N > FTRC FALCULAN TWINS’ REVIEW CENTER Shaping Teachers, Froakerying loves Understanding the Self I. The Self from a PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE Discusses who the person is from a PHILOSOPHICAL POINT of view Ancient Philosophers (SPA) 1. Socrates (8) 2. Plato (P) 3. Aristotle (A) Medieval Philosophers 1. St. Augustine 2. St. Thomas Aquinas Modern Philosophers 1. Rene Descartes 2. John Locke 3. Immanuel Kant Contemporary Philosophers 1. Maurice Merleau-Ponty 2. Gilbert Ryle 3, Paul Churchland THE SELF ACCORDING TO ANCIENT PHILOSOPHERS 1 ‘SOCRATES (496-399 B.C.) Forerunner of Western Philosophy Selt is composed of: Physical, Tangible & Mortal Aspects (Body); ‘changing Soul — Immortal & Unchanging Body and soul are attached when alive BOTH paris of our self are present in the PHYSICAL REALM Upon death, sou! travels to the IDEAL REALM Thus, making our soul IMMORTAL. THE TRUE SELF is NOT to be identified with what we own, with our social status, with our reputation, or even with our body. Instead Socrates maintained that our TRUE SELF is our SOUL. Socrates is known for his dictum: "IGNORANCE IS THE BEGINNING ‘OF WISDOM" and his advice, “Know Thyself” Itis ACCEPTING ourignorance that prods us to KNOW OURSELVES, ‘OUR POWER AND LIMITATIONS. TO KNOW OURSELVES means to acquire TRUE NOWLEGE OF OURSELVES, which is PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE. It is knowledge used to improve ourselves by capitalizing ‘on our powers to FIGHT our LIMITATIONS. KNWOING OURSELVES DOES NOT only mean that we come to know that we are men/women. It is knowing what kind of men/women we are. Socrates is also famous for this quote: "THE UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING" ‘An EXAMINING, THINKING and an INVESTIGATING self is what the SELF essentially is. Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens who, under his tutelage, had begun to question their parents’ wisdom and religious beliefs. Socrates preferred death to exile. He used his death as a FINAL LEASSON for his students to face the adversities of life calmly and squarely rather than flee like Falculan Twin’s Review Center (FTRC) Prepared by: Kathleen Falculan-Hijosabij 2 @ FrRe FALCULAN TWINS’ REVIEW CENTER N chickens and ducks when faced with storms in life. PLATO (428-348 B.C) “Selfis an IMMORTAL soul in a MORTAL perishable body.” Soul is TRIPARTITE in nature. In short, each person's soul is divided into 8 different parts. Immortal, Rational (Soul) Courage (Spirited) Part © Appetitive Part Immortal, Rational (Soul) © Seeks truth and uses logical reasoning (located in the head) Courageous (Spirited Part) Causes people to experience strong emotions (located in the chest) Appetitive Part © Located in the abdomen © Deals with bodily desires o Cannot resists appetites, {including those for food, power and sex) ©) In Book IV of Plato's Republic, the SOUL is the giver of life to the BODY, the permanent, changeless, and divine element as OPPOSED to the changing, transitory and perishable BODY. This makes the SELF “a soul using the body.” o The BODYisjusta SHELL of the soul Our life's journey is a continuous striving to FREE our soul from its imprisonment in the body. Shaping Teachers, Trouleryiog Lowey. 3. ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C) ~The human person is NOT a soul DISTINCT from a human body. ~The human person is COMPOSITE of BODY & SOUL. SELF is composed of : 1. Body and Soul 2. Passion & Reason 3. Mind and Matter 4, Sense & Intellect - Reason is supreme in a human person and so should govern all life's activities. - When the senses, the lower nature ofa human person, dominate a human person's life, he/she tends to live a CHAOTIC LIFE. - When reasontules over the senses, mind over matter, the human person tends to live a happy fe. ~ Aristotle did NOT neglect the development of a human person's PERSONAL, PHYSICAL, ECONOMIC & SOCIAL powers. > Human HAPPINESS = harmonious development of the WHOLE self - Aristotle taught the theory of the Golden Mean which means MODERATION; avoid extremes; avoid too much and too little - "Living a life of MODERATION is doing things in CONSONANCE with REASON" THE SELF according to MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHERS 1, ST. AUGUSTINE (354-430 AD) + The SELF is made up of a BODY & a SOUL, ‘a soul in possession of a body’ which does NOT constitute two persons