RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

SESSION NO. 1 / WEEK NO. 2

MODULE NO. 1: THE PHILOSOPHICAL SELF

1. Overview
2. Philosophy, self, and philosophy of self
3. Western and Eastern Philosophies
4. Views of the eminent philosophers on self

Overview

This module will walk you through in determining the differences between the
western and eastern philosophies – in general, and to understand philosophy and self.
Moreover, by the end of this module you will be able to understand and appreciate the
different views of the eminent western and eastern philosophers on “self”.

Study Guide

To carefully understand this module, you are instructed to read thoroughly this
module and the suggested readings to understand and be enlightened more of the discussion.

Further, an activity and assessment are provided at the end of this module to assess
your learning.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the module, you will be able to:

1. Define philosophy and self

2. Differentiate the western and eastern philosophies
3. Understand the views of western and eastern philosophies on self

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Topic Presentation

Before you proceed reading this module, kindly accomplish the activity no. 1 see the
guided/learning activities section.

Frequently Asked Questions:

● Do you KNOW yourself?
● Do you UNDERSTAND yourself?
● Is it possible that you know yourself but you also do not understand yourself?
● How is KNOWING different from UNDERSTANDING?

Philosophy, Self, and the Philosophy of Self

When asked about the definition of philosophy and self, what comes first into your
mind?

As defined by the Encyclopaedia Britannica (2020), Philosophy is originated from the

Greek work “Philosophia” meaning the “love of wisdom”. It primarily aims to the study and
seek answers to fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind,
logic and language.

A philosopher once said “All men by nature desire to know”. Does this mean that as
a person, do we really do not know and understanding ourselves?

To answer this, let us first define knowing and understanding. According to Merriam
Webster, knowing is having or reflecting knowledge, information, or intelligence. Meanwhile,
understanding the capacity to comprehend fully and deeply a thing, concept or situation.

Let us have the following applications as an example: zoom, discord, and Google
Meet. In terms of knowing, you technically know by now that these are applications or
software that can be utilized for synchronous meetings, but do you understand how each
works? Such as the features, the functions, the MBPS consumptions and all.

On the other hand, applying the same to a person, you may know her or him by name,
but do you really understand him or her? It is important to note that this also applies to us.
For instance, we know that we are angry, agitated, sad, happy but there will be moments that
we don’t actually understand why we are feeling what we are feeling. Is this normal? Definitely
it is.

What is “self”?

There is no absolute definition of self. The following are the definitions of self:
● An individual’s character or behavior. (Merriam-Webster, Since 1828)
● The union of elements (such as body, emotions, thoughts, and sensations)
that constitute the individuality and identity of a person. (Merriam-Webster,
Since 1828)
● The unified being essentially integrated to our consciousness or awareness.

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In defining and understanding the concepts of self, various viewpoints from Western
and Eastern philosophies were proposed in this module. And before we proceed with the
different philosophies let us discuss first the concepts of self. The concepts of self may be
examined in five ways: self-knowledge, self-activity, self-independent of the senses, self-
identity and self-image.

Self-knowledge refers to one’s knowledge and understanding of one’s own learning,

characters, motivation and capabilities. To have self-knowledge, one must know his/her
particular experiences, sensation, attitudes and belief.

Self-activity is defined as an independent and self-determined action of one person.

It is the quality or state of being self-active. A person’s decision to carry out actions which you
have thought about yourself and not been told to do by others. It infers motion or the power
of moving one’s self without the help or aid of the external – ability to be self-independent.

Self-independent of the senses refers to the inner self. It focuses on internal attributes
like our abilities, skills and natural intelligence that are not acquired. It is also related to a
person’s sense of worth or self-esteem and help us to strive and to achieve our goals in life.

Self-identity is the particular characteristics of the self that determines individual’s

uniqueness among others. It is the recognition of one’s potentials and qualities as an
individual. It is the awareness of one’s individual identity. For example, gender identity and
identification cards.

Self-image is a mental picture of an individual and is quite resistant to change through

time regarding one’s ability, personality, and role. It is how you see yourself and feels about
your personality, achievements and values in life. For example, a person who sees his self or
herself beautiful and smart. A mental picture of a person about himself at the past or present
(Tomas, et al., 2018).

Philosophy is a broad term. Hence, in this activity, you only need to study and focus
on the philosophies about self. Both western and eastern philosophies have proposed and
contributed in the understanding of self. And as we move forward, we will be looking into the
views of the following philosophers:

Western Philosophy:
Socrates: The First Moral Philosopher (469-399 B.C.E.)
Aristotle: The Father of Western Philosophy (384-322 B.C.E.)
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
David Hume: Scottish Empiricist (1711-1776)
John Locke: English Empirical Philosopher (1632-1704)
Sigmund Freud: Drive Theory of Self (1856-1939)

Eastern Philosophy:
Virgilio Enriquez: Ama ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino (1942-1994)
Hindu Philosophy of Self (1500 B.C.E)
Buddhist Philosophy of Self (5th Century B.C.E. to the present)
Confucian Philosophy (551 B.C. – 479 B.C.)

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However, you have to first distinguish and establish the major differences between
western and eastern philosophies. Kindly see the activity no. 2 on the guided/learning
activities section.

The views of the eminent Philosophers on Self

“Know thyself”

- Socrates: The First Moral Philosopher

(470-399 B.C.E.)

Readings: * Socrates philosophy about self.

Socrates believes that to understand the self

is “know thyself”. The particular characteristics of
the self-determine its identity. This assertion,
imperative in the form, indicates that man must
stand and live according to his nature. Man has to
look at himself. To find what it means? How, then.
This knowledge of oneself can be achieved only
through the Socratic Method through the dialogue between the soul and itself or between a
student and his teacher. Without this work on oneself, life is worthless. According to Socrates,
“an unexamined life is not worth living”.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of

all wisdom”

-Aristotle: The Father of Western

Philosophy (384-322 B.C.E.)

