UNDERSTANDING THE SELF The body and the soul can be separated Plato
believes that the soul is just residing in the
PLATO’S Concept of the Self
Plato- can be gleaned from his notion of the
SOUL.
- We cannot find in PLATO a full articulation
of the concept of the ‘’SELF’’.
 Questions asked in Ancient Greek’s
conception of the self:
- ‘’What is the fundamental truth about
human nature?’’ or
- What defines the fundamental identity of
an individual?’’
 These question however give us an idea of
- HOW DID THE ANCIENT GREEK
PHILOSOPHERS UNDERSTAND THE SELF’’,
THAT IS, AS HUMAN PERSONS CAPABLE
OF REASON AND ACTION?
These aspect of the human person that is
the capacity to think and to act point to
the idea of the
‘’SOUL’’
‘’THE TRUE SELF OF THE HUMAN PERSON IS
THE ‘’ RATIONAL SOUL’’.
- How does Plato conceive of the soul as
the true self of human?
Plato conceives of the self as a:
THE SELF IS A KNOWER.
‘’SELF’’ ‘’KNOWLEDGE’’
Plato’s concept of the self is practically
constructed on the basis of his reflections on
the nature of the rational soul as the highest
form of cognition.
 The human person is a dichotomy of body
and soul.
- BODY- is the material and destructible
part of the human person
- SOUL- is the immaterial and indestructible
part
PLATO ARGUES THAT:
The soul is an entity distinct from the body.
For Plato, the SOUL is the SELF.
body temporarily.
- When the human person dies the soul
DEPARTS from the body leaving the
latter to DECOMPOSE
The 3 parts of the SOUL:
1. RATIONAL SOUL
- According to Plato the rational soul is
located in the HEAD.
 Think, reflect, analyze, and do
other cognitive functions.
2. SPIRITUAL SOUL
- The spiritual soul on the other hand is
located in the CHEST, it enables the
person to experience
 Happiness, joy sadness,
abomination, anger, and other
emotional feelings.
3. APPETITIVE SOUL
- The appetitive soul is located in the
ABDOMEN, this is the part of the soul
that drives the human person to
experience
 Physical pain, hunger, thirst, and
other physical wants.
- Rational Soul - SUPERIOR
In the Allegory of the Chariot, which Plato
developed in his work Phaedrus:
RATIONAL SOUL- Plato illustrated the role
of the rational soul as the CHARIOTEER
 Rational soul- drives his horses onward
and upward, keeping his team working
together in harmony towards the realm of
the gods, a place of illumination, reality and
truth
 The chariot is pulled by two winged
horses one MORTAL and other IMMORTAL
MORTAL HORSE- deformed and obstinate;
‘’crooked lumbering animal of dark color, with
grey eyes and blood-red complexion; the mate
of insolence and pride, shag-eared and deaf,
hardly yielding to whip and spur’’
- IMMORTAL HORSE- is noble and game,
‘’ upright and clearly made his color is white
and his eyes dark; he is a lover of honor and
modesty and temperance, and the follower
of the true glory; he needs no touch of the
whip, but is guided by word and admonition
only’’
DESTINATION- Beauty, Wisdom, Courage,
Justice, and Goodness
BLACK AND WHITE HORSES- Desire and Spirit
CHARIOTEER- Reason or Rational Soul
- Reason- Must have a vision
and purpose, he must know where
he is heading and he must know
and understand the nature of the
two horses if he wishes to properly
harness the chariot and reach his
destination.
- Rational soul- the rational
soul as the true self, therefore,
must at all times control the
spiritual and appetitive soul’’. BUT
according to PLATO, if the rational
soul is successful, that is, if the
charioteer is able to harmonize the
two horses, a well-balance
personality is attained.
SOCRATES’S Concept of the Self
Socrates- was an ancient Greek
philosopher considered to be the
FORERUNNER OF THE WESTERN
PHILOSOPHY
He was: 1. a scholar
2. Teacher
3. Philosopher
Who influenced countless of thinkers
throughout generations
His method of questioning, famously known
as the: SOCRATIC METHOD
laid the groundwork of Western system of
logic in particular and philosophy in general
PLATO- was considered to be his
greatest student
- It was PLATO who wrote his
philosophy
- Socrates did not write anything It was
Plato who systematically articulated
Socrates’s philosophy through his famous
dialogues, which also chronicled
Socrates’s life
SOCRATES- was eventually accused of
corrupting the youth of Athens and
