Group 1: The Philosophy of the Self

Reporters:
Agkis, Ariane Joyce L.
Alfafaras, Anna T.
Bago, Zuhaine D.

Philosophy
It came from a Greek word “Philos” which means “Love” and “Sophia” which means “Wisdom”. In a way
it can be translated as Love for Knowledge or Passion for Learning.

The Top 3 Greatest Greek Philosophers

Socrates (Master and Teacher of Pluto), Plato (Apprentice student of Socrates) & Aristotle (He is a
Student of Pluto).

Socrates (470 BCE-399 BCE)

Known as a dangerous man in his lifetime because he studied every movements and behavior of the
people around him. Socrates is commonly known as the first martyr of free speech. Many people
believed that Socrates' death was an act of martyrdom or stubbornness because he willingly died to
support the idea that knowledge and wisdom are very important to our lives. People only believed his
theories and works after he died many years later.
An Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living.
The Soul is immortal. Human life does not end at one’s death. One continues to live in the world after
death. He believed that the soul still exist and will transfer to another living thing after death.

Socratic Method
Whereby an idea was tested by asking a series of questions to determine underlying beliefs and extent
of knowledge to guide the person towards better understanding (Maxwell 2015).

Plato (428 BCE-347 BCE)

Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period.
He is best known for his theories of Forms, known as Platonism. Plato is one of the world's best known
and most widely read and studied philosophers. He is the apprentice of Socrates, he also got mad to
what happened to his master’s death. He write more books about the ideas of his teacher, Socrates.
The Soul is Immortal.
Plato believed that the self is synonymous with the soul.
He also sustained the idea of Socrates that body and soul has duality and combine it with rational
decisions. He believe that one's physical body and soul are separate entities and that one lives on after
the other has died. “Soul is eternal, it does not exist in the body.”

3 parts of the Soul

Rational – is the divine essence that enables us to think deeply, make wise choices, and achieve a true
understanding of eternal truths.
Spirited – includes basic emotions such as love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness, and empathy.
Appetitive – includes our basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire.
Plato believes that genuine happiness can only be achieved by people who consistently make sure that
their Rational is in control of their Spirits and Appetites.

Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

The Soul is the essence of the Self.
For Aristotle, the 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.
Without the body the soul cannot exist. The soul dies along with the body.

Saint Augustine (354 AD-430 AD)

He is a philosopher as well as the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His
philosophy is based on the bible.
I am Doubting, therefore I am.
He developed a more unified perspective on the body and soul. He does not agree with Socrates’ theory.
Soul and the Body makes up a Human. He believed that the body is imperfect and our soul will leave the
body after death.

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225 -1274)

Theory of "indirect" self-knowledge
He defined the self as the rational and spiritual soul, which is created by God and is immortal. He
learned based on experiences. Human beings are created in the image of God, and that human nature is
composed of two essential parts: the body and the soul.

Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650)

“I think Therefore I am”
The father of Modern Philosophy
The soul and body are independent of one another and each can exist and function without the other.
There are 2 dimensions of the self: the self as a thinking entity and the self as a physical body.
One can’t rely to his senses because sometimes it is misleading.

John Locke (1632 - 1704)

The Self is Consciousness
The human mind at birth is tabula rasa or blank slate.
The Father of Liberalism. He considered personal identity (or the self) to be founded on consciousness
(memory).

David Hume (1711 - 1776)

There is no Self
The idea of personal identity is a result of imagination.
“A wise man, therefore proportions his belief to the evidence”

2 types of Mind’s Perceptions;

Impression – directly experienced.
Ideas – based on previously perceived impressions.