THE SELF ACCORDING TO

PHILOSOPHY*
Prepared by:
Mr. JOEY C. LANDICHO
Course Instructor

1.
• Philosophy is defined as the study of knowledge or wisdom from its
Latin roots, philo (love) and sophia (wisdom). This field is also
considered as “The Queen of All Sciences” because every scientific
discipline has philosophical foundations.
• The Greek philosophers were the ones who seriously questioned
myths and moved away from them in attempting to understand
reality by exercising the art of questioning that satisfies their
curiosity, including the questions about self.

2.
SOCRATES

• Philosopher from Athens, Greece.

• Socratic Method or dialectic method involves the search for the
correct/proper definition of a thing.
• In this method, Socrates did not lecture, he instead would ask
questions and engage the person in a discussion. He would begin
by acting as if he did not know anything and would get the other
person to clarify their ideas and resolve logical inconsistencies
(Price, 2000).
• “Know Thyself”
3.
• According to Socrates, self is dichotomous which means composed of two
things:
• The physical realm or the one that is changeable, temporal, and
imperfect. The best example of the physical realm is the physical world.
The physical world is consisting of anything we sense – see, smell, feel,
hear, and taste. It is always changing and deteriorating. **
• The ideal realm is the one that is imperfect and unchanging, eternal, and
immortal. This includes the intellectual essences of the universe like the
concept of beauty, truth, and goodness.
• Moreover, the ideal realm is also present in the physical world. One
may define someone as beautiful or truthful, but their definition is
limited and imperfect for it is always relative and subjective. It is only
the ideal forms themselves that are perfect, unchanging, and eternal.
4.
• Body and Soul

• The self, according to Socrates is the immortal and unified entity

that is consistent over time.
• For example, a human being remains the same person during
their childhood to adulthood given the fact that they undergone
developmental changes throughout their lifespan. **

5.
PLATO

• A student of Socrates, who introduced the idea of a three-part soul/self

that is composed of reason, physical appetite and spirit or passion.
• The reason enables human to think deeply, make wise choices and
achieve a true understanding of eternal truths. Plato also called this
as divine essence. **
• The physical appetite is the basic biological needs of human being
such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire.
• The spirit or passion is the basic emotions of human being such as
love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness and empathy. **

6.
• Plato also illustrated his view of the soul/self in “Phaedrus” in his metaphor:
the soul is like a winged chariot drawn by two powerful horses: a white horse,
representing Spirit, and a black horse, embodying appetite. The charioteer is
reason, whose task is to guide the chariot to the eternal realm by controlling
the two independent-minded horses. **
• Those charioteers who are successful in setting a true course and ensuring
that the two steeds work together in harmonious unity achieve true
wisdom and banquet with the gods. **
• However, those charioteers who are unable to control their horses and
keep their chariot on track are destined to experience personal,
intellectual, and spiritual failure.

7.
St. AUGUSTINE

• He is considered as the last of the great ancient philosophers

whose ideas were greatly Platonic.
• He concluded, “That the body is united with the soul, so
that man may be entire and complete, is a fact we
recognize on the evidence of our own nature.” **

8.
• According to St. Augustine, the human nature is composed of two
realms:
1. God as the source of all reality and truth. Through mystical
experience, man is capable of knowing eternal truths. This is made
possible through the existence of the one eternal truth which is
God. He further added that without God as the source of all truth,
man could never understand eternal truth. This relationship with
God means that those who know most about God will come closest
to understanding the true nature of the world.
2. The sinfulness of man. The cause of sin or evil is an act of mans’
freewill. Moral goodness can only be achieved through the grace of
God.
9.
• He also stated that real happiness can only be found in God. For God
is love and he created humans for them to also love. Problems arise
because of the objects humans choose to love.
• Disordered love results when man loves the wrong things which he
believes will give him happiness.
• Furthermore, he said that if man loves God first and everything
else to a lesser degree, then all will fall into its rightful place.

10.
RENE DESCARTES
• A French philosopher, mathematician, and considered the founder of modern
philosophy.
• “Cogito, Ergo Sum” **
• He explained that in order to gain true knowledge, one must doubt everything
even own existence. Doubting makes someone aware that they are thinking
being thus, they exist.
• The essence of existing as a human identity is the possibility of being aware of
our selves: being self-conscious in this way is integral to having a personal
identity. Conversely, it would be impossible to be self-conscious if we did not
have a personal identity of which to be conscious. In other words, the
essence of self is being a thinking thing.
• Mental Operations **
11.
• He declared that the essential self or the self as the thinking entity is radically
different from the physical body.
• The thinking self or soul is a non-material, immortal, conscious being /
conscious self, independent of the physical laws of the universe while the
physical body is a material, mortal, non-thinking entity, fully governed by
the physical laws of nature.
• He also maintained that the soul and the body are independent of one
another and each can exist and function without the other.
• In cases in which people are sleeping or comatose, their bodies continue to
function even though their minds are not thinking.

12.
JOHN LOCKE
• An English philosopher and physician and famous in his concept of “Tabula Rasa.”
• The self, according to Locke is consciousness. In his essay entitled On Personal Identity
(from his most famous work, Essay Concerning Human Understanding) he discussed the
reflective analysis of how an individual may experience the self in everyday living. He
provided the following key points: **
1. To discover the nature of personal identity, it is important to find out what it means
to be a person.
2. A person is a thinking, intelligent being who has the abilities to reason and to reflect.
3. A person is also someone who considers themself to be the same thing in different
times and different places.
4. Consciousness as being aware that we are thinking—always accompanies thinking
and is an essential part of the thinking process.
5. Consciousness makes possible our belief that we are the same identity in different
times and different places.
13.
• Reference(s):
• Arcega, A M., Cullar, D. S., Evangelista, L. D. & Falculan, L. M. (2018).
Understanding the Self. Malabon City: Mutya Publishing House Inc.
• Gazzingan, L. B. et al. (2019). Understanding the Self. Muntinlupa City: Panday-
Lahi Publishing House, Inc.
• Alata, E.J.P., Caslib, B.N., Serafica, J.P.J., Pawilen, R.A. (2018). Unsertanding
the Self. Rex Book Store Inc., Sta Mesa Heights, Quezon City, Philippines

14.
~ For Continuation
15.