CHAPTER 1 :

WHO AM I?
A PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNEY
TO DISCOVERING THE SELF

PREPARED BY :
MR. RJ ALCANTARA
 CHAPTER 1 :

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Discuss the different representations and

conceptualizations of the self from various disciplines and
perspectives.

• Compare and contrast how the self has been represented

across different disciplines and perspectives.

• Examine the different influences, factors and forces that

shape the self.
 CHAPTER 1 :
A PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNEY
TO DISCOVERING THE SELF

"Who am I?" - Not knowing this is the

greatest death to the Soul ( one's own self )!
- Dada Bhagwan
 CHAPTER 1 :
A PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNEY
TO DISCOVERING THE SELF

"Who am I ?"
That question may be one of the most difficult to
answer and has garnered attention right from the
start of man's self-reflection.
 CHAPTER 1 :
A PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNEY
TO DISCOVERING THE SELF

The Self

If somebody asks your friend- who is_________

(you), how would you like your friend to
answer that question about you?
 SOCRATES
CONCEPT OF SELF
 SOCRATES (469-399 BC)
Know Thyself.
• Also known as the market philosopher
because of his penchant for engaging
youths in philosophizing in public
markets.
• He directed philosophy's attention from
the universe to an examination of our
existence in the universe.
• "An unexamined life is not worth living."
 SOCRATES (469-399 BC)
Know Thyself.
• There is a soul before the body, existing
in the realm of ideas.
• Once the soul comes into the material
world, he forgot everything.
• This knowledge is brought out by
Socratic approach.
 PLATO
CONCEPT OF SELF
 PLATO ( 427-347 BCE )
• Founded the Academy; considered
as prototype of today’s
universities.

• Dichotomy between ideal (World

of Forms) and material.
 PLATO ( 427-347 BCE )
• An important part of his philosophy
is the dichotomy of the Ideal world
or the world of Forms and the
material world.
• He believed that human beings are
composed of two things, a body
and a soul.
 PLATO ( 427-347 BCE )

SOUL HAS THREE PARTS

1. Rational Soul (Intellect)
2. Spirited Soul (Emotion)
3. Appetitive Soul (Basic Needs)
 PLATO ( 427-347 BCE )

"If we are ever to have pure

knowledge of anything, we must
get rid of the body and
contemplate things by
themselves with the soul by
itself."
 ST.AUGUSTINE
CONCEPT OF SELF
ST. AUGUSTINE ( 354-430 )
Our world ( world of materials) is not
our final home but just a temporary
home where we are just passing
through. Our real world is found in
the world where there is
permanence and infinity- that's the
world where God is.
ST. AUGUSTINE ( 354-430 )
He said that man is the image in
the likeness of GOD.

“Knowledge can only come by seeing

the truth that dwells within us”
RENE DESCARTES
CONCEPT OF SELF
 RENE DESCARTES
(1596-1650)
“I think, therefore; I am.”
• The act of thinking about self-of
being self-conscious-is in itself
proof that there is self.
 RENE DESCARTES
(1596-1650)
• He is doubting the existence of
everything physical, including his
body.
• Considered as Father of Modern
Philosophy.
 RENE DESCARTES
(1596-1650)
I think, therefore I am or also known
as Cogito (COGITO ERGO SUM),
emphasizes the consciousness of his
mind which leads to an evidence of his
existence-despite the fact that he is
doubting the existence of everything
physical, including his own body.
 RENE DESCARTES
(1596-1650)
DESCARTES’ TWO DISTINCT ENTITIES
• COGITO
– the thing that thinks
– Mind
• EXTENZA
– the extension
– body
 JOHN LOCKE
CONCEPT OF SELF
 John Locke (1632-1704)
"What worries you, masters you."
• Father of Classical Liberalism

• For since consciousness always

accompanies thinking, and ‘tis that,
that makes everyone to be, what he
calls self; and thereby distinguishes
himself from all other thinking things.
 John Locke (1632-1704)
"What worries you, masters you."
• The human mind at birth is tabula
rasa or blank slate.

• He felt that the self is constructed

primarily from sense experiences.
 DAVID HUME
CONCEPT OF SELF
 DAVID HUME (1711-1776)
“There is no Self."
• He is an empiricist and regarded the
senses as our key source of knowledge.
• He does believe in the existence of the
mind and what's inside the mind is
divided into two: impressions and ideas.
• He declared that there is no permanent
self.
 DAVID HUME (1711-1776)

• IMPRESSION – are those things we

perceived through our senses as we
experience them.
• IDEAS – are those things that we create
in our minds even though we are no
longer experiencing them.
IMMANUEL KANT
CONCEPT OF SELF
 IMMANUEL KANT
(1724-1804)
“All our knowledge begins with the senses,
proceeds then to understanding, and ends with
reason. There is nothing higher than reason."
• He is also considered as one of the
giants in philosophy though he barely
stands five feet tall.
• He believes that man is a free agent,
capable of making a decision for himself.
SIGMUND FREUD
CONCEPT OF SELF
 SIGMUND FREUD
“ The ego is not master in its own
house.”
• Father of Psychoanalysis.
• His works center on the mind and
its development. One of his famous
ideas was the tripartite division of
man's mind- the id, ego, and the
superego.
 SIGMUND FREUD
“ The ego is not master in its own
house.”
• Things are not control of the ego, but the
ego only manifests the winner between the
ego. If ego behaves then superego won. If
ego misbehaves, the Id won. This battle is
all taking place in the subconscious. The
realm of the ego is found in the conscious.
ID, EGO, SUPEREGO
ID, EGO, SUPEREGO
 ID, EGO, SUPEREGO
It is the harmonious functioning of the ID, EGO, and
SUPEREGO which merge together to from one’s personality.
The ID is the most primitive of the three forces. As far as the
ID is concerned, the world exists to provide him pleasure, He
gets what he wants and realizes his ends at all costs.
The EGO prevails over the ID when a child becomes
exposed to environmental constraints.
The SUPEREGO when the child grows and has absorbed
many parental prohibitions and sanctions and moral concepts.
 GILBERT RYLE
CONCEPT OF SELF
GILBERT RYLE ( 1900- 1976 )
" Minds are things, but different sorts
of things from bodies."

The mind is not like a specific, separate

entity but is certainly a part of our body.

Ideally. The separation of mind/soul and

body could be possible, but in practice
this is hardly the case.
PAUL CHURCHLAND
CONCEPT OF SELF
PAUL CHURCHLAND (b.1942)
“We do have an organ for understanding and
recognizing moral facts. It is called the brain."

• Known for his Eliminative Materialism.

• With partnership with his wife, believes
that the self is the brain.
• The term "mind", our moods,
emotions, actions, consciousness are
deeply affected by the state of our
brain.
MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY
CONCEPT OF SELF
MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY
(1908-1961)
"We know not through our intellect but
through our experience."
• He rejected entirely the idea of
mind and body dichotomy.
• The self is embodied subjectivity.
 SUMMARY
We have to be reminded however, that as much as
they have elucidated the mystery of the self, we
should also be challenged to philosophically engage
in the discovery of who we are. Once, one invests
time on this, one will realize a completeness and
assured confidence of one’s self.
END OF CHAPTER 1