The Self from Various

Philosophical Perspective

WMSU

1
A folk tale from India about the Six Blind Men and the Elephant

Long ago six old men lived in a village in

India. Each was born blind. The other
villagers loved the old men and kept them
away from harm. Since the blind men could
not see the world for themselves, they had
to imagine many of its wonders. They
listened carefully to the stories told by
travelers to learn what they could about life
outside the village.
The men were curious about many of the
stories they heard, but they were most curious
about elephants. They were told that
elephants could trample forests, carry huge
burdens, and frighten young and old with their
loud trumpet calls. But they also knew that the
Rajah's daughter rode an elephant when she
traveled in her father's kingdom. Would the
Rajah let his daughter get near such a
dangerous creature?
The old men argued day and night about
elephants. "An elephant must be a powerful
giant," claimed the first blind man. He had
heard stories about elephants being used to
clear forests and build roads.
"No, you must be wrong," argued the second
blind man. "An elephant must be graceful and
gentle if a princess is to ride on its back.“
"You're wrong! I have heard that an elephant
can pierce a man's heart with its terrible
horn," said the third blind man.
"Please," said the fourth blind man. "You are
all mistaken. An elephant is nothing more than
a large sort of cow. You know how people
exaggerate."
"I am sure that an elephant is something
magical," said the fifth blind man. "That would
explain why the Rajah's daughter can travel
safely throughout the kingdom."
"I don't believe elephants exist at all,"
declared the sixth blind man. "I think we are
the victims of a cruel joke."
Finally, the villagers grew tired of all the
arguments, and they arranged for the curious
men to visit the palace of the Rajah to learn
the truth about elephants. A young boy from
their village was selected to guide the blind
men on their journey. The smallest man put
his hand on the boy's shoulder. The second
blind man put his hand on his friend's
shoulder, and so on until all six men were
ready to walk safely behind the boy who
would lead them to the Rajah's magnificent
palace.
When the blind men reached the palace, they
were greeted by an old friend from their
village who worked as a gardener on the
palace grounds. Their friend led them to the
courtyard. There stood an elephant. The blind
men stepped forward to touch the creature
that was the subject of so many arguments.
The first blind man reached out and touched
the side of the huge animal. "An elephant is
smooth and solid like a wall!" he declared. "It
must be very powerful."
The second blind man put his hand on the
elephant's limber trunk. "An elephant is like a
giant snake," he announced.
The third blind man felt the elephant's pointed
tusk. "I was right," he decided. "This creature
is as sharp and deadly as a spear."
• The fourth blind man touched one of the
elephant's four legs. "What we have here,"
he said, "is an extremely large cow."
• The fifth blind man felt the elephant's giant
ear. "I believe an elephant is like a huge fan
or maybe a magic carpet that can fly over
mountains and treetops," he said.
• The sixth blind man gave a tug on the
elephant's coarse tail. "Why, this is nothing
more than a piece of old rope. Dangerous,
indeed," he scoffed.
The gardener led his friends to the shade of a tree. "Sit
here and rest for the long journey home," he said. "I
will bring you some water to drink."
While they waited, the six blind men talked about the
elephant.
"An elephant is like a wall," said the first blind man.
"Surely we can finally agree on that."
"A wall? An elephant is a giant snake!" answered the
second blind man.
"It's a spear, I tell you," insisted the third blind man.
"I'm certain it's a giant cow," said the fourth blind man.
"Magic carpet. There's no doubt," said the fifth blind
man.
"Don't you see?" pleaded the sixth blind man.
"Someone used a rope to trick us."
Their argument continued and their shouts grew
louder and louder.
"Wall!" "Snake!" "Spear!" "Cow!" "Carpet!"
"Rope!"
"Stop shouting!" called a very angry voice.
It was the Rajah, awakened from his nap by the
noisy argument.
"How can each of you be so certain you are
right?" asked the ruler.
The six blind men considered the question. And
then, knowing the Rajah to be a very wise man,
they decided to say nothing at all.
"The elephant is a very large animal," said the
Rajah kindly. "Each man touched only one
part. Perhaps if you put the parts together,
you will see the truth. Now, let me finish my
nap in peace."
When their friend returned to the garden with
the cool water, the six men rested quietly in
the shade, thinking about the Rajah's advice.
"He is right," said the first blind man. "To learn
the truth, we must put all the parts together.
Let's discuss this on the journey home."
The first blind man put his hand on the
shoulder of the young boy who would guide
them home. The second blind man put a hand
on his friend's shoulder, and so on until all six
men were ready to travel together.
What is interdisciplinary learning?

