Understanding the Self Study Guide PDF
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This document provides a study guide on the concept of self from various philosophical perspectives. Philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are discussed, along with their views on topics including the soul and the definition of self. The document also addresses modern conceptualizations of the self.
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Understanding the self Three Kinds of soul Vegitative( physical bosy that can The word "philosophy" comes from grow) the Greek "philos" (love) and Sentient (Feelings and emotions)...
Understanding the self Three Kinds of soul Vegitative( physical bosy that can The word "philosophy" comes from grow) the Greek "philos" (love) and Sentient (Feelings and emotions) "sophia" (wisdom), and it is broadly Rational ( What makes us human) understood as the study of the most basic and profound matters of human existence. ST. AGUSTINE arché- origin or source/the “soul”/the Self is intertwined with God primal matter The self is known only through knowing God SOCRATES concerned with the problem of the RENE DECARTES self I think therefore I am (Cogito ergo the true task of the philosopher is to sum) “know thyself” Cogito - The thing that thinks the TWO DICHOTOMOUS REALMS mind The Physical Realm Changeable, Extenza- the extension of the body transient and imperfect (The body belongs to this realm) The Ideal realm Unchanging, eternal and immortal (The soul belong to JOHN LOCKE this realm) The human mind at birth is tabula rasa or blank slate Self Self is shaped by memories and experience PLATO CONSCIOUSNESS is necessary to The self is immortal and have a coherent personal identity or independent of the body knowledge of the self as a person. Thiparlite Theory of the Soul ( Rational, Spirited and Appetitive) Rational- reason and intellect Spirited- emotion and passion DAVID HUME Appitive- basic needs He disagrees with all the other aforementioned philosophers. The self is not an entity beyond the physical body. ARISTOTLE BUNDLE THEORY: the self is a The body and soul are not two bundle of perception, thoughts and separate elements but are one thing sensation. The soul is that which makes a person a person. The soul is the essence of the self IMMANUEL KANT George Herbert Mead suggested that the We construct the self self develops through a three stage The self constructs its own reality creating a world that is familiar and role-taking process. These stages include predictable. the preparatory stage, play stage, and game there is a MIND that regulates these impressions stage. The inner self includes our emotions and rational intellect Stage 1: The Preparatory Stage The outer self is our physical and The first stage is the preparatory stage. The senses. preparatory stage lasts from the time we are born until we are about age two. In this SIGMUND FREUD stage, children mimic those around them. Three provinces of the mind: Id, ego This is why parents of young children and superego His concept of self focused on the typically do not want you to use foul ego. language around them. If your two-year-old The ego serves as a meditator between the superego and the Id. can “read,” what he or she has most likely done is memorized the book that had been read to him or her. In the video, Will Ferrell GILBERT RYLE Meets His Landlord, Ferrell’s landlord is I act therefore, I am, in short the self is the same as bodily behavior played by Adam McKay’s two-year-old The self is the way people behave. daughter. She uses quite foul language and carries a beer. Does she have any idea understanding of what she is saying or PAUL CHURCHLAND Self is inseparable from the brain doing? No. She is mimicking. She is in the and the physiology of the body. prepatorty stage. If she had been an older All we have is the brain and so, if the brain is gone, there is no self. child, the skit would cease to have any humor. It works because she doesn’t understand the meaning behind her words, MAURICE MERLEAU PONTY actions, or tone of voice. The mind-body bifurcation that has been going on for a long time is a futile endeavor and an invalid Stage 2: The Play Stage problem. From about age two to six, children are in Self is shaped by our physical body and senses. the play stage. During the play stage, children play pretend and do not adhere to The child begins taking this perspective into the rules in organized games like soccer or account during this stage. freeze tag. Have you ever played a game with children of this age? It is far easier to just go with any “rules” they come up with during the course of the game than trying to enforce any “rules” upon them. I played many neverending games of Uno when my daughter was in this stage. I still do not actually know the rules of Uno as we have yet to play the game while adhering to them. During this stage, children play pretend as the significant other. This means that when they play house, they are literally pretending to be the mommy or the daddy that they know. Stage 3: The Game Stage The third stage is the game stage, which is from about age seven onwards. In this stage, children can begin to understand and adhere to the rules of games. They can begin to play more formalized games because they begin to understand other people’s perspective-or the perspective of the generalized other. In this stage, when children play pretend, they may still play house, but are pretending to a mommy or a daddy independent of the one that resides in their home. The generalized other refers to the viewpoint of the social group at large.