Lesson 1: The Self from Various Perspectives PDF

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE SELF At the end of the lesson, you should be able to: 1. State the importance of understanding one’s self. 2. Explain the various notions of the self from different philosophical perspectives. 3. Examine one’s self in relation to the philosophical perspectives...

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE SELF At the end of the lesson, you should be able to: 1. State the importance of understanding one’s self. 2. Explain the various notions of the self from different philosophical perspectives. 3. Examine one’s self in relation to the philosophical perspectives of the self. The Philosophical Constructions of Self Many philosophical perspectives deal with the understanding of the self. The philosophy of man is a being or self and its ultimate reason for being. It is a comprehensive study of truth. Much of philosophy is concerned with the fundamental nature of “self. What is Philosophy? PHILO SOPHY philia love + sophia wisdom (strong desire for a (correct application of particular object) knowledge) “lover of wisdom” Early Greek Philosophy Greek thinkers before Socrates, like Thales, Anaximander, and Heraclitus, among others, focused on the composition and processes of the world around them. Unsatisfied with mere mythological and supernatural explanations, these so-called Pre-Socratic philosophers turned to observation, documentation, and reasoning. Pre-Socratic philosophers Heraclitus Anaximander Thales Orientation of Thinking Rationalism – regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge. Philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Kant and Descartes Key Terms Skepticism – always in doubt and that knowledge is uncertain. Philosophers: Humes and Socrates Key Terms Empiricism – all of our knowledge comes from our sensory experience. Philosophers: Humes, Ryle, Locke, Aristotle, Churchland and Maurice- Ponty Key Terms Idealism – the nature of reality is based on ideas, perceptions, or consciousness rather than physical matter. Philosophers: Socrates, Plato Key Terms Platonism – refers to the philosophical ideas and doctrines derived from the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. Philosophers: Plato Key Terms Existentialism – emphasizes on personal experience and responsibility and the complexities of human existence. Philosophers: Maurice-Ponty Philosophical Perspectives Socrates: “An unexamined life is not worth living…” Plato: “The Soul is Immortal…” St. Augustine: “I am Doubting. Therefore I…” Rene Descartes: “I Think Therefore I am…” John Locke: “The Self is Consciousness…” David Hume: “There is no Self…” Immanuel Kant: “We Construct the Self…” Gilbert Ryle: “The Self is the Way People Behave…” Maurice Jean Jacques Merleau-Ponty: “The Self is Embodied Subjectivity” Paul Churchland: “The Self is the Brain”  SOCRATES (469-399 BCE) ▪ Socrates provided a change of perspective by focusing on the self. ▪ His life and ideas, documented by his students, the historian Xenophon and the philosopher Plato, showed how Socrates applied systematic questioning of the self. ▪ Socrates believed that it is the duty of the philosopher to know oneself. To live without knowing who you are and what virtues you can attain is the worst that can happen to a person. Thus, he noted that an “unexamined life is not worth living.” Contributions Socratic method or Dialectic style of teaching - a method of inquiry by answering questions with another question. Socratic methods consist of two processes ironic and maieutic. Ironic process - to make the seeker of knowledge, clear his mind for action. It removes from his mind prejudice and leads to the humble and sincere confession of ignorance. Maieutic process - draws the truth out of the pupils' mind which is done using dialogue or conversation. Socrates saw a person as dualistic, that is, every person is composed of Self body and soul. There is an imperfect and impermanent aspect of every one of us, which is our physical body, and then, there is also the perfect and permanent, which is the soul. Body Soul  PLATO (428-347 BCE) Plato further expounded on the idea of the soul by stating that it has three parts/components: 1. the appetitive soul – responsible for the desires and cravings of a person. 2. the rational soul – the thinking, reasoning, and judging aspect 3. the spirited soul – accountable for emotions and also makes sure that the rules of reason is followed in order to attain victory and/or honor.  In his work The Republic, he emphasized that Self all three parts of the soul must work harmoniously to attain justice and virtue in a person. The rational soul must be well-developed and in charge, the emotions from the spirited Body Soul soul are checked, and the desires of the appetitive must be controlled and focused on those that give life, like eating, drinking, and sleeping, among others. Appetitive Rational Spirited ST. AUGUSTINE (354-430 AD) ▪ St. Augustine is considered as one of the most significant Christian thinkers, esp. in the development of the Latin Christian theology. ▪ His idea of the “self” merged that of Plato and the then-new Christian perspective, which led him to believe in the duality of a person.  He believes that there is an imperfect part of us that is connected to the world and yearns to be with the divine. There is also a part of us that is not bound by this world and, therefore, attains immortality. The imperfection of the body incapacitates it from thriving in the spiritual communion with God, thus, it must die for the soul to reach the eternal realm. However, this communion of the soul with God can only be attained if the body lives in this world with virtue. RENĖ DESCARTES (1596-1650) ▪ René Descartes was a French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher. ▪ He argues that a person should only believe the things that can pass the test of doubt. ▪ In his “Discourse on the Method” and “Meditations on First Philosophy”, he, therefore, concluded that the only thing that a person cannot doubt is the existence of his/her “self”. Because even doubt about the self proves that there is a thinking/doubting self (“cogito ergo sum”) (1596-1650) He believes that to doubt is to think; the cognitive aspect of human nature is his basis for the existence of the self. The self is a combination of 2 distinct entities: 1. Cogito ergo sum - the things that think (mind) which is the proof of human existence. 