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Y 2022-2023 1
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
OF PHILOSOPHY  Modern Philosophers
 Philosophy – concerns itself with acquisition of truth  Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
 It is a search for meaning - “epistemological turn”
 It involves critical thinking - “cogito ergo sum”- marked the beginning of a
 It deals with the systematic kind about the origin new trend in philosophy.
and nature of the world
 Explanation of one’s knowledge and belief  Relate forward
 Devoted to acquiring knowledge about
 The manner of life
KNOWLEDGE
 Ancient Philosophy (Pre-Socratic Philosophers)  capacity of the human person to acquire the
 Concerned with the nature and origin of the TRUTH.
world
 Early philosophers were “metaphysicians”  Contemporary Philosophy
(“meta” – above or beyond)  Focused on the human person himself.
 Concern with the establishment of nature of  Anthropocentric – came from the greek word
existing beings as a whole. “Anthropos” meaning “man”
 Focused on the origin and nature of the  Brought about by the person of the political and
universe. cultural forces
 Cosmo-centric – centering on the cosmos or  Focused on the following:
universe - Looking for change
- Social reformations and economic
 Material things as the origin of things
improvements
 Medieval Philosophy (Middle Age Philosophers) - Industrial Revolution ( (1) To speed up
 Became religious in nature production and transportation; (2) Brought on
 Philosophers on this age began drawing on the the absence of social conscience)
metaphysics of Plato, then on Aristotle.  Rediscovery of human dignity as the main goal
 Concerns with metaphysics of philosophy.
 Philosophers tried to reflect on the mystery of
 Beginning of everything must be something
human existence
outside the complexus of finite things.
 wonder – is the beginning, the starting point or
 Theocentric – focus of attention in the
the origin of philosophy search for every
existence of God
individual.
- “Theos” – God
 philosophical wonder - To search for the
 It is also identified as “The Christian Medieval
meaning of life
Ages”
- To philosophize
 Making the Act of Faith as the conclusion for
- Innate desire to search for TRUTH AND
logical processes and negating the “supra- MEANING
rational” character of faith.
 Branches of Philosophy
 Modern Philosophy
 Metaphysics
 By 17th Century-development in modern
 Epistemology
science
 Ethics
 Combined with a decline in authority of a single
 Social Philosophy
(Roman Catholic) church
 Political Philosophy
 Signaled the end of the Medieval Era and the
beginning of the modern world view.  Aesthetics
 a shift away from metaphysics toward  Logic
Epistemology
 considered as Ideo-centric
LESSON 1: THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE SELF
 It tried to focus on the certitude of human
knowledge
 Socrates – born in Athens around 469 BC.
 followed his father’s trade as a stone mason
and served the Athenian Army.
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 Brought to trial in 399 BC due to corrupting the
youth of the city.
 Sentenced to death by drinking hemlock
poison
 To question oneself and others – the highest
form of human excellence
 “Know Yourself”
 “An Unexamined life is not worth living”
 “Live but die inside.”
 to preserve ourselves in the afterlife, we must
be fully aware of who we are.
 Soul – immortal
- death is not the end of existence
- death is the separation of the soul from the
body.
 Knowledge – always and universally true
 Belief – true in certain circumstances
 Plato – sustained the idea of Socrates that man is
composed of dual nature (body and soul).
 “Soul was external”
 It exists prior to being joined to the body.
 Reincarnation – the soul lives within a body
and upon death moves unto another body.
 Body – Prison of the Soul
 Tripartile (3 Parts of the Human Soul)
1. Appetitive Soul – based on desires
2. Spiritual Soul – based on mood and
emotions
3. Rational Soul – based on logic or intellect
 Augustine – Similar to Plato; “Soul is immortal”
 Soul and body make up a human.
 Does not believe in reincarnation (where soul
jumps from one body to another)
 One person = one soul
 Body is bound to perish on earth.
 Soul is capable of reaching immortality by
staying after death with God.
 Purpose of humans is to attain spiritual union
with God.
 Thomas Aquinas – Our experiences determine self
knowledge (deeper sense of self)
 Experiences shape our awareness of ourselves.
 More experiences = more we get to know
ourselves
 Answering “Who am I” can be unravelled from
the inside by me.
 We are agents interacting with the environment.
 Rene Descartes – Father of Modern Philosophy.
