Philosophical Perspectives of the Self

By: Gino A. Cabrera, MPsy, CSIOP, RPm

Who am I? What I am? Are others aware of who they are? Who or what defines
the self? These pressing questions have been asked and debated by philosophers,
scholars, and religious thinkers since time immemorial. Their arguments were based on
their own personal opinions, experiences, critical thinking, observations, and even
imaginative speculations. In short, these philosophers or thinkers relied on their
individualized way of looking at the self as an entity of analysis. As a result, they arrived
at a wide array of conceptions about the self. Some of their perspectives come as a
reaction to the other, making them sometimes opposing and distinctly unique.
This chapter will introduce to you the various philosophical views of early
thinkers that may help you in your quest for self-discovery, in understanding the self,
others, and the world. We shall also discover a glimpse of these philosophers’ life
experiences which might have influenced their philosophy about the self. In the same
way, you may also reflect your own journey through life in order to come up with your
own philosophical perspective about the self or self-developed theory that is grounded
on your experiences.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Familiarize the different philosophers and thinkers who offered a concept in
understanding the self;
2. Appreciate the various philosophical viewpoints in understanding the self; and
3. Develop a deeper understanding of the self through the various philosophical
perspectives.

Discussion

“An unexamined life is not worth living.” - Socrates

The quest to understand the self started as early as the Greek civilization where
ancient Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle offered their
philosophical frameworks. It continuous to flourish during the Medieval period with
Christian thinkers like St. Augustine and with the likes of René Descartes during the
pre-modern age. Until the post-modernism period, perspectives on understanding the
self constantly grow to suggest that all reality should be questioned and that people
construct meanings into their lives based on their culture and society (Neukrug, 2011).
The word philosophy came from the Greek words “philos” which means love or
loving, and “sophos” meaning wise that literally translates to love of wisdom.
Philosophy employs the inquisitive mind to discover the ultimate causes, reasons, and
principles of everything (Go-Monilla & Ramirez, 2018). It is a discipline that is different
from science and does not engage in scientific method of investigation but rather
explore to understand reality and human existence through personal hunches and in-
depth inquiries. Philosophy remains as the unique discipline that asks significant
questions that other fields are unable to address (Bulaong et al., 2018). Understanding
the self is one of the prime focus of philosophers and thinkers.
We will now begin the journey of getting to know who are these philosophers
and thinkers and their respective viewpoints about the self.

Socrates (470 - 399 BC)

Socrates was known for his expression “an

unexamined life is not worth living” or simply “know
thyself.” Understanding the self has probably started during
his time about 2, 000 years ago. His expression “know
thyself” is considered the forerunner of the introspective
method. He was the first one who suggested that we should
rely on rational though and introspection or the careful
examination of one’s own thoughts and emotions in order
to achieve self-knowledge or to understand the self
(Rathus, 2012). Followers of Socrates called this as the
Socratic method. Later, introspection will be re-introduced
by St. Augustine in a more systematic way.

Socrates. © Pinterest.com
He believed that the self is the soul and suggested
that reality consists of two dichotomous realms – physical
and ideal. The physical realm is changeable, transient, and imperfect. The ideal realm is
unchanging, eternal, and immortal. The body belongs to the physical realms while the
intellectual essences of the soul such as truth, goodness, and beauty belong to the ideal
realm. For him, a person can have a happy and meaningful life by becoming virtuous
and knowing one’s own significance which can be achieved through soul-searching or
introspection (Go-Monilla & Ramirez, 2018).

Plato (428/427 - 348/347 BC)

Plato, also a Greek thinker, is credited as one of the pioneers of

philosophy as his various writings brings up and discuss carefully and
creatively some of the questions that later thinkers called Neo-platonic
like St. Augustine, will find to be of great significance to humankind. He
started a school in Athens which would be known as the Academy and is
believed to be the first institution of higher learning in the Western World
(Bulaong et al., 2018). As a student of Socrates, he also believed with
the soul. For him, it is distinct to man and it is God-given. Thus, it
inhibits the body as “knower,” “thinker,” and “determiner”
of individual’s actions (Aguierre et al., 2012). He also Plato. © Pinterest.co.uk
introduced the three parts of the soul. First is the reason which is the divine essence
that enables us to think deeply, make wise choices, and achieve a true understanding
of eternal truths. Second is the physical appetite that includes our basic instinctual
needs including hunger, thirst, and sexual desire. Thirdly, the spirit or passion includes
basic emotions such as love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness, and empathy. These
three elements are in dynamic and sometimes conflicting relationship. Reason has the
responsibility to sort things out to restore the balance between these elements (Go-
Monilla & Ramirez, 2018).
To him, knowledge existed in the soul prior to any actual experience. In one of
his writings, he questioned an uneducated slave boy in such a manner that the boy
appears to have knowledge of geometry, even though he had never had any
acquaintance with the subject. The implication is that the knowledge existed in the soul
prior to birth (Lundin, 1991).

