The SELF from Various Philosophical Perspectives

PHILOSOPHY
- Study of fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence, especially in an
academic discipline.
- a particular theory that someone has about how to live or how to deal with a
particular situation.
- Academic discipline concerned with investigating the nature of significance of
ordinary and scientific beliefs.
- Investigates the legitimacy of concepts by rational argument concerning their
implications, relationships as well as reality, knowledge, moral judgement.
Ancient Philosophy
- Ancient Philosophy in antiquity, or before the end of the Roman Empire. It usually
refers to ancient Greek philosophy. It can also encompass various other
intellectual traditions, such as Chinese philosophy, Indian Philosophy, and
Iranian philosophy. Ancient philosophic are generally deeply rooted in religious
traditions. Accordingly, ancient philosophies have a comprehensive outlook as
opposed to modern or contemporary philosophies, which tend to have more
narrow methodologies and areas of focus.
- In the western tradition, ancient philosophy was developed primarily by Socrates,
Plato, and Aristotle. Ancient philosophy, however, also includes the Pre
Socratics, Hellenistic philosophy, and Roman philosophy. Ancient philosophy in
the West is distinguished from Medieval philosophy, which was largely influenced
by Christianity and Islam. Ancient philosophies from non-Western traditions, such
as Chinese or Indian philosophy, often have string ethical concerns that continue
to be major parts of the traditions today.
The Pre-Socrates (Thales, Pythagoras, Parmenides, Heraclitus, Empedocles, etc)
Were concerned with answering questions such as:
- What is the world really made up of?
- Why is the world the way it is?
- What explains the changes that happen around us?
The Pre-Socrates
- Arche – origin or source/the “soul” the “primal matter”
- The soul’s movement is the ultimate arche of all other movement
- Arche has no origin outside itself and cannot be destroyed
- Explains the multiplicity of things in the world
Socrates
- Socrates was a classical Greek (Athenian) philosopher credited as one of the
founders of Western philosophy, and as being the first moral philosopher, of the
Western ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, he made no writings,
and is known chiefly through the accounts of classical writers writing after his
lifetime, particularly his students Plato and Xenophone.
- “I Know That I don’t Know”
1. Some of Socrates’ ideas were:
 The soul is immortal
 The care of the soul is the task of philosophy
 Virtue is necessary to attain happiness
- Concerned with the problem of the self
- “ the true task of the philosopher is to know oneself”
- “the unexamined life is not worth living”
- Underwent a trial for “corrupting the minds of the youth’
- Succeeded made people think about who they are
- “ the worst thing that can happen to anyone is to live but die inside”
- “every person is dualistic”
- Man = body + soul
- Individual = imperfect/permanent (body) + perfect & permanent (soul)
- Existence has two kinds:
The visible & The invisible
- Visible existence changes;
- Invisible remains constant
- Philosopher’s definition of Self
1. “An unexamined life is not worth living” this quote by Socrates summarizes
his philosophy on how one can live a good and virtuous life. Just like the
other influential Greek philosophers namely Plato and Aristotle, Socrates
also gave his take on what he conceived as the right way in which man
should live his life in order for him to acquire the happiness that everyone
wants. He is concerned about understanding one self before manipulating
things arounds us. For him, knowing our self first can lead us to what we
can be in this world. And also, it can help you and maybe others to take
the path that you wanted to achieve. Everyone of us is composed of two
parts such as the “body” and the “soul”. Wherein body is the one that
others might recognize, it is up to us on what kind of body we want others
to remember. While the soul is the one left after we die and for everyone’s
joy it will be sent in heaven with God. Body for he believe is imperfect and
impermanent because it can change from time to time. Soul is its reverse
definition because it will remain last even we die and leave this earth.
One’s access to happiness is thus conditional in a sense that one can only
reach if it he will dwell on philosophizing. Instead of focusing on earthly
things.
Plato
- Plato was a philosopher in Classical Greece and the founder of the Academy in
Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. He is widely
considered the pivotal figure in the development of Western philosophy. Unlike
nearly all of his philosophical contemporaries, Plato’s entire work is believed to
have survived intact for over 2,400 years.
- “ Balance between mind and body”
1. He was the student of Socrates
2. Best known for his “Theory of Forms”
3. Accdg to him, the “soul” is indeed the most divine aspect of the human
being.
- The Three parts of the soul according to Plato are:
1. The appetitive (sensual)
The element that enjoys sensual experiences, such as food, drink and
sex.
2. The rational (reasoning)
The element that forbids the person to enjoy the sensual experiences the
part that loves truth, hence, should rule over the other parts of the soul
through the use of reason.
3. The spirited (feeling)
The element that is inclined toward reason but understands the demands
of passion; the part that loves honor and victory.

