Philosophical Perspective of the
Self
Philosophy – understanding
oneself
Socrates – “An unexamined life is
not worth living “
 Father of western
philosophy
 Teaches student for free
Fundamental Believe
 Dichotomous realms:
 Physical
 Ideal Realms
 To find yourself think for
yourself – Socratic
question
 Let him who would move
the world first move
himself – Socratic Method
Aristotle – “The soul is the essence
of the self”
Fundamental Believe
 Soul is the essence of all
living things
 Three kinds of soul
 Vegetative
 Sentient
 Rational
Rene Descartes – “I think therefore
I am” “Cogito Ergo Sum”
 French philosopher,
mathematician, and
scientist
Fundamental Believe
 Mind and body as separate
entity of the self
 Self-identity based on self-
consciousness “A thinking
thing”
 Self-identity remains the
same over time
John Locke = “The self is the
consciousness”
Fundamental Believe
 Mind as Tabularasa
 Tabularasa – a blank
sheet
 Consciousness is the key
to self-identity
 Self-identity does not
remain the same over time
 It is because of our
memories
David Hume – “You are an
illusion”
 Scottish philosopher
economist and historian
 Atheist and Skeptic
Fundamental Believe
 There is no such thing as
self
 Proponent of Bundle
Theory
 Self-identity is not the
same over time
 Heraclitus - “You can’t
step on the same river
twice”
Immanuel Kant – “We construct
the self”
 Wrote Critique
Fundamental Believe
 Transcendental Enduring
Self
 Self-identity is the same
over time
 There’s no different self at
each moment of
consciousness
Contemporary Philosophers – 19th
to 20th century
Gilbert Ryle
 “I act therefore I am”
 The mind is the totality of
human dispositions that
known through the way
people behave
Paul Churchland
 “The self is the brain”
 The physical brain not the
imaginary mind gives
people the sense of self
Maurice Merleaue-Ponty
 Mind and body not
separated. The self is
embodied subjectivity