UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES

Philosophy -the etymological definitions of philosophy is “the love of wisdom” or pertain to the desire for truth by
formulating never ending questions to provide answers to every inquiry about the nature of human existence.
The nature of the self is the topic of interest among philosophers.

Although there are disagreements in how philosophers view the self, most of them agree that self-knowledge is
a prerequisite to a happy and meaningful life.
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS
OF SELF
◤
An unexamined life is not worth
living.
If human beings do not live in
accordance to their nature /
function, the result will be injustice.
Self-realization is attained by
fulfilling man’s threefold nature:
vegetative, sentient, and rational.
The self seeks to be united
with God through faith and
reason. “I am doubting,
therefore I am.
PHILOSOPHER ELABORATION
Socrates Self is synonymous with the soul.
Two dichotomous realms: pysichal (changeable,
transient, imperfect) and ideal (uchanging, perfect,
immortal) realms. Ma should be virtuous.
Elaborate Plato's concept of self.
3Parts of soul: reason (make wise choices, physical
appetite (hunger, thirst, sexual desire), and spirit/passion
Plato
(love, anger, aggresiveness, and empathy). His Theory of
Forms ( world of forms-non-physic and world of sense
(reality)
Aristotle life = soul (soul is the essence of all living things)
3 kinds of soul - vegetative (includes physical body that
can grow), sentient (sensual desires, feelings and
emotions), and rational (allows man to kno and
understand things. Rational = self-actualization
St. Augustine Integrates the ideas of Plato and teachings of
Christianity. The body is united with the soul. Soul
governs and defines man.
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS OF SELF
The self is a thinking thing,
◤
distinct from the body.
“I think therefore I am. (Cogito
ergo sum)
The human mind at birth is a
blank slate or tabula rasa.
The Self is consciousness.
There is no self, only a bundle
of constantly changing
perceptions passing through
the theater of our minds.
The self transcends
experience. “We construct self”
PHILOSOPHER COMPARISON / CONTRAST
Rene Descartes Self-a thinking entity that doubts,
understands, analyzes, questions, and
reasons.
The essential self -the self as a thinking
entity-is distinct from the self as a
physical body.
John Locke The self is constructed primarily from sense
experiences.
Reason-understand-experience
David Hume Self -impressions (strong and lively) and
ideas (less lively and vivid based on
impressions).
The idea of personal identity is a result of
imagination.
Immanuel Kant It is the self that makes experiencing an
intelligible world possible because it si the
self that is actively organizing and
synthesizing all our thoughts and
perceptions.
 ◤ VIEWS OF
PHILOSOPHICAL PHILOSOPHER COMPARISON / CONTRAST
SELF

I act, therefore, I am. Gilbert Ryle The mind, as totality of human dispositions,
expresses the entire system of thoughts,
The self is the way people behave. emotions, and actions that make up the human
self.

The self is the brain. Paul Churchland The physical brain, not the imaginary mind, gives
people the sense of self. The mind does not really
exist because it cannot be experienced by the
senses.

The consciousness, the world, and Maurice Merleau-
the human body are intricately Ponty
intertwined in knowing the world.
All knowledge about the self is based on the
“phenomena” of experience.
“I” is a combination of the mental, physical, and
emotional structures around a core identity of the
self.
 ◤ VIEWS OF
PHILOSOPHICAL PHILOSOPHER COMPARISON / CONTRAST
SELF

The self is multilayered Sigmund Freud (is not a 3 layers of self: conscious self
philosopher) (reality principle), subconcious
self (pleasure principle), and
preconscious self
(non-threatening material in
memories and stored
knowledge).