THE SELF from Various Philosophical

Perspectives

Lecture 1 in
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
Prepared by:
CAS/SOC-SCI
WHO AM I?
 Philosophical Perspective by:
SOCRATES
-AN UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING

• concerned with the problem of the self

• “the true task of the philosopher is
to know oneself”
• underwent a trial for ‘corrupting the
minds of the youth’
• succeeded made people think about
who they are
 SOCRATES
Believes in an immortal soul
man = body + soul
• individual = imperfect/permanent (body) + perfect &
permanent (soul)
-Every human possesses an immortal soul that survives physical
body.
HUMAN SELF: who we are, who we should be, and who will we
become?
‘the worst thing that can happen to anyone is to live but die
inside’ • “every person is dualistic
 PLATO:
the self is an immortal soul

• 3 components to the soul

• rational soul – reason & intellect to govern affairs
• spirited soul – emotions should be kept at bay
appetitive soul – base desires (food, drink, sleep,
sexual needs, etc.)
• when these are attained, the human person’s soul
becomes just & virtuous
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDiyQub6vpw
 ?

WHAT HAPPENS TO
A PERSON WHOSE
3 COMPONENTS OF THE
SOUL ARE IMBALANCED?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lTbWQ8z
D3w
 ST. AUGUSTINE:
THE SELF HAS AN IMMORTAL SOUL

 Integrates the idea of Plato but adds Christianity

 Humankind is created in the image and the
likeness of God.
{Monotheistic belief}
 man is of a bifurcated nature ±
{divided in to two/opposing views}
ex: splitting of a case into two separate trials.
divine law vs law of the land
Like: death penalty, same sex etc.
Body as “ spouse” of the soul
• body – dies on earth; soul – lives eternally in spiritual bliss with “God”
(#life goal)
DO YOU BELIEVE IN
THE CONCEPT OF
THE SOUL COMING
TO HEAVEN AFTER
DEATH?
WHAT MAKES US PEOPLE DIFFERENT FROM ANIMALS
APART FROM KNOWLEDGE?
MODERN PHILOSOPHY
 Rene DESCARTES

Father of Modern Philosophy

• human person = body + mind
• “there is so much that we should doubt”
• “if something is so clear and lucid as not to be
doubted, that’s the only time one should believe.”
• the only thing one can’t doubt is existence of the
self
 RENE DESCARTES:
I THINK THEREFORE I AM

The Latin phrase Cogito ergo sum “I think,

therefore I am”
• the self = cogito (the thing that thinks) + extenza
(extension of mind/body)
• the body is a machine attached to the mind
• it’s the mind that makes the man
• “I am a thinking thing. . . A thing that doubts,
understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses, imagines,
perceives.
DO YOU AGREE WITH
THE STATEMENTS
ABOUT THE SELF
(body & soul) SO FAR?

WHAT SEEMS TO BE
QUESTIONNABE IN
THEIR
CONJECTURES?
 David HUME
disagrees with all the other
aforementioned philosophers

• “one can only know what comes from the senses &
experiences” (he is an empiricist)

• “the self is not an entity beyond the physical body”

Means: The body is regarded as a physical entity composed of
matter that does not ... physical things exist, so there
is no mind beyond the physical brain

• you know that other people are humans not because you
have seen their soul, but because you see them, hear them,
feel them etc.
 David HUME:THERE IS NO SELF
• “the self is nothing but a bundle
of impressions and ideas”

• impression – - basic objects of

our experience/sensation - forms
the core of our thoughts

• idea – - copies of impressions -

not as “real” as impressions -
feeling mo lang yun!
 IMMANUEL KANT: WE CONSTRUCT THE SELF

• agrees with HUME that everything starts

with perception/sensation of impressions

• there is a MIND that regulates these

impressions

• “time, space, etc. are ideas that one

cannot find in the world, but is built in our
minds

• “apparatus of the mind

 IMMANUEL KANT: WE CONSTRUCT THE SELF

• the self organizes different

impressions that one gets in relation to
his own existence

• we need active intelligence to

synthesize all knowledge and
experience

• the self is not only personality but also

the seat of knowledge
 GILBERT RYLE: THE SELF IS THE WAY PEOPLE BEHAVE

• denies the internal, non-physical self

• “what truly matters is the behaviour

that a person manifests in his day-to-
day life.”
“I act therefore I am”

• looking for the self is like entering LU

and looking for the “university”
 GILBERT RYLE: THE SELF IS THE WAY PEOPLE BEHAVE

• the self is not an entity one can

locate and analyze but simply the
convenient name that we use to
refer to the behaviours that we
make
 MERLEAU-PONTY: THE SELF IS EMBODIED SUBJECTIVITY

A phenomenologist who says the mind

body bifurcation is an invalid problem

• mind and body are inseparable

• “one’s body is his opening toward his

existence to the world”

• the living body, his thoughts,

emotions, and experiences are all one
 MERLEAU-PONTY: THE SELF IS EMBODIED SUBJECTIVITY

•If you hate this subject,

Merleau-Ponty understands
you.
THAN
K

YOU