Understanding The Self PDF

Philosophy ▪ 'philos' + 'sophia' = Love for Wisdom ▪ man's nature and existence "What is the world really made up of?" "Why is the world the way it is?" "What explains the changes that can be observed around?" Pre-Socratic Philosophers...

Philosophy ▪ 'philos' + 'sophia' = Love for Wisdom ▪ man's nature and existence "What is the world really made up of?" "Why is the world the way it is?" "What explains the changes that can be observed around?" Pre-Socratic Philosophers 01 02 03 Thales of Miletus Pythagoras of Samos Parmenides of Elea - Water is the - Fate of the soul - Philosopher of essence of all after death; changeless being matter; earth is reincarnations flat 01. Socrates Socratic method - introspection ▪ first philosopher to have systematic thinking about the self ▪ "True task of philosopher is to know oneself" ▪ to live but die inside ▪ material things like wealth, financial gains, and power cannot give us true happiness ▪ searches for a universal truth ▪ believed that the law (nomos) never changes; the ideals or forms of beauty, justice, bravery, and honesty remain unchanged thus the pursuit of these allows us to lead a moral life ▪ every person is dualistic [body & soul] ▪ that a society that ignored the quest of philosophical constructs and ideas were doomed to be sad and miserable; "Thorn in the flesh" ▪ sentenced to death due to impiety and corruption of the minds of the Athenian youth 02. Plato ▪ student of Socrates who faithfully carried on his teacher's philosophy; he never forgot that his teacher died as a result of democratic vote ▪ founded the Academy  Divisions of Reality 1. Ideal - perfect reality of existence 2. Phenomena - physical world that is tangible, but flawed echo of the perfect, ideal reality that exists outside time and space Forms - perfect ideal model; everything in this world only reflects the higher, truer reality - "There is a Form for everything in existence." - E.g., the chair you're sitting in Components of the Soul 1. Appetitive - basic human desires, needs, and pleasure; as long as a situation or an object is providing satisfaction, the person will keep leaning on it 2. Rational - forged by reason and intellect to govern human affairs; part that thinks, "conscious mind" 3. Spirited - "moral" part of the soul that loves to overcome challenges, honor and victory; in charge of emotions 03. St. Augustine ▪ God is the center of everything and how God's teachings affect our lives; believes that everything will be better if we are with God by devoting our life to mending our relationship with Him ▪ supports the view of Plato on the dual nature of man and incorporated into his philosophy of Christianity ▪ believes that the goal of every human is to attain spiritual bliss with God by living in parallel with this belief 04. René Descartes ▪ father of modern philosophy because promoted the development of a new science grounded in observation and experiment ▪ applied the system of methodical doubt Cogito, ergo sum "I think therefore, I am."  dismissed apparent knowledge derived from authority, the senses, and reason and erected new epistemic foundations on the basis of the intuition that, when he is thinking, he exists the only thing that one shouldn't doubt is the existence of the self Dualism - suggests that the self has 2 distinct entities (mental and physical) that have different functions but are working together cogito - mind or the thing that thinks extenza - extension of the mind which is the body, a machine that is attached to the mind 05. John Locke ▪ established the school of thought known as the British empiricism ▪ maintained that men are free by nature and are created equal by God which he used to justify his political philosophy, that is, liberalism Empiricism - experience and sensation are important in the formation of the self and that they are the origin of all knowledge - people are blank slates Tabula rasa - people are born as 'blank slates,' thus, have no knowledge and identity upon birth - experiences are central to the development of the self - environment, choices, and experiences 06. David Hume ▪ an empiricist that argues that the self is not an entity that transcends the physical body ▪ defined the self as, "a bundle or collection of different perceptions, which succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidity, and are in a perpetual flux and movement" Categories of Experiences/Perceptions 1. Impression - the object and core of our thoughts; vivid and can be felt because it is a product of our direct experience with the world [E.g., touching an ice cube]  2. Idea - thought; has faint images and are only copies of the impressions because one has not experienced it [E.g., imagining the feeling of falling in love] 07. Immanuel Kant ▪ besides giving personality, the self is also the mind that organizes and synthesizes the impressions and experiences ▪ the self is more than just a thing that perceives and reacts to experiences and sensations but an entity that is capable of grasping beyond those experiences Transcendental apperception - mind's capacity to organize and synthesize one's experiences, intuition, and imagination - entails a certain level of consciousness or awareness - E.g., reading a book 08. Sigmund Freud ▪ byproducts of past " ▪ if you have a strong sense of self (ego), you're capable of understanding your own needs and also intuiting the limits that society puts on you. If you have a strong sense of self, you can move freely through life" ▪ 3 layers of the self/personality Aspects of Personality / Structure of the Mind 1. Id - the first part that develops; pleasure principle 2. Ego - seat of consciousness; reality principle 3. Superego - part of the self that upholds justice and morally upright; the conscience; moral principle Levels of Consciousness 1. Conscious - storage of minority of memories those which can easily be remembered 2. Pre-conscious - memory storage that can be accessed with little difficulty 3. Unconscious - most of our memories are deeply stored especially those in childhood; include unpleasant and unacceptable thoughts and impulses 09. Gilbert Ryle ▪ one's behavior is the manifestation of the self thus it is the self ▪ self is not an entity that can be located but rather a collective label or name given to a person's behaviors ▪ E.g., Self: University 10. Paul Churchland ▪ adheres to materialism Only matter exists and if something can't be sensed, it doesn't exist Eliminative materialism - it is not the imaginary brain or mind that gives us a sense of self but the physical brain and its neurological movement 11. Maurice Merleau-Ponty ▪ mind and body are so intertwined such that the physical body, emotions, thoughts, and experiences are all but one. Phenomenology of Perception - based on Gestalt theory [the whole outweighs the sum of its parts] - action, behavior, and language are manifestations of one's integrated perception of the world - consciousness is a dynamic form that actively structures our experience SUMMARY: 1. Socrates - universal truth; systematic thinking about the self 2. Plato - divisions of reality; forms; components of the soul 3. St. Augustine - God is the center of the universe 4. Descartes - cogito ergo, sum 5. Locke - empiricism; liberalism 6. David Hume - categories of experiences/perceptions 7. Immanuel Kant – transcendental apperception 8. Sigmund Freud - past; structure of the mind; levels of consciousness 9. Gilbert Ryle - behavior is the self 10. Paul Churchland - eliminative materialism 11. Maurice Merleau-Ponty - body and mind are intertwined; phenomenology of perception