Unit 1: The Self from Various Perspectives

INTRODUCTION

“The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination.” - Carl Rogers

How old are you? For that number of years of existence, have you ever ask yourself the question,
“What is the self?” This unit focuses in answering that very question. Hang on, come with me, and
let us take a tour in the different perspective of the self.

What encompasses your “self”? Do

you believe in the existence of the soul
or spirit? When our body dies, does the
soul continue to live? If the soul truly
exists, how does it communicate with
the body? Where does it enter and exit
the body? Do we know who we are?
Are we conscious about it? Do we have a true and false
selves? What is the “me” self and the “I” self? These
questions are answered by our philosophers, sociologists,
anthropologists, psychologists and western and eastern
thought theorists.
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After the tour in the various perspective, you will be able to truly
understand your “self’.” By then, you will be able to answer without hesitation the question, “WHAT
IS MY “SELF?” This unit will be completed in 17 hours.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

1. discuss the different representations and conceptualizations of the self from various disciplinal
perspectives;
2. compare and contrast how the self has been exemplified across different perspectives;
3. examine the different influences, factors and forces that shape the self;
and
4. demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the development of one’s self and
identity by developing a theory of the self.

1
TOPIC 1: PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE
Dr. Kathlyn Mata, RGC
“To find yourself, think for yourself.” – Socrates

In efforts to appreciate and understand reality, and retort to persistent

questions of inquisitiveness, including the inquiry of self, it was the
Greeks who earnestly probed legends and folklore, and turned away
from them.

This topic on the philosophical perspective of the self (which will

utilize 3 hours) will then allow you to reexamine its key movers for
you to be able to identify the most imperative assumptions made by
philosophers from the ancient to the
www.thoughtco.com contemporary times.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

1. cite highlights in the life of the philosophers that influenced their concepts and principles;
2. identify and differentiate the philosophers’ perspectives of self; and
3. create your own concept/ theory of the self.

 LET’S LEARN

PHILOSOPHERS’ PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF

The way you choose to spend your life contributes to the development of your identity and self-
understanding. Your past is a contributory factor to who you are today, but who you will be tomorrow
greatly depends on your perspective about yourself.

1. SOCRATES (470-399 B.C.)

He explored his philosophy of immortality in the days

following his trial and before his sentence to death was
executed.

According to him, an unexamined life is not worth living.

This statement is reflected in his idea of the self.

He believed in dualism that aside from the physical body

(material substance), each person has an immortal soul
(immaterial substance).

The body belongs to the physical realm and the soul to the
ideal realm. When you die, your body dies but not your
soul. There is a life after the death of your physical body. There is a world after death.
According to him, in order for you to have a good life, you must live a good life, a life with a purpose,
and that purpose is for you to do well. Then there you will be happy after your body dies.

2. PLATO (428/427-348/347 BC) 3

He was greatly affected by Socrates’ death. Socrates was

Plato’s teacher.
He believed that the self is immortal and it consists of 3
parts:

a. Reason – the divine essence that enables you to think

deeply, make wise choices and achieve an
understanding of eternal truths;

b. Physical Appetite - your basic biological needs such as

hunger, thirst, and sexual desire and;

c. Spirit or Passion – your basic emotions such as love,

anger, ambition, aggressiveness, and empathy.

The 3 components may work together or in conflict. If human beings do not live in accordance with
their nature/function, the result will be an injustice.

3. ST. AUGUSTINE (354-430)

He was a great explorer in his youth and young adulthood;

he spent great times with his friends and up to the extent of
fathering an illegitimate child.

His explorations led to his conversion to Christianity

wherein he spent the remainder of his day serving the
bishop of Hippo and writing books and letters including his
idea of the self.

At first, he thought the body as the “slave” of the soul but

ultimately, regarded the body as the “spouse” of the soul
both attached to one another. He believed that the body is
united with the soul, so that man may be entire and
complete. His first principle was, “I doubt, therefore I am.”

The self seeks to be united with God through faith and reason and he described that humanity is
created in the image and likeness of God, that God is supreme and all-knowing and everything created
by God who is all good is good.
4. RENE DESCARTES (1596-1650)

Descartes was a scientist in his professional life and

during his time, scientists believed that after death the
physical body dies, hence the self also dies.

He was a devout Catholic who believed in the immortal

souls and eternal life. By having the idea of both the
thinking self and the physical body, Descartes was able to
reconcile his being a scientist and a devout Catholic.

The self is a thinking thing, distinct from the body. The

thinking self or soul is nonmaterial, immortal, conscious
while the physical body is material, mortal, non-thinking
entity, fully governed by the physical laws of nature.

“Cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore I Am) is the keystone

to his concept of the self. The essence of existing as a human identity is the possibility of being aware
of oneself.

5. JOHN LOCKE (1634-1704)

The intolerant and charged atmosphere in England kept

Locke to stay abroad and freedom from political intrigues
and duties allowed him to develop his philosophy.

