Russel Angelo A.

Camson

BSME 1B GN

Assignment/ Activity on Chapter 1: Philosophical Perspective of the Self

1. Look for a detailed biography of one of the philosophers discussed in this module and make an
analysis on how their life experiences influenced their concepts about the self. Cite your sources
or references.

René Descartes, (born March 31, 1596, La Haye, Touraine, France—died February 11, 1650, Stockholm,
Sweden), French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher. Descartes believed that the “intermingling”
point of contact was through the pineal gland, a small gland located at the base of the skull. It was here
that he believed that the thinking self-connected to the physical brain. Why the pineal gland? Descartes
found its physical location appropriate, and it had no known biological function in Descartes’s time. Ever
the scientist, Descartes dissected a variety of animals to learn more about this mysterious gland. He
formulated the first modern version of mind-body dualism, from which stems the mind-body problem,
and because he promoted the development of a new science grounded in observation and experiment,
he is generally regarded as the founder of modern philosophy. Applying an original system of
methodical doubt, he 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;
this he expressed in the dictum “I think, therefore I am” (best known in its Latin formulation, “Cogito,
ergo sum,” though originally written in French, “Je pense, donc je suis”). In a fascinating way: Descartes
was plagued by frail health, a condition that caused him throughout his life to sleep late into the
morning. A financial inheritance from his parents meant he didn’t have to work. Instead, he devoted his
life to study and experimentation, spending much of his time alone, and moving from place to place on a
regular basis, he lived in twenty different houses in one twenty-year period.

Reference

https://revelpreview.pearson.com/epubs/pearson_chaffee/OPS/xhtml/ch03_sec_04.xhtml

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rene-Descartes#ref230893
 Philosopher Concept about the self
1. Socrates Self is the soul and suggested that reality consists of two dichotomous
realms – physical and ideal.
2. Plato The true self of the human person is the “ Rational Soul”
3. Aristotle The soul of a human being
4. St. Augustine The self seeks to be united with God through faith and reason.
5. Descartes “ I think therefore I am”
6. Locke “ Tabula Rasa”
7. Hume The self is nothing but the physical body.
8. Kant We all have an inner and an outer self which together form our
consciousness.
9. Ryle Self is the same as bodily behaviors.
10. Merleau-Ponty The living body, thoughts, emotion, and experiences are all one.
11. Churchland “No Brain No Self”