Philosophical Perspective on the Self PDF

Philosophical Perspective on the Self Outline Definition of Philosophy The Self From the Perspective of: Socrates Plato St. Augustine Rene Descartes John Locke David Hume Immanuel Kant Sigmund Freud Gilbert Ryle Paul Churchland Maurice Merleau-Pont...

Philosophical Perspective on the Self Outline Definition of Philosophy The Self From the Perspective of: Socrates Plato St. Augustine Rene Descartes John Locke David Hume Immanuel Kant Sigmund Freud Gilbert Ryle Paul Churchland Maurice Merleau-Ponty  OBJECTIVES Understand the foundational concepts and 1 purpose of philosophy Examine different philosophical 2 perspectives on the nature of the self  OBJECTIVES 3 Identify common themes and distinctions in how various philosophers conceptualize the self THOUGHT EXPERIMENT Imagine an ancient ship, known as the Ship of Theseus, that has been preserved in a museum. Over the years, the wooden planks of the ship begin to rot, so they are gradually replaced with new, identical pieces of wood. Eventually, every single part of the ship has been replaced. The question then arises: Is this still the same Ship of Theseus, or has it become a completely different ship? What is philosophy? philo - loving; Sophia - knowledge, wisdom It is the pursuit of wisdom, truth and knowledge Why study philosophy? The aim is to deepen understanding The hope is that by doing philosophy, we learn to think better, to act more wisely, and thereby help to improve the quality of all our lives Philosophy is not primarily the study of other people’s ideas. Philosophy is first of all the attempt to state clearly, and as convincingly and interestingly as possible, our own views. Big questions What is the meaning of life? Does God exist? Do we have free will? What is beauty? What is a just society? Who am I? Socrates the Father of Western Philosophy developed the Socratic Method The key to understanding Socrates’s concept of the self is through his take on the SOUL. He believed the soul is IMMORTAL. For this reason, he asserted that death is not the end of existence. Death is simply the separation of the soul from the body. Socrates Socrates claimed that the soul is the essence of the human person, that it is the true self, thus the care of it is a task of philosophy. The very first step towards the accomplishment of this task is the acquisition of wisdom through KNOWING ONE’S SELF. “The unexamined life is not worth living.” QUESTION TO PONDER At your current stage in life, what specific actions or reflections do you use to evaluate and understand your experiences? Why should we take care of our soul? According to Socrates, we need to take care of our soul to attain THE GOOD LIFE. This is the ultimate goal of his philosophy. Socrates According to Socrates, the good life is attained through the acquisition of KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM, AND VIRTUE. For him, our true self should not be identified with what we own, social status, reputation, even with our body. FOR SOCRATES, THE TRUE SELF IS THE VIRTUOUS SELF. QUESTIONS TO PONDER Do you align with Socrates in the belief that acquiring material wealth does not lead to true happiness? If so, what are your reasons for supporting or opposing this view? Plato Socrates’s most famous student established Plato’s Academy Plato believed that the human person is a dichotomy of body and soul: body – material and destructible soul – immaterial and indestructible Plato developed the Theory of Forms It posits that the material world we perceive with our senses is not the true reality but merely a shadow or imitation of a higher, non-physical realm of abstract and perfect entities called "Forms" or "Ideas." Plato illustrates the Theory of Forms with the Allegory of the Cave, where prisoners, confined to a cave, mistake shadows cast on the wall for reality. The shadows represent the material world, while the objects casting the shadows are akin to the Forms. The rational (reasoning) The spirited (feeling) enables us to think, reflect, enables us to experience analyze, and do other cognitive happiness, sadness, anger, and functions other emotions The appetitive (sensual) drives us to experience sexual desire, hunger, thirst, and other physical wants Plato’s Tripartite Theory of the Soul According to Plato, the rational soul is superior to the spiritual and appetitive soul as it serves as the rational and moral guide. FOR PLATO, THE TRUE SELF IS THE RATIONAL SELF. QUESTION TO PONDER Can you recall a situation where irrationality led to negative consequences, and how might a rational approach have influenced the outcome? St. Augustine of Hippo one of the most significant Christian philosophers the patron saint of brewers St. Augustine believed that the self is an immaterial, but rational soul. He believed that the self/soul is able to be aware of itself recognizes itself as a holistic