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Prepared by:

Rhodora C. Amora

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
PHILOSOPHICAL
3 PERSPERCTIVE OF SELF

PRETEST

4 LEARNING OUTCOMES

REQUIRED MATERIALS &

RESOURCES

PRE-ACTIVITY

CONTENT and DISCUSSION

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10 ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES

14 POSTTEST

SUMMARY

15 KEY TERMS

REFERENCES

16 CHECK MY LEARNING 2
 PHILOSOPHICAL
PERSPECTIVES OF SELF
MODULE 2

This module will walk you through the nature of self with the use of
philosophical lens in order to address some of basic life’s questions. Who am I?
Why do I exist? What is the purpose of my life? What is the truth? Reflecting on
these questions would help us appreciate life despite all the challenges, negative
views and uncertainties in this world. So, to be enlightened further, let’s learn from
these great thinkers in philosophy.

Pretest: Draw smiley face( ) if your answer is true; otherwise draw sad face
( )
_________1. The self is a “thinking” and “feeling” being within “us” and within
“ourselves.”

________2. The self is a distinct identity – a summation of the experiences of the

individual.

_________3. The greatest challenge happens during the period of childhood as we go

through the surge of “hormonal imbalance.”

_________4. Search for our true identity is a product of learning, re-learning and
unlearning the lessons that we acquire from the teachings of life.

_________5. We have absolute awareness of who we are.

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 Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, the students are expected to:

1. Formulate realistic insights relevant to their understanding of human behavior;

2. Develop greater self- awareness through self-reflection and collaborative activities; and
3. Apply critical, reflective, and analytical thinking skills .

Required Materials and Resources

❖ Laptop
❖ Online Resources

Pre-Activities
Think-Pair Share. Choose a partner from your class. Here are some

questions regarding yourself, share your answers to your partner.

1. How would you describe yourself?

2.How are you similar to or different from others?

3. What are you most thankful in life? Explain your answer.

As you interact with each other, what have you learned from the sharing ?

Write your answer by completing the sentence below.

I have learned

that_________________________________________________________.
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 Content and Discussion

In this lesson, you will broaden your horizon on the various concepts of self as
posited by the famous philosophers. Before we begin, let me share with you the
meaning of philosophy.

❖ Literally, the term "philosophy" means, "love of wisdom." In a broad

sense, philosophy is an activity people undertake when they seek to
understand fundamental truths about themselves, the world in which they
live, and their relationships to the world and to each other. Those who
study philosophy are perpetually engaged in asking, answering, and
arguing for their answers to life’s most basic questions

So with much ado, let’s begin with Socrates and Plato’s concepts of self.

Additional Information, visit the link:

https://philosophy.fsu.edu/undergraduate-study/why-philosophy/What-is-Philosophy

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The Self as an Immortal Soul: Socrates and Plato

Socrates (c470-399BC, Founder of Western

Philosophy)

▪ Socrates was the first thinker in Western

history to focus on the full power of reason
on the human self: who we are, who we
should be, and who we will become.
▪ According to Socrates, in addition to our
physical bodies, each person possesses an
immortal soul that survives beyond the death
of the body.

▪ For Socrates, our bodies belong to the physical realm: they

change, they’re imperfect, they die.
▪ Our souls, which belong to the ideal realm are unchanging and
immortal, surviving the death of the body.
▪ Our souls strive for wisdom and perfection, and reason is the
soul’s tool to achieve this exalted state.

Plato (c428-348BC)

▪ Plato elaborates Socrates’ concept of the soul (the Greek word is

psyche). In particular, he introduces the idea of the three
components of the soul, such as:

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Father’s love. Photo by Josh Willink from Pexels
➢ Reason—Our divine essence that enables us to
think
➢ deeply, make wise choices, and achieve a true
understanding of eternal truths.
➢ Physical Appetite—These include our basic
biological needs such as hunger, thirst, and sexual
desire.
➢ Spirit or Passion—These pertain to our basic
emotions such as love, anger, ambition,
aggressiveness, empathy.
▪ These three elements of our selves are in a dynamic relationship
with one another, sometimes working in concert, sometimes in
bitter conflict.

Descartes (1596-1650, Father of Modern

Philosophy)

▪ Cogito, ergo sum (“ I think therefore, I am”.) is

the first principle of Descartes’ theory of
knowledge.
▪ The self is a “thinking thing” which means it
is rational, a conscious thinking entity who is
aware of thinking about oneself.
▪ The self for Descartes is also a combination of
two distinct entities, the cogito, the thing that
thinks, which is the mind, and the extenza or extension of the
mind which is the body.

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 The essence of yourself then is you are a “thinking thing,” a dynamic
identity that engages in all of those mental operations we associate with
being a human self.

For example,

• You understand situations in which you find yourself.

• You doubt the accuracy of ideas presented to you.
• You affirm the truth of a statement made about you.
• You deny an accusation that someone has made.
• You will yourself to complete a task you have begun.

Locke (1632-1704, Father of Classical Liberalism)

In Locke’s mind, conscious awareness and

memory of previous experiences are the keys to
understanding the self. In other words, you have a
coherent concept of your self as a personal identity
because you are aware of yourself when you are
thinking, feeling, and willing. In simple terms, the
self is consciousness.

Here are some of the key concepts on what it means to be a person.

- a thinking, intelligent being who has the abilities to reason and to

reflect
- someone who considers himself/herself to be the same thing in
different times and different places

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 - has consciousness—being aware that we are thinking—always
accompanies thinking and is an essential part of the thinking
process.

