Understanding the Self Module 1 PDF

Understanding the Self Module 1 Chapter 1: The Self From Various Perspective Writer: Estrella L. Ranas Faculty, CSSP Main Campus Editor: Ma. Adora C. Tigno Prepared by: Imelda N. Carlos Philosophy What is philoso...

Understanding the Self Module 1 Chapter 1: The Self From Various Perspective Writer: Estrella L. Ranas Faculty, CSSP Main Campus Editor: Ma. Adora C. Tigno Prepared by: Imelda N. Carlos Philosophy What is philosophy?  “Philosophy“ – originates from two Greek words ("Philos" means beloved and “Sophia" means wisdom), meaning "love of wisdom.“  It is the way of thinking about anything in the world, the universe.  works by asking very basic questions about the nature of human thought, the nature of the universe, and the connections between them.  Socrates: The Soul Is Immortal “The unexamined life is not worth living” – Socrates Socrates  He was believed to be the first thinker to focus on the full power of reason on the human self - our existence in the universe, who we are, who we should be, and whom we will become.  The self exists in two parts: the physical body and the soul.  Physical body - a tangible aspect of us - It is mortal (it dies), constantly changing, imperfect, transforming, disappearing.  Soul - Socrates believed to be immortal - is eternal, unchanging, perfect, or ideal - soul first before a man's body - has all the knowledge that is stored in his mind  Dialectic method or Socratic method - an exchange of question and answer that ultimately aims to make a person remember all the knowledge that he has forgotten, including his former all-knowing self  Plato: The Soul is Immortal “The first and the best victory is to conquer self.” – Plato Plato  He is a dualist; there is both an immaterial mind (soul) and a material body, and it is the soul that represents the self.  He believed the soul exists before birth and after death.  The soul (mind) is divided into three parts: Reason - our divine essence that enables us to think deeply, make wise choices, and achieve a true understanding of eternal truths. Physical Appetite - our basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire. Will or Spirit - is our basic emotion or passion, such as empathy, aggressiveness, love, anger, ambition.  The three elements of our “self” are in a dynamic relationship with one another.  Plato believed that true and genuine happiness could only be achieved if we consistently make sure that our reason is in control of our Spirits and Appetites.  St. Augustine: Christianity “Accepting God is the path to know thyself.” - St. Augustine Augustine  believes that man is created in the image and likeness of God, and he is essentially a soul whose goal is to be with God.  sense of self is his relation to God, both in his recognition of God's love, and his response to it  achieved through self-presentation then self-realization.  Augustine believes that God is transcendent, and everything created by God, who is all good, is good.  Rene Descartes: A Modern Perspective on the Self “Cogito ergo sum (I think; therefore I am.)” -- Rene Descartes. René Descartes  "founder of modern philosophy"  cogito ergo sum (Latin)  is the essence of self— you are a "thinking thing" (I exist because I think: I think, therefore I exist)  declares that the essential self, or the self as a thinking entity, is radically different from the self as a physical body  thinking self—or soul—is a nonmaterial, immortal, conscious being, independent of the physical laws of the universe.  physical body - a mortal, non-thinking material that is fully governed by the physical laws of nature  your soul and your body are independent of one another  John Locke: The Self Is Consciousness John Locke  known for his theory that the mind is a tabula rasa, a blank slate  believed that we are born without thoughts, or our mind was empty and that knowledge is instead determined only by experience  our memory plays a key role in our definition of the self  He theorized that we are the same person as we were in the past for as long as we can remember memories from that past.  our conscious awareness and memory of previous experiences are the keys to understanding the self  David Hume: There Is No “Self” David Hume  believed that the source of all genuine knowledge is our direct sense experience  believes in the existence of the mind, and what’s inside the mind is divided into two: impressions and ideas.  Impressions are those things we perceive through our senses as we experience them.  Ideas are those things that we create in our minds even though we are no longer experiencing them.  Hume's idea of the self follows this philosophical pattern.  There is no permanent and unchanging self.  Immanuel Kant: We Construct the Self Immanuel Kant  Man is a free agent, for he is gifted with reason and free will to enable him to organize the data gathered by the senses  Sigmund Freud: There Are Two Selves, One Conscious, One Unconscious Sigmund Freud  not a philosopher, but his views on the nature of the self have had a far- reaching impact on philosophical thinking  He is a great influence in the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis, the theory he founded.  believes that there are two levels of human functioning: the conscious and the unconscious  conscious refers to all mental processes of which we are aware  unconscious refers to mental processes that are not easily accessible to our awareness  Freud believes that even if the conscious self plays an important role in our lives, it is the unconscious self that has the dominant influence on our personalities.  Unconscious  contains basic instinctual drives that include aggressiveness, sexuality, and self-destruction; traumatic memories; childhood fantasies and unfulfilled wishes; thoughts and feelings that would be considered socially taboo  characterized by the most primitive level of human motivation and functioning  “pleasure principle”  Conscious  “reality principle”  our behavior and experience are organized in ways that are practical, rational, and appropriate to the social environment  Freud later developed the Structural model of the mind that is divided into three: the id, ego, and superego.  Id represents man's biological nature, impulses, and bodily desires  e superego represents the ethical component of the personality and provides the moral standards by which the ego operates  Gilbert Ryle: The Self Is How You Behave Gilbert Ryle  focused on observable behavior in defining the self.  the self is defined in terms of the behavior that is presented to the world  the self is defined by the observable behaviors we project to the world around us  Paul Churchland: The Self Is the Brain Paul Churchland  disagrees with the concept of dualism  asserts that since the mind cannot be experienced by the senses, it does not exist  It is the physical brain, not the imaginary mind, that gives us our sense of self.  self is the brain  Neuroscience is into the fore of understanding the self.  “mind,” our moods, emotions, actions, consciousness are deeply affected by the state of our brain  Maurice Merleau-Ponty: The Self is Embodied Subjectivity Maurice Merleau-Ponty  there is unity in our mental, physical, and emotional disposition, and they all affect how we experience our selves  The definition of self is all about one’s perception of one’s experience and the interpretation of those experiences.  self is embodied subjectivity Thank you for listening. Stay safe. See you in our next class! Prepared by: Imelda N. Carlos