PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF SELF ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO "All knowledge leads to God.

"

LESSON OBJECTIVES:  One of the Latin Fathers of the Church, Doctors of

the Church and significant Christian thinkers
 Discuss the different representations and  His philosophical approach to Christian thinking is
conceptualizations of the self from various the most influential theological system.
philosophers.  Influenced by Plato's Theory of Forms
 Compare and contrast how the self has been
represented across different disciplines. Aspects of Self:

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?  Theory of Forms in a Christian perspective

 Inner, immaterial "I" that had self-knowledge and
Philo - "loving" Sophia - "knowledge" self-awareness
Philosophy - study of fundamental nature of knowledge  It is be able to be aware of itself
 It recognizes itself as a holistic one.

SOCRATES "The unexamined life is not worth living."

RENE DESCARTES "Cogito Ergo Sum"
 Greek Philosopher and one of the first very few
individuals who shaped Western thought  French Philosopher, mathematician and scientist
 Socratic Method - method of inquiry in testing an  Father of Modern Western Philosophy
idea, asking series of questions  Regarded as the first thinker to emphasize the use
 Socrates believed that philosophy had a very of reason to describe, predict, and understand
important role in the lives of people. natural phenomenon based on the observational
o Self – knowledge and empirical evidence (Bertrand, 2004; Grosholz,
 examination of one's self as well as the 1991).
question about how we ought to live one's  Method: Hyperbolical/ Metaphysical Doubt/
life Methodological Skepticism - a systematic process of
 Importance of contemplation being skeptical about the truth of one's belief
 "The unexamined life is not worth living."
"Cogito Ergo Sum" or "I think therefore I am"
Two Kinds of Existence:
- fundamental element of Western Philosophy as it
1. Visible Existence - the things that we see in our secured the foundation for knowledge in the face of
environment, material things, it changes. radical doubt
2. Invisible Existence - remains constant, soul - described the self as “thinking thing” , doing the act
of doubting as a thinking entity
Virtue is necessary to attain happiness

Virtue - is a moral excellence or moral qualities such as

courage, temperance, prudence, justice JOHN LOCKE Tabula Rasa

 A philosopher, physician and was one of the most

influential Enlightenment thinkers
PLATO "A balance between mind and body."  Human mind at birth is a tabula rasa
-Knowledge is derived from experiences
 Plato was the student of Socrates who wrote the -Defense of accountability
Socratic Dialogue
 He is best known for his Theory of Forms
 Collection and Division - the philosopher would
collect all the generic ideas that have seemed to DAVID HUME "All knowledge is derived from human
have the common characteristics and divided into senses."
different kinds until the subdivision of ideas became
 Scottish philosopher, economist and historian
specific.
during the Age of Enlightenment
Three parts of the soul (self):  Hume was one of the main figureheads of the
influential British Empiricism Movement
1. Appetitive (sensual) - Empiricism – sense of experience
- element that enjoys sensual experiences
2. Rational (reasoning) Bundle Theory
- element that forbids the person to enjoy the
 Hume described the “self” or person (which Hume
sensual experiences
assumed to be the “mind”) as a bundle or a
3. Spirited (feeling)
collection of different perceptions that are moving
- element that is inclined toward the reason but
in a very fast and successive manner;
understands the demands of passion
 The self is made up of successive impressions
IMMANUEL KANT  To understand how the self has become a product
of modern society
 He is a central figure in modern philosophy
 To discuss the theory of social self and its two sides
 Contributions to metaphysics, epistemology, of self
aesthetics and ethics had a profound impact on
almost every philosophical movement that followed Why socialization matters? How did modernization
him affects the development of self-identity? How does
society influence you?
View of Self

 Transcendental – our knowledge bridges the “self:

and the material things together (Boeree, 1999; MODERNIZATION
Brook, 2004).
 Apperception – mental process by which a person  Significantly changed and affected the development
makes sense of an idea by assimilating it to the idea of self
that is already possesses.  Difference of pre-modernization and
modernization:
Two components of self:  Survival
 Communication
1. Inner Self – aware of alterations in your own state
 Transportation
2. Outer Self – includes senses and the physical world
 Advantage and disadvantage