but ONE MAN. Falculan Twin’s Review Center (FTRC) Prepared by: Kathleen Falculan-Hijosa@FTRC - St. Augustine's concept of the self is in the context of his relation to God. - HAPPINESS can be found in GOD alone, ST. THOMAS AQUINAS (1225- 1274 AD) - Ahuman person can know the truth with certainty by the USE of his REASON. - Some truths can be perceived ONLY with the aid of the light of DIVINE REVELATION. - Truths from reason and from divine revelation can never contradict each other because they emanate from the same source God, who is TRUTH itself. - He believes that human soul is restless and imperfect unti it rests in God - The self finds perfect happiness only in God THE SELF ACCORDING TO MODERN & CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHERS MODERN PHILOSOPHERS 1, Rene Descartes (1596-1650) = revolve§ around the BODY-MIND DUALISM - The SELF is COMPOSED OF TWO PARTS an IMMATERIAL MIND & a MATERIAL BODY. - the mind is the seat of consciousness - The body (which included human senses) is unreliable hence, should NOT be TRUSTED. - He is known for his “I think therefore lam.” - The rationality & activity of the mind are at the CENTER of man's BEING. FALCULAN TWINS’ REVIEW CENTER Shaping Teachers, Froakerying loves JOHN LOCKE (1631-1704) Human MIND is a TABULA RASA (blank slate). IMPRESSIONS during infancy have very important & lasting consequences. "Association of ideas" when young are the FOUNDATION of self “Freedom of individuals to author theirown soul” Free to define content of character EXCEPT basic identity as a member of the human species. Locke believes that “God created man and we are, in effect, God's property.” The chief END set by our creator for us as Species and as individuals is SURVIVAL. IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804) According to Kant, a human persona an inner and outer self. The inner self consists of his/her psychological states and the rational intellect. The outer self is a human person's senses and the physical world Selfis prone to corruption Life is a constant struggle between inner and outer self. Kant is known for his maxim, "Act ‘only according to that MAXIM by which you can at the same time will that it should become a natural law.” CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHERS 1. MAURICE MERLEAU PONTY (1908-1961) The self, according to Maurice Merleau-Ponty, is an inextricable UNION between MIND & BODY There is NO experience that is NOT an EMBODIED experience Falculan Twin’s Review Center (FTRC) Prepared by: Kathleen Falculan-HijosaWey Shaping Teachers, Troulevyig Lowey. - “The MIND & the BODY are so Il. The Self from a SOCIOLOGICAL INTERTWINED that we CANNOT even distinguish where the work of the mind ends and where the work of the body begins.” “The mind always thinks in an embodied way" (Corpuz, et al, 2019). . GILBERT RYLE (1900-1976) The workings of the mind are NOT DISTINCT from the actions of the body but are ONE & the SAME. Another teaching of Ryle that related to understanding the sel is the distinction among knowing how (technical ability) and knowing that (facts and propositions) Knowing that (some fact) is empty intellectualism without knowing how to make use of the fact. Effective possession of apiece of knowledge (museum possession of knowledge) involves knowing HOW to USE that knowledge for the SOLUTION of other THEORETICAL or PRACTICAL problems (workshop possession of knowledge) . PAUL CHURCHLAND (1942-) Churehland adherés to materialism or belief that nothing except matter exists. Ita thing CAN'T be recognized by the SENSES, then it is NOT REAL. Since the MIND CANNOT be experienced by the senses, then the MIND DOESN'T really exist. Itis the PHYSICAL BRAIN and NOT the MIND that gives us our SENSE of SELF, DECISION-MAKING & MORAL BEHAVIOR are a BIOLOGICAL PHENOMENA ion - The process of INTERNALIZING the norms of society which influence one’s beliefs, actions and behavior. . George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) Self is NOT there at birth NOT based on inherited traits Self is developed from Social Experiences & Activities Other people play a significant role in HOW we view VIEW OURSELVES. The influence is RESTRICTED only to a “significant others” & a certain periods. Children act based on personal beliefs but also on what SOCIETY EXPECTS of them. ‘Types Personality: | and ME The “t" is the natural, existential