The Self From The Perspective of Philosophy PDF

THE SELF FROM THE PERSPECTIVE O F P H I LO S O P H Y Lesson 1 & 2 Mrs. Marygrace R. Magtibay Ged 101 Understanding The Self  Self from various Philosophical Perspective S O C R AT E S : Know Thyself P L AT O : The soul is immortal ARISTOTLE: The sou...

THE SELF FROM THE PERSPECTIVE O F P H I LO S O P H Y Lesson 1 & 2 Mrs. Marygrace R. Magtibay Ged 101 Understanding The Self  Self from various Philosophical Perspective S O C R AT E S : Know Thyself P L AT O : The soul is immortal ARISTOTLE: The soul is the essence of self St. AUGUSTINE: I am Doubting, Therefore I am St.THOMAS AQUINAS: RENE DESCARTES: I Think Therefore I am JOHN LOCKE: The Self is Consciousness D AV I D H U M E : There is no self I MM ANUEL K ANT: We c o n str u c t th e S el f GILBERT RYLE: The self is the way people behave M E R L E A U P O N T Y: The Self is Embodied Subjectivity  P H I LO S O P H Y - study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially in an academic discipline. - academic discipline concerned with investigating the nature of significance of ordinary and scientific beliefs and investigates the legitimacy of concepts by rational argument concerning their implications, relationships as well as reality, knowledge, moral judgment, etc. - Finding answers to serious  P H I LO S O P H Y I S A B O U T :  What is morally right and wrong? Why?  What is good life?  Does God exist?  What is the mind? Questioning existing knowledge and intuitions to get closer to the truth. W H AT W I L L Y O U G E T O U T O F P H I L O S O P H Y: The skills are: 1.Critical thinking 2. Argument skill 3. Communication 4. Reasoning 5. Analysis 6.Problem solving 1. To justify your opinions 2. Spot a bad argument, no matter what the topic 3. Explain to people why there are wrong and you are right 4. Philosophy basically teaches you to think!  PY T H AG O RA S The first to use the term “philosophy”  P H I LO S O P H Y “PHILO” Greek word for love Greek word for “SOPHIA” wisdom Much of philosophy concerns with the fundamental nature of self.  Ancient Greek philoso The Greeks were the ones who seriously questioned myths and moved away from them to understand reality and respond to perennial questions of curiosity, including the question of the self.  “the unexamined life is not worth living” He was the first philosopher engaged in a systematic questioning about the self. Socrates said that self-knowledge is a pre-requisite to happy and meaningful life. Socrates 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 “KNOW perfection, and the reason is the souls to achieve an exalted state of life. THYSELF” Our preoccupation with bodily need - such as food, drink , sex pleasure , material possessions and wealth keep SOCRATE us from attaining wisdom. S  A person can have a meaning full and happy life only if he becomes virtuous and knows the value of himself that can be achieved through constant soul searching. For him, this is best “KNOW achieved when one tries to separate the body THYSELF” from the soul as much as - SOCRATES possible.  “KNOW THYSELF” - SOCRATES “Every person is dualistic” Composed of body and soul impermanent (body) + perfect & permanent (soul) = individual  TWO DICHOTOMOUS REALMS Physical realm - changeable , transient and imperfect - body belongs to this realm Ideal Realm - unchanging , eternal and immortal -soul belongs to this realm “KNOW THYSELF” - SOCRATES  “ THE SOUL IS IMMORTAL” -PLATO A student of Socrates, basically took off from his master and supported the idea that man is a dual nature of body and soul. Philosophy of the self can be explained as a process of self-knowledge and purification of the soul. He believed in the existence of the mind and soul Mind and soul are given in perfection  “ THE SOUL IS IMMORTAL” -PLATO 3 Components of the soul 1. Rational soul – reason & intellect to govern affairs. -Divine essence that enables us to think deeply , make wise choices and achieve a true understanding eternal truths 2. Spirited soul – emotions and passion -Basic emotions such as love , anger, ambition, empathy and aggressiveness 3. Appetitive soul – base desires / basic needs -food, drink, sleep, sexual needs, etc.  “ THE SOUL IS IMMORTAL” -PLATO These 3 elements of our selves are in a dynamic relationship with one another , sometimes in conflict. When conflict occurs , Plato believes that it is the responsibility of our rational soul to sort out things and exert control, and restoring a harmonious relationship among the three elements of ourselves. Plato believes that genuine happiness can only be achieved by people who consistently make sure that their rational is in control of their spirits and appetites  “ THE SOUL IS IMMORTAL” -PLATO c Plato also introduces the existence of two realms. 