The Self from

Various
Philosophical
Perspectives
Lesson Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
● explain why it is essential to understand the self;
● describe and discuss the different notions of the
self from the points-of-view of the various
philosophers across time and place;
● compare and contrast how the self has been
represented in different philosophical schools; and
● examine one’s self against the different views of
self that were discussed in class.

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The different perspectives and views on
the self can be understood by revisiting
its prime movers and identify the most
important conjectures made by
philosophers from the ancient times to
the contemporary period.

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Socrates and Plato
Socrates
Every man is composed of
body and soul. This means
that every human person is
dualistic, that is, he is
composed of two important
aspects of his personhood.

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The body is imperfect and
impermanent, while the soul is
perfect and permanent.

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Plato
He added that there are
three components of the
soul: the rational soul, the
spirited soul, and the
appetitive soul.

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Plato
He emphasized that justice
in the human person can
only be attained if the three
parts of the soul are working
harmoniously with one
another.

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Components of the Soul by Plato
Rational Soul Spirited Soul Appetitive Soul
Forged by reason and It is in charge of It is in charge of base
intellect, it has to emotions in keeping desires like eating,
govern the affairs of them at bay. drinking, sleeping and
the human person. having sex should be
controlled as well.

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Augustine and
Thomas Aquinas
St. Augustine
Man is bifurcated in nature.
An aspect of man dwells in
the world and is imperfect
and continuously yearns to
be with the Divine.

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 The goal of every human person is to
attain communion with God by living his
life on earth in virtue.

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St. Thomas Aquinas
Man is composed of two
parts: matter and form.

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Matter and Form by St. Thomas Aquinas
Matter Form
● hyle in Greek ● morphe in Greek
● Refers to the “common ● Refers to the essence of
stuff that makes up a substance or thing.
everything in the
universe.”

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Rene Descartes
Rene Descartes
He is famous for the
statement, “cogito ergu sum”
that translates into “I think
therefore, I am.”

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Rene Descartes
For Descartes, the self is a
combination of two distinct
identities, the cogito and the
extenza.

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Distinct entities of the Self by Descartes
Cogito Extenza
● The thing that thinks, ● The extension of the
which is the mind. mind, which is the body.

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David Hume
David Hume
For Hume, the self is “a
bundle or collection of
different perceptions, which
succeed each other with an
inconceivable rapidity, and
are in a perpetual flux and
movement.”

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Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
The self is an actively
engaged intelligence in man
that synthesizes all
knowledge and experience.
In addition, it is also the seat
of knowledge acquisition for
all human persons.

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Gilbert Ryle
Gilbert Ryle
The self is not an entity one
can locate and analyze but
simply the convenient name
that people use to refer to all
the behaviors that people
make.

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End.