PHILOPOSOPHIES IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

PHILOPOSOPHIES IN
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
What is Philosophy?
 Philosophy is from the Greek word Philo meaning (loving) and Sophia
(knowledge, wisdom)
 means “loving knowledge” or “loving wisdom”
 It originally used by the Greeks means “ the pursuit of knowledge for
its own sake

S O C R A T E S
 Greek Philosophers and mentor of PLATO
(another most influential Western
thinkers just like Socrates)
 Known for his method of inquiry in
testing idea. It’s called Socrates Method
whereby an idea was tested by asking a
series of questions to determine
underlying beliefs and extent of
knowledge to guide the person toward
better understanding.
 At 70 years old, Socrates was sentence to death drinking a cup of
poison hemlock.

“The unexamined life is not worth living” - Socrates

Self-knowledge or the
Socrates Ideas
examination of one’s self, as
well as the question of about  The soul is immortal
how one ought to live one’s life,  The care of the soul to attain
are very important concerns happiness
because knowing yourself can
 Virtue is necessary to attain
you hope to improve life.
happiness

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PHILOPOSOPHIES IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

ACCORDING TO SOCRATES
The state of your inner being (soul/ self) determines the quality of
your life. Socrates said existence is Two Kinds (Visible and Invisible)

1. The Visible
o The existence change
2. The Invisible
o The existence remains constant

According to
Socrates, even death
Virtue
is a trivial matter for  Is defined as moral excellence, and an
the truly virtuous individual is considered virtuous if
because he/ she soul her/ his character is made up of the
and the acts taken moral qualities that are accepted as
from taking care of virtues.
the soul through Example: courage, temperance,
self-knowledge. prudence, and justice.

P L A T O
 Plato was student of Socrates. He wrote the
Socratic Dialogue where Socrates was the
main character and speaker.
 Plato’s philosophical method was what he
identified as “collection and division”.
 This method, the philosopher would “collect”
all the generic ideas that seemed to have
common characteristics and then divided
them into different kinds until the
subdivisions of ideas became specific
 He best known for his “Theory of Forms”
 That asserted the physical world is not really the “real” world because
the ultimate reality exists beyond the physical world.
 According to PLATO, the “soul” is indeed the most divine aspect of
the human being.

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PHILOPOSOPHIES IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

 The self/mind/soul according to him, is the aspect of the human

beings by which “Forms” (ideas) are known.

“Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good

actions in others”. -Plato

Three parts of Soul According to Plato

1. The appetite (sensual)
o The element that enjoys sensual experiences. (food, drink and
sex)
2. The rational (reasoning)
o The element that forbids the person to enjoy the sensual
experiences: the part that loves truth. Hence, should over the
other parts of the soul through the use of reason.
3. The spirited (feeling)
o The element that is inclined toward reason but understand the
demands of passion: The part that loves and victory

S A I N T A U G U S T I N E
 Saint Augustine also called Saint Augustine of
HIPPO.
 One of the Latin FATHERS OF THE CHRUCH, one
of the Doctors of the Church, and one the
most significant Christians thinkers.
 His philosophical approach to Christian
thinking is the most influential theological
system.
 Saint Augustine was deeply influenced by
Plato’s ideas.
 According to Augustine the Forms were
concepts existing within the perfect and
eternal God.
 The concept of “self” was inner, immaterial “I” that had self-
knowledge and self-awareness.

“Self is an immaterial (but rational) soul.” – St. Augustine

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PHILOPOSOPHIES IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

He also reasoned that human beings

He believed that
through the senses could sense the material,
human being was
temporal objects as we interacted with the
both a soul and body
possessed senses, such material world: the immaterial but intelligible.
as imagination, Saint Augustine pointed that person is
memory, reason, and
similar to GOD as regards to the mind and its
mind through which
ability: that by ignoring to use his/her mind ( or
the soul experienced
the incorrect use of the mind) he/she would
the world.
lose his/her possibility to reach real and lasting
happiness.

The Aspect of the soul/self According to Saint

Augustine’s are:
 It is able to be aware of itself
 It recognizes itself as the holistic one
 It is aware of its unity

R E N E D E S C A R T E S
 Rene Descartes was a French philosophers,
mathematicians, and scientist.
 He is considered as the Father of Modern
Philosophy. Descartes is often regarded as
the first thinkers to emphasize the use
reason to describe, predict and
understand natural phenomena based on
observational and empirical evidence.
 His method was called hyperbolic/
metaphysical doubt, also sometimes
referred to as methodological skepticism.
It is a systematic process of being skeptical
about the truth of one’s beliefs in order to determine which beliefs
could be ascertained as true.

