Philosophy and the Self PDF

Philosophy and the Self Explore the history of philosophical thought on the Self, from the Pre-Socratics to contemporary theories. Understanding the Self (UTSN01A) Pre-Socratic Philosophers Thales Pythagoras Heraclitus Thales believed everything came Pythagoras believed numbers to Heraclitus...

Philosophy and the Self Explore the history of philosophical thought on the Self, from the Pre-Socratics to contemporary theories. Understanding the Self (UTSN01A) Pre-Socratic Philosophers Thales Pythagoras Heraclitus Thales believed everything came Pythagoras believed numbers to Heraclitus believed everything from one element, water. He was be the ultimate reality, and was always changing or the first of the Pre-Socratic everything could be explained becoming, and he famously said, philosophers and focused on the through math. He was famous for "You cannot step into the same world's composition. the Pythagorean theorem. river twice." Questioning the Self: Socrates and Plato Socrates Plato For Socrates, understanding Plato was Socrates' most oneself was the key to personal famous student. He believed growth and the cornerstone of that reason, self-knowledge, philosophy. He famously stated and the balance of one's three that "an unexamined life is not souls lead to a virtuous and just worth living." life. The Three Souls In his book, "The Republic," Plato described the appetitive, rational, and spirited souls as the three parts of the human soul. These must work together in harmony to attain justice and virtue. St. Augustine's Christian Perspective 1 St. Augustine St. Augustine believed in 2 The Imperfect Body and the Immortal Soul eternal life and yearned for St. Augustine believed that spiritual communion with we possess two aspects. One God, and saw the is imperfect, bound to the imperfection of the body as a physical world, but yearning hindrance to that for the divine. The other is communion. immortal, unbound by the constraints of the world, and yearning to reconnect with the divine. 3 The Necessity of Virtuous Living St. Augustine saw living a virtuous life as a way to reconnect with God, as virtue is both a reflection of God's grace and a way to live a good life. Descartes's Dualism 1 Descartes René Descartes proposed 2 The Mind-Body Split 3 "Cogito, ergo sum" Descartes famously stated that the mind and body According to Descartes, "I think, therefore I am." were two separate the mind was capable of This phrase reflects his entities. The mind was not reason and belief that the mind is the physical, and the body was understanding, while the true essence of who we not conscious. This was body was merely a are. the foundation of his machine, incapable of theory of dualism. thought or consciousness. Locke's Empiricism Locke's Blank Slate Consciousness and the Self The Combination Lock Metaphor birth, our minds were like a Locke believed that the self Locke conceived of the self blank slate, waiting to be was located in like a combination lock: filled with experiences and consciousness, which unique to each individual and shaped into a "self." extended beyond the brain requiring the correct life and could transfer from one experiences to unlock and body to another. The self was reveal. John Locke believed that at shaped by experiences and could be changed through deliberate efforts. Hume's Empiricism 1 3 Hume's Collection of Perceptions 2 Impressions and Ideas Hume identified two types of David Hume believed that perceptions: impressions, consciousness was a which are real and direct collection of experiences sensations, and ideas, which categorized as impressions are derived from and ideas, and that the self impressions. The self was just a collection of those emerges from the collection rapidly shifting perceptions. of ideas and impressions. The Identity Problem For Hume, the problem with the self was that it was not a constant, but a constantly changing collection of experiences. He famously asked, "When I enter most intimately into what I call myself, I always stumble on some particular perception or other, of heat or cold, light or shade, love or hatred, pain or pleasure. I never can catch myself at any time without a perception and never can observe anything but the perception." Kant's Rationalism Kant's Revolution Immanuel Kant's ideas Rationality and Organization revolutionized philosophy, with Kant believed that the self his focus on rationality as the organized into meaningful foundation of knowledge, concepts, independent of rather than experience. His sensory input. Rationality played works put reason and a vital role in organizing sensory understanding at the core of information and understanding our comprehension of the external world. ourselves and the world around us. The Universal Categories of Understanding Kant viewed the mind as having a limited number of universal categories of understanding, which organized our sensory information and allowed us to understand the external world. Challenging Dualism 1 Gilbert Ryle Gilbert Ryle, a philosopher 2 Maurice MerleauPonty 3 Paul Churchland Paul Churchland, a of Ordinary Language Maurice Merleau-Ponty, a philosopher known for Philosophy, saw the mind- French existentialist, eliminative materialism, body divide as an viewed the self as dispensed with the self imaginary construct. inseparable from the altogether. He viewed a Observing behavior was body. He saw all person as merely a the way to define the self. experiences as embodied, combination of neurons, and the mind-body instead of a distinct mind dichotomy as an illusion. or soul. The Future of the Self Interdisciplinary Ideas Emerging Technologies The Self Through Practice The 21st century has Advancements in neuroscience, Understanding the self is not demonstrated that artificial intelligence, and machine solely a matter of philosophy or interdisciplinary ideas and learning offer novel techniques science. Contemplative traditions technological advancements can that add to our understanding of like meditation and mindfulness contribute to understanding the the self. practices can illuminate the self. complexity of our "selves."