Name: Christian Jade B.

Nograles Section: Polaris 1-A Date: 08/26/22 Score:

E-Portfolio Task #1 – “My Personal Philosophy of the Self”

Throughout history, many philosophers, researchers, and even professors in some

universities have presented various descriptions and reviews of the philosophical perspective of
the “self”. Socrates, for example, presented the concepts of "knowing oneself" and "controlling
one's moral excellence or behavior." Aside from him, Plato has been implying the view of the
"Ideal Self, Perfect Self," in which he implies that his soul is completely blended with itself, as
well as the application of three parts of the soul, the rational, spirited, and appetitive, that
govern one's appetites and passions, never allowing them free rein. As well as St. Augustine of
Hippo introduced the concepts of self-realization and self-presentations, through which the self
is developed. Moreover, he introduces the concept of free will, which means that we are
responsible for our own actions. Rene Descartes asserts that a person is responsible for using
his or her mind and has the thinking abilities to analyze, investigate, experiment, and thus
develop itself, and many another philosopher. These people are crucial in helping us recognize
ourselves and understand the perspective of the self that affects the world, as well as our
deepest connection with others.

And as for me, after reading all of the philosophical perspectives on the self, I came to
the conclusion that I had picked up a lot of knowledge from the great philosophers that I could
use in my philosophy of the self. First, let me mention Socrates, whom I first encountered
during my high school years and from whom I have drawn inspiration ever since. The ideas of
self-awareness, self-reflection, and self-worth, this has assisted me in discovering my true self,
understanding my strengths, and helping me overcome my weaknesses. In addition, his ideals
have helped me learn more about my values, thoughts, ideas, and personality. His self-concept
has helped me identify my life's needs and desires, thus giving me enough motivation and
boosting my self-confidence to achieve my goals in life. This has aided me in my future
planning, which led to my decision to enroll in the BSMT course. Furthermore, this also helps
me understand how to communicate effectively and form bonds with others.

Now let us proceed with Plato, who is well-known for his concept of The Ideal Self, the
Perfect Self: “Ignorance, the root and stem of every evil”, which he implies that there is a
harmony between the three components of the soul (Rational, Spirited, and Appetitive). I
believed that I could relate to his concept because I already possessed these three soul
elements, which had helped me to think ethically, giving me the desire to do such things,
assisting me in making good decisions, and also having the desire to do some things and feel
such emotions. Starting from the rational soul, which helped me differentiate myself by doing
such decisions related to what is factual and what is simply obvious rather than untrue, and
intelligently making sensible decisions. His idea of a rational soul has assisted me in making
wise decisions in life, but before I make any decisions, I must first assess the situation to
determine what is the best course of action and what would fit into that specific situation or
scenario to avoid further complications that can worsen the situation or scenario. Besides that, I
was able to incorporate the spirited soul by helping me produce my desires in life to achieve
honor and victory. Through this, I was able to implement the rational soul while ensuring the
rules of proper seasoning are strictly followed effectively. Moreover, this implies my willingness
or volition to do such things. Through my eagerness to strive hard and do my best in my
studies by completing all tasks, assignments, projects, performance tasks, and so on time and
with effort. Along with doing my best to get high marks on my quizzes, prelim, midterm, and
final exam. As well as my parents' teaching me as my strength and motivation to graduate not
only with a bachelor's degree but also with honors. Finally, for an appetitive soul, this
demonstrates my way to feel such emotions and having desires sometimes. Appetitive has
helped me formulate my desires while being able to know to control these desires, which should
be limited by other parts of the soul.

Moving on, St. Augustine of Hippo introduced the concept of free will, which is also the
same as Immanuel Kant’s philosophy but unlike him, most of his ideology focuses on “Respect
for Self”. According to St. Augustine, people are morally responsible for their actions, whether
they have a positive or negative impact on them. So, I believe that before acting, one must
think critically because any mistake, no matter how big or small, can drastically alter one's life
or even fate. I was able to relate to his concept because of the way I carry out my actions
effectively. I was able to determine the best course of action by evaluating a specific situation
or problem, distinguishing between what is morally acceptable and wrong, and effectively
pondering all potential or possible solutions to such difficulties and situations. Furthermore, I
was able to become aware of my actions, which allows me to be more careful and to be more
cautious with my actions to avoid harming others. Besides that, St. Augustine has also
introduced the idea of how self-development is achieved, through applying self-realizations and
self-presentation in my life. Through self-realizations, this enables me to know and understand
my value and what I am capable of, which has the same characteristics as the concept of
Socrates’ “Knowing Thyself”. Self-realization has made me understand who I am, what my
abilities are, and what I can do, from which I realize that I have some potential within me that I
didn’t discover yet. Besides that, I also applied self-presentation through the way how I
represent myself to others, how I express myself to them, and the desire to change others’
perceptions about myself, thus enabling me to set good impressions on other people. Finally,
St. Augustine emphasized the importance of loving God by loving one's fellowmen, which
means never harming others. His ideology has taught me that the key to achieving fulfillment
and eternal happiness in life is to love others. This also made me realize that God continually
emphasizes loving others and loving ourselves, and then that love is greater than everything
else. And it is our mission as his followers to accomplish these things to fulfill the duty he has
given us.

In conclusion, all of the philosophical perspectives of the self, including what I have
mentioned above, as well as other concepts of the self, made by other famous philosophers
that I haven't mentioned, while we have discussed already in our lesson, have given me the
inspiration and idea to formulate my philosophy of the self, which is "The Human Brain is
morally and ethically responsible for all actions, including feeling such emotions,
managing thoughts, controlling one's morals and values, storing memories, and
assisting an individual in making good life decisions, while the body is responsible
for the senses themselves” which is similar but differs from the concepts of all philosophers,
based on the lessons that were taught to us. Since, in my opinion, the brain is already a self-
contained entity that handles everything for a human to do its wants and desires, make life
decisions, and so much more. I also contrast my philosophical views with those of other
philosophers because there are some things that I believe are incorrect and inexplicable. For
example, with the concept of the mind, and consciousness or memory was developed by John
Locke, David Hume, and Sigmund Freud, they believe that the human mind is responsible for
such things, but it remains unexplainable because the mind was not fully proven to exist,
whereas the human brain has already been proven by scientists to exist. While the mind is only
a part of the brain, it is responsible for such actions and performs all of the thinking and action
processes. Furthermore, each part of the brain has its specific function, such as the
"Cerebrum," which is in charge of an individual's movements and actions. Some parts of the
brain are responsible for speech, judgment, thinking and reasoning, problem-solving, emotions,
and learning. As well as other functions related to vision, touch, and hearing, many other
senses. The “Cerebellum” is responsible for sending signals for the body to adjust or move
through coordinating movements. The “Hippocampus”, which is located in the temporal lobe of
the brain, is in charge of storing memories in the brain, as well as storing all of the moral values
and other teachings that were taught to a person. The “Amygdala”, which responsible for
processing emotions including strong emotions such as pleasure, fear, and anger. As well as the
amygdala also integrates emotional behavior and motivation. Finally, the “Parietal Lobe” figures
out and processes the message received from the five senses. In short, for me, the brain is
already the one that makes everything possible and aids in doing many things for us to survive
and do such things in life, as well as to fulfill one’s happiness and mission in this world.