MID: Philosophical View of the Self

he self is complex and dynamic; knowing oneself is a lifelong search.

Philosophy

philo and sophia - “the love of wisdom”

Socrates

“Know thyself”; self = body (changing) + soul (unchanging). Soul-searching = virtue & happiness.

Plato

Self has 3 parts: Reason (rational), Spirit (emotions), Appetite (desires). Reason must rule for harmony.

Aristotle

Body & soul are one; soul = essence of life (3 kind: vegetative, sentient, rational). Rational guides a good life.

St. Augustine

Self = unity of body & soul; knowing God = knowing self

Descartes

“I think, therefore I am”; thinking self distinct from body - Mind-body dichotomy

John Locke

Self from sense experiences; identity = memory + consciousness

David Hume

No self, only a bundle of perceptions. personal identity is a result of imagination.

Immanuel Kant

We construct the self; self makes world intelligible.

Sigmund Freud

Provinces of mind = id (pleasure), ego (reality), superego (morals).

Gilbert Ryle

“I act, therefore I am”; actions define self.

Paul Churchland

Self = brain; no brain, no self.

The self is embodied subjectivity.

The self is embodied subjectivity.