Reflection

This week’s topic was a tedious read, though interesting to say the least. The different
philosophers and their theories on “self” and what led them to those conclusions caused me to do
some introspection. It also brought me to the realization that what we may have deemed as common
sense nowadays was only because of centuries of studies and research. Of course, with the amount of
theories existing, there was no doubt that I resonate with at least one or two.

One of which was David Hume’s “there is no self”. He claimed that people have no experience
of a simple and individual impression that they can call the “self”, but rather that people experience a
collection of different perceptions. Their experiences have two distinct entities — impressions and
ideas. From these two, one can experience the perceptions of their emotions and senses like touch, as
well as their thoughts and memories.

However, I disagree with Hume’s notion that the idea of personal identity is a result of
imagination. I believe that we accumulate different perceptions of our experiences, but two people
may go through a singular event and still come out with different beliefs, expectations, and
experiences. It’s why we have sayings like “the same boiling water that hardens an egg may be the
same that softens a potato”.

This is where personal identity and Albert Bandura’s “agency” comes into play. The four
features of human agency guides the person’s actions, and the actions or reactions to a circumstance
then shape the personal identity. As such, I believe that our “self” is unique and our own. It is our
experiences, consciousness, and actions that make up the “self”