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THE PHILOSOPHY OF SELF

The Philosophy Of Self

Alliah Ashley R. Molina

College of Engineering and Architecture, Cagayan State University

Bachelor of Science in Architecture

Instructor: Mrs. Maria Yssabelle Martinez-Trinidad

January 29, 2023

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Have you ever wondered what is the basic principles of truth about the nature of

humans? Or what describes the identity of a person? Our life began when we first existed

in this cradle of macrocosmos strolling through the infinite horizon. But the moment we

had heartbeats, consciousness, and life…was also the existence of ourselves. ‘Self’ is a

very broad topic in all aspects. In dictionaries, they address ‘self’ as the person who’s

object of his own reflective consciousness and mentality. The maneuver of his actions, the

driver of his own emotions, the proprietor of his own possessed capabilities and extents.

Philosophically, the concept of self has been debating by famous philosophers.

Socrates (c. 470 – 399 BC) said that a person must seek for his one true self, opposing the

point of view of society. ‘Self’ cannot be identified by our body, properties and estates,

nor our status in the society, but the state of soul. It is the inner being which is centered

about wisdom, knowledge and virtue. This concept of Socrates about self is implying that

we cannot find our one true self well enough without our soul where wisdom, knowledge

and virtue lies.

With that, Plato (428 – 347 BC) opposed and conceive ‘self’ as the knower. He

believe that the true self has three parts. The rational soul or the knowledge located in

the head, which enables a person to have critical thinking, deep analysis, and reflection.

This kind of self, to Plato, compose the soul and that can be separated from the body. The

second self is the spiritual soul located on the chest. This drives a person experience

different kind of feelings and emotions. Lastly, the appetitive soul located in the

abdomen. It revolves around physical pain and physical wants. According to Plato, the
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rational soul should successfully controll the spiritual and appetitive soul to have a well-

balanced personality. Plato’s concept of self is basically an intellectual entity existing

separated from the physical world. This makes Plato quoted that “life is the pursuit of

knowledge”.

On the other hand, Emmanuel Kant based his concept of self to the anthropology

of his teachings. According to Kant (1724-1804), a human person has two parts of nature.

The first one was non-empirical namely as ‘homo noumenon’. Thing-in-itself concept

cannot be determined because it is beyond experience. The second one was empirical and

called ‘homo phaeonomenon’ which can be seen and can be experienced by human

because it refers to the appearance of an object to the viewer. This concept is implying

that if a person cannot determine his noumenal self, then the phaeonomenal self will

serve as the maneuver to analyze the noumenal self. In this case, the phaeonomenal self

should be rational and be guided by moral principles to aim for perfection. The Kant

conceive self as something that has third status. Something that is real but not

appearance neither thing in nature.

As Plato differs the idea of mind and body, in other philosophical concept, self is

the duality of the mind and body, conceiving that that mind is the true self. If a person

think, therefore, the person exists, (Descartes, 1640). In Meditation ll of his seminal work

entitled Mediations on First Philosophy, Descartes believe that when he doubts, there is a

thinking mind, therefore he is existing. He even pronounced the famous quote, “I think,
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therefore, I am. This concept of Descartes states that the self can be considered as a mind

or a human being.

The concept of self Indeed differs depending on the point of view of a person. My

own understanding of self is focused on socio-personal perspective of self. My concept of

self is about the unique features that defines a person. I believe that when you differ in

features from others such as physical, character, or emotional, then there is a self. This

self concept of mine is different on how the philosophers conceive self which revolves

around the idea of soul, body, and mind. My concept of self strongly opposed Socrates’s

concept. If Socrates believe that self cannot be seen on the physical and social aspect,

then I disagree. For me self is something that makes you different from others no matter

what aspect it is.

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References

Journal of Modern Philosophy. (2020, January 14). Retrieved January 28, 2023, from

https://jmphil.org/articles/10.32881/jomp.30/

Kant’s Theory of the Self. (2010, November 3). Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved January

28, 2023, from

https://www.routledge.com/Kants-Theory-of-the-Self/Melnick/p/book/

9780415887793

PHOLO-notes (2022, May 15). Socrates’s concept of the Self. PHILO-notes – Free Online

Learning Materials. Retrieved January 27, 2023, from

https://philonotes.com/2022/05/socratess-concept-of-the-self

PHOLO-notes (2022, May 16). Kant’s Concept of the Self. PHILO-notes – Free Online

Learning Materials. Retrieved January 28, 2023, from

https://philonotes.com/2022/05/kants-concept-of-the-self

PHILO-notes (2022, May 16). René Descartes’s Concept of the Self. PHILO-notes – Free

Online Learning Materials. Retrieved January 28, 2023, from

https://philonotes.com/2022/05/rene-descartess-concept-of-the-self

Sihvola, J. (2008). Aristotle on the Individuality of Self. SpringerLink. Retrieved January 28,

2023, from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4020-8596-3_6?

error=cookies_not_supported&code=fb6b04a4-67a6-43c6-a441-07349d27f4c1

The Ideas of Socrates. (2020, September 18). Academy of Ideas | Free Minds for a Free

Society. Retrieved January 27, 2023, from

https://academyofideas.com/2015/03/the-ideas-of-socrates-transcript/
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Vital, A. (2022, August 8). The Meaning of Life According to Different Philosophies.

Adioma. Retrieved January 27, 2023, from https://blog.adioma.com/meaning-of-

life-according-to-philosophy/