Philosophical Views About The Self

Socrates

Who said, "Know thyself"?

Philosophy

"Love of wisdom"

Philosophy

A pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental truths in life.

Philosophy

The study of fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.

Philo

It means love in Greek.

Sophia

It means wisdom in Greek.

Socrates

He believed that the self is best understood through introspection and questioning.

Soul

True self; distinct from the body, immortal, and the source of moral and intellectual virtues. (According to S)

Physical realm, Ideal realm

The 2 dichotomous realms Socrates described

Physical realm

Realm which is composed of what we see and experience.

Ideal realm

Realm of truth, goodness, and beauty.

Socratic Method

Questioning as a path to self-knowledge.

Plato

He divided the self into two parts; the body and the soul.

Body

The material and perishable part of the self.

Soul

The immaterial and eternal part of the self. (According to P)

Rational, Spirited, Appetite

The Tripartite Soul

Rational

The part of the soul that does the thinking; the logical part that seeks the truth.

Reason

Other term for Rational.

Spirited

The part of the soul that is emotional; the passionate part that drives actions.

Willpower

Other term for Spirited.

Appetite

The part of the soul that craves pleasure, food, and material things.

Desires

Other term for Appetite.

True self

The rational soul is the ____ ____, which seeks knowledge of the eternal forms (ideal realities).

Aristotle

He believed that the self is a combination of the body and soul.

Self

The combination of the body and soul.

Hylomorphism

Everything is made of matter and form.

Body

The matter in hylomorphism.

Soul

The form in hylomorphism.

Vegetative Soul, Sensitive Soul, Rational Soul

3 Kinds of Souls

Vegetative Soul

The soul that is just for growth and survival; the soul of plants.

Nutritive

Other term for Vegetative.

Sensitive Soul

The soul that allows the feeling of emotion and movement; the soul that an animal possesses.

Rational Soul

Apart from growing, survival, and feeling, this soul adds intelligence, reasoning, and morality.

Eudaimonia

A fancy word for flourishing or living a fulfilled life; goal of life; living a life of virtue and fulfillment to achieve happiness and purpose.

Golden Mean

The virtue lies in finding balance between extremes.

True

(T/F) True self-understanding comes from finding purpose, practicing virtue, and achieving balance.

St. Augustine

He believed that the self is made of body and soul; is constantly torn between good and evil.

St. Augustine

He believed that our soul is connected to God and that true self-knowledge comes from looking inward (introspection) and connecting to the divine.

True

(T/F) St. Augustine believed that our soul is eternal and made for only a higher purpose.

Body

The part of the self that is temporary and imperfect. (According to St. A)

Soul

The part of the self that is eternal and connected to God. (According to St. A)

False

(T/F) St. Augustine believed that the body is more important than the soul.

Ultimate purpose of life

To seek truth, goodness, and return to God.

Rene Descartes

Who said, "Cogito, Ergo Sum"?

I think, therefore I am.

What does "Cogito, Ergo Sum" mean?

Cogito, Ergo Sum

This phrase states that the act of thinking proves our existence.

Mind-Body Dualism

Descartes introduced the -_ _ which separates the mind and the body.

True Self = Thinking Self

These things equate to one another according to Descartes.

Think

Our real identity is our ability to _, not our physical form.

True

(T/F) Knowing ourselves means recognizing that our thoughts define us, not just our physical experiences.

John Locke

He believed that we are born with no built-in knowledge; that experience shapes us, hence, his coined term "Tabula Rasa."

Blank slate

What does "Tabula Rasa" mean?

Self

The consciousness and memory; who we are is based on our thoughts, experiences, and memories.

False

(T/F) People change as they remember past experiences.

True

(T/F) Locke believed selfhood is built, not pre-existing.

True

(T/F) Knowing ourselves means reflecting on our own experiences and memories.

Bundle Theory

The self is not a single, permanent entity but a collection of changing perceptions and experiences.

David Hume

Who proposed the Bundle Theory?

David Hume

He believed that there is no permanent self; there is no "core" self that stays the same.

False

(T/F) David Hume stated that the self is not an illusion.

True

(T/F) In Hume's perspective, understanding the self means recognizing that we're constantly evolving and that our self-concept is shaped by the perceptions and experiences we have.

Immanuel Kant

He believed that the self is not a passive observer; sitting there while life happens; not living on Earth, not living life passively.

Transcendental Self

The self is not just a sum of your experiences; we actively shape our perceptions of the world and our minds are always working to organize and make sense of everything we see and feel. It is also the unity of experience.

Schema

Your mind organizes the information based on your personal filters.

Phenomenal Self, Noumenal Self

Dual Aspects; The two aspects of the self

Phenomenal Self

The self as experienced in the world; our everyday identity.

Noumenal Self

The self as it exists in itself, beyond sensory experience; deeper and unknowable self.

Sigmund Freud

He believed that the self is more complicated than we think.

Unconscious mind

An idea proposed by Freud; he believed that much of who we are lies here.

Conscious, Preconscious, Unconscious

The Three Levels of the Mind

Conscious

The thoughts we are aware of.

Preconscious

The memories.

Unconscious

The deep and hidden feelings and desire.

Id, Ego, Superego

The Three Parts of the Mind

Id

The part of the mind that holds instinctual desires and urges.

Ego

The part of the mind that is the rational part; balancing desires with reality.

Superego

The part of the mind that holds moral conscience, shaped by societal rules.

Gilbert Ryle

He argued that the mind is not a separate entity. He introduced the "Ghost in the Machine."

Ghost in the Machine

Believed that the self is not some inner ghost controlling the body, but instead, the self manifests in our behavior and actions.

Self

The patter of behavior expressed through the way we live our lives. (According to GR)

Self

It can be demonstrated through behavior and dispositions. (According to GR)

True

(T/F) Ryle believed that to understand the self, observe what a person does.

action

Ryle encourages us to look at _ to understand a person's self.

Paul Churchland

A Canadian philosopher that believed that the way we commonly talk about thoughts, emotions, and beliefs (mental states) is updated.

Paul Churchland

He said that we can't define the self using mental states and used the phrase "folk psychology" to describe it. He argued that it was not the best way to understand the mind.

Eliminative Materialism

Argued that the traditional concept of the "self" and "mind" as we understand them may be incorrect and should be replaced by a scientific, brain-based view.

True

(T/F) According to Churchland, mental states (thoughts, emotions, beliefs) are not separate from the brain.

Self

The brain's activities and neural processes, not some immaterial or supernatural entity. (According to PC)

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

He thought that we often think of the self as something in our heads; like our identity, our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and ideas. The self is not just in the mind, it's in the body.

Phenomenology

It focuses on how we experience the world through our bodies.

Perception

The primary way we experience the self and the world.

Self

It is embedded in the body; bodily experiences shape our identity and how we understand the world around us. (According to MMP)

Body

An active part of how we perceive and interact with reality. (According to MMP)

Self and World

The sense of ____ is shaped by the _____, but also shapes the way we engage with the world (continuous feedback loop between our body and the environment)