Interdisciplinary learning is one of many ways

to learn over the course of a curriculum. It is a
knowledge view and curriculum approach that
consciously applies methodology and language
from more than one discipline to examine a
central theme, topic, issue, problem or work.
 Philosophical Views of the Self

Western
• SOCRATES • AQUINAS • EXISTENTIALISM

• PLATO • DESCARTES • G. RYLE

• ARISTOTLE • D. HUME •Merlou-Ponty

• AUGUSTINE • I. KANT
SOCRATES of Athens 470 – 399 B.C.E.

Self is the Examined Life

-“An unexamined life is not worth living. The more we

have, the more we want and the less satisfied we are. The • A Greek-Athenian
Philosopher –
best life comes from the realization that self-control, and (The Apology) -
not insatiable desires, is the source of happiness.” • The First Martyr
• of Philosophy-
-Every man is composed of body and soul. This means
• Know Thyself-
that every human person is dualistic, that is, he is • Dialectic Method -
composed of two important aspects of his personhood. • (Virtue Ethics) –
- For Socrates all individuals have an imperfect,
impermanent aspect of him, and the body, while
maintaining that there is also a soul that is perfect and
permanent.
PLATO 427 – 347 B.C.E.

Self is his/her soul. This is the Essence of his/her humanity

and the source of all his/her activities.
The soul is a charioteer of two-winged horses.
The body is the ship and the soul is its captain.
• A Greek-
Athenian
Philosopher
–
• (The
Republic
and
Phaedrus)
• Student of
Magnum Opus “Justice in the human person can only be Socrates

attained if the three parts of the soul are working

harmoniously with one another. The Rational Soul forged by
Reason and Intellect has to govern the affairs of the human
person.”
In death the true man is freed from his imprisonment to
see perfectly the pure light of absolute truth..
ARISTOTLE 384 – 322 B.C.E.

Self – is the whole of body and soul, and both are equally
important.

Body - Matter – (hyle in Greek) common stuff that makes up

A Greek-
everything in the universe.
Macedonian
Soul - Form - (morphe in Greek) essence of a substance or Philosopher –
thing. (De Anima) –
The Moral
There is no matter that is not informed by form, and no form that Character -
is not the form of matter. Likewise, the body and soul of man are Nichomachean
two aspects of the whole man. Ethics –
The Golden
Mean
The ultimate goal of human life is maximum happiness (Self
Sufficiency). To attain this is through moderation or the avoidance
of extremes.
ARISTOTLE 384 – 322 B.C.E.

A Greek-
Macedonian
Philosopher –
(De Anima) –
The Moral
Character -
Nichomachean
Ethics –
The Golden
Mean
ST. AUGUSTINE of Hippo 354 –
430 C.E.

An African-
Augustine believe that man is bifurcated in nature. Christian
Self – is the unity of body and soul. But the soul is more important Philosopher -
than the body. (City of God) -
Original Sin
Body – through Reason – it is worldly, corrupted and sinful -Following the
Soul - through Grace and Faith – heavenly and holy. ancient view of
The self dwells in the world and is imperfect and Plato and
continuously yearns to be with the Divine and capable of reaching infusing it with
immortality. The body is bound to die on earth and the soul is to new found
anticipate living eternally in a realm of spiritual bliss in communion doctrine of
with God (goal of the human person. Christianity

Reason is not compatible with Faith.

THOMAS AQUINAS 1225 –
1274 C.E.

Self – is composed of body and soul.

Body - Matter – (hyle in Greek) common stuff that makes up An Italian-
everything in the universe. Man’s body is part of Christian
the matter. Philosopher -
Stalwart of the
Soul - Form - (morphe in Greek) essence of a substance or
Medieval
thing. Philosophy –
What makes a human person a human person and not a dog or a (Summa
tiger is his/her soul is the essence. Theologica) -
Natural Happiness – Through Reason/Philosophy Natural Law
Supernatural Happiness – Through Faith/Theology Theory
Reason is a handmaid of Faith.
RENE DESCARTES 1596 –
1650 C.E.