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 Concept of Dualism (mind and body)
1. Mind – Mind is separate from the physical
body.
- part of the unseen creation.
- houses drives, intellect, passion, and
understanding.
- gives identity and sense of self.
2. Body – nothing but a “part” attached to the
mind.
 Cogito ergo, sum – “I think, therefore I am”
 Only thing that cannot be doubted is the
existence of the self, as man himself was the
one doing the doubting in the first place.
 We exist because we think.
 “Nothing but a thinking thing that doubts,
understands, affirms, denies, is willing, is
unwilling, and also imagines and has sensory
perceptions.”
 John Locke – identity is tied with consciousness
 Identity – What makes you “you” and “me”
 Consciousness – perception of what passes in
man’s own mind. It comprises of our memories.
 Principle of Individuation – the idea that a
person keeps the same identity over time.
 Memories gives us our identity.
 David Hume – known for his lack of self theory
 Empiricism – all knowledge is derived from
human senses.
 Only through our physical experience using our
sense of sight, sound, touch, taste, and
smell that we know what we know.
 Impressions – everything that originate from
our senses.
 Ideas – faint images of thinking and reasoning
based on impressions.
 Impressions are changing, shifting elements of
our existence and because of this, our personal
identity cannot persist through.
 We perceive a sense of self depending on how
our mind put impressions together and makes
sense of them as “me”
 The idea of the self that we make is a bunch of
physical impressions.
 Bundle Theory – properties we can sense are
the only real parts of an object.
 Our sense of self is simply a combination of all
the impressions that we have, that, once
removed, leave us with a complete lack of self.
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 Immanuel Kant – In the middle of the heated debate
on self-knowledge and perception between empiricism
vs. rationalism, there was Kant.
 Empiricism – known as the only path to true
knowledge. It is attained through senses. (To
see is to believe) (I sene, therefore I am)
 Rationalism – reason is the foundation of all
knowledge rather than experience. (Seeing is
not believing – reasoning is!)
 He believed that we all have an inner and an
outer self which together form our
consciousness.
 Inner Self – comprised of our psychological
state and our rational intellect.
- Appreciation – how we mentally assimilate a
new idea into old ones; how we make sense of
new things.
 Outer Self – comprise of our senses and the
physical world.
- Representation – mental imagery based on
past sensations and experiences; occurs
through our senses.
 Kant believed that the inner and outer self
combined gives us our consciousness instead
of self being one or the other.
 Gilbert Ryle – “I act, therefore I am”
 Ryle unravels the separations between the mind
the body by claiming that it is our behaviours
and actions that give us our sense of self.
 We are all just a bundle of behaviors
 Ryle believes that those who think that the mind
exists separately from the body are committing
a category mistake.
 Category mistake – an error in logic which one
category of something is presented as
belonging to another category.
 To Ryle, the idea that “there is something called
“mind” over and above a person’s behavioural
dispositions” is questionable.
 He argued that the mind does not exist and
therefore cannot be the seat of self.
 We neither get our sense of self from the mind
nor from the body, but from our behaviors in our
day-to-day activities.
 Paul Churchland – Churchland, a modern-day
philosopher, holds to the belief that the physical brain
is where we get our sense of self.
 Eliminative Materialism – the belief that
nothing but matter exists.
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 Since the mind cannot be experienced by our
senses, then it does not exist.
 It is the physical brain and not the imaginary
mind that gives us our sense of self.
 The physical brain is the origin of the “self”
and that the belief in the mind is rather
unnecessary.
 Maurice Merleau-Ponty – believed the physical body
to be an important part of what makes up the
subjective self.
 Subjectivity or subject – is something that has
being. It is defined as a real thing that can take
real action and cause real effects. In short, it
exists. However, this concept contradicts with
rationalism and empiricism.
 Rationalism – asserts that reason and mental
perception are the basis of knowledge.
 Empiricism – Physical senses are the source
of knowledge
 Merleu-Ponty believed that the mind is the seat
of consciousness and the body is just a shell
and it is the subject behind what it means to be
human.
 Merleu-Ponty argued that the mind and the
body are both the seat of our knowledge, and
they both give us our sense of self.
 The self and perception are encompassed in a
physical body. The physical body is part of the
self – the body is not a prison house of self, but
the subject that embodies self.

LESSON 2: THE SOCIOLOGY AND
ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE SELF
 Tubula rasa – individuals are born without any
mental content
 Knowledge of something comes from
experience or perception.
