A.

The Self from Various Philosophical Perspectives

Introduction:
In understanding the self, we must first undertake the concepts that tries to define
what the “self” is. In this lesson we first discuss about how the study of Philosophy tries
to study and unravel the concept of the “self”
Philosophy is the study of the basic or fundamental principles of life, knowledge,
reality, existence, morality, human nature, etc., through the use of logic and reason. This
study includes understanding what and how the self is formed. In this lesson, you will be
provided with the different philosophical concepts in order to identify, differentiate and
analyze how the self is formed as founded by Philosophy.
A. Ancient Philosophy:
Philosopher Concept of the Self
Socrates He is a philosopher that was principally concerned on man. He is famous
for the line, “Know thyself.” He emphasized that every individual must
consciously understand themselves, in every aspect of their life, may it be
mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Socrates said “An unexamined life is
not worth living.” Thus, he focused on the importance of the conscious
effort to evaluate how we are doing every day.
This concept tells us to examine deep within our self. Try asking yourself,
“How am I today? Am I happy or sad, why?”
Answering questions like this creates in you an awareness of how the self
is. It also creates a sense of knowing and identifying the state of “being”
you are right now.

Plato This philosopher is a student of Socrates and as a student he also talked

about how the self is formed or what consists of the self. He said that the
Self has 3 parts. He said all individuals have 1) Reason, 2) Physical
Appetite, & 3) Spirit/Passion.
 Reason – is the ability for us to think deeply. All individuals, you
and me, are able to think, whether right or wrong, just or unjust and
good or bad.
 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.
Do you believe that the self consists of these 3 parts? Or are there other
parts that Plato should have included?

Aristotle This philosopher argued with the previous philosophers. He said that the
self is a Tabularasa or a blank tablet. This means that the self is initially
empty and that as time and experience progresses, we receive new
learning and our self is slowly formed. According to him, the development
of the self is a continuous process of developing and becoming. Every
experience, whether good or bad, has created an impact to what we are
today.
Try asking yourself, “what experiences in your life do you believe has
greatly affected who you are today?”
 As time progressed, Philosophy’s notion of the “self” has also evolved. Below are
some of the concept of “self” from the Modern Philosophy.
A. Modern Philosophy
Philosopher Concept of the Self
René This modern philosopher is famous for his line: “Cogito ergo sum.”
Descartes Which translates as “I think, therefore, I am.” He believes that the self
is a thinking thing. The self is always thinking. Our being thinks and
according to him, we stop being “who we are” when we stop thinking.
Has there been a time you always thought that life has been hard you
would not want to think at all? Well, this philosophy emphasizes that
the more we think about not thinking, the more we should deepen
about giving our “self” a thought.
What have been your thoughts these past few days? 
Sigmund This psychologist said that the SELF (or mind) is multi-layered: 1)
Freud Conscious, 2) Preconscious 3) Unconscious.
 Conscious – is the part of the Self that is aware of what he/she
does. For instance, you are aware that you are looking at these
words right now. You are aware about your name, your family
and where you live.
 Preconscious – is the part of the Self which is considered as half
conscious and half unconscious. These could be thoughts that
you don’t always have to remember because you have been used
to in doing. An example of this would be; do you notice how you
when you go inside a room, you always turn on the switch of the
room even if it’s already on? Your automatic behavior belongs in
the preconscious.
 Unconscious – this is the part of the Self which is considered
hidden. They are not the thoughts that you usually think of.
Unconscious part consists of your dreams, desires, traumas and
past pain or pleasure that Self prefers to be hidden from others.
Gilbert Ryle This philosopher believes that the Self can be defined through the study
of Behaviorism. He says that the self is a pattern of behavior, the
tendency or disposition for a person to behave in a certain way in
certain circumstances. Have you tried judging others and even yourself
based on how you behaved in specific situations?
Maurice This philosopher believed that in order to understand the Self. We must
Merleau- use the Phenomenological approach. This means describing the
Ponty phenomena of the lived experience by describing what your immediate
responses are — physically, emotionally, cognitively.
This means we are only able to understand the Self on our own personal
point of view. Nobody can fully say that the Self is like this and like that.
According to this approach, only in the view of the one who “lived” an
experience can fully explain how he feels, thinks and do with regards to
that situation. Take for example the question: “What happens to you
when you fall in love – physically, emotionally, and mentally?”
When you ask others about this question, you may realize that they may
have a different answer from yours. This is because according to this
philosopher, who we are differs because we see, feel and think about
the experiences differently from others.
(to be submitted during our face to face schedule)
 1 whole sheet of paper
Activity 1- Who are you according to…
 Socrates
 Plato
 Aristotle
 Descartes
 Merleau-Ponty
 Ryle
 Freud
Activity 2
Each of the philosophical concept is unique. All of these have distinct explanations of
what the self is. We may believe one, two or all of these theories in explaining the self.
What about you? What theories do you associate most with regards to what the “Self” is?
In this activity, choose one (or more) theory from Ancient Philosophy and Modern
Philosophy and explain how these theories have been real in your life.
Chosen Theory Life Experience
Ancient Philosophy:

Modern Philosophy:

Activity 3- Reflection
Write a reflection on the Various philosophical perspective of the self.
Guides in writing your Reflection paper:
1. What did you learn?
2. What did you discover about yourself from other people’s point of view?
3. How these philosophies affected your ways in understanding yourself?
4. Think of the interactions or any experiences that can be connected to the topic.
5. Describe what happened.
6. What challenges did you encounter?
7. How did you managed to overcome those challenges all by yourself?