UNDERSTANDING

THE SELF
Dear Lord and Father of all,
Thank you for today.

Thank you for ways in which you provide for us all. For Your protection and love we thank you.

Help us to focus our hearts and minds now on what we are about to learn.

Inspire us by Your Holy Spirit as we listen and write.

Guide us by your eternal light as we discover more about the world around us.

Our Lady of Peñafrancia,

pray for us.

ROAD MAP_Chapter 1
The Self from Various Philosophical Perspectives
LESSON OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1.explain why it is essential to understand the self;
2.describe and discuss the different notions of the self from
the points-of-view of the various philosophers across time and
place;
3.compare and contrast how the self has been represented in
different philosophical schools; and
4.examine one’s self against the different views of self that
were discussed in class.
Activity

https://www.zeetings.com/Rechie/0010-3526-0001#
INTRODUCTION

Our names…
- Represent who we are
- Signify us
- Are inscribed even into one’s
gravestone
 A name is NOT the person
itself no matter how
intimately bound it is with the
bearer. It is only a signifier.
ACTIVITY
Do You Truly Know Yourself?
Answer the following questions about your SELF as fully and precisely as you can.

1. How would you characterize your SELF?

2. What makes you stand out from the rest? What makes your SELF special?

3. How has your SELF transformed itself?

4. How is your SELF connected to your body?

5. How is your SELF related to other selves?

6. What will happen to your SELF after you die?

ANALYSIS
Were you able to answer the questions with ease? Why? Which
questions did you find easiest to answer? Which ones are
difficult? Why?

QUESTIONS EASY OR DIFFICULT TO ANSWER? WHY?

ABSTRACTION

What is the meaning of PHILOSOPHY?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcvJKqCIxHE
Lesson 1: Philosophical Perspectives of the Self

Philosophers from the Ancient Times to the Contemporary Period:

SOCRATES

Source: izquotes.com

Socrates (470 BCE-399 BCE) is an ancient Greek philosopher to first question the SELF in a systematic way. While all
were busy figuring other things out such as the Pythagorean theory, the shape of the earth, science, etc. Socrates was
dedicated in knowing and understanding the “Self” because according to him knowing oneself is one true task of a
philosopher: Why figure out the world when you can’t figure out yourself?
SOCRATES

Source: izquotes.com

- He’s also famous for the Socratic method which means: Logical thinking. This method is done by engaging into
debates and asking students about their opinions regarding the matter. Being an open minded person is the key to
this method.
- He also believed that man is composed of a body and a soul.

Man= body + soul.

- According to him, the body is imperfect while the soul is perfect.

- Trivia: There is no records about him because he does not write anything. Details about him came from other
philosophers such as Plato, his student.
PLATO

Source: azquotes.com

- Plato (428 BCE-348 BCE) is also a Greek Philosopher. He is a student of Socrates and his goal is focused on
helping people reach Eudaimonia which means fulfillment.
- He’s also famous for his story about the “Allegory of the Cave” (Watch the story of Allegory of the Cave:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RWOpQXTltA)
- He supported Socrates’ idea about the body and the soul and conceptualized the 3 components of the soul which
are: the Rational (Reason and Intellect), Spirited (Emotions), and the Appetitive Soul (Desires). According to him,
these three should be balanced in order for one to live a happy life.
ST. AUGUSTINE

Source: https://yourpositiveoasis.com/30-aristotle-quotes/

● St. Augustine of hippo is a Christian philosopher who served as a bishop for 35 years. He followed the ancient view
of Plato and infused it with the new found doctrine of Christianity.

● According to St. Augustine, the self is a soul that makes use of the body. Our body is immortal and should act
according to virtue so that by the end of time or after death, we can be unified with God.
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

Source: http://www.famousquotes123.com/saint-thomas-aquinas-quotes.html

- St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) is a Dominican friar, a philosopher, and a theologian. He adopted his perspective of
the self from Aristotle.

- According to him, the self is formed by our experiences in the environment. So say for example we are surrounded
by good people, then we tend to be formed as a good person as well. Or if we do good to other people, then the
“self” is good.
RENE DESCARTES

Source: https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/530932243567285197/

- Rene Descartes (1596-1650) is a French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and the father of modern philosophy.
He believed that the self is composed of a mind and a body. According to him, the body is merely a machine that is
controlled by the mind.
- He is famous for his quote “I think therefore I am.” Which primarily means that the mere fact that you think means
there is an existence of the self.
DAVID HUME

Source: https://www.azquotes.com/author/7037-David_Hume

- David Hume (1711-1776) is a Scottish philosopher who believed that there is no self.

- According him, what we personally perceive and experience are just “impressions” say for example fire and water.
While ideas are just copies of impressions and cannot be perceived by the senses therefore, aren’t real. He
theorized that the “self” is just an idea, and ideas are not real.
IMMANUEL KANT

Source: https://www.pinterest.ph/dailystoic/immanuel-kant-quotes/)

- Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is a German philosopher who contradicted the idea of David Hume. According to him, there is a
self because the things that we perceive around us are not just randomly infused in us without an organizing principle that
regulates the relationship of all these impressions. Say for example, we recognize fire because it is hot and yellow.

- According to him, the self has 2 parts.

1. Transcendental self: Analyzes inputs and informs our thoughts, feelings, and perception.
2. Empirical Self: Organizes all of our experiences, sends input and make it understandable.
GILBERT RYLE

Source: azquotes.com/author/28131-Gilbert_Ryle)

- Gilbert Ryle (1900-197) is a British Philosopher who believed that the mind does not exist therefore it can’t be a basis
of the “self”. However, he argued that the self comes from our behavior. Meaning what we do, how we act, how we
treat others is the “self”.
MERLEAU-PONTY

- Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961) is a French philosopher who believed that the mind and the body are so intertwined that
they cannot be separated from one another.
- According to him, one cannot find any experience that is not an embodied experience. All experience is embodied;
one’s body is his opening toward his existence to the world. The living body, one’s thoughts, emotions, and
experiences are all one.
REFERENCES

http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/10836/1/Theeranaipunya_Shyam%20Salim_Nivedita.pdf

https://www.biography.com/scholar/socrates

https://www.biography.com/scholar/plato

P. Remes, J. Sihvola (eds.) Ancient Philosophy of the Self, 125 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226393282_Aristotle's_Idea_of_the_Self

http://www.sophia-project.org/uploads/1/3/9/5/13955288/portalie_augustine.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319278238_What_makes_us_human_Augustine_on_interiority_exteriority_and_the_self

Simpson, P. (2001). Aristotle's idea of the self. The Journal of Value Inquiry. 35(3). 309-324.

Portalié, E. (1907). Life of St. Augustine of Hippo. The Catholic Encyclopedia. 2. 1-9.

Berry, J. (2017). What makes us human? Augustine on interiority, exteriority, and the self. Scientia et Fides. 5(2). 87-106.
ASSESSMENT (Answer in the Google Classroom_Classwork)

In your own words, state what “self” is for each of the philosophers enumerated below. After doing so, explain how your concept
of “self” is compatible with how they conceived of the “self.”

1. Socrates

2. Plato

3. St. Augustine

4. St. Aquinas

5. Rene Descartes

6. David Hume

7. Immanuel Kant

8. Gilbert Ryle

9. Merleau-Ponty
ASSIGNMENT (Answer in the Google Classroom_Classwork)
1. Please prepare your picture when you were in elementary,
in high school and now that you are in college.
2. List down your salient characteristics that you remember.

My Elementary Self My High School Self My College Self