CHAPTER 1 THE PHILOSOPICAL SELF

TASK 1

1. How would you characterized yourself?

 I would characterized myself as an ambitious and driven person. I thrive on challenge
and constantly set goals for myself, so I have something to strive toward. I’m not
comfortable with settling, and I’m always looking for an opportunity to do better and
achieve greatness.
2. What makes you stand out from the rest? What makes you special?
 I believe that the things that made me stand out from the rest is myself. I am proud of
myself and I accept what am I, in the terms that I know my limitations. I believe that each
one of us is special and the things that made me special is I am a God fearing person. I
always listen to people who love me and listen to what they are saying to me. When they
are scolding me because they don’t like what I did I do not get angry or sulk but I
analyze what I did and try to change my mistake.
3. How has yourself-transformed itself?
 Myself teaches to become aware of everything I do. It transformed me to become a
more mature person who knows what to do and not what to do. I Know I don’t know
everything but being matured helps me learn and understand more about myself and the
people that surrounds me.
4. How is, yourself connected to your body?
 I believe that myself is connected to my body because my self is the one who is
processing and analyzing the new knowledge that I am receiving and my body is the one
who takes action in everything I learned.
5. How is, yourself related to other self?
 We shared the same feelings. My self and the other selves shares common knowledge.
Sometimes we are sharing new ideas so that we can be more productive and so that we
can discover more new knowledge.
6. What will happen to yourself after you die?
 After I die I believe that myself will also die. But I believe that the lessons I had learned
when I was alive will also be learned by other living beings and they can use it to
become a better individual.

Analysis

 Yes, I was able to answer the questioned above at ease because it is all related to
myself. I think the easiest question to answer was the question number 1 which is how
would I characterized myself, I find it the easiest since I know myself better. The
question find hard is the last question since I don’t know what will really happen to
myself after I die.
Explain why it is essential to understand the self

 It is essential to understand the se because Self-awareness is important because

when we have a better understanding of ourselves, we are able to experience ourselves
as unique and separate individuals. We are then empowered to make changes and to
build on our areas of strength as well as identify areas where we would like to make
improvements.
Discuss and describe the different notions of the self from points of view of the various
philosophers across time and place.
. SOCRATES:
AN UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING
For Socrates the self is synonymous with the soul. He believes that every human possess
an immortal soul that survives the physical body. Socrates was the first to focus on the full
power of reason on the human self: who we are, who should be, and who we will become.
Socrates suggests that reality consists of two dichotomous realms: physical and ideal realms.
The physical realm is unchangeable, transient and imperfect. The ideal realm is unchanging,
eternal, and immortal. The physical world in which man lives belongs to the physical realm. On
the other hand, the unchanging, eternal, perfect realm includes the intellectual essences of the
universe, concepts such as truth, goodness, and beauty. The soul belongs to the ideal realm.

Socrates explains that the essence of the self-the soul-is the immortal entity. The soul
strives for wisdom and perfection, and reason is the soul’s tool to achieve this exalted state. But
then as long as the soul is tied to the body, the quest for wisdom is inhibited by the imperfection
of the physical realm, where it wanders and is confused. Socrates thus suggests that man must
live an examined life and a life of purpose and value. For him, an unexamined life is not worth
living. The individual person can have a meaningful and happy life only if he becomes virtuous
and knows the value of himself that can be achieved through incessant soul searching. He must
begin at the source of all knowledge and significance---the self. The Socratic Method, the so-
called introspection, is a method of carefully examining one’s thoughts and emotions—to gain
self-knowledge.

