A N I N T R O D U C T I O N T O

UNDERSTANDING
THE SELF

PREPARED BY: MS. CHRISTINE BASTISMO

WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW ONESELF?
SELF-CONCEPT?

Self-concept is how the

individual perceives oneself.
It is the belief that an
individual holds about
oneself.
THE Self
F R O M T H E V A R I O U S

PHILOSOPHICAL
PERSPECTIVES
PHILOSOPHY (philosophia)
The term was first used by Pythagoras
Love of wisdom
Seeks to understand fundamental truths about oneself,
about life, and the world
What is a person? What makes a person the same
through time?
Do people have minds? If so, how is the mind related
to the body?
How do we know what we know?
Questions the existing knowledge and intuitions to get
closer to the truth
PHILOSOPHY originated because . . .

Search for:
TRUTH
MEANING
PURPOSE
SIGNIFICANCE
PHILOSOPHY

SELF
A N C I E N T P H I L O S O P H E R S

SOCRATES "Know thyself"

An unexamined life is not worth living
Every man is dualistic
body
soul
A N C I E N T P H I L O S O P H E R S

SOCRATES: TWO DICHOTOMOUS REALMS

PHYSICAL REALM IDEAL REALM

CHANGEABLE UNCHANGING
TRANSCENDENT ETERNAL
IMPERFECT IMMORTAL
A N C I E N T P H I L O S O P H E R S

SOCRATES
The first thinker to focus on the full power of reason
on the human self
Soul strives for wisdom and perfection and the
reason is the soul's tool to achieve an exalted state
of life
A N C I E N T P H I L O S O P H E R S

SOCRATES
A person can have a meaningful and happy life only if
he becomes virtuous and knows the value of himself
that can be achieved through constant soul
searching.
A N C I E N T P H I L O S O P H E R S

PLATO
He was a student of Socrates
Philosophy of the self can be explained as a process
of self-knowledge and purification of the soul
He believe in the existence of the mind and soul
A N C I E N T P H I L O S O P H E R S

PLATO
Three parts of the soul:
1) RATIONAL SOUL
2) SPIRITED SOUL
3) APPETITIVE SOUL

These three elements of ourselves are in a dynamic

relationship with one another sometimes in conflict
A N C I E N T P H I L O S O P H E R S

PLATO
He believes that genuine happiness can only
be achieved by people who consistently make
sure that the rational is in control of their
spirits and appetites.
A N C I E N T P H I L O S O P H E R S

ARISTOTLE
He was a student of Plato
Body and soul are not two separate elements
but are one thing.
The soul is simply the form of the body and is
not capable of existing without the body.
A N C I E N T P H I L O S O P H E R S

ARISTOTLE
The soul makes a person a person
The soul is the essence of the self
The rational nature of the self is to lead a good
flourishing and fulfilling life
Without the body the soul cannot exist the
soul dies along with the body.
A N C I E N T P H I L O S O P H E R S

ARISTOTLE
Soul and body, I suggest sympathetically upon
each other a change in the state of the soul
produces a change in the shape of the body
and conversely a change in the shape of the
body produces a change in the state of the
soul.
A N C I E N T P H I L O S O P H E R S

ARISTOTLE

Three Kind of Soul:

1) VEGETATIVE SOUL
2) SENTIENT SOUL
3) RATIONAL SOUL
THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

ST. AUGUSTINE "I am doubting, therefore I am"

Integrated the ideas of Plato and Christianity

The soul is united with the body so that man may be
entire and complete
That humankind is created in the image and likeness
of God
THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

ST. AUGUSTINE
Human person being a creation God is always geared
towards the good.
The self is known only through God
Self-knowledge is a consequence of knowledge of God
“Knowledge can only come by seeing the truth that dwells
within us”
THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

RENE DESCARTES "I think, therefore I am"

“there is so much that we should doubt”

“if something is so clear and lucid as not to be doubted,

that’s the only time one should believe.”

The art of thinking about self of being self-conscious

is in itself proof that there is self.

THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

RENE DESCARTES "I think, therefore I am"

The self is a combination of two distinct entities:

COGITO – the thing that thinks the mind

EXTENZA – the extension to mind which is the body

THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

JOHN LOCKE
The human mind at birth is tabula rasa or blank slate
The self is constructed primarily from sense
experience
Self is identified with consciousness and this self
consists of sameness of consciousness.
THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

DAVID HUME
Self is simply a bundle or collection of different perceptions
which succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidly and
are in perpetual flex and movement
Mind's perceptions
Impressions
Ideas
THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

IMMANUEL KANT
We construct the self

Self is not just what gives one his personality but also

the state of knowledge acquisition for all human persons

The self constructs its own reality creating a world that

is familiar and predictable

THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

GILBERT RYLE "I act, therefore I am"

The self is the way people behave

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

Self is the same as bodily behavior.

THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

PAUL CHURLAND
Self is inseparable from the brain and the

physiology of the body

eliminative materialism

The self is the brain

THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY
The self is embodied subjectivity

Mind and body are inseparable

“one’s body is his opening toward

his existence to the world”

'It's never too late to be
what you might've
been.”
―George Eliot.

Thank you and God bless!