PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE
and ugliness.
OF THE SELF
What is Philosophy?
The word “Philosophy” is coined by the Greek
philosopher, Pythagoras, in 6th century BC. It comes
from the Ancient Greek word, “Philosophos”, which is a
combination of the root words, “philo” (love), and
“sophia” (wisdom). Literally translated, it means “love
of wisdom”
By studying Philosophy, we employ the
inquisitive or curious mind to discover the ultimate
causes, reasons, and principles of everything. It also goes
beyond scientific investigation by exploring all areas of
knowledge such as religion, psychology, politics, physics,
and medicine.
Since it is the “love of wisdom”, Philosophy desires
for truth by formulating never-ending questions to provide
answers every inquiry about the nature of human
existence.
Basically, we want to answer serious questions about
ourselves and the world we live in. But one of the topics
philosophers are most interested in is the nature of the
self.
<< “self” may refer as the “soul”, “ego”, “psyche”,
“identity”, “I”, “me”, “am”, “being” <<
1.) SOCRATES
“An unexamined life is not worth living”
Socrates believed that every human consists of
an immortal “soul” and this soul that he mentioned is
actually the “self”. Simply put, the “self” is synonymous
to the “soul”. However, according to Socrates, our “soul”
exists in a different realm or reality. That is why we need
our physical body to manifest in this realm to serve as a
vessel or container.
Socrates believes that the “soul”, or the “real self”,
resides in the afterlife instead of the mortal realm or
physical world. Additionally, he suggested that reality
consists of 2 dichotomous (or opposite) realms – the (1)
physical realm and the (2) ideal realm.
Humans manifest in the physical realm as this is
where our bodies belong. According to Socrates, the
physical world is changeable, transient and imperfect.
The physical realm also consists of ignorance, lies, evil
On the other hand, our soul (our “real self”), belongs
to the ideal realm. The ideal realm is unchanging,
eternal and immortal – it is perfect. Aside from the soul,
the “perfect” realm also consists of the intellectual
essences of the universe and concepts such as truth,
goodness and beauty.
But what happens to us who have parts in both
realms? We become imperfect as well. Our soul will be
tainted. However, because we also have a “perfect” side,
we have the ability to try to attain perfection.
How do we attain perfection? Through reason and/or
knowledge. If we seek enlightenment, knowledge and
understanding of the universe (or the world), we become
closer towards perfection. Since the intellectual essence of
the universe resides in the ideal realm, all types of
knowledge are considered by Socrates as perfect. The
more we strive for knowledge, the more we attain
wisdom, the more we become closer to perfection. Being
in the physical realms, we are subjected to imperfection
but if we try to learn or gain knowledge, we strive for
perfection.
This explains the famous philosophical quote by
Socrates saying,” An unexamined life is not worth living.”
He suggests that humans must live an examined life, and a
life of purpose and value – the process being called the
Socratic Method or Introspection. In short, our life only
has value when we seek for knowledge because
knowledge is the personification of good, while
ignorance is that of evil. This is what he referred to as
“incessant soul-searching”.
2.) PLATO
“The self is an immortal soul”
Plato was a student of Socrates and therefore his
concept or philosophy of the self is somewhat influenced
by him. Him and Socrates are the foundation of the
inquiry on the concept of the self. Like Socrates, Plato
believed that the self is synonymous with the soul.
Similar also to his teacher, his philosophy is a process of
self-knowledge and purification of the soul.
Plato introduced the Tripartite or 3-part soul
which consists of reason, physical appetite, and spirit
or passion.
According to Plato, Reason is the divine
essence that enables us, humans, to think deeply, and
be rational and innately logical. It makes us grasp a
deep understanding of eternal truths. It also enables us
to make wise choices. Same with Socrates, Plato
considers reason as a “remedy” for imperfection.
The Physical Appetite is our basic biological needs
(such as pain, hunger, thirst and sexual desires). These are
our “external” feelings.
Lastly, the Spirit or Passion is our basic emotions
(such as joy, sorrow, love, anger, empathy). These are our
“internal” feelings.
When we think of Plato’s concept of the self, let’s
