SUMMARY

OF THE
DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHICAL
CONCEPTS OF THE SELF
ANCIENT
A n c I e n t
SOCRATES (469 – 399 B.C.)

 Socrates preferred to engage his students

in endless discussions.
 He believed that the Real SELF is not the
physical body, but rather the PSYCHE
(SOUL)
 He believed that it is the duty of the
philosopher to “KNOW ONESELF” (a famous
advice)
 He is also known for this famous quote:
“THE UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING”
 He saw a person as DUALISTIC: every
person is composed of BODY (imperfect and
impermanent aspect) and SOUL (perfect
permanent)
 He was also known for his DICTUM (short
statement that expresses a general truth
or principle).
PLATO (428 – 348 B.C.)

 For Plato, the SELF is an “IMMORTAL SOUL

IN A MORTAL PERISHABLE BODY.”
 He is Socrates’ prized student who
expounded on Socrates’ ideas of the self.
 He stated the 3 parts of the idea of the
soul. These are the ‘THE RATIONAL SOUL’,
‘THE APPETITIVE SOUL, ‘THE SPIRITED
SOUL’.
 In his work, THE REPUBLIC, he emphasized
that all 3 parts of the soul must work
harmoniously to attain JUSTICE and VIRTUE
in person.
 Plato believed that the soul precedes
birth and succeeds death.
 He emphasized the social aspect of human
nature.
 Humans are not self-sufficient; they need
other people and benefit from social
interactions.
ARISTOTLE (384 – 322 B.C.)

 Aristotle was one of the most renowned

pupils of Plato.
 Plato called him “THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE
SCHOOL”.
 For him, the SELF is composed of BODY and
SOUL, MIND and MTTER, SENSE and
INTELLECT, PASSION AND REASON.
 REASON is the emphasis of Aristotle which
is the development of a human person’s,
physical, economic, and social powers.
 There is a theory taught by Aristotle.
The GOLDEN Mean which means MODERATION
(avoiding EXTREMES: too much or too
little).
 “Living a life of MODERATION is doing
things in Consonance with REASON.”
MEDIEVAL
M E D I e V A L
St. Augustine Of Hippo

 “THE SELF HAS AN IMMORTAL

SOUL”.
 Augustine was perhaps the greatest
Christian philosopher of Antiquity
and certainly the one who exerted
the deepest and most lasting
influence.
 He is a saint of the Catholic
Church, and his authority in
theological matters was universally
accepted in the Latin Middle Ages
and remained, in the Western
Christian tradition.
St. Thomas Aquinas
 Thomas Aquinas concept of the self
According to Thomas Aquinas, “all our
self-knowledge is dependent on our
experience of the world around us.”
 He disputes a prevalent belief at the
time which states that the mind is
"always on," never resting, and always
self-aware in the background.
 Rather, our consciousness of ourselves
is prompted and changed by our
experiences with things in our
surroundings, according to Aquinas.
 According to Thomas Aquinas, we don't
encounter ourselves as isolated brains
or selves but rather as actors
interacting with our surroundings. And
that our understanding of ourselves is
based on our observations of the world
around us. And that the labels we give
ourselves are always derived from our
feelings or thoughts about other
things.
MODERN
M O D E R N
Rene Descartes

 The father of human

philosophy.

 He believed that the

self is an immaterial
mind and a material body
(Dualism)

 He also believe that the

mind is a seat of
consciousness.
John Locke

 He explained that at
birth that human mind is
a tabula Rasa which
means "blank slate " the
mind is empty at birth.

 He emphasized the
"freedom of individuals
to author their own
soul".

 Every human person has

the right to life,
liberty, health and
prosperity.
David Hume

 He believes that all

concepts as well as
knowledge come from the
senses and experiences.

 Self is a "bundle of
collection" of different
perceptions.

 According to him
Impressions is the real
or actual experiences or
sensations while Ideas
copies of impressions.
Immanuel Kant

 One of the most

influential philosopher
of western philosophy.

 He believes that there

must necessarily be
something in us that
organizes these
sensations to create
knowledge and ideas.

 For him reason, not mere

experience is the
foundation of knowledge.
Gilbert Ryle

 British philosopher.

 He proposed that we
should instead focus on
the observable behavior
of a person in defining
the self.
CONTEMPORARY
C O N T E M P O R A R Y
Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908–1961)
 Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy.

 French philosopher and public

intellectual, was the leading
academic proponent of
existentialism and phenomenology in
post-war France.

 Best known for his original and

influential work on embodiment,
perception, and ontology, he also
made important contributions to the
philosophy of art, history,
language, nature, and politics.

 Merleau-Ponty published two major

theoretical texts during his
lifetime: The Structure of
Behavior (1942 SC)
 David Church Land

 Is a philosopher whose theories are

based around the physical brain and
human ideals of self.
End of the topic
E N D O F T H E T O P I C