“cognito ergo sum” – Rene Descartes

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PHILOPOSOPHIES IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

Rene Descartes
famous line ”cognito DESCARTES claims about Self
ergo sum” translated
as “I think , therefore
are:
I am “ became a  It is constant it is not prone to change,
fundamental element
and it is not affected by time.
of Western Philosophy
 Only the immaterial soul remains the
as it secured the
same throughout time.
foundation for
knowledge in the face  The immaterial soul is the source of our
of radical doubt. identity.

Some distinct between the soul and body as

pointed out by Descartes are:
The Soul The Body
 It is conscious thinking  It is a material substance that
substance that is unaffected changes through time.
by time.
 It is known only to itself (only  It can be doubted; The public
you know your own mental can correct claims about the
event and others cannot body
correct your mental states)
 It is not made up of parts. It  It is made up of physical,
views the entirely of itself quantifiable, divisible parts.
with no hidden or separate
compartments. It is both
conscious and aware of itself
at the same time.

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PHILOPOSOPHIES IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

J O H N L O C K E

 John Locke was a Philosopher and physician

and was one of the most influential
Enlightenment thinkers.
 The Age of Enlightenment or the Age of
Reason was an intellectual and Philosophical
movement that dominated the ideas in
Europe during 18th century.
 Locke expanded the definition of “self” is
included memories of that thinking thing.
 He believed that the “self” is identified with consciousness and this
“self” consist of sameness of consciousness.
 This is usually interpreted to mean that the “self” consists of
memory: that the person existing now is the same person yesterday
because she/he remembers the thoughts, experiences or because of
the earlier self.

“Human mind at birth is a tabula rasa, which means that

knowledge derived from experiences.” – John Locke

According to Locke:
 A person’s memories provide a continuity of experience that allows
him/ her to identify himself/herself as the same person over time.
This theory of personal identity allows Locke to justify a defense of
accountability to Locke since the person is the same “self” in the
passing of time, he/she can be held accountable for past behaviours.
 He asserted that the state of the person who cannot remember
his/her behavior is the same as the state of the person who never
committed the act, which meant the person was arrogant.

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PHILOPOSOPHIES IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

D A V I D H U M E
 David Hume (1711-1776) was Scottish
philosopher, economist, and historian
during the Age of Enlightenment.
 He was a fierce opponent of Descartes
Rationalism.
 RATIONALISM is the theory that reason,
rather that experience, is the foundation of
all knowledge.
 Hume, along with John Locke and Bishop
George Berkeley, was one of the three main
figureheads of the influential British
 EMPIRICISM is the idea that the origin of the knowledge is sense
experience.
 It emphasized the role of experience and evidence (especially
sensory perception) in forming concepts, while discounting the
notion of innate ideas.
 Hume identified with the BUNDLE THEORY wherein he described the
“SELF” or person (which HUME assumed to be the “mind”)
 As the bundle of collection of different perceptions that are moving
in a very fast and successive manner; therefore, it is a “perpetual
flux”

“All knowledge is derived from human senses.” – David Hume

Hume divided the minds perceptions into

Hume asserted that two groups stating the difference between
the notion of the the two “consist in the degrees of force and
“self” could not be liveliness with which they strike upon the mind
verified through
observation. He 1.Impressions
argued that if you can o These are the perceptions that are the
directly know, then most strong. They enter the senses with
what you know are most force. These are directly experienced,
mere objects of what they result from inward and outward
your senses are sentiments.
experience.

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2. Ideas
o These are the less forcible and less lively counterparts of
impressions. These are mechanism that copy and reproduce
sense date formulated based upon the previously perceived
impressions.