sentenced to death by drinking hemlock
- He could have opted for exile
BUT CHOSE DEATH INSTEAD
It can be surmised that Socrates used his
death as a final lesson for his students to
face the adversities of life calmly and
squarely
‘’Rather than flee like chickens and ducks
when faced with storms in life’’
SOCRATES’S- was fully convinced that:
PHILOSOPHY MUST OBTAIN PRACTICAL
RESULTS FOR THE GREATER WELLBEING OF
SOCIETY
The very first step towards the
realization of this goal:
= is the acquisition of wisdom through:
KNOWING ONE’S SELF
‘’ULTIMATE WISDOM COMES FROM
KNOWING ONESELF’’
HOW DOES SOCRATES VIEW THE SLEF?
- The key to understanding Socrates’s
concept of the self is through the
philosopher’s take on the: SOUL
- But Socrates’s concept of the SOUL
should not be viewed from the vantage
point of Christianity
= a religious conception of the soul
- The ancient Greeks lived long before
the existence of Christianity so that for
them:
The concept of the SOUL did not
have the same religious connotations
that it has for us today
BUT WHAT DOES SOCRATES ACTUALLY
MEAN BY SOUL?
- We cannot know for certain what Socrates
really meant by the term: SOUL but most
scholars in philosophy agreed with FREDERICK
COBBLESTONE
= A famous historian of philosophy
= who believes that when SOCRATES speaks
of the SOUL;
The philosopher refers to:
A THINKING AND WILLING SUBJECT
It is safe to assume that the SOUL
= IS THE INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL
PERSONALITY OF HUMANS
‘’ THE SOUL IS THE ESSENCE OF THE
HUMAN PERSON’’
= it is the essence of human to think and will
THE ‘’SOUL’’ OR ‘’THE SELF’’
= is the responsible agent in knowing and
acting rightly or wrongly
For Socrates the SOUL is the SET
= OF KNOWLEDGE AND IGNORANCE
= OF GOODNESS AND BADNESS
THE ‘’SOUL’’
- is the essence of the human person
- THE SOUL= IS THE PERSON’S TRUE SELF
- In fact Socrates said that, when we turn
inward in search for self-knowledge
= we would eventually discover our true
self
- The SELF is our: INNER BEING
Socrates urges us to take care of our ‘’SOUL’’
BUT WHY WE SHOUL WE TAKE CARE OF OUR
SOUL?
- According to Socrates, we need to
take care of our soul to attain the:
GOOD LIFE = this is the ultimate goal of
Socrates’s philosophy
As Socrates said, THE HUMAN PERSON
MUST SEE TO IT THAT HER LIFE IS GEARED
TOWARDS KNOWLEDGE OF THE GOOD LIFE
THE GOOD LIFE: = being wise and virtuous
- is attained through the acquisition of:
Knowledge, Wisdom, Virtue
- Knowledge of the ‘’ GOOD LIFE’’
= cannot be acquired EXOGENOUSLY
But ENDOGENOUSLY
- For this reason, it is paramount that we
devote considerable amount of
ATTENTION, ENERGY, and RESOURCES to
making our soul as good and beautiful as
possible
- Socrates’s most famous statement:
‘’THE UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOT
WORTHLIVING.’’
- This gives us a clear idea of what Socrates
meant by:
KNOWLEDGE IN THIS CONTEXT: TO KNOW
IS TO KNOW ONESELF
For us to attain the GOOD LIFE: WE NEED
TO EXAMINE OUR LIFE
- The reason for this is quite obvious:
VIRTUE: (which for Socrates is identical
with knowledge)
= is intrinsic to the human person, and
which can be accessed through self-
examination
VIRTUE IS INTRINSIC TO THE HUMAN PERSON
Was convinced that the human person can
discover the TRUTH = the truth of the Good
Life
TRUTH = she then does what she thinks is
the right thing to do
The famous Socratic dictum:
‘’KNOWING WHAT IS RIGHT IS DOING WHAT IS
RIGHT.’’
IF KNOWING WHAT IS RIGHT IS DOING WHAT
IS RIGHT, WHAT ABOUT THE PROBLEM OF
EVIL?
- This seems to be a problem in Socrates’s
concept of the self
- Socrates seems to think that humans were
angels, that once they know the right thing
to do, they act accordingly
- Was very much aware of the existence of
evil in the world
THOSE WHO COMMIT EVIL ACTS ARE
IGNORANT OF THE TRUTH
- They are ignorant in the sense that they
don’t have an immediate realization of the :
GOOD
EXAMINING ONE’S SELF
 - Is the most important task one
can undertake
For it alone will give her the knowledge
necessary to answer the question: HOW ONE
OUGHT TO LIVE HER LIFE
 The famous Socratic dictum:
KNOWING WHAT IS RIGHT IS DOING WHAT
IS RIGHT
- Once the person knows her SELF = she
may the learn how to care of it
ONE’S TRUE SELF
- should not be identified with what:
1. One owns
2. With one’s social status
