UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES

PROFESSOR: MIKKO M. MONTEALTO, MSP
LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Explain the role of Philosophy in Understanding the Self.

2. Discuss the different concepts of the Self from the
philosophical perspective.
3. Differentiate the various concepts of the Self and identify
and their similarities.
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?

Finding answers to serious questions about ourselves and

about the world we live in:

- What is morally right and wrong? And why?

- What is a good life?
- Does God exist?
- And much, much more…..

Questioning existing knowledge and intuitions get closer to

the truth.
WHAT WILL YOU GET OUT OF PHILOSOPHY?

The skills are:

- Critical Thinking
- Argument Skills
- Communication
- Reasoning
- Analysis
- Problem Solving

This allows you to:

- Justify your opinions
- Explain to people why they are wrong and you are right
- Philosophy basically teaches you to think.
REFLECT THE FOLLOWING:

1. What do we even mean by the “Self”?

2. Are we souls, bodies, or fragments of someone else’s
imagination?
3. Are Just mind or a combination of mind and body?
4. Will I survive bodily death or is it the end when my bodily
self die?
WHAT WILL YOU GET OUT OF PHILOSOPHY?

PYTHAGORAS
- The first to use the term Philosophy

PHILOSOPHY – came from the greek word “PHILO” means

LOVE and “SOPHIA” for WISDOM, which means Love of
wisdom.
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF

SOCRATES : Know Thyself (Ancient Greek Philosopher)

Without this work on yourself, life is worthless- Socrates

- Socrates –was a classical Greek philosopher and is one of the

founders of Western Philosophy
- Socrates was the most egalitarian of Philosophers and believed that
anyone could do philosophy and in fact, we all had an obligation to
use philosophy to examine our own lives.
- Every man is dualistic
- Composed of Body and Soul
- Body – Imperfect and Impermanent
- Soul – Perfect and Permanent
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF

SOCRATES

• Socrates was concerned with the Problem of the Self.

• “One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing.”
• There is a soul before the body, existing in the realm of ideas.
• Once the soul comes into the material world, he forgot everything.
• This knowledge is brought out by Socratic Approach.

• Socrates Two (2) dichotomous realms:

• Physical Realm – changeable, transient, and imperfect. The Body
belongs to this realm.
• Ideal Realm – Unchanging, eternal, and immortal. The Soul belongs
to this realms.
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF
PLATO : The Ideal Self, the Perfect Self (Ancient Greek Philosopher)

• A Student of Socrates
• He believed that in the existence of the mind and Soul.
• Founded the Academy, considered as prototype of today’s universities
• Dichotomy between ideal (World of forms) and material world.
• Plato believed that genuine happiness can only be achieved by people who
consistently make sure that their reason is in control of their Spirits and Appetites.
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF

PLATO

Plato: Has Three (3) parts

1. Rational – reason and Intellect. Divine essence that enables us to think deeply, make
wise choices, and achieve a true understanding of eternal truths.
2. Spirited Soul – emotion and passion. Basic emotions such as love, anger, ambition,
empathy, and aggressiveness.
3. Appetitive Soul – basic needs. Includes our basic biological needs such as hunger ,
thirst , and sexual desire.
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF

PLATO
- Plato, through the words of Socrates, asserts the societies have a tripartite class
structure corresponding to the Appetite, spirit, reason of the individual soul.
- The Appetite, spirit, reason stand for different parts of the body. The body parts
symbolize the castes of society.

- PRODUCTIVE, which represents the abdomen. (Workers) The laborers, carpenters,

plumber, masons, farmers etc. These corresponds to the “Appetite” part of the soul.
- PROTECTIVE- which represents the chest. (Warriors or Guardians). Those that are
adventurous, strong and brave; in the armed forces. These corresponds to the “Spirit”
part of the soul.
- GOVERNING- this represents the head. (Rulers or Philosopher Kings). Those who are
intelligent, rational, self-controlled, in love with wisdom, well suited to make
decisions for the community these corresponds to the “reason” part of the soul.
- He believed that the “SOUL” is the driving force behind body and mind.
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF

ARISTOTLE
• A Student of Plato
• The body and soul are not two separate elements but are one thing.
• The soul is simply the form of the body, and is not capable of existing without the
body.
• The soul is that which makes a person a person. The soul is the essence of the self.
• Without the body the soul cannot exist. The soul dies along with the body.

