PART 1:

THE SELF
FROM VARIOUS
PERSPECTIVES

Lesson 1.1: PHILOSOPHICAL

PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
 Where do we
start in
understanding
the self?
Life is a journey, and
every person is a
traveler.
⊙Purpose is the final
destination
⊙Path is the road going there.
⊙Problem is the barrier on
that road.
Are you going through some
problems now?
Ask yourself:
1. What is really my end
purpose?
2. Is there another path to this
purpose whose problems I
can handle?
Find another path.
Or…. Take new paths.
Activity Time
 Let us imagine that the world
suddenly went into chaos. There is
an impending melting of planet
Motivational Earth because of Global Warming.
activity All people are asked to submit a Bio
Data to the World Screening
Committee.The committee will
only select 1,000 citizens from
each country to be sent to an
Earth-like planet in the neighboring
galaxy.
As to what the criteria are for the
selection process is unknown to
anyone. Because of the urgency of
the situation, we are only given 10
minutes to fill up the Bio Data Form.
We are supposed to draw the self-
portrait accurately and as quickly as
possible. Further, in order to increase
our chances to be selected, we have
to fill in all the necessary data on the
form.
 1. Which part of the Bio-Data
Processing Form is the easiest to answer?
questions How about the most difficult?
2. What do you have in mind
while writing your Bio Data?
What part did you answer
first?
 3. How did you feel while writing
Processing your Bio-Data?
questions

4. What were your realizations

after 10 minutes of completing
your Bio data?
 ⊙ It is not only about accessing
the factual information but
realizations also pulling over what are truly
essential about ourselves.

⊙ It taught us to take time to

know ourselves better and
deeper than anyone else.
“ ⊙Who am I”
Many philosophers grappled to
understand the meaning of
human life. They have
attempted to answer the
question “who am I?” and most
of their views have influenced
the way we look at our lives
today.
 P
PERSPECTIVE
SHI Learning Outcomes:
L
OS ⊙ Explain why it is essential to
O understand the self
P ⊙ Describe and discuss the
HI different notions of the self
C from the points-of-view of the
A various philosophers across
L time and place
⊙ Articulate a personal
philosophical understanding
of the self
 ⊙ Ancient greeting of the highly
“Know civilized Greeks.
thyself”
⊙ It was believed that the
temple gods greet the people
with this salutation as they
enter the holy sanctuary.
 To know thyself is first an
“know
imperative and then a
thyself” requirement.

It is imperative to know the

limits of the self so that one
knows what one is capable of
doing and what one is not.
 ⊙ The real meaning of knowing
“Know
thyself, then,Is a requirement
thyself” for self-moderation,
prudence,good judgment, and
excellence of the soul(Ortiz de
Landazuri,2014)
⊙ Self-moderation
- Anything excessive is not
good.
⊙ Prudence
-strike the balance of things, it is
just wise then to put oneself in
moderation so that one is
capable of self-control and
sound judgment.
 ⊙ To know thyself ,therefore is
“Know
to examine whether we have
thyself” achieved moderation,
prudently chosen what is
good, and have brought about
the excellence of the soul.
SOCRATES PLATO AUGUSTINE
DESCARTES LOCKE
HUME KANT
FREUD RYLE
CHURCHLAND MERLEAU-PONTY
DO THIS!
Choose a part/verse/chorus
from the lyrics of any song that
would perfectly define/describe
where you are right now in your
journey.
SOCRATE
S
 ⊙ first philosopher who
Socrates ever engaged in a
systematic questioning
of the self
⊙ “KNOW THYSELF”
-life - long mission
- true task of a
philosopher
 ⊙ first philosopher who
ever engaged in a
Socrates systematic questioning
of the self
⊙ affirmed that the
unexamined life is not
worth living
○ the worst that can happen
to anyone: to live but die
inside
○ “I KNOW THAT I DO NOT
KNOW”
 ⊙every man is dualistic -
Socrates composed of body
and soul
⊙body - imperfect,
impermanent aspect
⊙soul - perfect and
permanent
PLATO
 ⊙There are three
Plato
components of the
soul: ( magnum
opus,”The
Republic”(Plato2000)
○ the rational soul
○ the spirited soul
○ the appetitive soul
Plato
 Psyche(core of the self) is composed of
three elements.
○ Nous which means the conscious
awareness of the self.
PLATO
○ It is the super power that controls the
affairs of the self.