Readings: * Aristotle’s The three parts of soul.

* idea of Monism
* Aristotle on the Individuality of Self (Pdf)

Aristotle undeniably diverged from Plato in

his view of what a human being most truly and
fundamentally is. Plato, at least in many of his
dialogues, held that the true self of human beings
is the reason or the intellect that constitutes their soul and that is separable from their body.

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that give meaning based on the principles of cause and effects. We view things as distinct but
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
Aristotle, for his part, insisted
that the human being is a
composite of body and soul
and that the soul cannot be
separated from the body
(Sihvola, 2008)
“I think, therefore I am”
-Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
Readings: * Dualism.
* Cogito ergo sum
To him the “self” is a thinking person. In
his writing “Cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I
am). He stressed that the mind is a substance
within the brain capable of thinking (affirming,
doubting, judging etc.). The self then, is regarded
the one that makes us aware to perceive the
external world. Descartes emphasized the notion
of self which is made of consciousness that forms
our thinking and guides our behavior. It is the self
that perceived the world.
“Humans are bundles of impression and
ideas”
-David Hume: Scottish Empiricist (1711-1776)
Readings: * Bundle Theory of Personal Identity.
* David Hume, Stanford Encyclopedia
of Philosophy (link:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume/)
The self is nothing more than the mental
perceptions which are available to our memory.
This perception relies on our previous experiences
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they are connected together by resemblance, contiguity or causation. All perceptions of the
mind is divided in two distinct kinds, the “impressions” and “ideas”. Impressions are the
original form of all our ideas. The self-according to Hume can be explained further in the
“Bundle Theory of Personal Identity”. Hume said the mind is simply a bonded of perceptions
and experiences linked by the relations of causations and resemblance.

“Self is a thinking intelligent being that has

reason and reflection, and can consider
itself as itself, the same thinking thing, in
different times and places”

- John Locke: English Empirical Philosopher

(1632-1704)

Readings: * Personal Identity change over time

The self can be understood by examining

one’s mind and what constitute the mind. Locke
stressed that mind consists of memory where
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resides. Locke suggests that the self is a thinking
intelligent being that has reason and reflection and continuous to define one’s personal
identity.

“The ego is not master in its own house”

- Sigmund Freud: Drive Theory of Self (1856-

1939)

Readings: * Structures of Personality

Sigmund Freud is known for his structure of

personality, namely: id, ego and superego.

These concepts were actually the same with

Aristotle’s tripartite soul.

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shorturl.at/ntJKY

“Ama ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino”

- Virgilio Enriquez: (1942-1994)

And of course, the least but not the least is

Dr. Enriquez, a.k.a. Doc E, he is the Father of
Filipino Psychology. He was born on November 24,
1942 at Santol, Bulacan.

Sikolohiyang Pilipino or the Filipino Psychology

refers to the psychology born out of the
experience, though and orientation of the Filipinos. He also said that a Filipino can better
understand himself and in turn, be able to improve his life more. Further, he stated that the
core value of Sikolohiyang Pilipino is the concept of “Kapwa”, a tagalog word that covers the
concepts of both “self” and “others” (People Pill, n.d.).

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In Hinduism, the concept of “Atman” or “soul

or breath” is their main concept when it comes to
self. The Atman is the universal self that is believes
to be identical with the core of the personality
that after death either transmigrates to a new life
or attains release from the bonds of existence. If
Atman is the universal, for Hinduism, Brahman or
the absolute underlies the workings of the
universe.

To put it simply, Atman is part of the

Brahman, with which commune or even fuse.

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In contrast to Hinduism, Buddhism

believes in “Anatta” or non-self.

Non-self does not suggest that there is no

self, rather, in Buddhism, the this is the doctrine
that there is in humans no permanent, underlying
substance that can be called the “soul”.

However, Buddhism also mentioned

about the five (5) Skandha or the “aggregates”.

These five (5) elements, namely: form, sensation,

perception, mental formation and awareness or
consciousness, sum up the whole of an
individual’s mental and physical existence. In
short, the self cannot be identified with any one
of the parts nor is it the total of the parts
(Britannica, 2020).

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Better known in China as “Master Kong”

(Chinese: Kongzi), Confucius was a fifth-century
BCE Chinese thinker whose influence upon East
Asian intellectual and social history is
immeasurable.

Like the Buddhism, Confucianism also

believes in “No Self’. In Confucianism the quest for
the human self, the search for what it is to be
human in terms of substance or no-substance, in
terms of spirit or body, does not exist.

Accordingly, every person is born with four

beginnings, which do not encapsulate a concept of
self as yet, but which together, if put in the western
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framework of thinking, may be called ‘pre-self’, or ‘potential-self’:

These pre-selves are: heart of compassion – leads to Jen

heart of righteousness – leads to Yi
heart of propriety – leads to Li
heart of wisdom – leads to Chih

Readings: * Confucius (link: https://iep.utm.edu/confuciu/)

* The Concept of "Self" in Confucian Thought (link:
http://www.tparents.org/UNews/unws9908/Klemme_confucian.htm

References

(n.d.). Retrieved from People Pill: https://peoplepill.com/people/virgilio-enriquez/

Britannica, T. E. (2020). Philosophy. Retrieved from Britannica:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/philosophy

Richey, J. (n.d.). Retrieved from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

https://iep.utm.edu/confuciu/

Tomas, R. D., Sanchez, M. T., Paragas, E. T., Perez, N. S., Marasigan, J. B., Miranda, M. B., . . .
Espiritu, A. F. (2018). Understanding The Self. Malabon City: Mutya Publishing
House, Inc.

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