Self According to David Hume

 He believed there is no logical justification for the existence of
anything other than what your senses experienced.
 For him “self” was nothing but a series of incoherent impressions
received by the sense. This description of experiences revealed.
According to Hume, no permanently subsisting self.
 Hume, compared “self” to a nation a nation retains its “being a
nation” not by some single core or identity but by being composed
of different, constantly changing elements, such as people, systems,
culture, and beliefs.
 The self-according to Hume is not just one impressions but a mix and
a loose cohesion of various personal experiences.
 He insisted that there is no one constant impression that endures
throughout life.
 a passive observer similar to watching one’s life pass before the eyes
like a play or on a screen, whereby the total annihilation of the “self”
comes at death

I M M A N U E L K A N T
 Philosopher Immanuel Kant IS A CENTRAL
FIGURE IN Modern Philosophy.
 His contributions to metaphysics,
epistemology, ethics and aesthetic have had
as profound impact on almost every
Philosophical Movement.
 Kant proposed that human mind creates the
structures of human experience.
 Kant’s view of the “self” is the transcendental,
which means the “self” is related to a spiritual
or nonphysical realm.
 Kant, the self is not a body.

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PHILOPOSOPHIES IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

 The self is outside the body, and it does not have the qualities of the
body.
 Kant stressed that the body and its qualities are rooted to the “self”
 He proposed that is knowledge that bridges the “self” and the
material things together.

REASON is the final authority of morality. Morality is achieved

only when there is absence of war because of the result of
enlightenment.” – Immanuel Kant

Two kinds of Consciousness of

Apperception is the
mental process by Self (rationality)
which a person 1. Consciousness of oneself and one’s
makes sense of an
psychological states in inner senses, and
idea by assimilating
2. Consciousness of oneself and one’s states by
it to the body of
ideas he or she
performing acts of appreciations
already possesses.

According to Kant:
 Kant’s point what truly exist are your ideas and your knowledge of
your ideas; that you perceive the outside world through the self
with your ideas.
 Kant pointed out that the material would not just an extension, and
that you are merely seeing objects.
 He insisted that you perceive the outside world because there is
already an idea residing within you.
 He defended the diverse quality or state of the body and soul (self)
presenting that “bodies” are objects of outer senses; soul are objects
of inner sense”

Two Components of the “SELF”

Inner Self Outer Self
 The self by which you are  It includes your senses and
aware of alterations in your the physical world. It is the
own state. This includes your common boundary between

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PHILOPOSOPHIES IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

rational intellect and your external world and the inner

psychological state, such as
moods, feelings, and
sensations, pleasure and pain.
self. It gathers information
form the external world
through the senses, which
the inner self interprets and
coherently expresses.

Kant proposed that the “self” organizes

information in three ways
1. Raw perceptual inputs
2. Recognizing the concept
3. Reproducing in the imagination

S I G M U N D F R E U D
 A Philosopher, physiologist, and Psychologist
was one of the most influential thinkers of
the 20th century.
 He is most important contributors,
particularly in psychology. 
 Psychoanalysis is his practice devised to treat
those who are mentally ill through dialogue.
 His work in the field of psychoanalysis was
groundbreaking because it answered
questions about the human psyche in a way
that no one else had before him.
 In psychology “psyche” is the totality of the
human mind, both conscious and unconscious.

“Wishful fulfillment is the road to the unconscious.” – Sigmund

Freud

Division of Psyche has Three Levels Consciousness

1. Conscious
o Which deals with awareness of present perceptions, feelings,
thoughts, memories, and fantasies at nay particular moment.

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2. Pre-conscious/ Subconscious
o Which is related to data that can readily be brought to
consciousness
3. Unconscious
o Which refers to data retained but not easily available of the
individual’s conscious or scrutiny.

Psychoanalytic Theory was proposed of existence

of the unconscious as:
1. A repository for traumatic repressed memories.
2. The source of anxiety
o provoking drives that is socially or ethically unacceptable to
the individual

Psychoanalytic Theory
is a personality theory
based on the notion that
an individual gets
motivated by unseen
forces, controlled by the
conscious and the
rational thought.
Sigmund Freud did not exactly create
the notion of the conscious versus
unconscious mind, but he certainly was
responsible for making it popular, and this
was one of main contributions to
psychology.

Freud Structure of Psyche/ Mind

ID Ego Superego
It operates on the It operates according to It incorporates the
pleasure principle the reality principle values and morals
of society.
 Every wishful impulse  It works our realistic  The superego
should satisfied ways of satisfying the function is to
immediately, id’s demands (often control the id’s
regardless of the compromising or impulses. It
consequences. When postponing persuades the
the id achieves satisfaction to avoid ego to choose
demands, you negative moralistic goals
experience pleasure: consequences of and to strive for
when it is denied, society). The ego perfection

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PHILOPOSOPHIES IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

you experience consider social realities rather than

“unpleasure” or and norms, etiquette, simply realistic
tension. and rules in deciding ones.
how to behave.
 If the ego fails to use
the reality principle,
anxiety is experienced,
and unconscious
defense mechanism
are employed to help
ward off unpleasant
things.

