Understanding the Self - UTS Chapter 1 PDF

UNDERSTANDIN G THE SELF  CHAPTER I DEFINING THE SELF: PERSONAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES ON SELF AND IDENTITY  Lesson 1: The Self from Various Philosophical Perspectives At the end of this lesson, you should be able to: 1. Explain why is it essential...

UNDERSTANDIN G THE SELF  CHAPTER I DEFINING THE SELF: PERSONAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES ON SELF AND IDENTITY  Lesson 1: The Self from Various Philosophical Perspectives At the end of this lesson, you should be able to: 1. Explain why is it essential to understand the self; 2. Describe and discuss the different notions of the self from the points-of-view of the various philosophers across time and place; 3. Compare and contrast how the self has been represented in different philosophical schools. 4. Examine one’s self against the different views of self that will discuss in class. HOW CAN I MAKE MYSELF HAPPY? Self-understanding is Essential A. Provides a Sense of Purpose We are the only one responsible in determining our purpose in life. B. Leads to Healthier Relationships Understand who we are and what we truly want from a relationship that we can be more intentional with our words and actions. C. Helps harness your natural strength We come up with a realistic and meaningful action plan to pick a playing field that is better suited to our strengths. We stop punishing ourselves for our shortcomings and learn to work around them. D. Promotes Confidence Do what our heart desires and stay resilient in the face of adversity, for we very well know that what we do is not about us, it is about the vision that we believe in, that vision that things can be done differently. Philosophy of the Self Philosophy is often called the “mother of all disciplines,’ encompassing the entire breadth of inquiry about humans and the universe they inhabit. SELF as “ a unified being, essentially connected to consciousness, awareness and agency ( or at least, with the faculty of rational choice).”  -Socrates was the first philosopher who ever engaged in a systematic questioning about the self; the true task of the philosopher is to “know oneself”. -- described as the “ Father of Western  -For Socrates, every man/woman in composed of body and soul All individuals have an And a soul that is imperfect, perfect and permanent. impermanent aspect, refers to the body.  MICHAEL JACKSON Michael Jackson’s transformations dramatize philosophical questions about identity  Knowledge is the personification of good while ignorance is that of evil. - Socrates Self knowledge is the ultimate virtue. As the ultimate virtue, it will lead to ultimate happiness. “An unexamined life is not worth living.” - Socrates  PLATO “Moral Virtue is rooted in the intellect and leads to happiness.” “Wisdom and knowledge lead to virtue which will lead to Happiness.”  Plato added that there are three components of the soul: Appetitiv Rational Spirited e Forged by Which In charge of reason base desires and is in like eating, drinking, intellect charge sleeping, and that has having govern the of sexual affairs of emotio intercourse, the human is controlled person. ns. as well. Plato emphasizes that “ Justice in the human person can only attained if the three parts of the soul are working harmoniously with one another. ST. AUGUSTINE Christian philosopher and bishop of Hippo in Northern Africa. The body is bound to die on earth Love of God, faith in Him, and understanding of His Gospel will ultimately lead to happiness.  Saint Augustine identified the two fold process comprised of Self- presentation leading to Self- realization.  Understanding the self and formation of identity is achieved through the process of “ Introspection or self- analysis.”  -Thomas Aquinas -Man is composed of two parts: matter and form. -Matter, or hyle - Form, or morphe in Greek, refers in Greek refers to to the “common the “essence of a stuff that makes substance or up everything in thing.” the universe.” Matter and form combine to create formed matter or substance- that is all familiar things we see in the universe.  -Thomas Aquinas Example a sculptor takes block of marble ( which itself- embodies both matter and form) and then gives it further form of shaping it into the formal design he or she has in his mind.  RENE DESCARTES - French philosopher considered the founder of modern philosophy For Descartes, this is the essence of your self – you are a “ Thinking thing,” a dynamic identity that engages in all of those mental operations we associate with being a human self.  Rene Descartes Declares that the essential self. - The Thinking self or soul is a nonmaterial, immortal and conscious being, independent of the physical laws of the universe. - The physical body is a material, moral, and non thinking entity, fully governed by the physical Rene Descartes - “ I think, therefore I am.” - is the first principle of Descartes’s theory of knowledge because he is confident that no rational person will doubt his or her own existence as a conscious, thinking entity – while we  David Hume -Scottish -Men can only philosopher whose attain skeptical knowledge by examinations of religion, ethics, experiencing.  According to David Hume If we carefully examine the contents of our experience, there are two distinct entities: 1. Impressions –- are the basic sensations of our experiences, the elemental data of our minds : pain. Pleasure , heat cold, happiness grief, fear and so on these impressions are lively and vivid. 2. Ideas – are copies of impression, and as a result they are less lively and vivid. Include thoughts and images that are build up from our primary impressions through a variety of relationships. -Self,is simply “a bundle or collection of different perception, which succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidity, and are in a perpetual flux and movement.” - According to Hume, it’s like a theatre, where several perceptions successively make their appearance, pass, repass, glide away, and mingle in an infinite variety of postures and situations.” David Hume  - - German philosopher considered by many to be the greatest thinker of the 18th  - He asserted that it is the human mind which creates experiences. “ Reason is the final authority of Morality.”  Immanuel Kant Inner Includes rational reasoning and Self psychological state Outer Includes the body and physical aspect Self where representation occurs.  Gilbert Ryle - a British philosopher whose book , The Concept of Mind, has a dramatic impact on Western thought. “ The Self is How You Behave” He thought of his approach as a logical behaviorism, focused on creating conceptual clarity, not on developing techniques to condition and manipulate human behavior.  Gilbert Ryle -He stated that “ A person therefore lives through two collateral histories: 1. Public – consisting of what happens in and his body. 2. Private – consisting of what happens in and to his mind.  Patricia Churchland  “A fully matured neuroscience will eliminate the need for the beliefs since they are not real.” - “The physical brain gives us a sense of self.”   He considered the “Father of Liberalism” as he had posited the “theory of mind” which is a breakthrough in the origin of modern understanding of the “concept The Self of is identity found inand the self. consciousness. He identified the brain as comprising the consciousness which has one’s identity.”  Merleau-Ponty Primacy of Perception – where he said that “ there is harmony between what we aim at and what is given , between intention and performance. He claimed that ‘Consciousness is primarily not a matter of “I think that” but “ I REFERENCES: 1. Alata, Eden Joy P., Caslib Jr. Bernardo Nicolas, Serafica Janice Patria J., and Pawilen R.A. “ Understanding the Self”, 2018, ISBN 978-971-23-8670-1 2. Brawner Dalisay G and Arcega Analiza F. , “ understanding the Self” , 2018 3. Ofalia, Bernardino C. “ Understanding the Self: Outcomed –based Module, 2018. C & E Publishing , Inc. 4. Caffee John. “ the Philosopher’s way. 5th edition. THANK YOU!