understanding the self

socrates

He suggests that the self is synonymous with the soul

socrates

He believes that every human possesses an immortal soul that survives the physical body

socrates

An unexamined life is not worth living

plato

The self is an immortal soul

the three elements of the soul /self are

1. reason

2. physical appetite

3. spirit or passion

reason

- the divine essence that enables people to think deeply, make wise choices, and achieve a true understanding of eternal truths.

physical appetite

- includes the basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst and sexual desire.

spirit or passion

- includes the basic emotions such as love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness and empath

aristotle

The soul is the essence of the self.

aristotle

Do not consider the body and soul as separate entities.

• Anything with life has a soul.

• Humans differ from other living things because of their capacity for rational thinking

Three kinds of soul

1. Vegetative soul- the physical body that can grow.

2. Sentient soul- ssensual desires, feelings and emotions.

3. Rational soul- what makes man human.

ST. AUGUSTINE

The self has an immortal soul.

• The African philosopher, is regarded as a saint in the Catholic Church.

• At first, Augustine believes that the physical body is radically different from and inferior to its inhabitant, the immortal soul.

St. Augustine

• As his thinking matured, he developed a more unified perspective on the body and soul.

• He ultimately came to view the body as “spouse” of the soul, both are attached to one another by a “natural appetite”.

• He believes that the body is united with the soul, so that man may be entire and complete

St. Augustine

• In his work, Confessions, Augustine describes that humankind is created in the image and likeness of God. Everything created by God who is all good is good.

• He is convinced that the self is known only through knowing God.

• Self-knowledge is a consequence of knowledge of God.

• “I am doubting, therefore I am”

Rene Descartes

• Father of modern philosophy

• “I think therefore I am” is the keystone of Descartes’ concept of self.

• For him, the act of thinking about the self- of being self-conscious- is in itself proof that there is a self.

• He is confident that no rational person will doubt his or her own existence as a conscious thinking entity while we are thinking about ourselves

Two dimensions of human self

The self as thinking entity (soul)

• Non-material

• Immortal

• conscious being and

• independent of the physical laws of the

universe.

The self as physical body

• Material

• Mortal

• Non-thinking entity

• Fully governed by the physical laws of nature

John Locke

* The self is consciousness

• The human mind at birth is “tabula rasa” or a blank state

• He feels that the self is constructed primarily from sense experiences

• What people see

• Hear

• Smell

• Taste

• feel

• These experiences shape and mold the self throughout a person’s life

David Hume

There is no self

• According to him, what people experience is just a bundle or collection of different perceptions.

• Hume maintains that if people carefully examine the contents of their experience, they will find that there are only distinct identities:

• Impressions

• Ideas

impressions

The basic sensations of people’s experience such as hate, love, joy grief, pain, cold and heat.

• Are vivid perceptions and are strong and lively.

ideas

Thoughts and images from impressions so they are less lively and vivid.

• Subsequently, the idea of personal identity is a result of imagination

Immanuel Kant

We construct the self

• It is the self that makes experiencing an

intelligible world possible because it is the self that is actively organizing and synthesizing all of our thoughts and perceptions.

• In other words, the self constructs it own reality, actively creating a world that is familiar, predictable and most significantly, mine.

• Through rationality, people are able to understand certain abstract ideas that have no corresponding physical object or sensory experience

Sigmund freud

The self is multi-layered

• He is an Austrian psychoanalyst not a philosopher, but his views on the nature of the self have a far reaching impact on philosophical thinking, as well as other disciplines such as psychology and sociology

Three layers of the self

1. Conscious self

2. Unconscious self

3. Preconscious self

conscious self

governed by the “reality principle”.

- is organized in ways that are rational, practical and appropriate to the environment.

- usually takes into account the realistic demands of the situation, the consequences of various actions and the overriding need to preserve the equilibrium of the entire psychodynamic system of the self

unconscious self

governed by the “pleasure principle”.

- contains the basic instinctual drives including sexuality, aggressiveness and self destruction; traumatic memories; unfulfilled wishes and childhood fantasies; and thoughts and feelings that would be considered socially taboo.

- much of the self is determined by the unconscious

preconscious self

contains material that is not threatening and is easily brought to mind.

- the preconscious part is located between the conscious and the unconscious parts of the self

Gilbert Ryle

The self is the way people behave

• British philosopher, Gilbert Ryle believes that the self is best understood as a pattern of behavior.

• The tendency or disposition of a person to behave in a certain way in certain circumstances.

• Philosophical principle: “I act therefore I am”

• The mind expresses the entire system of thoughts, emotions and actions that make up the human self

PAUL CHURCHLAND

The self is the brain

• Canadian philosopher advocates the idea of eliminative materialism or the idea that the self is inseparable from the brain and the physiology of the body.

• All a person has is the brain, and so if the brain is gone, there is no self

MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY

French philosopher

• The self is embodied subjectivity

• All knowledge about the self is based on the “phenomena” of experience.

• sphenomenological philosophy suggests the search for the self and consciousness need not be focused on the space within our skulls. Instead, we should turn our attention to the lived body.