- Philosopher’s definition of Self

1. According to Plato, it is very crucial to know thyself first before anything
else in this world. He makes them realize that every mankind should learn
the truth and seek wisdom. He also stated that each individual is
composed of imperfect and impermanent body and perfect permanent
soul that makes the personhood to be more distinguished.
St. Augustine
- Was a Roman African, early Christian theologian and philosopher from Numidia
whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western
philosophy. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius in north Africa and is viewed as
one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings
in the Patristic Period. Among his most important works are The City Of God, On
Christian Doctrine and Confessions.
- ‘spirit of man’ in medieval philosophy
- Following view of Plato but adds Christianity
- Man is of a bifurcated nature
- Part of man dwells in the world (imperfect) and yearns to be with the Divine
 - Other part is capable of reaching immortality
- Body- dies on earth; soul – lives eternally in spiritual bliss with “God”
- “ All knowledge leads to God”
The two luminous examples of Augustine’s interior procedure are the following:
1. God’s existence – there are eternal truths present in the human mind. But
the human mind, being contingent and mutable, is not sufficient reason for
truths. Therefore God exists, and he is the sufficient reason for these
truths.
2. Nature of God – The true nature of God, his trinity can only be known
through revelation. Human reason can find trace and images of the trinity
in creatures and these can serve in an analogous process to penetrate a
bit the most profound mystery of the presence of the three person in the
single nature of God.
- Philosopher’s definition of Self
1. St. Augustine has the perspective that the human can think. It is said that
the forms of human were ideas in the mind of God. He also said that a
man was divided into two branches, the one is imperfect and persistently
to be with the divine and the other is capable of reaching immortality.
Based on Augustine, we are free to choose between good or evil but he
added that God who connected everything did not create evil which
means that evil is just there to test us whether we are eligible to be with
God that is what St. Augustine negotiate about “Man has the responsibility
to be with God.” We humans need to be challenge if we are about to leave
this world and be with God. Free will is not totally free to do everything we
desire that is why rules and laws are being implemented such as God
made his testaments. Following rules cannot make your life miserable but
making your life intended to be pure and wise. Also, according to him
there are two types of evil which are the physical evil and the moral evil
such that physical evil are things that might harm our body like disease,
disaster, mishap, and any other events that is not good for us. While the
moral evil is he swerve from the norm of just and good action. Lastly,
according to him that at the end of the day we need to choose what is right
for us and avoid such wicked things.
Medieval Philosophy
- Medieval Philosophy is a term used to refer to the philosophy that existed
through the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the
Western Roman Empire in the 5th century to the Renaissance in the 15th
century. Medieval philosophy, understood as a project of independent
philosophical inquiry, began in Baghdad, in the middle of the 8th century, and in
France, in the itinerant court of Charlemagne, in the last quarter of the 8th
century. It is defined partly by the process of rediscovering the ancient culture
developed in Greece and Rome during the Classical period and partly by the
 need to address theological problems an to integrate sacred doctrine with secular
learning.

St. Thomas of Aquinas

- Was an Italian Dominican friar, Catholic Priest and Doctor of the Church. He was
an immensely influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of
scholasticism, within which he is also known as the Doctor Angelicus and the
Doctor Communis. The name Aquinas identifies his ancestral origins in the
county of Aquino in present-day Lazio, Italy.
- “ The soul is what makes us human”
1. Man = matter + form
2. Matter (hyle) – “common stuff that makes up everything in the universe”
3. Form (morphe) – “essence of a substance or thing” (what makes it what it
is)
4. The body of the human is similar to animals objects, but what makes a
human is his essence.
- Philosopher’s definition of Self
1. A philosopher who believes that faith is not through physical contact
where eyes could see but rather to believe without asking any
explanation, meaning, to those who acknowledge that God exists, no need
for further investigation but everything will remain unsolved to those are
confused because of their narrow viewpoint “to see is too believe.” St.
Thomas Aquinas explained that oneself is composed of two parts such as
the matter and form where matter symbolizes human body and anything
that is physical here in this world while form is a soul that makes us who
we are. Anda s an influencer of Christian philosophy he believes that once
a man receives his death, his soul will remain and will go to the place
where everyone wants to be, called “heaven,” the kingdom of God. He
also stated that God who creates everything, made his children according
to his likeness, which means, we are lucky because we are made to
experience these great artworks of God. Body is just a body but if you
have the soul, you may be good or bad. You may choose what path you
will take. The inner side of you (Soul) is what makes you human.
Early Modern Philosophy
- Early Modern Philosophy is a period in the history of philosophy at the beginning
or overlapping with the period known as modern philosophy. The early modern
period in history is roughly 1500-1789, but the label *early modern philosophy* is
usually used to refer to a more specific period of time. In the narrowest sense,
the term is used to refer principally to the philosophy of the 17 th century, posited
to have begun with Rene Descartes; to have included Thomas Hobbes, Blaise
Pascal, Baruch Spinoza; and to have ended with Gottfried Wilhem Leibniz and
 Isaac Newton. Many stretch this period to 18 th-century philosophy (the Age of
Enlightenment), thus including John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume.