Aristotle (384 - 322 BC)

Aristotle studied philosophy under Plato in Athens. He

was considered to be the brightest among Plato’s students
in the Academy. He later founded his own school, Lyceum,
where he became a very productive intellectual who also
served as the mentor of Alexander the Great (Bulaong et
al., 2018). He is considered to be the first person to put
into writing an explanation pertaining to behavior of man
(Aguierre et al., 2012). He also believed with the soul and
introduced its three functions. The first function is
vegetative which deals with the basic maintenance of life.
The second one is appetitive which focuses on the desires
and motives. Lastly, the rational governs reason that is
located in the heart. For him, the brain is simply a gland
Aristotle. © Nytimes.com that can only perform basic functions. He argued that
human behavior, like movements of the stars and the
seas, is subject to rules and laws or how they exist or evolve (Rathus, 2012). For
Aristotle, the rational makes us different from other living creatures.
In addition, he also proposed four concepts which give way to understand any
being. According to Aristotle, any being can have four causes. First, we recognize that
any being is corporeal, possessed, or made up of physical materials. This refers to the
material cause. Because it is made up of material stuff, it takes a shape that could
identify that a man is different from a monkey. The shape refers to the form of the
being, so each being has a formal cause. Also, there is something which brings about
the presence of another being, such as a parent beget a child or a log was made into a
table. This refers to the efficient cause. Lastly, since every being has an apparent end
or goal, there must be a final cause (Bulaong et al., 2018). Like a child to become an
adult, final cause gives a way to understand the self.
 Further, he also offered the concept of potency and act. A being may carry
within itself certain potentials (potency), but this requires to be actualized (act). In such
a way, a child is not yet a full-grown adult, this potency is latent in the child and will be
actualized as the child grows up and achieves what he/ she is supposed to be (Bulaong
et al., 2018).

St. Augustine (354 - 430 AD)

St. Augustine of Hippo was born in North Africa of a

pagan father and a Christian mother. After a youth of
revelry, he was converted to Christianity and later became
the Bishop of Hippo in North Africa. He is a Catholic saint
who combined the Greek Platonic though with Christian
thinking. He introduced the method of introspection where
in an individual tries to describe his own conscious process
(Aguierre et al., 2012).
He believed that one should detached from worldy
affairs, for true knowledge can only be attained through
God. Through introspection, the soul could know what was
true and known by faith. The soul works like the Trinity of
three functions: memory, intelligence (understanding), and
will. Still like the Trinity, which was a three-in-one, the
soul was a single unity not divisible into parts. In today’s St. Augustine. © Tylormarshall.com
world, introspection works in therapies and projective
testing in statements like “tell me anything that comes to your mind” (Lundin, 1991).
The soul is the “spouse” of the body; united and attached to one another. But unlike
the earlier philosopher, his definition of soul has a religious flavor. Augustine is
convinced that the self is known only through knowing God. He espouses the
significance of reflection, as well as the importance of prayers and confessions to arrive
at a justification for the existence of God. For him, “knowledge can only come by seeing
the truth that dwells within us” and that truth is knowing God. The self seeks to be
united with God through faith and reason (Go-Monilla & Ramirez, 2018).

René Descartes (1596 - 1650)

Descartes is revered as a philosopher, a

mathematician, and a psychologist who was born in
France. He is considered as the father of modern
philosophy. He has brought an entirely new perspective to
philosophy and the self. He wants to penetrate the nature
of reasoning process and understand its relationship to the
human self. The Latin phrase Cogito ergo sum – “I think
therefore I am” is the keystone of his concept of self. For
him, the act of thinking about the self or of being self-
conscious is in itself a solid basis that there is self that exists (Go-Monilla & Ramirez,
2018).
He introduced the idea of dualism and the concept of reflex action which
indicates that the mind and body interact. The mind is the spiritual entity – the thinking
self and the body is the physical or material entity – the physical self. Although they are
considered to be distinct from each other, they work together to make the individual
functional (Aguierre et al., 2012). He explained his theory on reflexes by comparing the
operation of the human body to a machine. He presumed the nerves were hallow tubes
with animal spirits which are gaseous substances derived from the body by a process of
distillation. He thought of the animal spirits as material substances which could move
very quickly, like sparks shooting off from a flame. It is said that Descartes originated
his idea of the action of the nervous system from observing how fountains worked in
the gardens of the great palaces (Lundin, 1991).