remember the mind, body and heart. For the mind, we
have reason. For the body, we have the physical appetite.
And for the heart, the spirit or passion.
All 3 parts of the soul should always be harmonious.
Why? Because he believed that when we live in
accordance with our nature, the tripartite soul, we
provide justice to our existence. Justice is important to
Plato and this is what he emphasized in his concept of the
self. If we are unable to balance the 3-part soul, our
existence becomes obsolete.
When our 3-part soul is not harmonious, there will be
conflict. What do we do when our 3-part soul becomes
disharmonious? Plato emphasized that when this happens,
reason should take responsibility to sort things out at
assert control. For example, your enemy slaps you. Your
physical appetite becomes disturbed because you feel pain
from the slap. Your spirit also gets disturbed because this
person is your enemy thus you feel aggression, anger and
hatred. If you don’t use reason, you’ll end up beating
them because your animal instinct is to take revenge.
Does this lead to happiness? No. On the other hand, if you
use your reason and choose not to hit back, you will gain
happiness from being in peace. Plato believes that we can
only acquire genuine happiness if we make sure our
reason is in control of our physical appetite and spirit or
passion.
Plato has formulated an idea that has a similar
concept to Socrates’ dichotomous realms which he called
the Theory of Forms. The Theory of Forms has two
worlds – the world of forms where our soul resides, and
the world of sense which is our perceived reality.
The “world of forms” is real and permanent;
Plato’s version of the “ideal realm”. The “world of
sense” is temporary and only a replica of the ideal
world. He believed that the “world of sense” will end
eventually and this world is dependent on the “world of
forms” where our soul resides. If the “world of forms”
disintegrates, the physical world will also collapse.
Because of this, Plato advises people to give more
importance to the soul because it is permanent whereas
the body is temporary. It is useless to focus on our
physical body because we will all die in the end anyway.
We can’t bring our riches to the grave, but the knowledge
and wisdom that we gain will always be with us.
3.) ARISTOTLE
“The soul is the essence of the self”
Aristotle is a student of Plato thus his concepts
are influenced by his teacher. Unlike the philosophers
before him who were idealists, Aristotle is an empiricist
who applied scientific methods and investigation in his
concept of the self. Because he is empirical, he dismissed
the idealistic concepts of Socrates and Plato which is the
body and soul reside in different and opposite realms. For
Aristotle, the body and soul are just one entity that
exist in one reality which is our perceived reality.
Aristotle believed that anything with life has a
soul. Therefore, the soul is the essence of all living
things. What does he mean by this? In our life, what
makes us move and what makes us wake up every day is
our soul. It’s like the “driver” of our bodies.
Aristotle proposed 3 kinds of souls – the vegetative
soul, the sentient soul and the rational soul. He took
Plato’s idea of the tripartite soul and changed it according
to what he believed the soul is.
The vegetative soul is the physical body since it
grows. All living things – plants, animals and humans –
have this. The body grows because of the vegetative soul.
The sentient soul consists of sensual desires, feelings
and emotions. This is a combination of Plato’s physical
appetite and spirit. Only humans and animals have this.
The rational soul is what makes us human as we
have the ability to think and rationalize. Why don’t
animals have this when they can be trained? They can’t
have this because they only act according to their
instincts. No matter how much they’re trained, they will
always operate through their instincts unlike humans who
can make their own choices.
Since humans are the only ones with the rational soul,
only humans are able to pursue happiness by
searching for a good life, including doing virtuous
actions and characterizing moral virtues like justice and
courage. Just like his predecessors, he also believes that to
be able to have a moral life, we need to seek knowledge
and wisdom because any type of knowledge is perfect.
4.) ST. AUGUSTINE
“I am doubting therefore I am”
St. Augustine is an African philosopher during
the medieval times, regarded as a saint in the Catholic
church. He provided the philosophical principle: “I am
doubting therefore I am.”
He borrowed the idea of Plato about the self and