Self – is a (res cogitans) thinking being.

The Body is a machine that is extension of the mind.
In fact, he says that since much of what we think and believe are
not infallible, they may turn out to be false. One should only A French
believe that since which can pass the test of doubt (Descartes Philosopher and
2008). Mathematician –
Father of Modern
- Agrees that the only thing that cannot be doubted is the
Philosophy –
existence of the self. (Meditations of
- “Cogito ergo sum- I think therefore I am” First Philosophy)-
- Self two distinct entities so much that we
1. The cogito- the thing that thinks which is the mind should doubt.
2. Eztenza or extension of the mind- which is the body Heliocentrism,
mind- body
dualism,
rationalism.
DAVID HUME 1711 – 1776
C.E.

“There is no Self”

A Scottish
Philosopher –
empiricist, skeptic
-Empiricism is the
school of thought
that espouses the
idea that
knowledge can only
be possible if it is
sensed and
experienced..
IMMANUEL KANT 1724 – 1804
C.E.

Self – is an actively engaged intelligence in human

person that synthesizes all knowledge and
experience.
There is necessarily a mind that organizes the A German
impressions that human persons get from the Philosopher –
external world. Deontologist -
Duty and Reason
(Critique of Pure
Time and space for example, are ideas that one Reason –
cannot find in the world but is built in our minds. Proponent of
Synthetic Apriori
Kant calls these the apparatuses or Categories of the truths
Mind.
The self is not just what gives one his/her personality.
It is also the seat of knowledge acquisition for all
human persons.
EXISTENTIALIST PHILOSOPHERS

Soren Martin Carl Gabriel

Kierkegaard Buber Jaspers Marcel
1813-1855 1878-1865 1883-1969 1889-1973

Albert Martin
Jean Paul Camus Heidegger
Sartre 1913 - 1960 1889-1976
1805 - 1980
Self – is a Subjectivity having Freedom that searches for
the meaning of existence.
Self is the single, finite, unique individual who has to make a decision before
the one infinite God in fear and trembling like the situation of Abraham.
(Kierkegaard)
For Self to Exist is to be in Genuine Dialogue with the Thou. (Buber)
For Self to exist is to transcend oneself through limit situations and
eventually to find God. (Jaspers)
esse est co-esse; For Self to exist is to co-exist, to participate in the fullness
of Being (God) through love, fidelity and faith. (Marcel)
For Self to exist is to be condemned to freedom. The Self is Free to become
whatever he/she chooses to create. (Sartre)
For Self to exist is, like Sisyphus pushing and rolling the stone, to live the
absurdity of life. (Camus)
Self is dasein there- being, thrown into the world to realize himself, doomed
to potentialities, the extreme of which is death. (Heidegger)
For life to be human, it must answer the question, what am I living
tfor
Human love in itself, which is the crowning point
of all man’s activity, does not guarantee
man’s total fulfillment as person but falls
short of his search for authenticity. Thus,
reflecting his historicity, and facing the
inescapable fact of death, he longs for the
Absolute Thou who is the Horizon and
Ground of his earthly existence. (Man and
Absolute)
GILBERT RYLE

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.

What truly matters is the behavior that a person

manifests in his day-to-day life.
For Ryle, looking for and trying to understand a self
as it really exist is like visiting your friend’s
university and looking for the “university”. One
can roam around the campus, visit the library
and the football field and meet the faculty and
administrators and still end up not finding the
“university.
Maurice Merleau-Ponty 1908 -
1961

- Self is condemned to meaning.

- Phenomenologist who asserts that mind –body
bifurcation.
- Mind and body are so intertwined that they
cannot be separated from one another. One
cannot find any experience that is not an
embodied experience.
ACVTIVITY
• In your own words, state what “self” is for each of the following
philosophers.
1. Socrates
2. Plato
3. Aristotle
4. Augustine
5. Descartes
6. Hume
7. Kant
8. The existentialist
9. Ryle
10.Merlou-ponty
11. Aquinas

2-3 sentences
After doing so, explain how your
concept of “self” is compatible with the
concept any of the philosophers.
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