LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the course, the students will be able to:
1. Discuss the different representations and conceptualizations of the self
according to various disciplinal perspectives.
2. Compare and contrast how the self has been represented across different
disciplines and perspectives.
3. Examine the different influences, factors and forces that shape the self.
4. Demonstrate critical and reflective thought and analyzing the D
development of one’s self and identity by developing a theory of the
self.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the course, the students will be able to:
1. Discuss the different representations and conceptualizations of the self
according to various disciplinal perspectives.
2. Compare and contrast how the self has been represented across different
disciplines and perspectives.
3. Examine the different influences, factors and forces that shape the self.
4. Demonstrate critical and reflective thought and analyzing the D
development of one’s self and identity by developing a theory of the
self.
UNIT 1
THE SELF FROM VARIOUS
DISCIPLINAL
PERSPECTIVES
Lesson 1: The Philosophy of the Self
Lesson Objectives:
a. Define the self based on the philosophical perspective.
b. Recognize the similarities and differences of self
conceptualizations according to the point
of view of philosophy.
c. Evaluate one’s concept of the “self” as compared to its
philosophical perspectives.
About finding answer 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?
What is the mind? And much, much more questioning existing
knowledge and intuitions to get closer to the truth.
What well get out of Philosophy?
The skills are critical thinking skills , argument
skills ,communication, reasoning, problem solving, analysis
and much more.
You can justify your opinion and spot a bad argument at the
topic is. You can explain to people why you are right and they
are wrong. Lastly, philosophy basically teaches you to think.
PYTHAGORA OF
SAMOS
An Ionian Greek Philosopher
The first to use the word Philosophy
The origin of philosophy and logic
• The people tend to search for truth
Search is to look for something
Search for meaning
Search for answer
Search for importance
Search for significance
Search for value
Search relevance
Philosophy tends to ask a lot of
questions
PHILOSOPHY AND THE SELF
HYPATIA OF ALEXANDRIA
Ancient Greek philosopher
mathematician and astronomer.
"KNOW THYSELF"
"AN UNEXAMINED LIFE IS
NOT WORTH LIVING"
02
Philosophers agree that self-
knowledge is a prerequisite to a
happy and meaningful life.
SOCRATES
SOCRATES
EVERY MAN IS
DUALISTIC
WE ARE COMPOSED OF BODY AND A
SOUL
Two important aspect of
Personhood
The body which is imperfect and
impermanent
soul perfect and
permanent .
SOCRATES' TWO DICHOTOMOUS
REALMS
The Physical Realm
Changeable, transient and imperfect
The body belongs to this realm
The Ideal realm
Unchanging, eternal and immortal
The soul belong to this realm
Socrates was the first thinker to focus on the full power of
reason on the human self
WHO WE ARE, WHO WE SHOULD BE, AND WHO WE WILL BECOME
The soul strives for wisdom and perfection, and reason is the soul's tool to
achieve an exalted state of life.
Our preoccupation with bodily needs such as food, drink, sex, pleasure,
material possessions, and wealth keep us from attaining wisdom.
A person can have a meaningful and happy life only if he becomes virtuous and knows the
value of himself that can be achieve through constant soul-searching
For him, this is best achieved when one tries to separate the body from the soul as
much possible.
PLATO
Plato: The human soul is immortal
He is a student of Socrates. The philosophy of the self can be
explained as a process of self-knowledge and purification of the
soul.
He believed that in the existence of the mind and soul
Mind and soul is given in perfection with God.
Plato: the human soul has 3 parts
1. Rational Soul
3. Appetitive
• reason and intellect 2. Spirited Soul Soul
• divine essence that • basic needs
enables us to think deeply, • emotion and passion • includes our
make wise choices, and • basic emotions such as love, basic biological
achieve a true anger ambition, empathy, and needs
understanding of eternal aggressiveness. such as hunger,
truths thirst, and
sexual desire.
Rational Soul
1. Purchase of goods such as a car. The producer will
receive money for their product while the consumer
receives a car, which improves their situation from
not having one.
Appetitive Self
1. Buying new luxury bag, because it's pleasing to
her eyes. She's not relying on the significance, but
for desires only.
Spirited Self
1. Loving a person even though he's/ she's not reciprocated, but
willing to do efforts and wait. Because that is the definition of
true love for them.
Study objectives
These three elements of ourselves are
in a dynamic relationship with one another, sometimes
in conflict. .
When conflict occurs, Plato believes
that it is the responsibility of our
reason to sort things out and exe
control, restoring a harmonious
relationship among the three
elements
Plato believes that genuine happiness can
only be achieved by people who consistently
make sure that their reason is in control of
their spirits and appetites.
Aristotle: the soul is the essence of the self
• 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.
Aristotle suggest that the rational nature of the self is to lead a
good, flourishing, and fulfilling life. Without the body, the soul
cannot exist, the soul dies along with the body
The soul and the body, I suggest react sympathetically upon
each other. A change in the state of the soul produces a change
in the shape of the body and conversely, a change in the shape
of the body produces a change in the state of the soul.
