Understanding the Self: Philosophical Perspectives

A set of vocabulary flashcards defining key concepts and philosophical perspectives on 'Understanding the Self' based on the lecture material.

GWAPO

An acronym describing qualities that guide the self through life: Genuine, Warrior, Authentic, Patient, and Optimistic.

Quiddity

The essential nature or essence of who one truly is.

Body-Soul Duality (Socrates)

Socrates' view that human existence is divided into body and soul, emphasizing that the self must focus on improving the moral quality of the soul through wisdom and truth.

Three-part soul (Plato)

Plato's model of the soul comprising three components: Reason, Physical Appetite, and Spirit (or passion).

Chariot Analogy

An analogy employed by Plato to illustrate the tripartite soul, featuring a charioteer (Reason) guiding two horses (Spirit and Physical Appetite).

Tripartite being (St. Augustine & St. Thomas Aquinas)

The view integrating Platonic ideas with Christian theology, defining the self as composed of three aspects: body, soul, and spirit.

Cartesian Dualism

Rene Descartes' dualistic philosophy asserting a clear distinction between the physical body and the non-physical mind.

Cogito, ergo sum

Rene Descartes' fundamental principle meaning 'I think, therefore I am,' establishing conscious thought as the ultimate proof of existence.

Tabula rasa

John Locke's concept of the mind as a 'blank slate' at birth, where self-identity and knowledge are formed through sensory experience and conscious reflection.

Impressions and Ideas (David Hume)

David Hume's theory that no fixed 'self' exists, only direct sensory experiences ('impressions') and their faint mental copies ('ideas').

Id, Ego, Superego

Sigmund Freud's three structural elements of the multi-layered self, divided across the conscious, pre-conscious, and unconscious levels.

Mind as a pattern of behavior (Gilbert Ryle)

Gilbert Ryle's proposition that the mind is a concept expressing thoughts and actions, and the self is best understood as a pattern or tendency to behave in particular ways.

Neurophilosophy

The perspective advocated by Patricia and Paul Churchland holding that the self is synonymous with the physical brain.

Unified body and mind (Maurice Merleau-Ponty)

Maurice Merleau-Ponty's viewpoint that the mind and body are completely integrated and unified rather than existing as distinct entities.