• He introduced the 3 kinds of Soul:

• 1. Vegetative – Includes the physical body that can grow.
• 2. Sentient – includes the sensual desires, feelings and emotions.
• 3. Rational – what makes man a human. It includes the intellect that makes man know
and understand things.
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF

HUMANS

THOUGHTS,
REFLECTION
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF

ST. AUGUSTINE :

- Integrated the ideas of Plato and Christinity

- The soul is united with the body so that man may be entire and complete.
- Believed humankind is created in the image and likeness of God.
-Man is of a bifurcated nature. (Dichotomy)
• Two aspects :
• 1. Imperfectly (earthly), and 2. capable of reaching immortality.
• The world of materials is not our final home but only a temporary one.
• The real world is the one where God is.
- Augustine of Hipponensis also known as Saint Augustine was an early Christian
theologian and philosopher who lived from approximately 354 AD to 430 AD.
- He was the bishop of Hippo Regius, which is modern-day Algeria
- He is known for his writings that influenced the development of western Christianity
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF

THOMAS AQUINAS:

- Man is composed of matter and form.

- Matter (hyle) – common stuff that makes up everything. (Family, friends)
- Forms (morpe) – essence of living.
- Aquinas begins his theory of self-knowledge from the claim that all our self-knowledge is
dependent on our experience of the world around us.
- He rejects a view that was popular at the time, example: that the mind is “always on”,
never sleeping, subconsciously self aware in the background. Instead, Aquinas argues, our
awareness of ourselves is triggered and shaped by our experiences of objects in our
environment.
- For Aquinas, we don’t encounter ourselves as ISOLATED minds or selves, but rather
always as agents interacting with out environment. That’s why the labels we apply to
ourselves “ a gardener”, a patient person”, or coffee lover” are always taken from what we
do or feel or think toward other things.
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF
A. RENDE DESCARTES: “I think, therefore I am” ( Cogito ergo sum)

- Born in Touraine, France

- Took a law degree, but decided that real knowledge came from experience, so he became
a soldier to be around “real” people
- He is considered as a Father of Modern Philosophy
- Joined the Dutch army and then later moved to the Bavarian army.
- After some years in the army, Descartes decided that “ real “ people didn’t know much
either.
- He retired from the army to devote himself to thinking about mathematics and
mechanics, which he believed would lead to true knowledge.
- He believed that the mind is the seat of our consciousness. Because it houses our drives,
intellect, and passion, it gives us our identity and our sense of self.
- Descartes’ two (2) distinct entities
- 1. Cogito – the thing that thinks – Mind
- Extenza – The extension – Body
- Hyperbolical doubt - doubts the existence of his own physical body.
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF
A. DAVID HUME: The self is a bundle, Theory of Mind

“All knowledge degenerates into probability” – David Hume

- Born May 7, 1711, Edinburgh, Scottland

- Died on August 25, 1776
- Scottish Philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist known especially for his
philosophical empiricism and skepticism.
- “All knowledge is derived from human senses.”
- Influenced by empiricism.
- He created a Bundle Theory – in which an object consists only of a collection ( bundle)
properties. According to bundle theory, an object consists of its properties and nothing
more. Hence, there can’t be an object without properties nor can one even conceive of
such an object. For example, a ball is really a collection of the properties green (color),
50cm in diameter (size), 5 kg (weight), etc. Beyond those properties, there is no “ball”.
In particular, there is no substance in which the properties in here.
- According to David Hume, the idea of an enduring self is an illusion.
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF

SIGMUND FREUD

- The ego is not master in its own

house
- Man is governed by 2 drives :
Eros and Thanatos
- Three provinces of the mind:
ID, EGO, SUPEREGO
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF

A. Immanuel Kant: Respect for Self

“Thoughts without content are empty, intuitions without concepts are blind”- Immanuel
Kant

- Groundwork for Metaphysics of Morals- 1785 after American Revolution and

Before French-rights
- Morality is about respect for persons
- Informs contemporary thought
- In Kant’s thought there are two components of the self: inner self, 2: outer self
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF

A. JOHN LOCKE: Personal Identity

“Personal identity depends on consciousness not on substance” John Locke

- Our identity is not locked in the mind, soul, or body only. He included the
concept of persons’ memory.
- Identify is explained in terms in terms of psychological connection between
life stages.
- Tabula rasa
- He considered personal identity (or the Self) to be founded on
consciousness ( memory) and not on the substance of either the soul or the
body.
- According to him. Personal identity ( the self) depends on consciousness
not on substance” nor on the soul.
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF

A. GILBERT RYLE

- Denies the existence of internal, non Physical self.

- The Self is NOT an entity one can locate. It is a name we use to refer to all
behavior.
- Known for his metaphor of University.
PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF

A. MERLEAU-PONTY

- Denies the dualistic ideas.

- The mind and the body cannot be separated.