 Our sense of self begins to develop as we
experience the world.
 Identity – the concept that we have of our role in the
world around us.
 We try to find our identity through a continuous
complex process throughout our lives.
 Self-identity – way you see yourself.
 Self-identity shapes your perceptions
 Perceptions – the way you see the world.
 Attitude – the way you think or feel about
something
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 The way you see your self is also manipulated
by your values and beliefs.
 Values – what you think is right or wrong.
 Beliefs – what you see as true and untrue.
 Social Identity – the way others see you
 It is influenced by others’ perceptions, attitudes,
values, and beliefs.
 Social identity and self-identity are not always
on the same page.
 Stereotypes – assumptions that are made about
individuals because they belong to a particular social
group.
 When someone believes that a stereotype is
true, unfair judgements are made about an
individual.
 Sense of self – collection of beliefs that we hold about
ourselves.
 We put together these beliefs based upon our
social interactions with others.
 Self-socialization – a developmental process that
allows us to reflect upon and argue with ourselves for
us to develop an accurate self-image
 This process begins in early childhood and has
many influencing factors such as the family,
peers, teachers, and the media
 George Herbert Mead – developed the Social Self
Theory
 Social Self Theory – the sense of self is
developed through social interactions, such as
observing and interacting with others.
 Self is not yet present at birth. It is developed
over time from social experiences and activities.
 He also identified three activities that develop
the self – (1) language, (2) play, (3) games
 Language – By means of symbols, gestures,
words, and sounds, which enables individuals to
communicate with and respond to each other.
- A person’s attitudes and opinions towards
another person are conveyed using language.
 Play – it allows us to take on different roles,
pretend, and express expectation of others.
- self-consciousness is developed through role-
playing, which enables us to assume other roles
and internalize how others perceive us in a
variety of social situations.
 Games – allows individuals to understand and
adhere to the rules of the activity, teaching them
the value of accountability.
- The self is developed by understanding that
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there are rules that one must follow in order to
win the game or be successful in an activity.
 Me – generalized other
- Children and young adults interact with the
society and adopt to other people’s
expectations.
- considered as the socialized aspect of the
individual.
- represents the learned behaviors, attitudes,
and expectations of others and of the society.
- Knowledge is developed through our social
interactions with other people.
 I – the representation of the person’s identity
based on the response to the “me”
- “I” allows us to bend some rules governing
social interactions, which enables us to still
express our creativity, originality, and
imaginations.
 To Mead, the “me” and the “I” make up the
self.
 Charles Cooley – build on the work of Mead with his
theory called the Looking-Glass Self.
 Looking-Glass Self – People develop a sense
of self through three elements – (1) how we
imagine we appear to others, (2) the judgement
we imagine that other people may be making
about us, (3) our self-image based upon the
evaluations of others.
 The Three Stages of Behavioral and
Personality Development of the Looking-
Glass Self:
1. Imagining – when an individual judges the
way he or she acts and appears from the
points of view of family and friends.
- These views make-up a self-concept
- “this is how I must appear to others” stage
2. Interpreting – A person elicits conclusions
coming not only from past experiences but
from what others think as well, and then
reacts to the judgement of other people’s
views.
3. Developing Self-Concept – individual
combines everything from his past
experiences, including other’s
perspectives.
- a sense of self-image is formed
- “This is who I am” stage
 Cultural Context – How we see ourselves shapes our
lives and is shaped by our culture.
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 Self-perceptions – influence how we think about the
world, our social relationships, health and lifestyle
choices, community engagement, political actions, and
ultimately our own and others’ well being.
 Individualism – the “I” idea that describes the self as
existing independently of others and includes own
traits.
 Collectivism – “We” idea, views the self in relation to
others, emphasizing the interdependence of the self
as part of a larger network of people who all help
shape each other.
 Family – The primary agent of socialization.
 We first learn to interact with our parents and
other family members.
 The most basic foundation of our growth and
development.
 Without a family, the sense of self will be difficult
to develop.
 Culture plays a significant role in determining
the kind of relationships we establish with our
families.
 Gender – a social interpretation that varies across
culture
 How a person express his or her biological sex
according to cultural definitions
 Sex – biological term for a person’s genetic
condition of being male or female.
 Ethnicity – social construct determined by a person’s
ancestral origins, culture, and physical attributes
inherited from their ancestors.