one is aware of its unity St. Augustine of Hippo He believed that happiness is the end-all and be-all of human living and this happiness can be found in God alone. For him, to love God means to love others. FOR ST. AUGUSTINE, THE TRUE SELF IS THE ONE THAT LOVES OTHERS. Rene Descartes a French lay Catholic philosopher, scientist, and mathematician he connected the previously separate fields of geometry and algebra into analytic geometry Descartes believed in the idea of MIND-BODY DUALISM where a human person is composed of two parts: a material body an immaterial mind Rene Descartes He believed that the mind is superior to the body for this is where “mental states” occur. For Descartes, it is the mind that makes us humans. He argued that reason, rather than experience is the foundation of all knowledge. This theory is referred to as RATIONALISM. FOR DESCARTES, THE SELF IS A THINKING ENTITY. How does Descartes view a thinking entity? It is a being that DOUBTS, understands, asserts, denies, wills, imagines, and the like. “I think, therefore I am.” John Locke a philosopher and physician who was one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers the Father of Liberalism Locke believed that we are all born as TABULA RASA or blank slates. He argued that all knowledge is obtained through experience. John Locke For Locke, all knowledge originates in our direct sense experience which acts as the final court of judgment in evaluating the accuracy and value of ideas. This theory is referred to as EMPIRICISM. FOR LOCKE, THE SELF IS A PRODUCT OF SENSORY EXPERIENCE.  Rationalism Empiricism claims that reason is the claims that experience is the source of knowledge source of knowledge claims that individuals have claims that individuals have no innate knowledge innate knowledge accepts intuition as a form of rejects intuition as a form of knowledge knowledge Rationalism vs. Empiricism QUESTION TO PONDER Do you consider yourself more inclined towards rationalism or empiricism? Please provide an explanation for your choice. David Hume a Scottish philosopher, economist, and historian during the Age of Enlightenment he, along with John Locke and Bishop George Berkeley, was one of the main figureheads of the Empiricism movement David Hume Hume is identified with THE BUNDLE THEORY wherein he described the self as a bundle or a collection of different perceptions that are moving in a very fast and successive manner. FOR HUME, THE SELF IS IN A “PERPETUAL FLUX”.  Impressions Ideas are the basic object of our copies of impressions experience or sensation they are not as lively and vivid they form the core of our as our impressions thoughts Kinds of Perception Immanuel Kant is a central figure in modern philosophy his contributions to metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics have had a profound impact on almost every philosophical movement that followed him Kant believed that religion and morality should be kept apart. He argued that in order to determine what’s right, we have to use REASON.  Hypothetical Imperatives Categorical Imperatives are moral commands that are are commands we must follow conditional on personal desire or irrespective of our desires and motive motives Types of Imperatives How do we figure out what is moral? Kant said that categorical imperatives can be understood in terms of FORMULATIONS which refer to various ways of looking at the same essential idea. THOUGHT EXPERIMENT Kant’s Axe: If a sinister-looking man carrying an axe knocked on your door and asked where your best friend was, would you tell a lie? Formulation # 1: Universality “Act only according to that maxim which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction.” QUESTIONS TO PONDER Do you agree with Kant’s Universality Principle? If so, why? If not, can you provide an instance where you believe it's acceptable to make an exemption for yourself or others? Formulation # 2: Humanity “Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end.” Immanuel Kant Kant believed that we are required to act morally because it is our DUTY. Kant referred to our motivation to behave morally as the GOOD WILL. FOR KANT, THE TRUE SELF IS THE ONE THAT IS OF GOOD WILL. THOUGHT EXPERIMENT Trolley Problem: Imagine a runaway trolley headed towards five people tied to a track, with no way for them to escape. You have the option to divert the trolley onto another track, but there is one person tied to that track. The dilemma is whether to take action, sacrificing one life to save five, or do nothing and allow the trolley to continue its course. Sigmund Freud a philosopher, physiologist, psychologist, and one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century the Father of Psychoanalysis What is psychoanalysis? It refers to both a theory and a type of therapy based on the belief that all people possess unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories. It