integrated it with Christianity. Just as with Socrates and
Plato he believed that the soul is more superior than the
body, considering the body only as a vessel in the
physical world. He added that the body is the spouse of
the soul and that both are connected due to the
“natural appetite”. This means that for a man to be
entire and complete, one needs to be reunited with his
soul. The “natural appetite” refers to one’s seeking for
unification with their soul.
St. Augustine describes that humankind is
created in the image and likeness of God. This implies
that everything created by God is good because God
himself is good. That is why humans are thought to be
geared towards goodness. Unlike the Greek philosophers
who believed that the soul is a result of accumulating
knowledge, St. Augustine believes that the more we seek
God, the more we understand ourselves and the more
our soul is nourished. If we detach ourselves from God,
we lose our sense of self and purpose. This is St.
Augustine’s concept: that we only understand ourselves if
we are close to God, the creator. That’s why, St.
Augustine said that “knowledge can only come by
seeing the truth that dwells within us.” The truth here is
knowing God whereas for the Greek philosophers, the
truth is the answer to the universe. It is for this reason that
St. Augustine encourages us to keep doubting because as
we keep doing so, the more we seek God because He is
the truth. God will complete our existence as human
beings.
5.) RENE DESCRATES
“I think, therefore I am”
Rene Descartes is the “Father of Modern
Philosophy.” He describes his concept of self as “Cogito
ergo sum” which translates to “I think, therefore I am.”
He believes that the act of thinking about the self is
enough proof that the self exists.
Descartes introduced the idea of the thinking
self or the soul. The thinking self is an immortal,
conscious, being that is independent of the physical
laws of the universe. Whereas the body is a material
mortal, non-thinking entity, fully-governed by physical
laws. His concept is similar to that of the Greek
philosophers’ where there is a perfect immortal soul and
an imperfect, mortal body. Descartes believed that the
body and mind are independent and can be separated
entities. We don’t need the body to think because our soul
is the primary thinker.
6.) JOHN LOCKE
“The self is consciousness”
John Locke is an English philosopher who
posited that the human mind, at birth, is “tabula rasa”
or a blank slate. What fills this blank canvas?
Locke believes that the self (our personal identity) is
a product of sense experiences (see, hear, smell, taste,
feel). Our experiences become the different strokes and
colors that fill our canvas. The masterpiece we produce
would be our personal identity.
Additionally, he believed that our conscious
awareness (rational mind) and memory from previous
experiences are the keys to understanding the self. For
example, a cockroach landed on you. Cockroaches are
smelly, dirty, and disgusting, and this triggers your senses.
Because of these experiences, you become fearful of
cockroaches. Every time you see a cockroach, you
become scared because you recall your past experience
with a cockroach. If you hadn’t experienced something
bad with a cockroach before then maybe you would be a
different person.
Locke proposed that people could use the power of
reason to gain knowledge and use this knowledge to
understand experiences we didn’t directly experience
or encounter. From the example above, let’s say that you
told your friend about your experience with a cockroach.
As you talk, your friend will end up imagining your
experiences, eventually making them scared of
cockroaches as well. Now whenever they see
cockroaches, they’ll recall your experience which will
affect how they react to the situation.
7.) DAVID HUME
“There is no self”
According to David Hume (a Scottish
philosopher) if we examine ourselves critically, we will
discover that there is no self. He believes that our
personal identity is only a result of our imagination.
He said that what we, humans, experience is just a bundle
or collection of different perceptions. If we examine our
experience objectively, we will find that what we think as
our concept of self are just a product of 2 distinct entities
– impressions and ideas.
Impressions are our basic sensations from
experience (like hate, love, joy, grief, pain cold and heat).
They are vivid perceptions, strong and lively. In other
words, they are our individual and unique reactions to
certain direct experiences.
For example, a “cockroach experience” may be scary
