Philosophical Perspective of the Self

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the philosophical perspective of the self, including classical antiquity, the Renaissance, and modern times.

Philo-

A Greek word meaning "loving".

Sophia

A Greek word meaning "knowledge" or "wisdom".

Philosophy

Originally used by the Greeks to mean "the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake"; it is the study of acquiring knowledge through rational thinking and inquiries.

Empiricism

A philosophical lens that derives explanations of the self from sensory and bodily responses, stating we know things because we have experienced them.

Rationalism

A philosophical lens that explains the self from the standpoint of the "ideal" and the "truth," rooted in innate knowledge rather than the senses or the body.

Mind-body dualism

The idea that the mind is separate from the body.

Socrates

Known as the "father of Western philosophy," he believed the self exists in two parts: the physical body and the soul.

Physical body (Socratic view)

A tangible aspect of a person that is mortal, constantly changing, imperfect, and disappearing.

Soul (Socratic view)

An immortal, eternal, unchanging, and perfect or ideal aspect of the human that existed before the body.

Ignorance (Socratic context)

The result of a person forgetting the knowledge stored in their soul once they enter the material world or world of senses.

Plato

A dualist who believed the soul represents the self and consists of three parts: Reason, Physical Appetite, and Will or Spirit.

Reason (Platonic soul)

The divine essence that enables thinking deeply, making wise choices, and achieving a true understanding of the eternal.

Physical Appetite (Platonic soul)

The part of the soul responsible for basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst, and sexual needs.

Will or Spirit (Platonic soul)

The part of the soul representing basic emotions or passion, such as empathy, aggressiveness, love, and anger.

Aristotle

A student of Plato who suggested that the ideal (essence) is subsumed in the phenomena (matter) and that the two are co-dependent.

Essence (Aristotelian view)

The "ideal" which provides meaning and purpose to matter.

Matter (Aristotelian view)

The "phenomena" which provides substance and solidity to essence.

John Locke

A philosopher who theorized that the mind is a tabula rasa and that conscious awareness and memory are keys to understanding the self.

Tabula rasa

The theory that the mind is a "blank slate" and we are born without thoughts, with knowledge determined only by experience.

Memory (Lockean view)

The key factor that makes a person the same as they were in the past; self-definition is based on consciousness of one's past.

Immanuel Kant

A philosopher who proposed that the self is constructed and that man is a free agent gifted with reason and free will.

Reason (Kantian view)

The final authority of morality used to organize data gathered by the senses.

Inner self (Kantian view)

The part of the self that includes rational reasoning and psychological state.

Outer self (Kantian view)

The part of the self that includes the body and physical mind, where representation occurs.

Gilbert Ryle

A philosopher who defined the self in terms of observable behavior rather than inner states or an immortal soul.

Pattern of behavior

A person’s tendency or disposition to behave in a certain way in certain circumstances, which Ryle uses to define the self.

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

A philosopher who defines the self as an "embodied subjectivity" and rejected the mind and body dichotomy.

Embodied subjectivity

Merleau-Ponty's view that the self is a product of conscious human experience and one's perception of those experiences.

Self (Philosophical context)

A unified being, essentially connected to consciousness, awareness, and agency or the faculty of rational choice.

Mother of all disciplines

A term for philosophy used because all fields of study began as philosophical discourses.