posits that events in childhood have great impact on one's adult life. QUESTIONS TO PONDER What is a specific childhood experience that still largely affects your behavior at present? In what ways does this experience affect your behavior? QUESTIONS TO PONDER At this point in your life, do you believe your ego is sufficiently capable of moderating between the demands of your id and superego? Or does either your id or superego remain dominant? Support your assertions with pertinent information. "The ego is the actual seat of anxiety." DEFENSE MECHANISMS REPRESSION The most basic defense mechanism, because it is involved in each of the others Whenever the ego is threatened by undesirable id impulses, it protects itself by repressing those impulses; that is, it forces threatening feelings into the unconscious DEFENSE MECHANISMS REACTION FORMATION Adopting a disguise that is directly opposite its original form Reactive behavior can be identified by its exaggerated character and by its obsessive and compulsive form DISPLACEMENT Redirecting unacceptable urges onto a variety of people or objects so that the original impulse is disguised or concealed DEFENSE MECHANISMS FIXATION The permanent attachment of the libido onto an earlier, more primitive stage of development REGRESSION Reverting to an earlier stage of psychological development in the face of stress or anxiety DEFENSE MECHANISMS PROJECTION Reduce anxiety by attributing the unwanted impulse to an external object, usually another person Seeing in others unacceptable feelings or tendencies that actually reside in one’s own unconscious INTROJECTION Incorporating positive qualities of another person into their own ego DEFENSE MECHANISMS SUBLIMATION The repression of the genital aim of Eros by substituting a cultural or social aim The sublimated aim is expressed most obviously in creative cultural accomplishments such as art, music, and literature, but more subtly, it is part of all human relationships and all social pursuits Gilbert Ryle a British philosopher principally known for his critique of Cartesian dualism for which he coined the phrase “ghost in the machine” Category Mistake Ryle criticized Descartes’s idea that the mind is distinct from the body. He called the distinction between mind and matter a category mistake because of its attempt to analyze the relation between the two as if they are of the same category. The relation between the mind Mental processes are intelligent and body are not isolated acts, and are not distinct from processes. each other. The operation of the mind is itself an intelligent act. Ryle’s Points Against Descartes’s Theory Ghost in the Machine Ryle described the distinction between the mind and body as the dogma of the “ghost in the machine” where he explained that there is no hidden entity or ghost called “soul” inside a machine called “body”. Gilbert Ryle Ryle asserted that sensations, thoughts, and feelings do not belong to a mental world separate from the physical world. He believed that the concept of a distinct “self” is not real. FOR RYLE, THE SELF IS A PRODUCT OF OUR OWN ACTIONS. Paul Churchland a Canadian philosopher known for his studies in neurophilosophy and the philosophy of the mind Churchland’s philosophy stands on a materialistic view where nothing but matter exists. Materialism posits that if something can be seen, felt, heard, touched, or tasted, then it exists. Eliminative Materialism Churchland believes that the idea of a mind or soul is not in consonance with the physical changes that have occurred in the hereditary characteristics of the human species over successive generations. He claims that our common-sense understanding of the mind is false, and that certain classes of mental states which most of us believe in do not exist. Paul Churchland Churchland asserted that the sense of “self” originated from the brain itself. FOR CHURCHLAND, THE SELF IS A PRODUCT OF ELECTROCHEMICAL SIGNALS PRODUCED BY THE BRAIN. Maurice Merleau-Ponty a French phenomenological philosopher his main interest was the constitution of meaning in human experience Merleau-Ponty rejected the Cartesian dualism and claimed that the mind and body are intrinsically connected. He also veered away from the established notion that the center of consciousness is the mind. Maurice Merleau-Ponty He argued that the body is part of the mind, and the mind is part of the body. He further claimed that the body acts what the minds perceives as a unified one. He believed that our bodies are the opening towards our existence. He also believed that our bodies, thoughts, emotions, and experiences are all one. FOR MERLEAU-PONTY, THE SELF IS AN EMBODIED SUBJECTIVITY. QUESTION TO PONDER How can the philosophical perspective on the self influence personal growth and self- improvement? References Alata, E. J., Caslib, B., Jr., Serafica, J. 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