and traumatizing to us but to others, it may be nothing to
them. Our reactions differ from person to person. It is not
to be expected that one’s reaction to an experience is true
to everyone.
Ideas are our thoughts and images from
impressions which makes them less lively and vivid.
John Locke said in his theory that we can use the power of
reason to react to an experience we did not directly
encounter, which means that the more we describe an
experience (and our reaction to that experience) to
someone, they will imitate our reaction even though they
did not directly experience it. This is what David Hume
refers as an idea – image procured in our minds as
somebody else’s impression.
For example, you’re the type of friend to give advice
on the heartbreaks of your friends. You’ve heard so many
heartbreaking stories which you have no interest in
because you’re not interested in romance and love. One
day, you watched the MV of Moira’s song “Paubaya” and
you don’t understand why you felt pain from listening to
it because you’re not heartbroken. Instead, you felt pain
because you recalled the experiences of your friends in
the lyrics of the song and the scenes portrayed in the MV.
David Hume’s theory supports the theory of the
multiverse where each universe holds a version of us.
These versions of ourselves are the same at the core but
the difference is that they have unique experiences that
shaped their perceptions. For example, in one universe,
you ended up as Nursing student because you watched a
show about nurses. Or in this universe, you ended up as
an MT student because of your own specific reason.
Hume’s perspective is interesting because he doesn’t
believe that there is a “self” because of our different
perceptions. At the end of the day, we are just products
of what we have been through and we are not our real
selves.
To summarize, Hume’s concept of the self is simply
an illusion based on our subjective reactions to certain
experiences and our ideas/images of what unknown
experiences feel like.
8.) IMMANUEL KANT
“We construct the self”
Immanuel Kant is a German philosopher who
tried to disprove Hume’s concept of the self and went
beyond John Locke’s sensory experiences. For Kant, there
is indeed a self. According to him, the self is a thinking
entity that makes up our consciousness. This is similar
to Rene Descartes’. Because the self makes up our
consciousness, we are able to experience an intelligible
world or reality that is objective and orderly. A world
that is systematic – something concrete and
comprehensible. But what does he mean by this? He
meant that we construct our own reality that is
familiar, predictable. We are actively creating a world
that is “ours”. We are the masters of our reality and how
we deal with the world is up to us and not the other way
around (unlike David Hume’s theory). The world is
shaped according to how we want it to be like. But how
do we do this? Through the transcendental deduction of
categories.
With the power of our mind (our self), in the
form of consciousness, we are able to deduce our world
via scientific investigation. We have the ability to use the
categories of our mind to filter, order, relate, and
synthesize sensations/experiences. These are opposite to
the theories of John Locke and David Hume where
sensory experiences are treated as separate entities from
us humans. Our sensory experiences are just products of
the forces of nature; or something sort of destiny we are
meant to encounter.
For Kant, we choose the kind of experiences we
encounter. We have a choice. It’s a conscious experience.
We become who we want to be. That’s why he said “We
construct our self” because we actively organize and
synthesize all our thoughts and perceptions as we see
fit.
For example, you aim to be a summa cum laude when
you graduate. You imagine yourself walking up the stage
to receive your diploma and then walking down fully-
acknowledged as a summa cum laude. Because of this, all
your decisions at present will be leaning towards the
realization of that goal or dream. In this sense, you are
constructing your future self as someone who becomes a
summa cum laude.
Kant went beyond Locke’s whose theory only ended
in the sensory, physical experiences. Based on Kant’s
philosophy, our mins (self) has the ability to
comprehend not just the physical or sense experiences
but also those abstract ideas (love, sense of justice,
hatred). He combined the idealist and empiricist points of knowledge – external elements that we’ve absorbed and
view because not every experience is sensory. embedded in our minds. They did not come from within,
but from outside.