 One has to develop the nous

and fill it with the
understanding of the limits of
the self, and the correct ethical
standards.
AUGUSTIN
E
 ⊙man is of a
Augustine bifurcated nature
○ Body – imperfect;
continuously yearns
to be with the Divine
○ Soul - capable of
reaching immortality
⊙The body is bound to die
on earth and the soul is
to anticipate living
eternally in a realm of
spiritual bliss in
communion with God.
THOMAS
AQUINA
 ⊙ man is composed of two
parts:
Thomas
⊙matter - hyle (Greek);
Aquinas
the "common stuff that
makes up everything in
the universe“
⊙form - morphe (Greek);
the "essence of a
substance or thing"
Adapting some ideas
from Aristotle, said that
indeed, man is
composed of two parts:
⊙1. Matter - includes
man's body
⊙2. form - it is what
makes it what it is
DESCART
S
RENE
 ⊙ Father of Modern
Rene Philosophy
Descartes ⊙ conceived of the human
person as having a body
and a mind
⊙ In his famous treatise,
The Meditations of First
Philosophy, he claims that
there is so much that we
should doubt
“Cogito,ergo Sum” translated as “
I think therefore I am” or “ I doubt
therefore I exist.”
The discovery of the cogito
revolutionizes the way we view
ourselves and the world around
us.
Human rationality- we need
reason in order to evaluate our
thoughts and actions.
 ⊙One should only believe

“
that since which can pass
the test of doubt; if
something is so clear and
lucid as not to be even
doubted, then that is the
only time when one
should actually buy a
Rene proposition.
Descartes
 ⊙the only thing
Rene
Descartes that one cannot
doubt is the
existence of the
self
 “ ⊙Cogito ergo
sum,
⊙"I think
therefore, I
Rene am"
Descartes
 ⊙The self, then, is also a
combination of two
Rene distinct entities:
Descartes ○ the cogito - the thing
that thinks, which is
the mind
○ the extenza - the
extension of the mind,
which is the body
 ⊙But what then am I? A

“
thinking thing. It has been
said. But what is a thinking
thing? It is a thing that
doubts, understands,
affirms, denies, wills,
refuses; that imagines
also, and perceives.
Rene
Descartes
JO LO
H CK
N E
⊙ Self is comparable to an
empty space where
everyday experiences
contribute to the pile of
knowledge that is put forth
on that empty space.

Experience is an important
requirement.
 ⊙ personal identity is a matter
of psychological continuity.
⊙ posits an “empty” mind, a
John tabula rasa, which is shaped
Locke by experience, and
sensations and reflections
being the two sources of all
our ideas
⊙ - the individual person process
different perceptions from
various experiences
DAVID
HUME
 ⊙ believes that one can know
only what comes from the
senses and experiences
David ⊙ Experiences can be
Hume categorized into two:
○ impressions - products of our
direct experience with the
world
○ Ideas - copies of impressions
and are thus not as lively and
vivid as our impressions
⊙ “Bundles of temporary
impressions”
Examples:name,height,affiliation
s,skills,achievements and the like.
(temporary and non-persisiting)

He harshly claimed that there

IS no Self.
Self is simply "a bundle or collection
of different perceptions, which
succeeded each other with an
inconceivable rapidity, and are in a
perpetual flux and movement."

David Hume
IMMANUE
L
K
A
NT
 ⊙Believes that there is
necessarily a mind
Immanuel that organizes the
Kant impressions that men
get from the external
world which he calls
APPARATUSES OF
THE MIND
 ⊙Along with the
apparatuses of the mind
Immanuel goes the "self"
Kant ⊙The self is not just what
gives one his personality;
in addition, it is also the
seat of knowledge
acquisition for all human
persons
The self is always transcendental.

