Self, Consciousness, and Philosophical Theories (Lecture Notes)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and definitions from the lecture notes on the self, identity, and major philosophers.

Human person

A being characterized by consciousness, rationality, and a moral sense; traditionally viewed as consisting of both body and mind or soul.

Self

A complete and individual personality; the essential part of one’s nature that makes you unique.

Socratic method

A method of reasoning through continual questioning to arrive at truth by breaking problems into a series of questions.

Cogito ergo sum

“I think, therefore I am.” Descartes’ foundational conclusion for certain knowledge.

Cartesian doubt

Doubting all beliefs that could be false to secure certain knowledge.

Cartesian dualism

The view that mind (immaterial) and body (material) are distinct substances that interact.

Socrates: knowledge vs ignorance

There is only one good—knowledge, and one evil—ignorance.

Socrates on immortality and virtue

Belief in the immortality of the soul; virtue is a divine legacy and cannot be taught.

Plato’s view of the outside world

The world of appearances is secondary to the realm of ideas; knowledge comes through thought, not just senses.

Plato Academy

Founded outside Athens as an early, influential school and prototype for universities.

Plato on ideas and senses

Ideas (Forms) are accessible through thought; phenomena are accessible through senses.

Augustine on creation and time

The world is created by God from nothing; time is a mental construct; the soul is united and spiritual.

Augustine: three functions of the intellective soul

Being, Understanding, Loving; with primacy of will (love) among these functions.

Augustine on the will

The will signifies love in the human person; moral evil arises from deviating from God’s will.

Socrates as a lover of wisdom

Socrates urged the pursuit of wisdom rather than mere wisdom-claiming; he saw himself as a true craftsman of dialogue.

Merleau-Ponty: body and knowledge

The body is the primary site of knowing the world; perception and self are inseparable from the body.

Merleau-Ponty: self and world

The self emerges as one perceives the world through the body; existence is body-mediated.

Descartes: science principles

Three Principles of Science: medicine (body), mechanics (machines), morals (the embodied mind).

Descartes: mind-body interaction

The immaterial mind and material body are distinct yet causally interact.

Descartes: self and doubt

The self as a thinker who doubts; reading good books helps engage with great minds.

Descartes: doubt and certainty

He argued that sensory experience is unreliable and must be doubted to seek certainty.

“I think, therefore I am”

A foundational statement of Cartesian doubt leading to certain self-awareness.

Locke: knowledge from experience

All knowledge comes from experience (empiricism); mind as a beneficiary of sensory input.

Locke: natural rights and toleration

Government has obligations and limited powers; supports religious toleration and individual rights.

Locke: self through experience

The self emerges through experiences and practical exercise of freedom.

Hume: empiricism and evidence

Belief should be proportioned to the evidence; self arises from recurring experiences.

Kant: science and wisdom

Science is organized knowledge; wisdom is organized life; self shaped by interpretation of experience.

Freud: pleasure drive

Behavior is motivated by the drive to seek pleasurable experiences; developmental stages shape the self.

Freud: self and unmet needs

The self strives to address unmet needs through growth and varying motives.

Ryle: self through behavior

The self is manifested and explained through observable behavior rather than inner essence.

Churchland: brain and self

The brain is the engine of reason; folk psychology is critiqued; self emerges from empirical, neurological data.

Churchland: data-innervated self

The self is not a theoretical construct but arises from empirical neural data.

Socratic questions (types)

Categories of questions: clarification, probing assumptions, viewpoints, reasons/evidence, implications, and reflection on the question itself.