Key characteristics of modernity

GILBERT RYLE "I Act, Therefore I am"
1. Industrialism - The social relations implied in the
 A philosopher and professor who produced a extensive use of material power and machinery in
critique on Descartes' idea that the mind is distinct all processes of production
from the body 2. Capitalism - A production system involving both
 He wrote The Concept of Mind (1949) where he competitive product markets and the
rejected the notion that mental states are separable commodification of labor power
from physical states. 3. Institutions of surveillance - The massive increase of
 He believed that the sense of self is asserted from power and reach by institutions (especially in
behaviors and actions government)

PAUL CHURCHLAND “The physical brain and NOT the George Simmel
imaginary mind give us our sense of self.”
 One of the first generations of German Sociologist
 A philosopher and professor who is known for his  Asserted that people can create a social network by
studies in neurophilosophy and the philosophy of attending a social group
mind
 His philosophy stands on materialistic view or the
belief that nothing but matter exists. Social Group
 Eliminative Materialism
- People ' s common-sense understanding of the - described as having two or more people interacting
mind is not true, certain classes of mental states with one another.
which most people believe in do not exist
Social Network

- connections that link you to your group.

MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY “Physical body is an
important part of the self.” Organic Group

 French philosopher and author  traditional societies

 Emphasizing the body as the primary site of  organic motivation
knowing the world  positive and downside effect
 Idea of self is an embodied subjectivity Rational Group
- an entity that possesses conscious experiences,
such as perspectives, feelings, beliefs, and desires  made of different individuals
 rational motivation
 positive and downside effect
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES George Herbert Mead
LESSON OBJECTIVES:
 A Sociologist who developed the “Theory of The  Independent
Social Self.  Self-reliant
 “The Self is a social process.”  Achievement oriented
 Competitive
Developmental Stages:  Assertive
1. Language – develops self by allowing individuals to
 Pleasure seeking
respond to each other through symbols, gesture,
 Self-assured
words and sounds.  Direct
2. Play – to take on different roles, pretend and  Self-interest
express expectation of others. Play develops one’s Collectivist
self-consciousness through role playing.
3. Game – allowing individuals to understand and  Socially interdependent
adhere to the rules of the activity.  Connected
 Traditional
Two sides of the self: “I” and “Me”
 Cooperative
“Me”  Obedient
 Self-sacrificing
 The product of what the person has learned while  Sensitive
interacting with others.  Self-controlled
 Organized set of attitudes of others which an  Equalitarian
individual assumes.
Relationships - Culture influences how you enter into
“I” and maintain relationships

 It is individual’s response to the community’s Personality Traits - Culture influences whether and how
attitude toward the person. you value traits.
 Impulses and drives
Achievement - Culture influences how you define
success

ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES OF SELF Expressing Emotions - Culture influences what will affect
your emotions
 It considers connections between the individual and
sociocultural, including cultural influences on
personality and psychological foundations of society
and culture. PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES OF SELF
 Self as encompassing the “physical organism, “Psyche” – mind, soul or spirit
possessing psychological functioning and social “Logos” – study, knowledge
attributions”. (Ewing, 1990)
 “Self is not static; it is added to and subtracted from Epistemologically: Refers to the study of the mind, soul
by genetic maturation, learning, forgetting, stress, or spirit and it is often represented by the Greek letter
ageing and disease.” (LaDoux, 2002) ᴪ (psi).