3. Reputation
4. Even with one’s body
- It is the state of the SOUL = THE PERSON’S
INNER BEING
= which determines the quality of one’s life
It’s not the money, fame, elegant clothes, nice
house, beautiful and expensive car or high-tech
that makes life meaningful but
1. KNOWLEDGE
2. WISDOM
3. VIRTUE
THE TRUE SELF FOR SOCRATES’S
Is one that is lived in accordance with
knowledge, wisdom, and virtue.
‘’THE TRUE SELF IS THE VIRTUOUS
SELF’’
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF: The
Self from Various Philosophical
Perspectives
‘’The Philosophical View of Self’’
- First Philosophers is Socrates who focused
on identifying the self
Socrates: Know Yourself
 Every man is composed of body and soul.
 To know yourself- to bring his inner self to
life
‘’The man who does not follow
good fails to do so because he does not
recognize it.’’
 Virtue- deepest and most basic
propensity of man
 Self-Knowledge- source of all wisdom
PLATO: The idea Self, The Perfect Self
- Man is dual nature of body and soul,
 Three components of the soul:
1. Rational Soul- (omniscient or all
knowing, allow us to be thinkers, and we
use our intellect)
2. The Spirited Soul- (allows us to be
contemplative it allows men to regain
perfections, emotions and the feeling
that we have)
3. The Appetitive Soul- (basic urges, our
desire to eat, sexual urges)
 Man- omniscient or all-knowing before he
came to be born into this world
 Contemplation- allows man to regain
perfections
 Happiness- fruit or virtue; attained by
constant imitation of the divine exemplar of
virtue
ST. AUGUSTINE:
If I am mistaken, I am
 He is known for his quote ‘’ Si fallor,
sum’’ or if I am mistaken, I am
 Man is of a bifurcated nature.
 It is by the illumination of God, by
‘’divide light,’’ that we can knowledge
 ‘’ only some divinity can show man what
is true.’’
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS:
Self- Knowledge
 Man is composed of matter and form.
- Matter - ‘’common stuff that make up
everything’’
- Form- ‘’essence of a substance or thing’’
 Theory of Self-Knowledge-
all our self-knowledge is dependent
 on our experience of the world
around us.
 Reject a view that the mind is
‘’always on,’’ never sleeping,
subconsciously self-aware in the
background
 Aquinas argues, our awareness of our selves
is triggered and shape by our experiences of
objects in our environment.
RENE DESCARTES:
I think, therefore I am
(Law of attraction)
 He is famous for his code ‘’Cogito, ergo
sum’’ for I think, therefore I am
 Man- thinking entity distinct from the body
 Must use his mind and thinking
abilities to investigate and develop
himself
DAVID HUME:
The Self is the Bundle Theory of Mind
 Man- has no ‘’clear and intelligible’’ idea of
the self
 Self- bundle or collection of different
perceptions which succeed each other
 Impression- basic object of our
experience or sensation
 Ideas- copies of impressions
IMMANUEL KANT: Respect for Self
 Man- only creatures who governs and
directs himself and his actions
 Should not be used as tool
 Should be treated equally
GILBERT RYLE:
The Self is How You Behave
 Summarizes the essential elements of
the dualistic view of the self- mind and body
as distinct entities (supporting Plato, St.
Augustine, Descartes, and others.)
 The ‘’self’’ is not an entity one can
locate and analyze, but simply the convenient
name that people use to refer to all behaviors
that people make
MAURICE MERLEAU- PONTY:
The Self is Embodied Subjectively
 The division between the ‘’mind’’ and the
‘’body’’ is a product of confused thinking.
 The mind and body are so intertwined
that they cannot be separated from one
another
SUMMARIZE
Socrates, Plato, Augustine
 The self is an immortal soul that exists
over time.
Descartes
 The self is a thinking thing, distinct from
the body.
John Locke
 Personal identity is made possible by
self-consciousness.
David Hume
 There is no ‘’self’’ only a bundle of
constantly changing perceptions passing
through the theater of our mind.
Immanuel Kant
 The self is unifying subject, an organizing
consciousness that makes intelligible
experience possible.
Thomas Aquinas

 Our Self- Knowledge depends on our

experience.

Gilbert Ryle

 The self is the way people behave.

Maurice Merleau- Ponty

 The self is embodied subjectivity.