 Racial or ethnic differences affect one’s self-
image.
 Nationality – combines with ethnicity to further define
a person’s identity within his or her larger community.
 Socio-economic Class – determines where we live,
the benefits and shortcomings we experienced during
our upbringing, the kind of education that we have, the
kind of language that we learn, and even the choice of
social groups.
 It contributes to the development of one’s self
confidence that gives them the feeling of either
superiority or inferiority in relation to others who
belong to a different class.
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LESSON 3: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE SELF
 Psychology – the scientific study of the human mind
and its functions, especially those affecting behaviour
in a given context.
 Self – has been defined several times as one’s
personal identity that characterizes who we are as a
human being.
 Entails an individual’s conscious and
unconscious aspects, his or her personality,
cognitions, or thoughts and feelings.
 Sense of Self – the way a person thinks about and
views his or her traits, beliefs, and purpose within the
world.
 William James – Known as the father of American
Psychology; was one of the first to propose a theory of
the “self” in the Principles of Psychology.
 According to him, the self has two aspects – the
“I Self” and the “Me Self”
 I Self – a reflection of what people see in one’s
actions in the physical world (e.g., recognizing
that one is reading)
- I Self is the thinking
 Me Self – an individual’s reflections about
himself or herself (e.g., branding oneself as
intelligent or kind)
- The physical and psychological capabilities
that make you who you are.
 Carl Rogers – a Human Psychologist who contributed
a great deal about the development of the self.
 He believed that there are three contributing
components to the development of the sense of
self: (1) self-image, (2) self-esteem, (3) and the
ideal self.
 Self-image – How we view ourselves.
- Includes personality traits and physical
descriptions (e.g., tall, short, confident, loyal)
- Also includes one’s social roles (e.g., working
students, youngest in the family)
- A person’s self-image is not always true.
- A person suffering from bulimia may have the
self-image that they are extremely overweight,
even if they are not in reality.
- The real self
- As you grow, self-image also changes and
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dynamically form your identity. As a result it
affects how you picture everything around you.
 Self-esteem – feeling worthy of the kind of life
that you have.
- If you feel confident and believe that you are
doing something positive to the world, then you
most likely have high self-esteem
 Ideal Self – the person that you aspire to be
- It us what urges us forward.
- Idealized image that we have developed over
time on the basis of what we have learned and
experienced.
- Can include components of what our parents
have taught us. (that we admire in others, what
our society promotes, and what we think is best
in our interest)
- Ideal self is not always consistent with your
real self.
 Real self – this is who you actually are and not
who you strive to be.
- It is how we think, feel, look, and act.
- It can be seen by others.
 While there are many theories that the self is
also characterized as self-view, self-image, self-
schema, and self-concept, it is essential to note
that these are basically your knowledge about
who you are. It is something that come to your
mind when asked who you are.
 Self is not fixed in one time span.
 Sigmund Freud – founder of Psychoanalysis; among
the most influential psychologists who theorized about
the self.
 Psychoanalysis – clinical method for treating
psychopathology through dialogue with the
patient.
 He postulated that there are three layers of self
within us all: id, the ego, and the superego.
 id – known as the seat of all our desires and
wants.
- Collection of urges that need to be fulfilled.
- This part of the self has no awareness other
that it want what it wants.
- There is a need for instant gratification as it
deals more on a person’s instincts.
- It does not care about morals or societal
norms.
- id is the little devil on everyone’s shoulder.
 Ego – the part of us that functions in reality.
- has the capability to distinguish what is right or
wrong.
- acts as the gatekeeper for both id and the
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superego.
- a mentally healthy ego knows when it is right
to give in to id’s desires but makes judgments
when it is time to give the floor to superego.
 Superego – seeks to attain the ideal of a
perfect ego.
- The little angel whispering on our shoulder that
plagues us with shame and guilt when we fail to
meet its standards.
- can be rigid and punishing as it is irrational in
its views of perfection.
- formed by the repressive rules of our parents.
 Unified Self – the identity of a person develops in a
continuity of consciousness.
 Descartes and Lock view the self as unified – an
individual, including the things that the he or she
thinks, wants, hopes, and so on are part of a
unified being.
 What makes me “me” is the network of
memories, hopes, expectations, fantasies,
convictions, and other thoughts that comprise
my own consciousness.