PLATO: THE SELF IS AN IMMORTAL SOUL

Another ancient Greek philosopher, Plato, elaborates on Socrates’
concept of the soul. Like Socrates, Plato believes that the self is
synonymous with the soul. His philosophy can be explained as a
process of self-knowledge and purification of the soul. Specifically, he
introduces the idea of a three-part soul/self: reason, physical appetite
and spirit or passion. Reason is the divine essence that enables us to
think deeply, make wise choices, and achieve a true understanding of
eternal truths. The physical appetite includes our basic biological needs
such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire. The spirit or passion includes
the basic emotions such as love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness, and
empathy. These three elements of our selves are in a dynamic
relationship with one another, sometimes in conflict. When conflict occurs, Plato believes it is
the responsibility of Reason to sort things out and exert control, restoring a harmonious
relationship among the three elements of our selves. Further, Plato believes that genuine
happiness can only be achieved by people who consistently make sure that their Reason is in
control of their Spirits and Appetites. This harmonious integration under the control of Reason is
the essence of Plato’s concept of justice. As such, if man lives in accordance to his nature, then
he is giving justice to his existence.
Having described his vison of the soul/self, Plato goes on to elaborate his ideas about the
soul. In his Theory of Forms, he introduces the concepts of the two worlds: the world of forms
(non-physical ideas) and the world of sense (reality). While the world of forms is real and
permanent, the world of sense is temporary and only a replica of the ideal world. Plato claims
that the sensible world is dependent on the ideal world where the concept of the soul belongs.
Since the soul is regarded as something permanent, man should give more importance to it
than the physical body which resides in the world of sense.

ARISTOTLE:
THE SOUL IS THE ESSENCE OF THE SELF
Another Greek philosopher, Aristotle, believes that the soul is merely a set of
defining features and does not consider the body and soul as separate entities. He
suggest that anything with life has a soul. Aristotle holds that the soul is the
essence of all living things. Thus, the soul is the essence of self. However, humans
differ from other living things because of their capacity for rational thinking. His
discussion about the self-centers on the kinds of soul possessed by man. Thus, he
introduces the three kinds of soul: vegetative, sentient, and rational. The vegetative
soul includes the physical body that can grow. The Sentient soul includes sensual
desires, feelings, and emotions. Rational Soul is what makes man human. It
includes the intellect that allows man to know and understand things. Thus, Aristotle suggests
that the rational nature of the self is to lead a good, flourishing, and fulfilling life (self-
actualization). The pursuit of happiness is a search for a good life that includes doing virtuous
actions. In saying this, he posits that part of the rational soul is characterized by moral virtues
such as justice and courage.

Compare and contrast how self has been represented in different philosophical schools

 They are idealism, realism, pragmatism (sometimes called experientialism), and

existentialism. Each will be explained shortly. These four general frameworks provide
the root or base from which the various educational philosophies are derived.
TASK #2

PAGE 4

FOR DISCUSSION

1. According to Socrates, What is yourself made of?

 According to Socrates, one's true self is not to be identified with what we
own, with our social status, our reputation, or even with our body. Instead,
Socrates famously maintained that our true self is our soul.
2. If that is what yourself is made of, how should you care for that self?

 I should take care of that self through doing the right things and do good
deeds. To be always honest to myself. Try to find good reasons why
people hold different opinions than mine and try not to stop when I’ve
identified their bad reasons and mistakes. To remain alert to the feedback
I get and try not to be intimidated by disagreement and anger. Lastly, try
not to mistake agreement for proof and to look for new evidence.

3. “Know thyself”, was Socrates’ advice. Considering the nature of yourself,

share an experience that proves that you do not know yourself.
 When I graduated at senior high school. I don’t know where I want to
study and what course to take. Like I am still questioning what do I really
want and what was the best for me. I was not sure on what to do and what
to take because I don’t really know myself that well.
4. Without this work on yourself, life is worthless, according to Socrates. Do
you agree?
 Yes I definitely agree, because without thinking, lives are not worth living.
Aside from that if you don’t think on what you are doing or what will you
do, how would you learn and grow, if you will just keep on doing the same
thing and not learning from things where is the worth of life in there so I
agree with Socrates that if you don’t work on yourself your life would be a
waste and meaningless.
 5. “Ignorance is the beginning of wisdom,” Socrates claimed. When you do
not admit of your ignorance, what are the consequences? Illustrate this
with your experience.
 If you do not admit your ignorance it will lead to incorrect decisions and
not understanding why the decisions are incorrect.  These decisions can
lead to worse outcomes in the future. This happens to me last year, even
though I don’t know how much I should sell our nachos and how are the
measuring I ignore the fact that I don’t know and I did still sell it without
considering what will happen next or without thinking the consequences
but just to sell it ending I got bankrupt instead of gaining more money and
all the effort got wasted.

FOR REFLECTION

Reflect on Socrates’ statement “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Have
you ever spent time examining your life? Is it really worth your time? Why or Why
not?