1.The Realm of Shadows - composed of changing, sensible 2. The Realm of Forms things which are lesser - composed of eternal entities things which are - imperfect and permanent and perfect flawed  “ THE SOUL IS THE ESSENCE OF SELF” - ARISTOTLE c Aristotle is a student of Plato. The soul makes a person a person. The soul is the essence of the self. The body and soul are not two separate elements but are one thing. The soul is simply the form of the body and is not capable of existing without the body. Aristotle suggest that anything with life has soul Aristotle suggest that the rational nature of the self is to lead a good , flourishing and fulfilling life. Without the body , the soul cannot exist. The soul dies along the body.  “ THE SOUL IS THE ESSENCE OF SELF” - ARISTOTLE c His discussion about the self centers on the kinds of soul possessed by a man. He introduced 3 kinds of soul Vegetative- it includes the physical body that can grow. Sentient – includes the sensual desires , feelings and emotions Rational – is what makes man human. It includes the intellect that makes man know and understand things  “ I AM DOUBTING THEREFORE I AM” - ST. AUGUSTINE c St. Augustine integrated the ideas of Plato and Christianity. St. Augustine's view of the human person reflects the entire spirit of the medieval world. The soul is united with the body so that man maybe entire and complete. He believed human kind is created in the image and likeness of God. Knowing God is equal to knowing your self. The self is known only through by knowing God. Human person being a creation of Gods is always geared towards the good.  “ I AM DOUBTING THEREFORE I AM” - ST. AUGUSTINE c Man is of bifurcated in nature. Two aspects: 1. part of men dwells in the world and is imperfect and yearns to be with the Divine 2. other part is capable of reaching immortality. Body – dies on earth while the Soul – lives eternally in spiritual bliss with God.  “ I AM DOUBTING THEREFORE I AM” - ST. AUGUSTINE According to St. Augustine, the human nature is composed of two realms: 1. God as the source of all reality and truth. Man is capable of knowing eternal truths. This is made possible through the existence of the one eternal truth which is God. He further added that without God as the source of all truth, man could never understand eternal truth. This relationship with God means that those who know most about God will come closest to understanding the true nature of the world. 2. The sinfulness of man. The cause of sin or evil is an act of mans’ freewill. Moral goodness can only be achieved through the grace of God.  -THOMAS AQUINAS He believe that man is composed of two parts soul ( form ) and body ( matter ). Soul is the form of the body that animates and gives life to the physical matter. Man is one thing , a composite of body and soul, and the soul gives shape to the person and coordinates the matter to be that a human person. The soul is the “ first act of a physical body that has potentially within it”. It is the organizing principle that makes a living , physical body what it is. The intellective soul is unique to humans and is subsistent – it can exist apart from the body, unlike the vegetative and sensitive powers. This allows for the soul’s immortality. All our self knowledge is dependent on our experience of the world around us. M O D E R N P H I LO S O P H Y  “I THINK THEREFORE I AM” - RENE DESCARTES “ cogito, ergo sum” Father of Modern Philosophy The act of thinking about self – of being self –conscious is in itself proof that there is self. He doubts the existence of his own physical body. He believe in dualism between mind and body. Human/person=cogito(mind)+extenza(body) Mind is a seat of consciousness Body is unrealible and should not be trusted. The body is a machine attached to the mind “A self is a thinking thing /I am a thinking thing. A thing that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses, imagines, perceives.”  “I THINK THEREFORE I AM ” - RENE DESCARTES Human/person=cogito(mind)+extenza(body) mind - houses our understanding, intellect and passion - do not have sizes and shape body - do not have understanding -is just a shape with different sizes The primary condition of the existence of the self is human rationality. The body is a machine attached to the mind One must have a healthy mind to have good decision or outcomes.  “THE SELF IS CONSCIOUSNESS” - JOHN LOCKE We are intelligent being. Locked opposed the idea that only reason is the source of knowledge of the self. Locke contended that ideas are not innate but rather mind at birth is a ‘tabula rasa’ (blank slate) Knowledge results from ideas produced a posteriori He felt that self isor by objects constructed that sense primarily from wereexperiences. experienced. ( SENSES of Experience) He theorized that when a baby are born , all babies know absolutely nothing. Nothing exists in the mind that was not first in the senses.  “THE SELF IS CONSCIOUSNESS” - JOHN LOCKE Consciousness is necessary to have a coherent personal identity or knowledge of the self as a person. Sensation –simple ideas we receive through the five senses. External Reflection - ideas like thinking , droughting , believing, reasoning , “THERE IS NO SELF” - DAVID HUME According to Hume there is no thing such as self. Self is simply a bundle or collection of different perceptions or temporary impressions. The idea of personal identity is a result of imagination or a concept of illusion. Influenced by empiricism. the theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience. The idea that all learning comes only from experience and observation. You know that other people are humans not because you have  “THERE IS NO SELF” - DAVID HUME How dis Hume arrive at the idea that there is no such thing as the idea of the self? “Bundle Theory - The self is nothing but a bundle of impressions and ideas” 1. impression / reality basic objects of our experience/sensation forms the core of our thoughts 2. ideas copies of impressions not as “real” as impressions This means that the self is nothing over and above a constantly bundle of experience.  “THERE IS NO SELF” - DAVID HUME We have an idea, that is an impression of something if we experience it correctly. Hume argues that ideas that do not represent something in reality is an abstract ideas, therefore meaningless. Example the unicorn –it is an abstract ideas because its not reality. The idea of the self is simply an idea and there is no guarantee that it exist in reality.  “ WE CONSTRUCT THE SELF” -IMMANUEL KANT We need active intelligence to synthesize all knowledge and experience. The self is not only personality but also the seat of knowledge acquisition for all humans. The self constructs its own reality creating a world that is familiar and predictable. Through our rationality , the self transcends sense experience. Transcendental apperception happens when people do not experience self directly, instead as a unity of all impressions that are organized by the mind through perceptions  “ WE CONSTRUCT THE SELF” -IMMANUEL KANT It is the self that makes experiencing an intelligible world possible because it is the self that is actively organize and synthesizing all our thoughts and perception.  Internal world – thought and feelings  External world – events and situation that is happening outside our control. Which we both synthesize to create the self. Self construct its own reality creating a world that is familiar and predictable through our rationality , the self transcends sense experience.  THE SELF IS EMBODIED SUBJECTIVITY -MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY Believed the physical body to be an important part of what makes up the subjective self. This work asserts that self and perception are encompassed in a physical body. The physical body is part of self. The perception of the mind and the actions of the body are interconnected. The mind and the body are so intertwined that they cannot be separated from one another. The living body , his thoughts , emotions and experience are all one.  “I ACT THEREFORE IAM” -GILBERT RYLE Arguing that the mind does not exist and therefore can’t be the seat of the self. Self is not an entity one can locate and analyze but simply the convenient name that people use to refer to all behavior that people make. The self is the way people behave. We are all just a bundle of behaviors. For Ryle , what truly matters is the behavior that a person manifest in his day-to-day life.  THE SELF AS THE BRAIN -PAUL CHURCHLAND A modern philosopher who studies the brain disagrees with dualism. If a thing can't be recognized by the senses, then its not real. Since the mind cannot be experienced by our senses , then the mind doesn’t really exist. Eliminative materialism- mind can be experienced by our senses then the mind as it really exist, it is our physical brain and not our imaginary mind that gives us our sense of self. The physical brain is where we get our sense of self