Rene Descartes
- Was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. A native of the
Kingdom of France, he spent about 20 years (1629-49) of his life in the Dutch
Republic after serving for a while in the Dutch States Army of Maurice of Nassau,
Prince of Orange and the Stadholder of the United Provinces. He is generally
considered one of the most notable intellectual figures of the Dutch Golden Age.
- Father of Modern Philosophy
- Human person = body + mind
- “there is so much that we should doubt”
- “if something is so clear and lucid as not to be doubted, that’s the only time one
should believe.”
- The only thing one can’t doubt is existence of the self
- The self = cogito (the thing that thinks)
extenza (extension of mind/body)
- The body is a machine attached to the mind
- It’s the mind that makes the man
- “ Cogito ergo sum” / “I think, therefore I Am”
1. Methodological skepticism – it is a systematic process of being skeptical
about the truth.

THE SOUL THE BODY

It is a conscious, thinking It is a material substance that

substance that is unaffected by changes through time.
time.

It is known only to itself (only you It can be doubted; The public can
know your own mental event and correct claims about the body.
others cannot correct your mental
states)

It is not made of parts. It views the It is made up of physical,

entirety of itself with no hidden or quantifiiable divisible parts.
separate compartments. It is both
conscious and aware of itself at the
same time.

- Philosopher’s definition of Self

 1. First, Descartes thought that the Scholastics’ method was prone to doubt
given their reliance on sensation as the source of all knowledge. Second,
he wanted to replace their final causal model of scientific explanation with
the more modern, mechanistic model. Descartes attempted to address the
former issue via his method of doubt. The “hyperbolic doubt” then serves
to clear the way for what Descartes considers to be an unprejudiced
search for the trust. He discovered that “I exist” is impossible to doubt and
therefore, absolutely certain. According to him, there is mind and body
problem where mind does exist while the body is doubtful and mind can
exist without the body. Solipsism view that only one mind exist while
egocentric claiming an individual is at the center of our experiences.
Descartes founded the modern rationalism, he pressed it to the forces of
reason and evidence in order to achieve the real safely, the purpose of
knowledge is to “make us like the master and possessors of nature.”
John Locke
- He is a philosopher and physician and was one of the most influential
Enlightenment thinkers.
- He argues that at birth the mind is a tabula rasa, or blank slate, that humans fill
with ideas as they experience the world through the five senses.
- Locke defines knowledge as the connection and agreement, or disagreement
and repugnancy, of the ideas humans form.
- “ Human mind at birth is a tabula rasa, which means that knowledge is derived
from experience.”
The two fountains of knowledge are sensation and reflection.
1. He believed that we gain knowledge by experience, this is called
empiricism.
2. Locke agreed with Aristotle that we are not born with innate ideas, and
that we learn through experience.
- Philosopher’s definition of Self
- Locke disagreed with Rene Descartes, He believed that humans are born without
any knowledge of the world. (Descartes borrowed ideas from Plato, he believed
that we are all born with innate ideas. Lock agreed with Aristotle’s theory that
humans are born with a clean slate and that we learn while we grow,
experiencing the world as we go. (Aristotle believed that we gain knowledge by
experiencing the world with our senses.
David Hume
- He was a Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist,
who is best known today for his highly influential system of philosophical
empiricism, skepticism, and naturalism. Hume strove to create a total naturalistic
science of man that examined the psychological basis of human nature. Against
philosophical rationalists, Hume held that passion rather than reason governs
 human behavior. Hume argued against the existence of innate ideas, positing
that all human knowledge is founded solely in experience
- “ All knowledge is derived from human senses”
1. He was a fierce opponent of Descartes’ Rationalism
Rationalism – is the theory that reason, rather than experience.
Empiricism – is the idea that the origin of all knowledge is sense
experience.
2. Hume is identified with the Bundle theory wherein he described the “self”
or the person as a bundle or a collection of different perception.
3. He divided the mind’s perceptions into two groups:
1. Impressions – directly experience; enter the senses with most force.
2. Ideas – less forcible and less lively; counterparts of impressions.
- Philosopher’s definition of Self
1. A Philosopher who believe that self-exist because of our impressions and
ideas that grow through our experiences, wherein he added these two
things as the categorized of our experiences in life. First is our
impressions that is normal for us people to create and arrange our own
thoughts in life. As we try to communicate with each other it do grow
because we tend to know how other people think. Ideas are the one we
experience in a second of time, people never stop thinking with anything
that is why idea is being formed and because through our feelings why
ideas exist. He believe that each of us is keep on progressing because of
our experiences in life, it maybe good or bad but it makes us human for
we can create our own impressions and ideas through to how we
appreciate everything.
Immanuel Kant
- He is a central figure in modern philosophy.
- Kant believed in a ‘transcendental’ enduring self.
- Kant argued against Hume’s idea of there being a different ‘self’ at each moment
of consciousness.
- Kant borrows Hume’s argument and turns it around.
“REASON is the final authority of morality. Morality is achieved only when there
is absence of war because of the result of enlightenment.”
Apperception – is the mental process by which a person makes sense of an
idea by assimilating it to the body.
Two components of the “self”
1. Inner Self – the self by which you are aware of.
2. Outer self – it include your sense and the physical world.
- Philosopher’s definition of Self
1. Kant’s “self” has a unified point of self-reference. You are conscious of
yourself as the subject, and you are conscious of yourself as a common
subject of different representations. Here, Kant confirms that the
 impressions you perceive point to one single common fact – the “self” is
the subject of these experiences.

