philosophies explains the development of...

Philosophical Perspective of the Self By: Sir Jm de Guzman Line of Discussion  Learning Outcomes LO 1. Discuss the different representations and conceptualizations of the self from various perspectives; LO 2. Examine how the respective philosophies explains the development of the self; LO 3. Compare and contrast how the self has been represented across various perspectives. 1. Do you truly know yourself?  Ask yourself! 1.How would you characterize yourself? 2.What makes you stand out from the rest? What makes you special? 3.How is yourself connected to your body? 4.How is your self related to other selves? 5.What will happen to yourself after you die? Analysis Questions Easy or Difficult Why? to answer? 1 2 3 4 5 What is Philosophy?  Ask yourself! 1.How would you characterize yourself? 2.What makes you stand out from the rest? What makes you special? 3.How is yourself connected to your body? 4.How is your self related to other selves? 5.What will happen to yourself after you die?  What will you get out of Philosophy? Philosophy will allow you to: Justify your opinion; Spot a bad argument, no matter what the topic is; Explain to people why there are wrong and you are right; Philosophy basically teaches you to think Pythagoras The first to use the term “Philosophy” Love of Wisdom Philo (Greek) - Love Sophia (Greek) - Wisdom The wise man doesn’t give the right answers, he poses the right questions. - Claude Levi-Strauss  Introduction Philosophy is the root of all knowledge. It is considered as mother of all sciences. Philosophy has interpreted man and his various activities in a comprehensive manner. Philosophical Perspective It helps to coordinate the various activities of the individuals and the society. It helps us to understand the Significance of all Human Experience. “It explores the basic source and aims of life.” It asks and tries to answer the deepest questions to life. It clarifies life and the basic values of life.  Philosophy provides us with the wisdom to face the challenges of life. Wisdom is the supreme instrument in the hands of man in the struggle for his successful existence.  Philosophy provides us with the wisdom to face the challenges of life. Wisdom is the supreme instrument in the hands of man in the struggle for his successful existence.  Meaning of Philosophy Philosophy signifies a natural and necessary urge in human-beings to know themselves and world in which they live, move and have their being.  Origin of Philosophy According to Aristotle, philosophy arises from wonder.  The subject matter of philosophy Philosophy is the rational attempt to have a world-view. It endeavours to reach a conception of the entire universe with all its elements and aspects and their interrelations to one another. It enquires into the nature of the universe, its stuff or material, its Creator or God, its purpose, and its relation to man and his soul.  Main Branch of Philosophy Logic is one of the primary tools philosophers use in their inquiries; the precision of logic helps philosophers to cope with the subtlety of philosophical problems and the often misleading nature of conversational language.  Main Branch of Philosophy Epistemology is the study of knowledge itself. Epistemologists ask, for instance, what criteria must be satisfied for something we believe to count as something we know, and even what it means for a proposition to be true.  Main Branch of Philosophy Metaphysics is the study of the nature of things. Metaphysicians ask what kinds of things exist, and what they are like. Main Branch of Philosophy Axiology is an umbrella term for different studies that centre upon the nature of different types of value.  Main Branch of Philosophy These different studies include: 1. Aesthetics, which investigates the nature of such things as beauty and art;  Main Branch of Philosophy These different studies include: 2. Politics, Political philosophy is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them.  Main Branch of Philosophy These different studies include: 3. Ethics, which investigates both the nature of right and wrong and the nature of good and evil. 2. Philosophy and the Self  Ancient Greek Philosophers Socrates Plato Aristotle  Socrates He placed great emphasis on “Self-knowledge,” with his famous dictum “know theyself,” and true wisdom and virtue begin with an understanding of one’s own nature and abilities. Socrates Self-knowledge leads to a happy and meaningful life. “Unexamined life is not worth living.” - Socrates Socrates Socratic method (liken to the intellectual midwifery) asking probing questions to stimulate critical thinking and self-examination. Socrates He then start the idea that: every man is dualistic Composed of Body and Soul Two (2) important aspect of man: 1. Body – imperfect and impermanent 2. Soul – perfect and permanent Socrates Physical Realm Ideal Realm -Changeable, -Unchangeable, transient and eternal, and immortal imperfect. -The soul belong to -The body belong to this realm. this realm.  Socrates He was the first thinker to focus on the full power of reason on the human self: who we are, who we should be, and who we will become. The soul strives for wisdom and perfection and the reason is the soul’s tool to achieve an exalted state of life. Socrates Our preoccupation with bodily needs such as food, drink, sex, pleasure, material possessions and wealth keep us from attaining wisdom. Socrates A person can have a meaningful and happy life if he becomes virtuous and knows the value of himself that can be achieve through constant soul-searching. This is best achieved when one tries to separate the body from the soul as much as possible.  Plato Philosophy as the process of self-knowledge and purification of the soul. He believe the existence of the mind and the soul. This two are in perfection with God.  