Understanding the Self: Philosophical Perspectives

Flashcards on various philosophical concepts, definitions, and theorists regarding the self from the provided lecture notes.

Philosophy (Etymology)

Derived from the Greek words 'philo' meaning 'love' and 'sophos' meaning 'wisdom'.

Socrates

The Father of Western Philosophy who introduced the Socratic method of questioning and held the philosophical statement 'Know thyself'.

Physical Realm (Socrates)

In Socrates' dualistic view of reality, the realm that is constantly changing, transient, and imperfect, such as the physical body.

Ideal Realm (Socrates)

In Socrates' dualistic view of reality, the realm that is considered unchanging, eternal, and immortal, including the soul, truth, goodness, and beauty.

Reason (Plato)

In Plato's three-part soul, the component that enables individuals to think deeply, make choices, and achieve true understanding.

Physical Appetite (Plato)

In Plato's three-part soul, the component that refers to basic biological needs such as thirst, hunger, and sexual desire.

Spirit or Passion (Plato)

In Plato's three-part soul, the component that refers to basic emotions like love, anger, aggressiveness, and empathy.

Chariot Analogy

Plato's allegory where the soul is likened to a chariot drawn by a noble horse (spirit) and a wild horse (appetite), guided by a charioteer (reason).

St. Augustine

A philosopher influenced by Plotinus who viewed the self as an immortal soul united with the body, asserting that living a virtuous life means living in love.

René Descartes

The Founder of Modern Philosophy, mathematician, and scientist who stated 'Cogito ergo sum' ('I think, therefore I am') and defined the self as a thinking thing distinct from the body.

Rationalism

The view that reason is the primary source of all knowledge and that reasoning abilities enable us to understand sense experience and reach accurate conclusions.

Empiricism

The view that sense experience is the primary source of all knowledge and that careful attention to sense experience enables us to understand the world and achieve accurate conclusions.

Tabula Rasa

John Locke's theory stating that the mind at birth is a blank slate, devoid of innate ideas.

David Hume

An empiricist philosopher who asserted 'There is no self!' and defined the self as a bundle of constantly changing perceptions passing through the theatre of the mind.

Impressions (David Hume)

The lively and vivid basic sensations of experience and elemental data of the mind, including pain, pleasure, heat, cold, happiness, grief, and fear.

Ideas (David Hume)

Copies of impressions that are less lively and vivid, including thoughts and images built up from primary impressions.

Immanuel Kant

A German philosopher who proposed 'We construct the self' and defined the self as a unifying subject and organizing consciousness that synthesizes raw sensory data.

Oedipus Complex

In psychoanalytic theory, a boy's desire for sexual involvement with his mother and a concomitant sense of rivalry with his father.

Electra Complex

In psychoanalytic theory, the attraction of a girl to her father and rivalry with her mother.

Id

In Freud's theory, the layer of the self containing unconscious instinctual drives dominated by the pleasure principle for immediate gratification.

Ego

In Freud's theory, the layer of the self that deals with reality, mediates between unconscious impulses and social standards, and allows delayed gratification.

Superego

In Freud's theory, the layer of the self emerging around age 5 that modifies and inhibits id impulses by adopting parental and social standards.

Gilbert Ryle

An analytic philosopher who proposed that 'The self is the way people behave' and emphasized defining the self through observable patterns of behavior.

Paul Churchland

A contemporary American philosopher who asserted 'The self is the brain' and introduced eliminative materialism.

Eliminative Materialism

Paul Churchland's concept of developing a new vocabulary and conceptual framework grounded in neuroscience.

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

A French phenomenologist who defined the self as 'embodied subjectivity', viewing the lived body as a natural synthesis of mind and biology, and perception as the source of knowledge.