“Who are you?”Some of us can’t give exact definition of who we really are.

Is giving your full

name enough definition of “you” or “self”? Some people are just practical and just live their life
without really knowing of what are they really and if ever they doubted that they exist. To really
know our self we need to study the theories that these great philosophers made. Once in my
life, when I was kid I doubted that if I really am sitting inside that car or am I really real or am I
in a game called “The Sims” and some giant is controlling me. From that day on, I can’t stop
thinking about if I really exist, I even wondered that all of the things that happened are just
illusions and it feels like all of these are just dreams that one day I’ll wake up and forget
everything. In this paper, we will discuss the different theories of the ‘self’ and make a
conclusion of what the ‘self’ really is.
Self as what others commonly define as a person considered as a unique individual. Basically,
there are many philosophers who raised their arguments as to define what the “self” really
means. Personal Identity and its factors has always been an issue for many philosophers.
Questions like “What will happen after death?”.
Some of the great philosophers named Socrates believed that the “self” exists in two parts.
These are the physical and the soul. The first part which is the physical, for Socrates this is the
tangible, moral part that is constantly changing. The latter part soul, he believes that it is the
immortal one. If the physical aspect does change, this part is unchanging within our body. As to
generally summarized what’s Socrates “self” believed in, when we are in our physical realm, the
body and the soul are attached together making the two aspects being a component of a self.
Then one of Socrates student namely Plato, expanded the idea of his great teacher about “self”.
For Plato self composed of the Rational, Spirited and Appetitive as to what it commonly known
as the Platonic trinity. The Rational that enables us to think deeply, make some judgements and
decisions. Then the Spirited which is our basic emotions, the one that we feel in any
circumstances. Lastly the Appetitive, the one that drives us to do what we desires or our basic
biological needs.
Then later on, Descartes also pointed out his own definition of self. For his opposition as to
what the other great philosophers have been said, for him when one is doubting , therefore
he/she exists. We are a thinking thing and that our body is just a secondary personal identity.
For John Locke, the self is an empty mind and that all source of Ideas comes from our
experiences. Like John Locke, David Hume also believes that all knowledge came from our
senses and there is no self. The self we experience is just a collection of perceptions that are in
a perpetual flux movement.
Sigmund Freud also defines self as a multi-tiered divided among conscious, preconscious and
unconscious. The superego is the social component and the conscience. The id is the instinct
while the ego is the conscious decisions. These three parts work together to create a complete
personality.

There are many theories of what the ‘self’, but for us the ‘self’ is what makes us,,,,us. Each of us
have an individual identity that makes us unique and is what distinguishes us from each other.
We believe that the body is just a vessel that enable us to move in this world, that it is only an
identification or second characteristics of what we were really are. We have senses because of
our body. We can feel, see, smell, taste and hear. We also believe that we have a soul, a soul
that is immortal that when we die, only the body will be gone and not the soul. The soul is
composed of what we really are, like our attitude, belief, how we think and what we do in
certain events. The body can change but not the soul.
We exist because we can perceive.

As we were enlightened by the many theories of what the self is, we’ve reached to a point that
we have our own definition of what we really are and that nobody really knows who the real us
are but only ourselves. The ‘self’ is what other people think about you (for e.g. My mother
knows me only as a son, but not a friend.) There are hundreds or thousands of versions of us.
The personality that each of us acquires makes oneself a component of self. For us, self is the
driving force that enacted within our body to move forward. Self is within us. For example, I
was born healthy then later on acquired some serious disease that lead me to be disable. I
loose the other part of my body, this doesn’t mean that the remaining part me is not me. The
part that has been detached out of my body is just a part of my body but not my self. The soul
that’s been inside ones body is the most definition of self. Self can be a subjective, it can be
ones particular nature or personality. Self is your sense of who you are.

Just like what Socrates believed in, we also believe in a fundamentals of physical and the soul of
a self. Self is a unification of consciousness and unconsciousness in a person that represent the
psyche as a whole. Once a person dies here on earth, the physical body will just be left behind
here on earth and then the soul that is immortal will continuously to wanders. It is possible
indeed as what we commonly see the aspects of oneself here on Earth. The components of our
body that makes us identified and known as oneself and the soul that drives us to do something
that we desires on achieving or doing gives self a clear definition.

Self also compose of different qualities such as personality, characteristic, attitude and ability
that make one person different from one another. Our past self when we were young, is also us
that just matures and change. No matter how or what changes within our body when we were
young doesn’t exclude the self within us.

Self also is the distinct individuality or identity of a person.

To therefore conclude, no matter what the definitions or concepts of self is, the only one who
can know who you are is your self. Being frankly towards yourself, what’s your best asset or
insecurities within you is a great help on nurturing and knowing who you are as a person.
The perception of anyone towards you doesn’t matter. You don’t owe someone an explanation
about you. There are many versions of you in your family, friends, enemies or strangers that
will be spread all throughout but stand still and firm. You are wonderfully made and a chosen
one of our Lord Jesus Christ.