⊙It explains that being or the

self is not in the body, it is
outside the body and even
outside the qualities of the
body-meaning
transcendent
SIGMUND

FREU
D
 ⊙three layers of
Sigmund
Freud the self:
○Id
○Ego (“I”)
○superego
 ID
- the primitive and instinctive
- consists of all the inherited
Sigmund components of personality present
Freud at birth, including Eros and
Thanatos
- impulsive (and unconscious)
- remains infantile in its function
throughout a persons life, as it is
not in touch with the external
world
- it operates on the pleasure
 EGO
⊙ It is the decision-making component
of personality
Sigmund ⊙ operates according to the reality
principle
Freud ⊙ concerned with devising a realistic
strategy to obtain pleasure.
⊙ has no concept of right or wrong;
⊙ uses unconscious defense
mechanisms to help ward off
unpleasant feelings (i.e., anxiety)
⊙ engages in secondary process
thinking and utilizes reality testing
 SUPEREGO
- its function is to control the
Sigmund id's impulses and persuade
Freud the ego to turn to moralistic
goals rather than simply
realistic ones and to strive
for perfection
- it consists of two systems:
1.conscience
2.ego-ideal
⊙ We are certain about the
many wrong things that may
be brought about by our
actions, but we never
understand why there is
something somewhere inside
us that makes many of us do
what we know is wrong.
GILBERT

RYLE
 ⊙the "self" is not an
Gilbert entity one can locate
and analyze but simply
Ryle
the convenient name
that people use to
refer to all the
behaviors that people
make
⊙ The thinking I will never be
found because it is just a
“ghost in the machine”
⊙ The mind is never separate
from the body.
⊙ The physical actions or
behaviors are dispositions of
the self.
⊙ The mind is a disposition of
the self.
CHURCHLA
D
PA
UL
⊙ Paul and Patricia
Churchland promoted
the position called
“eliminative materialism”
which bring forth
neuroscience into the
fore of understanding the
self.
 ⊙ tossed aside the concept of
dualism and the brain and
adhered to materialism - the
Paul belief that nothing but
Churchland matter exist
⊙ neurobiology
MERLEA
U PONTY
-
 ⊙the mind and body are
intertwined that they
Merleau- cannot be separated
Ponty from one another
⊙The living body,his
thoughts,emotions,and
experiences are all one.
He proposes treating perception as a
causal process.
⊙ It means that our perceptions are
caused by the intricate
experiences the self, and
processed intellectually while
distinguishing truthful perceptions
from illusory. Therefore the self is
taken as a phenomenon of the
world.
Group
quiz#1
IDENTIFY WHOSE
STATEMENT ARE THE
FOLLOWING. Write the
philosopher’s name on your
paper.
“
⊙1. Human rationality is the
primary condition in the
existence of the self.
“ ⊙2. Man’s end
goal is
happiness
“ ⊙ 3. There are three
layers of the self, the
id,ego, and super ego
“
⊙4. Claimed that we cannot
really rely on our senses
because our sense
perceptions can often
deceive us.
“
⊙ 5.The self is comparable to an
empty space – tabula rasa.
“ ⊙ 6.The self is not just what gives
one his personality; in
addition, it is also the seat of
knowledge acquisition for all
human persons.
“ ⊙ 7. The self is nothing else
but a bundle of
impressions.
“ ⊙ 8.The self is not an entity
one can locate and
analyze but simply the
convenient name that
people use to refer to all
behaviors that people
make.
“ ⊙ 9.Our behavior appears to
have its basic cause in
neural activity.
“ ⊙ 10.The living body, his
thoughts, emotions, and
experiences are all one.
“ ⊙ 11. There are three components
of the soul:
⊙ The rational soul ,the spirited
soul and the appetitive soul
“
⊙ 12.The self is always
transcendental
“ ⊙ 13.He harshly claimed that
there IS no Self.
“ .
⊙ 14.Experience is an
important requirement
to fill in the empty
space.
“ ⊙ “I KNOW THAT I DO NOT
KNOW”