DEFINING THE SELF: PERSONAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES ON SELF AND

IDENTITY
Lesson 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES
Research the Different notions of the SELF from the points-of-view of the various philosophers:

VALIENTE, CRISTY MAE A.

BSBA-HRM 1B

1. Socrates and Plato

Socrates believed that the “self” exists in two parts: physical and soul. Physical is the tangible
part of us or the one called as “body”, it is mortal and can/is constantly changing. The soul, on the
other hand, is believed to be immortal and is the part that is varying across all realms. To explain
further, Socrates believed that in physical realm, both of our body and soul are attached when we are
still alive. When we die, the physical self or body will stay in the physical realm and the soul will
then leave the body, travels to the ideal realm, considering the soul immortal,
Same as Socrates, Plato believed that the “self” exists in two parts, and even supported it by
saying that man is dual in nature. He also added that the soul has components: 1) rational soul ; 2)
spiritual soul ; 3) appetitive soul

2. Descartes
Descrates belived that the self can be correctly considered as either a mind or a human being,
wherein the self’s properties are accordingly. From his famous saying “I think, therefore, I am”,
provides the concept that whenever a person thinks, it proves that he himself exists.

3. Hume
Hume simply believed that the self is nothing else but a bundle of impressions, a collection of
various perspective which succeed with an unbelievable rapidity. In other words, this concept implies
that self is a collection of all experiences with a particular being.

4. Kant
According to him, the human person has a two-fold nature; 1) homo noumenon or the non-
empirical part & 2) homo phaenomenon or the empirical part. Kant’s view and notion are dependent
to his idealism.
5. Ryle
Ryle says that self is just a convenient name that is used to refer to all experiences that a
person has, and is not an entity one can locate and understand

6. Merleau-Pont
His philosophy of the self comes between the modernist self of the Cartesian tradition, Pont
insisted that the mind and the body are so intertwined to each other. He sees self as an embodied
subjectivity and contradicts the concept of rationalism and empiricism.