René Descartes. © imdb.com John Locke (1632 - 1704)

Locke was born in England and was educated in

Oxford. He introduced the idea that all experiences may be
analyzed. He is also well-known for his term “Tabula Rasa”
or a blank slate of which at birth, the mind is just a blank
sheet that collects its contents through experiences that a
person will go through in his/ her entire life (Aguierre et
al., 2012).
Locke had read the work of Descartes and he
opposed his notion that some ideas were inborn through
his own theory of knowledge. He argued that if ideas were
innate, they should be constant in all minds, but neither
John Locke. © thegreatthinkers.org
the new-born nor the illiterate shared them. If innate,
ideas should not show development, but they did. In his
analysis, Locke wrote that all ideas came from experience. Basically, the mind was
passive, and could only do two things. First, it could receive experiences from the
outside world: this involved the act of sensing. Locke was actively concerned with the
whole process of sensation, since it was the primary source of all knowledge. Second,
the mind could reflect upon itself. It was basically through this process of reflection, or
what we call it today as introspection, that it became possible for people to engage in
the process we call thinking. (Lundin, 1991). In stating that all knowledge came from
experience, he was obviously a follower of the Aristotelian thoughts.

David Hume (1711 - 1776)

Hume was a Scotsman who believed that the mind is

nothing but a heap or collection of different perceptions,
unified together by certain relationships (Lundin, 1991). As
an empiricist, he believes that one can know what comes
from the sense and experience. The self is nothing but the physical body. Empiricism is
the school of thought that espouses the idea that knowledge can only be possible if it is
sensed and experienced (Alata et al., 2018). To Hume, what people experience is just a
bundle or collection of different perceptions. He maintains that if people carefully
examine the contents of their experience through introspection, they will find that there
are only distinct entities: impressions and ideas (Go-Monilla & Ramirez, 2018). All we
knew was that we had impressions (sensations) and ideas. We believed there was a
real object only because our impressions tended to fit together such as you cannot
prove a table existed in the classroom after you have left the room (Lundin, 1991).
Impressions are basic sensations that include hate, love, joy, grief, pain, cold,
and heat that are so strong and lively. They are the core of our thoughts. Meanwhile,
ideas are thoughts and images from impressions that are less lively and vivid (Go-
Monilla & Ramirez, 2018). When one touches an ice cube, the cold sensation is an
impression. Impressions therefore are vivid because they are products of our direct
experience with the world while ideas are copies of impressions. Because of this, they
are not as lively and vivid as our impressions. When one imagines the feelings of being
in love for the first time, that is an idea (Alata et al., 2018).
Hume claims that people have no experience of a simple and individual
impression that they can call the self where the self is the totality of a person’s
consciousness (Go-Monilla & Ramirez, 2018). Hence, for him, there is no self.

Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804)

Kant is a German Enlightenment philosopher who brought our attention to the

fact that we, human beings, have the faculty called rational will, which is the capacity to
act according to principles that we determine ourselves (Bulaong et al., 2018). The
word “faculty” here means inherent mental capacity. He opposed the concept of Locke
that the mind is a blank slate, rather, according to him, it is capable of acquiring
knowledge through sensory experience (Aguierre et al., 2012).
Rationality consists of the mental faculty to
construct ideas and thoughts that are beyond our
immediate surroundings. This is the capacity for mental
abstraction, which arises from the operations of the
faculty of reason. This makes humans different from
animals, we have the ability to stop and think about what
we are doing. We can remove ourselves mentally from the
immediacy of our surroundings and reflect on our actions
and how such actions affect the world. Thus, we do not
only have the capacity to imagine, reflect on, and
construct mental images, but we also have the ability to
act on and make them real. This ability is the basis for the
rational will (Bulaong et al., 2018). In other words,
humans can act according to reasons while animals act Immanuel Kant. © gosouth.co.za
according to their impulses.
Gilbert Ryle (1900 - 1976)

Gilbert Ryle was born in Brighton, Sussex, England.

He solves the mind-body dichotomy that has been running
for a long time in the history of thought as reflected in the
previous philosophers by denying blatantly the concept of
an internal, non-physical self. For him, what truly matter
is the behaviors that a person does. He referred to the
self an entity no one can locate and analyze. It is rather a
convenient name that people use to refer to all the
behaviors that people make (Alata et al., 2018). Ryle’s
concept of the human self provides us with the principle,
“I act, therefore I am.” In short, the self is the same as
bodily behaviors. He concludes the human mind is the
totality of the human person, the way we behave, our
system of thoughts, and our emotions (Go-Monilla &
Gilbert Ryle. © jstor.org Ramirez, 2018).

Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908 - 1961)

Maurice Merleau-Ponty, a 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 (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2016).
He asserted that the mind-body issue that has
been going on for a long time is an invalid problem.
Unlike Ryle who denied the self, Merleau-Ponty said that
the mind and body are intertwined that they cannot be
separated from one another. One cannot find any
experience that is not an embodied experience. Because
of this, he also dismissed the Cartesian Dualism which
he described as a plain misunderstanding. The living
body, thoughts, emotions, and experiences are all one
(Alata et al., 2018).

Paul Churchland (born Maurice Merleau-Ponty. © prabook.com

1942)

Paul Churchland is a Canadian philosopher and author

who is known for his "eliminative materialism", the view
that the mind is the brain. The self, therefore, is
inseparable from the brain and the physiology of the body. Hence, “no brain, no self.”
For him, the physical brain and not the imaginary mind, gives people the sense of self.
The mind does not really exist because it cannot be experienced by the senses (Go-
Monilla & Ramirez, 2018).

Paul Churchland. © alchet

Evaluation

Multiple Choice. Write the letter of your answer in the space provided before each
number.

_______ 1. During this period, perspectives on understanding the self suggest that all
reality should be questioned and that people construct meanings into their lives.
a. Greek civilization c. Medieval period
b. Pre-modern period d. Post-modern period
_______ 2. When you engage yourself in the process of carefully examining your own
thoughts and emotions, you are doing ___________.
a. self-discovery c. introspection
b. prayerful reflection d. phenomenology
_______ 3. If body is to physical realm; truth, goodness, and beauty is to _________
realm.

a. immortal c. imaginative
b. ideal d. rational
_______ 4. Plato’s three parts of the soul are reason, __________, and spirit or
passion.
a. vegetative c. rational
b. appetitive d. form
_______ 5. For Aristotle, the rational function is located at the ________.
a. mind c. heart
b. soul d. self
_______ 6. Which of the following is not a function of the soul according to St.
Augustine?
a. memory c. intelligence
b. will d. reason
_______ 7. Which of the following pairs of philosophers have conflicting concept about
knowledge? One said that knowledge existed even before the actual experience,
while the other one argued that knowledge is acquired through experience.
a. Socrates and Plato c. Churchland and Hume
 b. Descartes and Aristotle d. Plato and Locke
_______ 8. Who said that “there is no self, only physical body”?
a. Churchland c. Hume
b. Ryle d. Socrates
_______ 9. Who among the following thinkers is a known phenomenologist?
a. Ryle c. Merleau-Ponty
b. Churchland d. Kant
_______ 10. He defined the self simply as bodily behaviors.
a. Socrates c. Hume
b. Ryle d. Kant

Assignment/ Activity

1. Look for a detailed biography of one of the philosophers discussed in this module and
make an analysis on how their life experiences influenced their concepts about the self.
Cite your sources or references.

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2. Complete the following matrix.

 Philosopher Concept about the self
1. Socrates
2. Plato
3. Aristotle
4. St. Augustine
5. Descartes
6. Locke
7. Hume
8. Kant
9. Ryle
10. Merleau-Ponty
11. Churchland

Criteria for Assessment/ Rubrics for Scoring:

Description Points
The content of the answer is relevant, 2 points
well-explained and directly answers the
question.
The thoughts or ideas presented are well- 2 points
organized and coherent.
The technical terminologies and 1 point
punctuation marks are properly and
correctly used.
Total 5 points

References

Aguirre, F. U., Monce, M. R. E., Dy, G. C., Caguioa, I. C., Pa-At, B. E., & Perez, V. G.
(2012). Introduction to psychology (2011 ed.). Malabon City, Philippines: Mutya
Publishing House, Inc.

Alata, E. J. P., Caslib, B. N., Serafica, J. P. J., & Pawilen, R. A. (2018). Understanding
the self. Manila, Philippines: Rex Book Strore, Inc.

Bulaong, O. G., Calano, M. J. T., Lagliva, A. M., Mariano, M. N. E., & Principe, J. D. Z.
(2018). Ethics: Foundations of moral valuation. Manila, Philippines: Rex Book
Strore, Inc.

Go-Monilla, M. J. A. & Ramirez, N. C. (2018). Understanding the self. Manila,

Philippines: C & E Publishing, Inc.
Lundin, R. W. (1991). Theories and systems of psychology (5th ed.). Lexingtin, MA: D.
C. Health and Company.

Neukrug, E. (2011). Counseling theory and practice. Belmont, CA: Brooks/ Cole,
Cengage Learning.

Rathus, S. A. (2012). Psychology (2nd ed.). Singapore: Cengage Learning.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2016). Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Retrieved August

10, 2020 from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/merleau-ponty/