According to Freud’s The Superego consists

structure of the mind of Two System
1. Conscious
 The ego and the superego o If the ego gives in to the
function in different levels of id’s demands. The
consciousness. There is a superego may make the
constant movement of person feel bad through
memories and impulses from guilt.
2. Ideal self
one level to another.
o It is an imaginary picture
 The id on the other hand, is
of how you ought to be. It
unaffected by reality, logic or
represents career
the everyday world as it aspirations, how to treat
operates within the unconscious to other people; and how
part of the mind. to behave as a member of
 society.

G I L B E R T R Y L E
 A philosopher and professor, Gilbert Ryle
produced a critique on Descartes’ idea that the
mind is distinct from the body.
 He wrote The Concept of Mind (1949) where he
rejected the notion that mental states are
separable from physical states
 Ryle called the distinction between mind and
matter a “category –mistake” because of its

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attempt to analyze the relation between “mind” and “body” as if the

two were terms the same categories.

“I act therefore I am.” – Gilbert Ryle

Ryle’s Point against Descartes Theory

 The relations between mind and body are isolated processes.
 Mental processes are intelligent acts, and are not distinct from each
other.
 The operation of the mind is itself an intelligent act.

According to Ryle
Ryle  According to RYLE, the rationalist view that mental acts
believed are distinct from physical acts and that there is a mental
that the world distinct from the physical world is a
concept of misconception.
the distinct  Ryle described the distinction between mind and body as
“self” is not “the dogma of the ghost in the machine” where he
real. He explained there is no hidden entity or ghost that called
asserted “soul” (also understood as mind or self) inside a machine
that is from
called body”.
our
 Ryle criticized the theory that mind is a place where
behavior
mental images are apprehended, perceived or
and actions.
remembered.
 He asserted that sensations, thoughts and feelings do not
belong to a mental world separates from the physicals
world.
 Knowledge, memory imagination and any other abilities
or dispositions do not reside ”within” the mind as if the
mind a space in which these could be stored or located.

P A U L C H U R C H L A N D
 Philosopher and Professor Paul Churchland is known for his studies in
neurophilosophy and the philosophy of mind.
 His philosophy stands on a materialistic view or the belief that
nothing but matter exists.

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PHILOPOSOPHIES IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

 In other words, if something can be seen,

felt, heard. Touched or tasted, then it
exists.
 There is nothing beyond the sensory
experiences.

“The physical brain and NOT the imaginary mind gives us our
senses of the self” – Paul Churchland

According to Churchland
 Churchland view that immaterial, unchanging soulf/self does not
exist because it cannot be experienced by the senses.
 Churchland insisted, that the idea of mind or soul is not it
consonance with the physical changes that have occurred in the
hereditary characteristics of the human species over successive
generations.
 Churchland ideas, is called eliminative materialism or the claim that
people’s common sense understanding of the mind( or folk
psychology) is false, and the certain classes of mental states which
people believe in do not exist.
 Churchland pointed out the mental conditions, such as depressions.
 It is technically wrong to say that the person is “out of mind” because
neuroscientists have found that brain activity, and even brain shape,
appears to be associated with the severe mood disorders.
 He pointed out that in a severe head injury, the victims personality
changes occur
 He pointed out that if the mind were a separate entity, then the
victim should have retained his/her personality despite the damage
to the brain.
 Thus, Churchland asserted the sense of “self” originated from the
brain itself, and that this self is a product of electrochemical signals
produced by the brain.

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MAURICE MERLEAU–PONTY
 A philosopher and author.
 Emphasizing the body as the primary
site of knowing the world.
 His idea of self is embodied
subjectivity
 The term “embodied” is a verb that
means to give a body (usually an
immaterial substances like a soul).

“Physical body is an important part of the self” – Maurice

Merleau-Ponty

Subjectivity, in According to Ponty

philosophy, is the  Ponty argued that the body is part of the mind,
state of being a
and the mind is part of the body; that although
subject- an entity
there could be a stand mental faculty that
that possess
conscious
perceives what the senses experiences, it needs
experiences, such the body to receive these experiences, act on its
as perspectives, perceptions, and communicate with the external
feelings, beliefs world.
and desires.  According to Ponty, the body acts what the
mind perceives as unified one

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