Defining the Self: Personal and Developmental Perspectives on Self and Identity PDF

Summary

This document explores different philosophical viewpoints on the concept of self. It details perspectives from renowned philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, outlining their theories on the nature of the self. The document aims to provide students with a rich understanding of this fundamental philosophical topic.

Full Transcript

Defining the Self: Personal and Developmental Perspectives on Self and Identity Understanding the self Self from various perspectives Unpacking the self Managing and caring for the self Self from various perspectives Philosophy Sociology Anthropology Psy...

Defining the Self: Personal and Developmental Perspectives on Self and Identity Understanding the self Self from various perspectives Unpacking the self Managing and caring for the self Self from various perspectives Philosophy Sociology Anthropology Psychology Philosophical view of self Why is it essential to understand the ancient philosophical perspectives about the self? Philosophy Socrates Philosophy Know Thyself - Socrates Philosophy An unexamined life is not worth living. The worst thing that can happen to anyone is to live but die inside - Socrates Philosophy Man = body + soul Imperfect/ perfect/ impermanent permanent - Socrates Philosophy Plato Philosophy The essence of knowledge is self-knowledge. - Plato Philosophy If a knife had a soul, the act of cutting would be that soul, because 'cutting' is the essence of what it is to be a knife. - Plato Philosophy Humans are Dualist: Soul and Body - Plato Philosophy 3 components to the soul Rational soul – reason & intellect to govern affairs Spirited soul – emotions should be kept at bay Appetitive soul – base desires (food, drink, sleep, sexual needs, etc.) - Plato Philosophy 3 components to the soul rational soul + spirited soul + appetitive soul = person’s soul becomes just & virtuous - Plato Philosophy WHAT HAPPENS TO A PERSON WHOSE 3 COMPONENTS OF THE SOUL ARE IMBALANCED? Philosophy Aristotle Philosophy Body and Soul is inseparable. The soul is the form of the body and cannot exist without the bod. The soul dies along with the body. - Aristotle Philosophy St. Augustine Philosophy Part of man dwells in the world (imperfect) and yearns to be with the Divine; while the other is capable of reaching immortality. - St. Augustine Philosophy Body – dies on earth; Soul – lives eternally in spiritual bliss with “God” - St. Augustine Philosophy WHAT MAKES US PEOPLE DIFFERENT FROM ANIMALS? Philosophy St. Thomas Aquinas Philosophy Matter (hyle) – “common stuff that makes up everything in the universe” Form (morphe) – “essence of a substance or thing”; (what makes it what it is) - St. Thomas Aquinas Philosophy The body of the human is similar to animals/objects, but what makes a human is his essence. “the soul is what makes us humans” - St. Thomas Aquinas Philosophy Rene Descartes Philosophy One should only believe that which can pass the test of doubt. - Rene Descartes Philosophy The only thing that one cannot doubt is the existence of self. - Rene Descartes Philosophy Cogito, ergo sum I think, therefore I am You think, you exist. - Rene Descartes Philosophy the self = cogito (the thing that thinks; mind) + extenza (extension of mind; body) - Rene Descartes Philosophy The body is nothing else but a machine that is attached to the mind. The human person has it but it does not make man a man. If at all, that is the mind. - Rene Descartes Philosophy John Locke Philosophy a thinking intelligent being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking thing, in different times and places - John Locke Philosophy It is the same self now as it was then; and it is by the same self with this present one that now reflects on it. - John Locke Philosophy David Hume Philosophy Knowledge can only be attained through sensing and experience. And so is the knowledge about the self. The self is nothing but a bundle of impressions and ideas. - David Hume Philosophy impression – basic objects of our experience/sensation Idea – copies of impressions - not as “real” as impressions – Faint images - David Hume Philosophy Self is a bundle of collection of different perceptions, which succeed each other with a inconceivable rapidity, and are in perpetual flux and movement. - David Hume Philosophy Immanuel Kant Philosophy The self organizes different impressions that one gets in relation to his own existence. We need active intelligence to synthesize all knowledge and experience. The self is not only personality but also the seat of knowledge. - Immanuel Kant Philosophy Sigmund Freud Philosophy The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one- seventh of its bulk above water. - Sigmund Freud Philosophy He that has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore. - Sigmund Freud Philosophy Gilbert Ryle Philosophy What truly matter is the behaviors that a person manifests in his day-to-day life. - Gilbert Ryle Philosophy Maurice Merleau- Ponty Philosophy Perception is not merely the result of the functioning of individual organs, but also a vital and performative human act in which "I" perceive through the relevant organs. - Maurice Merleau-Ponty Philosophy Mind and body are inseparable. “one’s body is his opening toward his existence to the world” - Maurice Merleau-Ponty Activity Pick two (2) Philosophers and explain how their perspectives on self differs from one another.

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