The Self from Various Perspectives – Vocabulary Flashcards

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering major terms related to the concept of the self from various philosophical perspectives, including dualism, empiricism, and psychoanalysis.

Self

The concept of personal identity examined through different philosophical lenses (duality, trichotomy, etc.).

Dichotomy

A division into two parts; in this context, body and soul.

Dichotonian

Alternate term used in the notes for the two-part (body and soul) view of the self.

Trichotomy

A division into three parts; in this context, body, soul, and spirit.

Trichotonian

Alternate term used in the notes for the three-part view of the self (body, soul, spirit).

Body

The physical aspect of a person; the material substance.

Soul

The immaterial, animating essence of a person; in some traditions, the seat of life and rationality.

Spirit

The non-material aspect beyond body and soul in some tripartite theories.

Prime mover

The original source or first cause posited by philosophers as the origin of change; often linked to early philosophical thought.

Socrates

Ancient Athenian philosopher; teacher of Plato; advocates knowing oneself and virtuous living; famous for the maxim Nosce te ipsum and the claim that the unexamined life is not worth living.

Nosce te ipsum

Latin for 'Know thyself'; Socrates' guiding maxim.

Unexamined life

Socrates’ idea that a life without self-examination is not worth living.

Dualism

Philosophical view that mind and body (or body and soul) are distinct kinds of substance.

Plato

Greek philosopher, teacher of Aristotle; argued for the importance of self-control and the dual nature of the soul (body and soul).

Rational

The part of the soul governed by reason and intellect.

Spirited

The part of the soul responsible for emotions and will; often disciplined to temper.

Appetitive

The part of the soul that desires base pleasures (food, drink, sex, etc.).

3 components of the soul

Rational, Spirited, and Appetitive—the tripartite view of the soul.

Augustine (St. Augustine)

Christian philosopher who argued for a twofold (bifurcated) nature of humanity and the pursuit of divine communion through virtue.

Bifurcated nature

Twofold nature of human beings: body and soul.

Freedom

Capacity to choose what is good (in Augustine/related discussions).

Free will

Ability to choose between alternatives.

Abuse of Freedom

Choosing to do bad things despite having the freedom to choose.

Thomas Aquinas

Medieval philosopher who proposed matter and form (hyle and morph) as the two fundamental principles of reality.

Matter (Hyle)

The substrate or the 'stuff' that makes up physical things.

Form

The essential structure or soul that gives shape to matter; in Aquinas, the form is what animates matter.

Hyle

Philosophical term for matter; the underlying material substance.

Form or Morphe

The essence or essential nature of a thing; gives it its identity.

Descartes

René Descartes, philosopher renowned for mind-body dualism and the famous declaration Cogito Ergo Sum.

Cogito Ergo Sum

'I think, therefore I am'—Descartes' foundational claim about the certainty of the self.

Extenza (Extension)

In Descartes’ view, the body is the extended, physical part of the self; the mind is the thinking part.

Mind

The thinking, conscious aspect of a person; often contrasted with the body.

Body

The physical, extended substance of a person.

2 distinct self

Idea that there are two separate substances: mind ( Cogito) and body (extenza).

John Locke

Philosopher who argued the self is formed from experiences and memory; at birth, the mind is a tabula rasa.

Tabula rasa

Blank slate; the notion that the mind starts devoid of content and is filled through experience.

Personal identity (Locke’s view)

Selfhood is constructed from sense experiences and memories accumulated over life.

David Hume

Empiricist who argued that knowledge comes from experience; the self is a bundle of perceptions.

Empiricism

Theory that knowledge arises from sensory experience.

Impressions

Vivid, direct experiences or sensations.

Ideas

Copies or reflections of impressions; less vivid than impressions.

Self as bundle of impressions

View that the self is a collection of different perceptions rather than a single, fixed entity.

Sigmund Freud

Psychoanalytic theorist who proposed the mind consists of conscious, preconscious, and unconscious layers.

Conscious

Part of the mind that contains thoughts and perceptions we are aware of.

Preconscious

Memories and knowledge not in current awareness but accessible.

Unconscious

Layer containing drives, fears, and impulses not readily accessible to conscious awareness.

Reality principle

Freud’s principle guiding the ego to act in realistic ways.

Pleasure principle

Freud’s drives seeking immediate gratification, often governing the id.

Gilbert Ryle

Philosopher who argued the self is best understood as a pattern of behavior.

Pattern of behavior

The self is revealed through habitual ways of acting in various circumstances.

I act therefore I am

Ryle’s paraphrase of the idea that behavior reflects the self.

Attitude

A settled mind-set, belief, or perception that guides behavior.

Character

A person’s habitual moral and psychological traits; built from repeated attitudes and actions.

Behavior

Observable actions and responses; the outward expression of personality.

Personality

The integrated pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that characterize an individual.