Plato Plato’s theory of Forms posits that the physical world is not the real world; instead, ultimate reality exists beyond our physical environment. see: forms as abstract and perfect, immutable; real and knowledgeable. Plato Allegory of the cave is a metaphor for our journey to self-understanding. The cave represents the deceptive world of appearance, while outside symbolizes knowledge and truth. Plato Tripartite Structure of the Soul includes: Appetitive (bodily desire), Spirited (passions, desires) and Rational (truth- seeking, logical thinking) He argued that a harmonious soul, where the rational part governs, leads to justice and virtue.  Aristotle Philosophy of the self begins with the metaphysical understanding of substance and essence. Whereby, the soul is the essence of the self. Body and soul are inseparable to one another. The soul is not capable to exist without the body. Aristotle The soul makes the person a person and it is his essence. Rational nature of the self is to lead a good, flourishing and fulfilling life.  Aristotle He held that individual beings (substances) have a specific nature or essence that defines what they are. The soul and its faculties: a) vegetative (growth and nourishment), b) sentient (perception and desire), and c) rational (thinking and understanding). Aristotle He see the quest of man for eudaimonia (perfect happiness) or flourishing through looking at the essence of man. This can be achieved through virtuous life and wisdom.  St. Augustine I am doubting therefore, I am! Integrated the ideas of Plato and Christianity. The soul is united with the body so that man may be entire and complete. He believe man is the imago dei (image and likeness of God) St. Augustine The aspect of human nature comes with human beings that are inherently flawed and driven by selfish desires (original sin) and capable of reason and the pursuit of higher virtues (imago dei). St. Augustine Being the imago dei, human are geared towards the good. Self is known only through knowing God (self-introspection). Self-knowledge is the consequence of knowledge of God (Divine Illumination).  St. Augustine Divine illumination is the idea that humans receive supernatural help in their cognitive activities, and that God's light is needed for humans to attain truth. Augustine distinguishes between the final goal of human life, the enjoyment (frui) of God, and the means we use (uti) in order to arrive at that goal. “knowledge can only come by seeing the truth that dwells within us.” St. Augustine  St. Thomas Aquinas Agrees with Aristotle’s perspective, he sees man in two parts which is matter (hyle) and form (morphe). He conceptualize the “self” where we don’t encounter ourselves as isolated minds or selves but rather always as agents interacting with our environment (world).  St. Thomas Aquinas Selves in their self-knowledge is dependent on their experience of the world around him/her. Those labels that one applies to one selves are always taken from what one feel or think towards other things. “Ignorance results from a lack of experience.” St. Thomas Aquinas Still, through man’s effort to become virtuous one can achieve its end and the fulfillment of essence (imago dei). Coming together with St. Augustine, man can achieve through her own effort (essence) but with the help of God (grace).  St. Thomas Aquinas Still, through man’s effort to become virtuous one can achieve its end and the fulfillment of essence (imago dei). Coming together with St. Augustine, man can achieve through her own effort (essence) but with the help of God (grace). Philosophia ancilla theologiae – faith and reason are not contradicting but a helping hand of the other.  St. Thomas Aquinas Philosophia ancilla theologiae – faith and reason are not contradicting but a helping hand of the other. Reason help one uncover the truth of life (natural world) and faith guides the understanding of divine.  St. Aquinas “Wonder is the desire of knowledge.” Aquinas  Rene Descartes He was known to be the father of modern philosophy (rationalism). The act of thinking about self – of being self-conscious – is proof that there is self (indubitable truth). Famous line: Cogito ergo sum  Rene Descartes He followed the idea of dualism by Plato in which man lives in mind (cogito | non-material substance) and the world as the mechanical entity (extenza | the extension of the body) He state the role of reason in gaining knowledge of one selves. The mind possess the truths that are not derived from experience.  John Locke His conception of the self was rooted in empiricism (belief the knowledge was gain from sensory experience). He asserted that the self was originally begin in a mind where it is tabula rasa (blank slate). Understanding oneselve should involve examination of sensory impressions and reflections on those experience.  John Locke Self is not tied to the substance of the body nor the soul but to consciousness. Self persists through time as long as there is continuity of consciousness and memory. See – Personal Identity  David Hume He follows the empiricist understanding of the self. Self is simply a bundle or collection of different perceptions, which succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidly and are in a perpetual flex and movement. The idea of personal identify is a result of imagination (there is no self).  Immanuel Kant He was known for the transcendental idealism. He believe that humans can never know things as they are in themselves (noumena) but only as they appear to us (phenomena). The true nature of self is beyond direct experience. Such self identity (predictable and familiar) is the sense of the true self.  Maurice Merleau-Ponty Famous for “phenomenology of perception,” he places perception at the core of human experience. The body is not a mere object among objects but the very basis of our experience and understanding of the world. In the sense, the body is intertwined with the self (embodiment).