Sigmund Freud
- A philosopher, physiologist and psychologist. He was one of the most influential
thinkers of the 20th century. His most important contribution particularly in
psychology was Psychoanalysis.
- Three level of Consciousness:
1. Conscious
2. Pre conscious/subconscious
3. Unconscious
- “ Wish fulfillment is the road to the unconscious.”
- Psychoanalytic Theory – a personality theory based on the notion that an
individual gets motivated by unseen forces, controlled by the conscious and the
rational thought.
1. Conscious Mind (ID) – operates on the pleasure principle. Every wishful
impulse should be satisfied immediately regardless of the consequence.
2. Preconscious Mind (Ego) – operates according to the reality principle. It
works out realistic ways of satisfying demands.
3. Superego – It incorporates the values and morals of society.
The superego consists of two systems:
a. Conscience
b. Ideal Self – It is an imaginary picture of how you ought to be.
- Philosopher’s definition of Self
o Sigmund Freud believed that 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. You won’t have any problem recognizing your internal repression
and you’ll be satisfied and fulfilled in your day-to-day life.
Gilbert Ryle
- “ I Act, therefore I am”
- He wrote The Concept of Mind
- He was a Philosopher and Professor
- Called the distinction between mind and matter a “category mistake”.
- He is a critique of Rene Descartes
- Ryle’s point against Descartes’ theory are:
1. The relation between mind and body are not isolated processes.
2. Mental processes are intelligent acts and are not distinct from each other
3. The operation of the mind is itself an intelligent act.
 - Denies internal, non physical self
- “ what truly matters is the behavior that a person manifests in his day to day life.”
- The self is not an entity one can locate and analyze but simply the convenient
name that we use to refer behaviors that we make.
- Philosopher’s definition of Self
o Ryle believed that self comes from behavior. We're all just a bundle of
behaviors caused by the physical workings of the body.
Paul Churchland
- “ The physical brain and NOT the imaginary mind gives us our sense of self”
- Known for his studies in neurophilosphy & philosophy of mind.
- Major proponent of Eliminative Materialism
- The brain speaks up for itself….
- Philosopher’s definition of Self
o Dualism asserts that the mind and the body are separated. ... Rather than
dualism, Churchland holds to materialism, the belief that nothing but matter
exists. When discussing the mind, this means that the physical brain, and not
the mind, exists. Adding to this, the physical brain is where we get our sense
of self.
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
- “ Physical body is an important part of the self”
- French philosopher & public intellectual
- Embodied means to give a body.
- Subjectivity – possesses conscious experiences.
- Objectivity – affects some other entity
- He asserted that human beings are embodied subjectivities.
- He added that the body is not a mere “house” where the mind resides.
- Philosopher’s definition of Self
o Ponty believed the physical body to be an important part of what makes up
the subjective self.