Understanding the Self: A Philosophy Overview PDF

Shania Rose L. Mapue UNDE RSTANDING THE SELF GNED 08  PART I: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES Learning Outcomes: 1. Discuss the diffe...

Shania Rose L. Mapue UNDE RSTANDING THE SELF GNED 08  PART I: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES Learning Outcomes: 1. Discuss the different representations and conceptualizations of the self from various disciplinal perspective. 2. Compare and contrast how the self has been represented across different disciplines and perspectives. 3. Examine the different influences, factors and forces that shape the self. 4. Demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the development of one’s self and identity by developing a theory of the self.  Lesson 1: FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF PHILOSOPHY Athens, Greece - (approximately 600BCE) marked the birth of Philosophy (’love of wisdom’) Questions centered on the universe and what possible role man may play in it. Greek philosophers in Miletus chose to seek natural explanations to events and phenomena instead of supernatural explanations from the gods, leading to the idea of permanence (Price, 2000).  SOCRATES -The mentor of Plato -Athens was the center of Western thought. Athenians settle arguments by discussion and debate. -Sophists - the first teachers of the West. -Socrates wanted to discover the essential nature of knowledge, justice, beauty and goodness. -A lot of his thoughts were only known through Plato’s writing (The Dialogues).  The SOCRATIC METHOD -This method involves the search for the correct/proper definition of a thing -Aim: To make people think, seek and ask again and again -Goal: To bring the person closer to final understanding -Instead of lecturing, Socrates would ask questions and engage the person in a discussion.  SOCRATES’ VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE QUESTION PEOPLE’S BELIEFS AND TOUCHING THE IDEAS, EXPOSE SOUL - HELPING TRUE SELF - MISCONCEPTIONS, THE PERSON GET NOT THE BODY AND GET THEM TO IN TOUCH WITH BUT THE SOUL TOUCH THEIR HIS TRUE SELF SOULS “the unexamined Delphi Oracle named Socrates life is not worth the wisest of all men. living.” According to Socrates, real understanding comes from within the person. Socratic method forces people to use their innate reason by reaching in themselves to their deepest nature.  Aristocles (428-349 BCE) He was nicknamed Plato because of his physical built, which means ‘wide/broad.’ He established a school known as ‘The Academy.’ He wrote more than 20 Dialogues with Socrates as the protagonist in most of them. ‘Theory of Forms’ - Plato’s metaphysics PLATO (philosophical study on the causes and nature of things). It was discussed in one of his Dialogues (The Republic)  THEORY OF FORMS Forms It refers to what are real. They are not objects that are encountered with the senses but can only be grasped intellectually. 1.THE FORMS ARE 2.THE FORMS ARE 3.THE FORMS ARE AGELESS AND UNCHANGING UNMOVING AND THEREFORE ARE AND THEREFORE INDIVISIBLE. ETERNAL. PERMANENT. The existence PLATO’S of two realms. DUALISM THE REALM OF SHADOWS THE REALM OF FORMS -is composed of changing, -is composed of eternal things ‘sensible’ things which are lesser which are permanent and perfect. entities and therefore imperfect It is the source of reality and true and flawed knowledge  THE -is rational and is the motivation REASON for goodness and truth PLATO’S VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE -is non-rational; the will/drive THE toward action; initially neutral 3 COMPONENTS SPIRITED but can be influenced OF THE SOUL -is irrational and leans towards THE the desire for pleasures of the APPETITES body Allegory of the Cave Allegory of the Cave THEORY OF BEING To know is to be. the process of 1. starts with a seeking higher stage of being LOVE feeling that there’s something lacking 2. it drives the person the way of to seek for that knowing and which is lacking realizing the 3. thoughts and effort truth this pursuit motivates man are directed and transforms towards its pursuit people and societies  St. Augustine of Hippo (354-436CE) -initially rejected Christianity but eventually became a priest and a bishop of Hippo St. Augustine View of Nature 1.God as the source of all reality and truth. Without God, man could never understand eternal truths. 2.The sinfulness of man. The cause of sin or evil is an act of man’s freewill. Role of Love St. Augustine explains: 1. Love of physical objects leads to the sin of greed. 2. Love for other people is not lasting and excessive love for them is the sin of jealousy. 3. Love for the self leads to sin of pride. 4. Love for God is the supreme virtue and only through loving God can man find real happiness.  “Father of Modern Philosophy” was considered as one of the Rational Philosophers of Europe -considered truth as a universal concept and reason is superior to and independent of sensory experience. ‘I THINK, THEREFORE I AM’ Rene The body is like a machine that is Descartes controlled by the will and aided by the mind.  John Locke -At 57, he published a book on the human mind's scope and limits, which played a significant role in the Enlightenment era.\ 1. Sensation - objects are experienced through the senses 2. Reflection - the mind ‘looks’ and examines experienced objects to identify existing relationships. -Locke contended that ideas are not innate but rather the mind at birth is a ‘tabula rasa’ (i.e. blank slate) Locke’s View on Human Nature Moral good depends on conformity or non-conformity of a person’s behavior towards some law. According to Locke, there are three laws: 1. Law of Opinion - praiseworthy actions (virtues); those that aren’t (vice) 2. Civil Law - right actions are enforced by people in authority (i.e. courts & police) 3. Divine Law - set by God on the actions of man; eternally true law and the one that should always follow  David Hume -was born in Edinburgh, Scotland -after reading Locke’s philosophy, he never entertained any belief in religion (Price, 2002) -Empiricism THE HUMAN MIND -The mind receives materials from the senses and calls it perceptions. -> this has two types: 1. Impressions 2. Ideas David Hume 1. Impressions - the immediate sensation of external reality 2. Ideas - recollections of these impressions Imagination has the ability to connect two ideas to form a complex idea. Hume’s View of Human Nature The part of human nature that other philosophers called soul was termed as ‘the self’ by Hume. The self is also a product of the imagination. There is no permanent/unchanging self  -French philosopher Rosseau made him realized and enabled him to develop his philosophical ideas. -the founder of German Idealism -He wrote three books: “Critique of Pure Reason”, “Critique of Practical Reason”, and “Critique of Judgment” Kant argued that the mind actively participates in knowing the objects it experiences instead of Immanuel being just a passive receiver. Kant Knowledge - the result of human understanding applied to sense experience.  Transcendental apperception - the capacity of that self to create a meaningful world of experience by unifying all its perceptions according to the categories of human understanding (New World Encyclopedia). Immanuel Kant  Sigmund Freud -a neurologist; considered as one of the pioneering figures in the field of psychology -hysteria: when repressed memories resurface and are manifested as some form of psychopathology -Freud used methods like free association and dream analysis THREE LEVELS OF THE MIND 1. Id - the structure based on the pleasure principle 2. Ego - the structure based on reality principle; mediates between the id and superego 3. Superego - the last structure to develop; dependent on learning the difference between right and wrong “Beyond the Pleasure Principle” 2 Kinds of Instincts Eros (life instinct) - includes urges necessary for species survival like, thirst, hunger, and sex; libido -energy of eros Thanatos (death instinct) - man’s behavior is directed towards destruction in the form of aggression and violence  Gilbert Ryle -was an English philosopher whose ideas contradicted Cartesian Dualism -Freewill was invented to answer whether an action deserves praise and blame 2 Types of Knowledge ‘Knowing-that’ ‘Knowing-how’ Knowing involves an ability and not just an intellect  Patricia and Paul Churchland Neurophilosophy - the study of the philosophy of the mind, the philosophy of science, neuroscience and psychology Patricia Churchland - known for her claims that man’s brain is responsible for the identity known as the self The biochemical properties of the brain are responsible for man’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors.  Maurice Merleau-Ponty His philosophy is centered on the human body as the primary site of knowing the world. Merleau-Ponty developed the concept of body-subject and contended that perceptions occur existentially. Phenomenology - it provides a direct description of the human experience Perception - forms the background of the experience which serves to guide man’s conscious action Consciousness - the process that includes sensing as well as interpreting/reasoning Merleau-Ponty has been known as a philosopher of the body.  THANK YOU Module-10-Und Self. (n.d.) StuDocu. https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/bonga-national-high-school/social- psychology/module-10-und-self-understanding-self/30681888