2. Extenza - an extension of the mind (body) The body is like a machine that is controlled by the mind and aided by the mind.  JOHN LOCKE (1632-1704) ▪ John Locke was an English philosopher. ▪ His works as a physician provided him with an idea that deviated from the duality of the body or soul. ▪ A person’s mind is a blank state (tabula rasa) at birth; it is through experiences that this blank state is filled, and a personal identity or “self’ is formed. ▪ This “self” cannot be found in the soul nor the body but in one’s consciousness (Nimbalkar 2011). John Locke stated that personal identity or the self is found in the consciousness. He identified the brain as comprising the consciousness that has one's identity. It is alleged that life is a quest for the understanding of what is after death and immortality. He argued as well that a person may only be judged for the acts of his body but the truth, according to him, is that one is liable only for the acts of which he is conscious.  DAVID HUME (1711-1776) ▪ David Hume was a Scottish philosopher and an empiricist who believed that all concepts and knowledge come from the senses and experiences. ▪ He argued that there is no self beyond what can be experienced. ▪ We do not know others because we have seen/touched their souls; we know them because of what we can actually observe. ▪ This “self” according to him is a “bundle or collection of(1711-1776) different perceptions, which succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidity, and are a perpetual flux and movement” ▪ The self is a combination of experiences of a person. Experiences can be categorized into: 1. impressions – real/actual experiences or sensations like feeling the rough edges of a stone or tasting a sweet ice cream 2. ideas – copies of impressions/representations of the world and sensations, like love, faith, or even an association with this certain event is caused by something in the past could possibly create another reaction in the future.  IMMANUEL KANT (1711-1776) ▪ One of the most influential philosophers in Modern Western philosophy. ▪ He thinks that reason, not mere experience, is the foundation of knowledge. It is like seeing a visual effect in television, your experience says it is there, but the reason says it is only a computer- generated image. ▪ The “self” organizes our experience into something meaningful. It can do such a thing because it is independent from sensory experiences; something that transcends or is above our consciousness. ▪ Kant said that every person has an inner and outer self comprising consciousness. According to Kant, the intellect and the psychological state of a being is what we call the inner self while the outer self is made of the senses and the physical self. Largely, the object of the inner self is the 'soul' while the outer self is directed to the 'body'. GILBERT RYLE (1900-1976) ▪ Ryle focused on observable behavior in defining the self. He stated that every human being has both a physical body and a non-physical mind which are ordinarily "harnessed together" while we are alive. ▪ He stated that "A person, therefore lives through two collateral histories, one consisting of what happens in and to his body, and other consisting of what happens in and to his mind. The first is public, the second private." This simply explains how the mind is operating within the (1900-1976) person himself while the body is subjected to the observation and criticisms of the public. ▪ Ryle does not adhere to the idea of duality and sees the self as an entirely of thoughts, emotions and actions of a person that relates to observable behavior. ▪ We get to know others by observing their behavior and inferring about their “selves”; we can apply the same observation and reflections on ourselves. MAURICE MERLEAU PONTY (1908-1961) ▪ A leading French existentialist and phenomenologist, also contributes to the idea by stating that mind and body are interconnected with each other and therefore, cannot be separated. ▪ Our body is our connection to the external world, including other people, thus all experiences are embodied. This also includes the thoughts and emotions of a person. (1908-1961)  PAUL CHURCHLAND ▪ A Canadian philosopher known for his studies in neurophilosophy and the philosophy of mind (the study of the philosophy of the mind, the philosophy of science, neuroscience, and psychology). ▪ He further utilized knowledge from other academic and research fields to talk about the self as well as the mind. ▪ One of those who proposed the use of “eliminative materialism” or “eliminativism”. ▪ The Self is the brain. ▪ “Eliminative materialism” or “Eliminativism” means that the old terms we use to describe the mind are outdated. ▪ If not mere “folk psychology”, thus the need to use more accurate and scientifically proven terms, esp. based on neuroscience research. ▪ Neuroscience somehow shows a connection of what we call mental states that of the physical activities of the brain. The dual perspective of the “self” continues to exist, perhaps because our brains are programmed to think of dualities. Our religious beliefs, that of a mortal body and an immortal soul, also affect such continuity. However, new ideas from academic fields as well as findings from technological advances are being considered and incorporated in this debate and the discovery of the self. Being open to such new ideas may help us know more about our own “self”. End of Lesson 1