Lesson 2: The Self From Various Perspectives PDF

Lesson 2 The Self from Various Perspective 1. Philosophical Perspective of the Self 2. Sociological Perspective of the Self 3. Anthropological Perspective of the Self 4. Psychological Perspective of the Self 5. The Self in Western and Oriental/ Eastern Thoughts 1. Philosophical P...

Lesson 2 The Self from Various Perspective 1. Philosophical Perspective of the Self 2. Sociological Perspective of the Self 3. Anthropological Perspective of the Self 4. Psychological Perspective of the Self 5. The Self in Western and Oriental/ Eastern Thoughts 1. Philosophical Perspective of Self PHILOSOPHY Philos= love sophia= wisdom symbol Philosophers= great thinkers Philosophy set of ideas formulated to understand the basic truth about the nature of being and thinking. search for meaning Pre Socratic philosophers concerned with explaining what the world is really made up of and explain the changes that they observed around them.  SOCRATES concerned with the problem of the self first moral philosopher first who ever engaged in a systematic questioning about the self every man is composed of body and soul every human person is dualistic two important aspects of personhood: 1. body- imperfect and impermanent 2. soul- perfect and permanent “Know thyself” “An unexamined life is not worth living”  PLATO student of Socrates supported Socrates about the dual nature: body and soul Three components of the soul (psyche) 1. rational soul- reason and intellect 2. spirited soul- feelings and emotions 3. appetitive soul- desires  when the 3 components of the ideal state was achieved, the human person’s soul becomes just and virtuous. “ Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others” ST. AUGUSTINE former atheist/ pagan mother is St. Monica human person reflects the entire spirit of the Medieval period infused with newfound Doctrine of Christianity, agreed that man is a bifurcated nature body is bound to die on earth and the soul is to anticipate living eternally in a realm of spiritual bliss in communion with God body- can thrive in the imperfect, physical reality soul- can stay after death, in an eternal realm with the all transcendent God “ Our heart is restless until it rests in you”  ST. THOMAS AQUINAS most eminent 13th century scholar and stalwart of the medieval philosophy appended something on Christian view and adapted some ideas from Aristotle man is composed of two parts: 1. matter (hyle)- common stuff that makes up everything in the universe (body)  2. form (morphe)- essence of a substance or thing (soul) the soul is what animates the body, it is what makes us humans “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible” RENE DESCARTES Father of Modern Philosophy human person have a body and a mind from his treatise The Meditations of First Philosophy- he claims that there is so much of what we think that we should doubt but the only thing that one cannot doubt is the existence of the self  famous for “cogito ergo sum”- I think, therefore I am” Self is the combination of two distinct entities 1. cogito- things that think 2. extenza- extensions of the mind “ It is not enough to have a good mind, the main thing is to use it well”  DAVID HUME Scottish philosopher has a very unique way of looking at man An empiricist - men can only attain knowledge if one experienced it *Empiricism- a theory that all knowledge is derived through the senses and experiences  two categories of experiences 1. impressions- basic object of experiences/ sensation (direct product of experiences) 2. ideas- copies of impressions; depends on circumstances “Self is a bundle of collection of different perceptions, which succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidity, and are in a perpetual flux and movement” IMMANUEL KANT German philosopher central figure of modern philosophy there is necessarily a mind that organizes the impressions that men get from the external world Apparatuses of the Mind- ideas that one cannot find in the world, but is built in our minds without the self, one cannot organize the different impressions that one gets in relation to his existence self is not just what gives one his personality but also the seat of knowledge acquisition for all human persons  GILBERT RYLE 20th century British philosopher mainly associated with the Ordinary Language Philosophy movement deny the concept of an internal- non physical self and stated that what truly matters is the behavior that a person manifests in his day to day life self is not an entity one can locate and analyze but simply the convenient name that people use to refer to all the behaviors that people make MAURICE MERLEAU- PONTY phenomenologist who asserts that the mind- body bifurcation that has been going on for a long time is a futile endeavor and an invalid problem  mind and body are so intertwined that they cannot be separated from one another all experiences are embodied *the living body, his thoughts, emotions and experiences are all one “ We know not through our intellect but through our experience” Thank you God Bless Please study the Philosophical perspective of the self. Quiz on next meeting