GEd 101 – Understanding the Self (3 units)

The self from various perspectives:

 Philosophy
 Sociology
 Anthropology
 Psychology
 Western and Eastern Perspectives
Who am i?
I may be seen in various ways in fact they are saying that I has an identity more than
me. Me = Social Self = the self in me is seen as an object. I is our response to Me
therefore, we see the self in I as the subject.
Ship of Theseus
- Is an object that has had all of its components replaced still the same object?
- The argument is it still the same ship or does it become as a different self
Someone would say changing one plank makes it a different one. It would be the same
since a part has been changed. However, some would say that as long as there is an
original component left it is still the same.
Ancient Philosophy (100BC to 500 AD)
- Divided into three periods:
 Pre socratic (Milesians)
 Ancient Triumvate (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle)
 Post-Aristotlelians
Pre Socratics (The Milesians)
- Cosmocentric
- There is a fundamendal principle/thing that underlies everything else, including
the human self.
- We have to live in harmony with the universal rhythms of life.
Thales (Founder of Natural Philosophy; Water)
- “The essence of nature is water”
Anaximander (Apeiron Limitless; Boundless)
- “The basic element came from the limitless”
Apeiron
- Something that is unborn something that is within ourselves
“Something that will not actually die”
Anaximenes (Air)
- A unified, indissoluble, immortal entity that remains the same over time.
- That is in the very likeness of the divine.
Aristotle
- Knowledge is acquired through the senses.
- The mind is in a blank state “Tabula rada”
- Self is composed of matter and form.
- Matter is in a continuous process of developing and becoming
- Knowledge can be found in the world that we live in
- The process of completion is through experiences
- Self comes from a first cause, the source of all changed although unchangeable
itself
- The goal of the human self is reached in happiness through moderation and
balance of things.
Plato
- Philosophy begins in wonder/in awe
3 Parts of the Soul/Self (Psyche)
Reason: the divine essence that lets us think deeply (wisdom), make wise choices and
achieve a true understanding of eternal truths.
Physical appetite: accounts for the basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst, and
sexual desire.
Spirit/Passion: accounts for the basic emotions such as love, anger, ambition,
aggressiveness, empathy.
The three are in a dynamic relationship with each other in agreement or in conflict
- But it is the responsibility of the reason to restore harmony among the three as
Reason can control spirit and the appetite.
Harmony: Justice in the individual, social, and political levels.
Post Aristotlelians