 Yes, I always make time examining my life through looking back on the
things I had done in the past and if there is a progress and what I had
learned from it and remind myself from not doing the same mistake and
decision that I’ve done. I can say that it is really worth my time because I
can reflect on o it and there are learnings to gain from doing that and you
can think of what am reflecting on to it and there are learnings to gain from
doing that and you can think of what you should do next but this time wiser
and the right one. And I came to realization that Material things are not
eternal, yet not many are willing to understand that. There are some self-
inflicted deficiencies in our lives that we ignore or suppress that give
meaning to our lives.
FOR RESEARCH

You must have heard of the Socratic teaching method. What is this teaching
method? Is this traced to Socrates?

 The Socratic Method is often used to promote critical thinking. It focuses

on providing more questions than answers to students and fosters
inquiring into subjects. Ideally, the answers to questions are not a stopping
point for thought but are instead a beginning to further analysis and
research. Yes this traced to Socrates because the Socratic Method was
named after him because he taught students by asking question after
question. Socrates sought to expose contradictions in the students’
thoughts and ideas to then guide them to solid, tenable conclusions.

PAGE 5-6

FOR DISCUSSION

1. For Plato, what matters more – the soul or the body? Why? Was Plato’s
thinking similar to Socrates? Explain.
 For Plato the soul matter more because for him the soul is the giver of life
to the body, the permanent, changeless and divine element this opposed
to Socrates since for him the human body negatively affects the soul so in
that I can conclude that Plato’s thinking is not similar to Socrates.
2. According to Plato, the body is just a shell, a prison house of the soul. As a
consequence of this thought, to which should you give more attention?
How?
 The body since it is the shell of the soul and is perishable while the soul is
immortal. Through doing exercises, eating nutritious food, sleeping early
and drinking a lot of water and more importantly proper hygiene.
 3. The life of a human person for Plato is a continuous ascent towards the
world of ideas, a journey in which the self-frees itself from the
imprisonment in the body. Does applying Plato’s thought of the self-lead to
an ascetic way of life?
 Yes, because after we die our soul will go to heaven where the world of
ideas is there and that means we need to live in simple and strict life.
4. The gospel says, “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, were
moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy
and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:9, Christian Standard Version of
the Bible) Are these words from the Gospel in keeping with Plato’s thought
on the self? Why or why not?
 Yes, because like what Plato’s thought on the self what survives after we
die is our soul and that our life is a continuous ascent towards the word of
idea which I think is the heaven and when we go there all the material
things that we once own will be just nothing and we cannot bring or have
when we die.

FOR REFLECTION

As learned from Plato, my imperishable soul has primacy over my perishable

body. Have I nourished my soul or have I neglected it? Have I cared to grow in the
world of ideas? Or have I confirmed myself to the world of the material

 All this time I had been nourishing my soul and that I cared in the word of
ideas because I had never been a materialistic person and I always attend
to church and do the things for God so that if I die I will be in heaven
where everyone wanted to be and I think that’s the ideal world when my
journey would continue and in there is no pain and there is only
happiness.
FOR RESEARCH

You must have heard of the so-called Platonic love? What is this about? Does
this have something to do with Plato’s thought?

 An emotional and spiritual relationship between a couple that does not

involve sexual desire. Platonic love is contrasted with romantic love. Yes it
does have to do with Plato’s thought so it was devised after him. Plato
saw the love of beauty itself as a higher, more ideal form of love than of
the flesh.

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FOR REFLECTION

A life lived in accordance with reason is a good and a happy one. In contrast, a
life dominated by the senses, and the lower nature of human person is unhappy,
disordered life.

So far, how have I spent my life? Have I lived a life of virtue? Have I abided by the
Golden Mean of Aristotle?

 I spend my life following my parents and the words of God so that I would
not got stray. I always do what I had been told and everything I do always
had accordance to their advice. I never questioned them about it since I
believe in them and I think they all want and know what is best for me. I
always think of everything first before I do something and considered the
thing that will happened if I do it. I can say that I have abided by the
Golden Mean of Aristotle.
FOR RESEARCH

Confucius also taught the Golden Mean. Is this the same as the Golden Mean of
Aristotle?

 Yes it is, the golden mean is the heart of the ethical philosophies of
Confucius and Aristotle. For both it represents the “reign of reason” in
ethical behaviour, accommodating the notions of fairness, justice, honour,
care and courage and the other qualities of human action that bestow
value on life.