Conceptions of Self by other Philosophers

▪ David Hume [1711-1776] - Man has no “clear and intelligible” idea of

the self and that no single impression of self exists; rather the self is just

the thing to which all perceptions of a man is ascribed, thus, there is no

self

▪ Immanuel Kant [1724-1804] - The self is the seat of knowledge

acquisition. It is a unifying subject, an organizing consciousness that

makes intelligible experience possible

▪ Gilbert Ryle [1900-1976] - The self is not an entity one can locate and

analyze but simply the convenient name that people use to refer to all

behaviors that people make. What truly matters is the behavior that a

person manifests in his day-to-day life

▪ Paul Churchland[ born October 21, 1942 -] The self is the brain. This

implies that the mental states will be superseded by brain states. This is

influenced by materialism which is the philosophical view that all

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 aspects of the universe are composed of matter and energy and can be

explained by physical laws .

Assessment Activities

SAQ1(Self-assessment Questions)

1.1Compare Socrates concept of the soul and the concept of the self that
you described in the Pre-learning Activity.

1.2 Describe an experience in your life in which you experienced a

vigorous conflict between the three dimensions of your self identified
by Plato: Reason, Appetite, and Spirit.

1.2.1 What was the nature of the conflict? How was it resolved?

SAQ2.Can you describe some of the ways your mind significantly affects
your body: for example, when you are worried, happy, or in love.

SAQ 3. Can you describe some of the ways your body significantly affects
your mind: for example, when you are feeling sick, deprived of sleep,

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 taking medications, or finding yourself in a physically dangerous/threatening
situation.

Rubric for Self-assessment Quest

Key Concept Excellent Meets Approaches Needs Score

Expectation Expectations Improvement
(4) (3) (2) (1)
Clarity Response is Response is Response is Ideas are not
clear and clear and ideas vague and focused to the
ideas are are almost ideas are given
well-focused always generally question.
or aligned to focused/aligned focused.
the question. to the given
question.
Application Response Response Response Response
(Connection reflects reflects a clear reflects a lacks in-depth
to in-depth understanding general understanding
Experience) understanding of the concept. understanding of the
of the of the concept concepts.
concept. but needs
further
deepening.
Mechanics Response has Response has Response has Typographical,
no 2-3 4 -5 spelling and
typographical, typographical, typographical, grammatical
spelling and spelling and spelling and errors hinders
understanding

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 grammatical grammatical grammatical of the
errors. errors. errors. response.

SAQ 4 . In your own words, state what “self” is for each of the following

philosophers.

PHILOSOPHER CONCEPT OF SELF

1.Socrates

2.Plato

3.Descartes

4.Locke

5.Hume

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 6.Kant

7.Ryle

8.Churchland

Rubric for SAQ 4

INDICATOR 4 3 2 1(BELOW SCORE

(OUTSTANDI (PROFICIENT) (BASIC) EXPECTATI
NG) ON)
KNOWLEDGE The student The student The student The student
demonstrates demonstrates demonstrates demonstrates
high degree of considerable some limited
understanding of understanding of understanding understanding
the concept. the concept of the concept. of the concept.

CONTENT Words are Some words are Words used The answer
selected selected somehow needs
appropriately. appropriately. represent the revision.
content.
Answers are Answers just
organized and needed few Some ideas
logically editing are vague.
presented

MECHANICS Response has no Response has 2-3 Response has Typographical

typographical, typographical, 4 -5 , spelling and
spelling and spelling and typographica grammatical

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 grammatical grammatical l, spelling errors hinder
errors. errors. and understanding
grammatical of the
errors. response.

Online Resources
Reflect on your chosen quote/s by Inspirational Podcasts:Timeless Life Lesson. Just
click this link - https://youtu.be/unXsk0gBBe0 . Write a one paragraph reflection.

POSTTEST

Congratulations! You are done with Module 2. A link for your quiz will be given to
you prior to the schedule of the quiz.

LESSON SUMMARY

▪ Both Socrates and Plato viewed the self as an immortal soul. For Socrates, our

souls, which belong to the ideal realm are unchanging and immortal, surviving

the death of the body. For Plato, our soul has three components, namely, reason,

physical appetite and spirit.

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 ▪ Descartes considered the self as a combination of two distinct entities, the

cogito or the the mind, and the extenza or the body.

▪ For Locke, the self is consciousness because you are aware of yourself when you

are thinking, feeling, and willing.

▪ For Paul Churchland the self is the brain;while Immanuel Kant view the self is

the seat of knowledge acquisition.

KEY TERMS

Consciousness Entity Immortal

Materialism Philosophy Physical Laws

Wisdom

REFERENCES

Book

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Alata,E.P.,Caslib,B.N.Jr.,Serafica, JP. J. & Pawilen,R.A.(2018).Understanding the
self. Manila,Philippines:
Rex Bookstore.

World Wide Web

https://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/samplechapter/0/2/0/5/020577699X.pdf

http://famous-philosophers.com/

https://youtu.be/unXsk0gBBe0 .

(https://philosophy.fsu.edu/undergraduate-study/why-philosophy/What-is-
Philosophy).

CHECK MY LEARNING

Answers to Pretest:

1.Smiley

2. Smiley

3. Sad Face (Adolescence)

4. Smiley

5. Sad Face (We all have unknown areas of self that we need to explore and be

aware of.)

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Pre-activity (Think-Pair-Share) – Your answers depend on how you view yourself.

These answers are helpful in gaining greater self-awareness. CONGRATULATIONS

for another milestones in understanding the self!

SAQs1- 4 – Assessments are based on the given rubric.

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