aspect of the self which represents our individua''s identity. The “ME” refers to the SOCIALIZED me or the CULTURED SELF; conventional individual; this also refers to the SOCIALIZED aspect of the individual. . CHARLES COOLEY (1864 - 1929) Looking-Glass Self Theory - We learn to view ourselves as we think OTHERS VIEW us. has a major impact on one’s SELF: IMAGE Three (3) STEPS (Looking Glass Self) © (1) We imagine HOW we APPEAR to others Falculan Twin’s Review Center (FTRC) Prepared by: Kathleen Falculan-Hijosa@FTRC © (2) We imagine HOW OTHERS JUDGE our appearance. © (3) WE develop FEELINGS about & RESPONSES to these judgments. We are NOT influenced by other people's opion per se We are influenced by our own imagination or perceptions on how others see us. When learners are ACCEPTED & VALUED by others, they tend to feel HIGH SELF-ESTEEM. The Self from ANTHROPOLOGICAL Perspective Anthropology - employs a HOLISTIC approach to the study of the self. Naomi Quinn — Self is a “TOTALITY of what’an organism is PHYSICALLY, BIOLOGICALLY, PSYCHOLOGICALLY, SOCIALLY & CULTURALLY. Anthropology seeks to discover the INTERRELATIONSHIPS between vatious SCIENTIFC MODELS of human beings. They aréconcemed with human UNIVERSALS as well as human VARIETY Two Common Pitfalls that must be avoided in our study of the self: © STRATIGRAPHIC APPROACH - Stacking independent models one after another WITHOUT interrelating them; NO INTEGRATION of the different selves. FALCULAN TWINS’ REVIEW CENTER Shaping Teachers, Trouleryiog Lowey. © REDUCTIONISM - attempts to interpret all observations by REDUCING them to SINGLE LEVEL analysis. Example: Life is defined ONLY in terms of chemical reactions, Understanding of the self from ANTHROPOLOGICAL point of view necessatily includes a study of CULTURE A person's culture influences his/her PHYSICAL being. People's physical being also affects the kind of culture they build and the ways in which they relate to fellow human being. 2 Contrasting Models of Self © Egocentric Self - focuses on individual self © )Sociocentric View of Self — focuses on one's social group; socially-oriented The Self froma PSYCHOLOGICAL Perspective Psychology - In psychology, the SENSE of SELF is defined as the way a person thinks about and views his or her traits, beliefs and purpose within the world. Self - Is a MULTILEVEL system that emerges from MULTIFACETED interactions of mechanisms operating at NEURAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL & SOCIAL levels . Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) The human psyche could be divided into three parts: id, ego, and superego. Falculan Twin’s Review Center (FTRC) Prepared by: Kathleen Falculan-Hijosa- ID ~is the completely unconscious, impulsive, child-like portion © Operates on the “pleasure principle” © Source of basic impulses and drives - EGO ~ is in contact with the EXTERNAL WORLD; decision- making and executive branch; operates using the “reality principle” - SUPEREGO - moral and ideal aspects © Aims for perfection © Guided by moralistic and idealistic principles © Itis UNREALISTIC in its demand for perfection. 2. William James (1842 - 1910) - Self is the totality of ALL that a person can call his or hers. - Two divisions of the self: © ‘I"~self-as-subject + The thinker that does the thinking + Pure ego © _7ME" — self-as-object + Material self * Spiritual self * Social Self + Empirical Me - SELF -"Itis an OBJECT that can be observed and a SUBJECT, an agent that does the observing.” © Material Self, + The core of the material self is the body. Associated with the body are clothes, family, home, & material possession. © Social Self + is who a person is in a social situation Shapiag Teachers. Freaker loves = the person given recognition by others = Aperson has MANY SOCIAL selves as the number of social situations he/she participates in. + Social selves may be CONTRADICTORY, depending on how others view you © Spiritual Self = Itis the person's SUBJECTIVE & MOST INTIMATE self. = Includes personality, core values, Conscience = Asks spiritual, moral and intellectual questions V. The Self in WESTERN & ORIENTAL Thought - Oriental (Eastern) © One integrated whole © One with society © Collectivism is strong - Western © Individualistic in nature © Independent part of the universe © Individualism is strong G) Falculan Twin’s Review Center (FTRC) Prepared by: Kathleen Falculan-Hijosa