Self-representation Psychology is the scientific study of human behavior

and mental processes.
 Self as illusory
“People construct a series of self-representation
that are based on cultural concepts of person and
JEAN PIAGET (1896-1980)
selected ‘chains’ of personal memories.” (Ewing,
2002)  Cognitive theory of development
The self-embedded in Culture  Cognitive development is a progressive
reorganization of mental processes resulting from
Independent Construct biological maturation and environmental
experience.
 Individualistic culture
 Self as separate, distinct with emphasis on internal Schemata, assimilation and accommodation
attributes or traits, skills and values
Schemas – building blocks of cognitive models and
Interdependent Construct enable us to form a mental representation of the world

 Collectivist culture Two processes:

 Essential connection between the individual to
1. Assimilation- application of previous concepts to
other people.
new concepts
Individualist
2. Accommodation- happens when people encounter o Self-actualization – the tendency to actualize the
completely new information or when existing ideas self as perceived in awareness
are challenges
Self

 Self-concept - aspects of one’s being and

experiences that are perceived by an individual’s
awareness (the person who you really are)
 Real Self – person you actually are
 Ideal Self - one’s view of self as one wishes to be

Congruence – when our ideal self and real self are

similar or closely similar with each other
‘”The self thus becomes aware of itself, at least in its Incongruence – wide gap between self-concept and
practical action, and discovers itself as a cause among ideal self
other causes and as an object subject to the same laws
as other objects.” - Jean Piaget

ME-SELF AND I-SELF

I-SELF • Aware of its actions

Characteristics:

1. A sense of being the agent or initiator of behavior.

2. A sense of being unique.
3. A sense of continuity.
4. A sense of awareness about being aware.

ME-SELF • Empirical self

Dimensions:
DONALD WINNICOTT
1. Material
2. Social True Vs. False Self
3. Spiritual
False Self

- Product of early experiences

SIGMUND FREUD Psychoanalytic Theory - Defensive organization

Psychoanalytic Theory - personality theory based on Two types:

the notion that an individual gets motivated by unseen
forces, controlled by the conscious and the rational - Healthy False Self
thought. - Unhealthy False Self

- Levels of Consciousness True Self

- Parts of the psyche
“Spontaneous authentic experience”
Three levels of consciousness:

1. Conscious
DR. SUSAN HARTER
2. Subconscious
3. Unconscious Self-development Concept
Three parts of Psyche: - Dr. Susan Harter (1999) detailed the emergence of
self-concept
1. Id
1. Early Childhood - “self” is described in terms of
2. Ego
concrete, observable characteristics
3. Superego
2. Middle to later childhood - traitlike constructs
3. Adolescence - more abstract self-definitions such as
inner thoughts, emotions, attitudes and motives
CARL ROGERS’ PERSON-CENTERED THEORY 4. Emerging Adulthood - includes vision of possible
selves
Actualizing Tendency – organismic experiences of an
individual. It is the motive of a person to move towards
completion or fulfillment of its potential
ERIC BERNE

Transactional Analysis Model

 Eric Berne developed his transactional analysis

model as basis for understanding the behavior.
 Two notions:
1. Every person has three parts of ego states. This
means that everyone can experience all ego
states from parent to child ego state.
2. People communicate with one another
assuming roles of any of these ego states.

Ego states:

1. Parent Ego State

 voice of authority
 tells us what should and should not do
 It has two subdivisions:
- Critical/ Controlling – voice of
disapproving in a harsh and possibly
aggressive way
- Nurturing – tries to take over a situation
in a more nurturing way
 Refers to behavior and thinking patterns
that have been taught from the past
interactions with our parents and other
authority figures (teachers, leaders)
 Berne believed our experiences during first
five years contributed to the parent ego
state
2. Adult Ego State
 Voice of rational person
 An individual displays behavior that are
directly noted to the here and now situation
 An individual is free to choose their
response without being influenced by other
ego state
 Looks for solutions in the most effective
and rational manner without being
emotional about the situation
 Straightforward in their approach,
interested in a conversation without being
judgmental, knows how to use logic in
conflicting solutions
3. Child Ego State
 Displays behavior/ feelings or may think
about situations while being influenced by
their thoughts as replayed in childhood
 This is built on any reinforcements give in
childhood either positive or negative
 Three types:
1. Natural Child – who loves to play but
sensitive and vulnerable
2. Little Professor – curious child who
loves to try everything
3. Adaptive Child – conforms and acts in
accordance to other wishes in order to
please them but also has a rebellious
side