9.) SIGMUND FREUD

“The self is multi-layered”

Sigmund Freud is a famous Austrian

psychoanalyst whose concept of the self not only fits the
philosophical aspect of the self, but also those of
psychology and sociology.

For Freud, there are 3 layers of self – the

conscious self, unconscious self and preconscious self.
The conscious self is governed by the reality
principle. This is the part that we share to the world (and
other people) because it is rational, practical and
appropriate to the environment. They are thoughts and
perceptions we outwardly reflect that are socially-
acceptable. Whatever is the norm in society, that is what
we show. It is called the “conscious self” because we are
“aware” and we become sensitive to the realistic
demands of a situation, the consequences of our
actions, and our need for an internal balance or
equilibrium. This part is what we show especially to
those who are not close to us. Like for civil and
professional relationships, or acquaintances. The
conscious self is our exterior.
The next layer is the unconscious self. The
unconscious self is governed by the pleasure principle.
It is here that our true colors reside, containing our basic
instinctual drives (sexuality, aggressiveness, fears and
selfishness). This contains the parts of ourselves that we
hide such as our vulnerabilities as humans and animals.
We hide them because we know we will get judged for
them but we can’t hide always hide them. We should
always remember that other people have unconscious
layers too. The unconscious self holds the biggest portion
of who we are because it is our core – the part of
ourselves that we can’t deny. This part of ourselves is
unchangeable. What we can change, however, is how we
present our conscious self.
The 3rd and last layer is our preconscious self.
According to Kant, the preconscious self is the safest
and non-threatening. It can be easily brought to mind.
The preconscious self contains our memories and stored
10.) GILBERT RYLE
“The self is the way people behave”
Gilbert Ryle is a British philosopher who
proposed that the self is a pattern of behavior. This
means that the way we behave is a reflection of who we
are – “I act therefore I am”. He believed this because he
considered that the body and mind are linked in intrinsic
and intimate ways – the self is the same as bodily
behavior. We are described by our actions. How we act
reflects who we are deep inside.
For example, you eat a lot. You even snatch food
from others and not give any of yours to them. This shows
that you are a glutton for food and others will perceive
you as such. Your friends just stick with you because they
are used to your behavior.
If St. Augustine believed “I am doubting
therefore I am” (which means that we doubt thus we are
driven to seek who we are) and Rene Descartes believed
“I think therefore I am” (which means that the act of
thinking about our existence is proof of our existence),
Gilbert Ryle believed “I act therefore I am” (which means
that whatever action we show, they define us as a person).
This concept of the self is not something you,
yourself, can reflect upon. Instead, it is the people around
you who can observe it.
11.) PAUL CHURCHLAND
“The self is the brain”
Paul Churchland is a Canadian philosopher who
posited the idea of eliminative materialism. It is the idea
that the self is inseparable from the brain and the
physiology of the body. He suggested that the sense of
self is made possible because of the brain.
Is the brain the same as the mind? For Churchland,
it’s a no. For him, the mind is an imaginary entity that
can’t be felt with our physical senses. It is the brain that
gives us the ability to think. Without the brain, there is
no self. If we die, we die. There is no such thing as the
afterlife because Churchland’s philosophy is very
scientific. This contradicts Descartes’ philosophy who
believed that the thinking self needs the body. Churchland
believed that the body is important because it is where our
brain is contained in. This further contradicts Descartes
who suggested that the thinking self can transcend the
physical body (and be transferred to machines or
computers),
12.) MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY
“The self is embodied subjectivity”
Maurice Merleau-Ponty is a French philosopher
who emphasized that dualism (or mind-body
bifurcation separating the mind and body as separate
entities) is a futile endeavor and problematic thinking.
According to him, the thinking that the body is only a
vessel to the soul, self or mind is outdated. Modern
philosophers like Ponty no longer applied the dualistic
nature of the body and the self, connecting them together.
What they pondered the most instead is how the self, the
mind and the body, is perceived.
things we want to encounter. The subjective portion is our
sensory experience that are out of our hands. When we
combine them, the objective part is “tainted” by the
subjective parts which results to an embodied subjectivity.
We can’t say that we chose to be our current self because
we “chose” to be this way from the past.
Ponty basically combined the philosophies of
Hume’s and Locke’s experiences with Kant’s conscious
experiences. According to Ponty, we can’t truly objectify
ourselves other forces are also at play. For example, a car
hit you as you crossed the street. Is that decision in your
control? No. That’s why Ponty said the self is embodied
subjectivity because we are combination of sensory
(subjective) and conscious (objective) experiences.
Ponty’s concept of self is basically a
combination of the concepts by previous modern
philosophers., eliminating the idealistic aspects and
leaning more towards modern sciences such as
psychology, sociology, anthropology and the like.

Aside from believing that the mind and the body

are one and the same, Ponty posited that they are
intertwined not only through conscious experiences (not
only as consequence of our choices), but also through
sensory experiences (consequences of something other
than ourselves).

Do we gain knowledge to discover or define the

nature of ourselves? Ponty’s philosophy is a combination
of conscious experience and sensory experience. Because
we cannot entirely control our sensory experiences, we
encounter all the knowledge we’ve come to perceive
about ourselves and the world as a product of subjective
experience. Even though we can manipulate our conscious
experience, choosing which choices to make, we can
never truly objectify our perception of ourselves or the
world because there are other forces at play. This is unlike
Kant’s philosophy where sensory experiences (that we
encounter out of our control) are dismissed.

This is why Ponty suggested that the self is

embodied subjectivity. We are the manifestation of
subjective elements. Again, the objective part is the
conscious experience where we get to encounter the