In this course, we will examine different philosophical accounts of what it means to be a

self. Our presumption will be that we as human beings are more than mere material
bodies and we will inquire into the different ways in which philosophers from different
eras have attempted to define this “more.” In doing so, we will discuss several aspects
that characterize our lives as specifically human, such as conscious awareness, reason
and knowledge, freedom, time (past and future), personal identity, embodiment, and
responsibility. Our reading of several texts out of the history of philosophy will enable us
to raise certain perennial philosophical questions such as the question concerning the
relation between world and self. Among the authors we will discuss are Plato, Aristotle,
Descartes, Locke, Leibniz, and more contemporary phenomenological accounts (e.g.
Merleau-Ponty, Sartre, and Levinas).

Philosophy is the expression of man’s curiosity about everything which

includes his attempt to make sense of the world basically through his
intellect was popularly said by Alan Watts.

Many of us in this training class thought for a moment why we were

here. A certain amount of curiosity sprang from our minds why this
was planned. We began to wonder. We asked why.

Coming from different fields of endeavor, we were all ushered to this

perplexing subject that entailed an in-depth understanding of man – his
god and his world at large.

Though all of us had dealt with this course back in college and in the
graduate school, still some points of bedazzlement advanced to our
spotlight.

At the beginning of things, we were all treated to a feast of man’s

nature – his very self that has longed been explored and tried to be
understood, why he behaves the way he does today and how he has
transformed from a mere creature of simplicity to the modern thinking
machine he has become.

Man has been the center of our curiosity as his purpose and existence
are brought to our attention – his acquisition of freedom that is placed
against morality in an environment that inevitably leads to a final close
– his death.
As we went on, we were made to realize that man is by nature a
natural philosopher. Because of his powers, his intellect and senses,
man has drawn his separation from just being a savage animal. Man
thinks. He uses the power of reasoning – he has logic boiling in his
head. Aristotle said that nothing is in the intellect that is not first in
the senses.” He has been given the powers to identify what is true or
false (intellect) and to feel what is good or bad (senses). The
combination of intellect and senses has placed man on a pedestal
where he exercises his dominance over other beings in the world –
playing the role of God at some point.

As Philosophy is said to make human beings wise men, he has

engaged himself into a lot of questionings, dialogues, rational
arguments and systematic presentations.

In his quest to decipher his own self, man discovers an even more
befuddling concept about everything – the truth, which by far has been
disclosed as the center of Philosophy.

Man philosophizes so much that he even questioned God and the

world. Through the changing times, he has embarked on a journey to
unlock the mystery of the world’s origin – who created it and who was
this omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent Supreme Being that
governed all that was on earth and in the great cosmos.

As he goes through this seemingly Herculean task of understanding his

very self, he stumbles on three objects in the philosophical universe –
the world, his god and to his surprise himself.

Man has employed various approaches to open Pandora’s Box. Out of

his overflowing curiosity, he has never ceased to explore his complex
self even further.

Logic, epistemology, metaphysics and ethics have become his tools in

understanding his world – why all beings exist and where they come
from. He has learned much with this yet he has never rested looking
for the ESSENCE in his EXISTENCE.

As we live through our existence, we learn what is right and wrong. We

are all bound by morality as we attempt to understand our profound
humanity.
All our actions may be the same yet our motives remain separated
which in turn are difficult to determine especially when mounted
against varied circumstances.

Our existence has been placed under the strict ruling of ethics which
traces its roots in discipline at its very essence. Our thoughts,
wisdom, principles, morals and beliefs are all subjects for criticisms
and in the long process of scrutiny, they have outlined so much our
WAY OF LIFE.

All this began when we wondered. Everything was set on stage when
we asked ourselves the essence of our existence and what made us
realize it. We had our presentations on this platform only to find out
that we are just being introduced to the philosophy of the human
person.

As we closed the day, we were led to reflect that “we as teachers are
shining beacons that light others’ path, but in order to do that we need
to know why we exist so we can embrace our essence”.