• Aristotle suggested that anything with life has soul
• His discussion about the self centers on the kinds of soul
possessed by a man He introduced the three kinds of soul
Aristotle: the three kinds of soul
1. Vegetative Soul is for plant
reproduction and growth
2. Sensitive Soul is for animals
mobility and sensation
3. Rational Soul is for humans thought
and reflection
Aristotle: the three kinds of soul
1. Vegetative Soul
includes the physical body that can grow
2. Sentient Soul
includes the sensual desires, feelings, and emotions.
3. Rational Soul
is what makes a man human. It includes the intellect that makes
man know and understand
ST. AUGUSTINE
St. Augustine: I am doubting, therefore I am
Integrate the ideas of Plato and Christianity
Augustine's view of the human person reflects the entire spirit of the
medieval world
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.
St. Augustine: I am doubting, therefore I am
• Therefore, the human person being a creation of God is
always geared towards the good
• The self is known only through knowing God
•Self-knowledge is a consequence of knowledge of God
Literature review
St. Augustine: I am doubting, therefore I am
"Knowledge can only come by seeing the truth that dwells within us"
RENE DESCARTES
RENE DESCARTES: I think therefore, I am
Cogito ergo sum
"the act of thinking about self- of being self-
conscious is in itself proof that there is
self"Mercury
RENE DESCARTES' two distinct entities
1. COGITO- The thing that thinks the mind
2. EXTENZA - The extension the body
JOHN LOCKE
JOHN LOCKE: THE SELF IS CONSCIOUSNESS
• The human mind at birth is tabula
rasa or blank slate, his theory of knowledge
• He felt that the self is constructed primarily from sense
experience
JOHN LOCKE: THE SELF IS CONSCIOUSNESS
Locke theorized that when a person is born, the baby know absolutely
nothing
In essence, he argued that the inside of a baby's brain was empty and
ready to learn everything through experience
JOHN LOCKE: THE SELF IS CONSCIOUSNESS
CONSCIOUSNESS
Necessary to have a coherent personal identity or knowledge of the self as a
person.
what makes possible our belief that we are the same identity in different situations
DAVID HUME: THERE IS NO SELF
Self is simply a bundle or collection of different
perceptions, which succeed each other with an
inconceivable rapidly are in a perpetual flux
and movement
• The idea of personal identity
is a result of imagination
There is no self
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 and superego
Sigmund Freud: The ego is not master in its own
house
Situation: Mary wanted to borrow her mom’s necklace
but she knew her mom would be angry.
Id: "Just take the necklace, it'll be fine!"
Ego: "Hold on, let's not upset mom. I'll ask for permission to
borrow it."
Superego: "Asking is the right thing to do; it shows respect
and consideration for others."
KANT
Immanuel Kant
• Self is not just what gives one his personality but
also the seat of knowledge acquisition for all human
persons.
• The self construct its own reality creating a world
that is familiar and predictable. Through our
rationality, the self transcends sense
experience.
Immanuel Kant: We construct the self.
Gilbert Ryle
GILBERT RYLE: THE SELF IS THE WAY
PEOPLE BEHAVE
• Self is not an entity one can locate and analyze but
simply the convenient name that people use to refer to all
the behaviors that people make.
• "I act therefore, I am", in short, the self is the same as
bodily behavior
• The self is the way people behave
PAUL CHURCHLAND
"The self is the brain"
-The self is inseparable from the brain and the physiology of
the body.
-All we have is the brain and so, if the brain is gone, there is
no self.
-The physical brain and not the imaginary mind, gives us our
sense of self
-The mind does not really exist.
-It is the brain and not the imaginary mind that gives us our
sense of self.
-The self is the brain.
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
"The self is embodied subjectivity"
The mind-body bifurcation that has been going on for a long
time is a futile endeavor and an invalid problem.
All knowledge of ourselves and our world is based on subjective
experience.
The self can never be truly objectified or known in a completely
objective sort of way.
The self is embodied subjectivity.
References
Aristotle Images – browse 6,242 stock photos, vectors, and video. (n.d.). Adobe Stock.
https://stock.adobe.com/ph/search?k=aristotle
EP 3: Aristotle’s Souls in Biology & Economics — Steemit. (n.d.). Steemit.
https://steemit.com/philosophy/@paradigms.lost/ep-3-aristotle-s-souls-in-biology-and-economics
Prabook. (n.d.). https://prabook.com/web/mobile/#!profile/1120647
Understanding the self in philosophical perspective. (2021, November 16). [Slide show]. PPT.
https://www.slideshare.net/erwinmarlonsario/understanding-the-self-in-philosophical-perspective
Plato (c. 427 BC–c. 347 BC). (n.d.-b). Lapham’s Quarterly.
https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/contributors/plato
The international Merleau-Ponty Circle. (n.d.). https://www.merleauponty.org/
References
Wikipedia contributors. (2024, January 3). René Descartes. Wikipedia.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes
Wikipedia contributors. (2024b, January 17). John Locke. Wikipedia.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke
Wikipedia contributors. (2024c, January 19). David Hume. Wikipedia.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hume
Wikipedia contributors. (2024d, January 20). Immanuel Kant. Wikipedia.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immanuel_Kant