 We think of ourselves as one person, whose
thoughts, hopes, expectations, and feelings are
just part of who we are.
 Multiple Self – the self is not one thing, but a complex
of multiple definitions and parts.
 The self can still branch out and find new areas
to develop
 Other parts of our “self” may even be hidden or
masked.
 Part of your “self” might even consist of dreams
or wishes that guide us at timed.
 Experiential Self – the part of you that
“disappears” when you enter a deep sleep and
flashes on and off as you dream and then come
back again as you wake up)
 Private self – the “interpreter” part of your being
that narrates and makes sense of what is going
on.
 Public Self – the persona that you attempt to
project to others, which in turn, interacts with
how other people actually see you
TRUE SELF VS. FALSE SELF ACCORDING TO DR.
DONALD WINNICOTT
 True Self – the authentic self
 Consist of thoughts, beliefs, words, and actions
that come from a deep-seated places within
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ourselves, with a unique combination of a  Hinduism – major religion common in the south Asian
multitude of talents, skills, interests, and Countries like India and Sri Lanka.
abilities.
 Brahman – considered as the sacred, the god
 There is no disparity between values lived and spirit or the universe.
lived values because the “self” is genuine
 Atman – the human soul or the self
 Rooted from early infancy.
 Hinduism teaches that the Atman is a fragment
 The body’s spontaneous, non-verbal gestures of the Brahman.
are derived from his or her instincts – the sense
 Reincarnation – teaches that people die and
of “reality”
are reborn over and over again.
 If good parenting is not in place, the grown-up - each time a person dies and is reborn, it
baby’s spontaneity is in danger, which results to comes closer to Brahman.
developing the need to comply with the parents’ - When the person completes the cycle of
expectations. reincarnation, they stop being reborn and are
 False Self – when a person puts on a façade with fully reunited with the Brahman.
others that may result in an internal sensation of being - The Atman or the self is tied to everything.
depleted.  The self in Hinduism is just a part of a larger
 One’s actions may feel forced, alienated, or whole (the Brahman).
detached.  Buddhism – a common Eastern Religion and
 Other people’s expectations can become too Philosophy where the self is often thought of as an
overriding or contradicting with the original illusion.
sense of self.  There is no such as thing as a “self” at all
 There are possible tendencies to turn to mood-  Interconnectedness – everything is connected
altering substances in order to feel “different” - humans are just a stream of consciousness
and not a separate entity.
THE WESTERN AND EASTERN THOUGHTS - Our interconnection with each other eliminates
ABOUT THE SELF
the idea that there is us and there is others.
- We, as humans, are just a single part of a
 Western Thought – focused on individualism.
larger whole.
 People view self as autonomous relative to
 Nirvana – a place of perfect peace and
others and the environment.
happiness akin to heaven
 Western Beliefs – we are separate and unique from - since the self is an illusion, we should
each other. (Individualism) therefore forget about the self, the cravings, and
 What one person does or experiences is its attachment to human-centered desires which
completely independent of other people and the cause suffering.
world at large.  Confucianism – Focused more on human behaviour,
 Eastern Culture – dominated by the “we” idea causing many scholars to consider it more of an
(Collectivism) ethical system or a code of conduct rather than a
 Self is part of a larger networks of people who religion.
help shape each other.  A human being is a social being, whose
WESTERN CULTURE EASTERN CULTURE personality is not inherently existing but is being
 Individualistic culture  Collectivistic culture formed through upbringing and environment.
 Their focus is on the  Groups and relations  The self will develop through practice of virtues
person and individual are given more of compassion, righteousness, propriety, and
needs and wants importance wisdom.
 Values competitions  Values cooperation  Self-cultivation is the supreme goal
 Emphasizes equality  Emphasizes on  Chun-tzu – a man of virtue or noble character.
hierarchy as the culture  Taoism – ancient Chinese philosophy that stresses
wants to keep things in the importance of living simply and honestly and in
harmony and in order
harmony with nature.
 Often referred to as the way
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 First Principle – translated as “oneness”

- Taoism, does not regard the self as an
extension of social relationships, but of the
cosmos.
 Yin-yang concept – Classification; opposites
are needed in order for harmony to exist
 Uber-popular black and white circular symbol
(☯)
 The black and white portions are equal to one
another (Balance)
 The ideal “self”, therefore, is one that has a
balanced-life.