According to Locke, the human mind at birth is a tabula

rasa (“blank slate”). The self or personal identity is
constructed primarily from sense experiences which shape
and mold the self throughout a person’s life.

Personal identity is made possible by self-consciousness.

In order to discover the nature of personal identity, you to
have to find out what it means to be a person. A person is
a thinking, intelligent being who has abilities to reason and
to reflect. A person is also someone who considers itself to
be the same thing at different times and different places.

Consciousness means being aware that you are thinking; this what makes your belief5possible that you
are the same identity at different times and in different places. The essence of the self is its conscious
awareness of itself as thinking, reasoning, reflecting identity.

6. DAVID HUME (1711-1776)

He left the University of Edinburg at the age of 15, to study privately. Although he was encouraged to
take up law, his interest was philosophy. It is during his private study that he began raising questions
about religion.

For him, there is no “self” only a bundle of perceptions passing through the theatre of your minds.

According to him, humans are so desperately wanting to believe that they have a unified and
continuous self or soul that they use their imaginations to construct a fictional self. The mind is a
theatre, a container for fleeting sensations and disconnected ideas and your reasoning ability is merely
a slave to the passions. Hence, personal identity is just a result of imagination.

7. IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804)

Although Kant recognizes the legitimacy in Hume’s

account, he opposes the idea of Hume that everything
starts with perception and sensation of impressions, that’s
why he brought out the idea of the self as a response
against the idea of Hume.

For Kant, there is unavoidably a mind that systematizes

the impressions that men get from the external world.

Therefore, Kant believed that the self is a product of

reason because the self regulates experience by making
unified experience possible.

We construct the self. The self exists independently of

experience and the self goes beyond experience.

8. SIGMUND FREUD (1856-1939)

Freud develops his theories during a period in which he

experienced heart irregularities, disturbing dreams and
periods of depression. He read William Shakespeare in
English throughout his life.

Based on him, the self is composed of three layers,

conscious, preconscious and unconscious.

The conscious mind includes thoughts, feelings, and

actions that you are currently aware of; the preconscious
mind includes mental activities that are stored in your
memory, not presently active but can be accessed or
recalled; while the unconscious mind includes activities
that you are not aware of.
According to him, there are thoughts, feelings, desires, and urges that the conscious mind wants to
hide, buried in your unconscious, but may shed light to your unexplained behavior.

9. GILBERT RYLE (1900-1976)

His father was a general practitioner but had a keen

interest in philosophy and astronomy that he passed it on
to his children; they had an impressive library where Ryle
enjoyed being an omnivorous reader.

He graduated with first class honors in the New Modern

Greats School of Philosophy, Politic, and Economics.

His concept of the self is provided in his philosophical

statement, “I Act therefore I am.” Ryle views the self as
the way people behave, which is composed of a set of
patterned behavior.

Basically, for Ryle, the self is the same as your behavior.

10. PAUL CHURCHLAND (1942)

Churchland became a professor at the University of

California where he later became the department chair and
member of the Cognitive Science Faculty, a member of the
Institute for Neural Computation. His membership to
these organizations prompted him to dwell on the brain as
the self.

Churchland’s theory is anchored in the statement, “the self

is the brain.” The self is inseparable from the brain and the
physiological body because the physical brain gives the
sense of self. In short, the brain and the self are one. Once
the brain is dead, the self is dead too.

11. MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY (1908-1961)

When he won the school’s “Award for Outstanding

Achievement” in Philosophy it traced his commitment to
the vocation of Philosophy.

His concept, “the self has embodied subjectivity”

explained that all your knowledge about yourself and the
world is based on your subjective experiences and everything that you are aware of is contained in
your consciousness.
For him, your body is your general medium for having a world.

LET’S PRACTICE

Try This! Paint Thy Self

Place this in a short bond paper and take a picture of it then send to your teacher!

a. Stay in the most comfortable place where you can draw an image of your “self” and paint the
“self” any color/s that you want.

b. After painting your “self”, tell something about it.

c. This is t a way of expressing who you are, including your joys, and frustrations about yourself,
and the activity would create a cathartic effect.

LET’S ASSESS

Check This! Theory of My Own Self

Which among the philosophies discussed can you identify with? (you agree with) Create your own
theory of the “self.”

Rubrics

Exceeds Meets Approaches

Criterion Expectations Expectations Expectations
Comments
3 2 1
Presents the
presents the presents the
reflection in a
Organization compelling, reflection in a reflection in a
moderately disorganized
highly-organized organized manner manner
manner
Demonstrates Demonstrates
thorough reasonably Demonstrates
Content minimal reflective
reflective analysis reflective analysis
analysis
 There were few Grammar
Grammar,
Sentence grammar, punctuation and
punctuation and
Structure punctuation and spelling errors were
spelling were perfect
spelling errors evident.