The Self from Various Perspectives

A comprehensive set of flashcards covering key concepts and philosophers' views on the understanding of the self.

Understanding the Self

It is essential for self-awareness, personal development, and articulating identity.

Self-Awareness

A good understanding of one's values and strengths, foundational for change and growth.

The Self

A continually molded and developed aspect of a person, not static.

Pre-Socratics

Greek thinkers like Thales and Pythagoras who explored the nature of reality and change.

Socrates

First philosopher to systematically question the nature of the self; famously stated, 'Know thyself.'

Socratic Method

A form of cooperative argumentative dialogue, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and uncover truths.

The Unexamined Life (Socrates)

Socrates' belief that a life without critical self-reflection and philosophical inquiry is not worth living.

Socrates on Virtue

He believed that 'virtue is knowledge,' implying that immoral actions arise from ignorance.

Care for the Soul (Socrates)

Socrates' central teaching emphasizing the importance of cultivating one's moral and intellectual being over material possessions.

Socrates' Moral Intellectualism

The view that intellectual or rational activity is crucial for morality, equating knowledge with virtue.

Accusations against Socrates

He was accused of corrupting the youth and impiety (asebeia) which led to his trial and execution.

Plato's Soul Components

The three parts of the soul: rational, spirited, and appetitive.

Plato's Theory of Forms

The metaphysical theory that non-physical, perfect, and eternal 'Forms' or 'Ideas' represent the most accurate reality.

Allegory of the Cave (Plato)

Plato's allegory illustrating the philosophical journey from ignorance to enlightenment, and the nature of perceived reality.

Rational Soul (Plato)

The part of the soul responsible for reason, seeking truth and knowledge, governing the other parts.

Spirited Soul (Plato)

The part of the soul associated with honor, ambition, courage, and emotions like indignation.

Appetitive Soul (Plato)

The part of the soul driven by basic bodily desires, pleasures, and physical comforts.

Plato on Knowledge Acquisition

Believed that true knowledge is a recollection (anamnesis) of the Forms known by the soul before birth.

Aristotle's View of the Soul

The soul as the form of the body; functions include growth, perception, and reasoning.

Aristotle's Empiricism

Unlike Plato, Aristotle emphasized observation and sensory experience as the foundation for knowledge.

Aristotle's Four Causes

Material (what it's made of), Formal (its shape/essence), Efficient (what made it), and Final (its purpose or end) causes.

Aristotle's Teleology

The philosophical principle that everything in nature has an inherent purpose or goal (telos).

Eudaimonia (Aristotle)

Often translated as 'flourishing' or 'living well,' considered by Aristotle to be the ultimate goal of human life, achieved through virtuous activity.

The Golden Mean (Aristotle)

Aristotle's ethical doctrine advocating for a virtuous middle ground between two extreme vices (excess and deficiency).

Aristotle's Syllogism

A form of deductive reasoning where a conclusion is drawn from two given or assumed premises.

Thomas Aquinas

Blended Christian doctrine with Aristotelian philosophy, defining man as body and soul.

Aquinas' Five Ways

Five arguments for the existence of God, including arguments from motion, causality, and contingency.

Natural Law (Aquinas)

An ethical theory derived from God's eternal law, stating that moral principles are inherently knowable through human reason and observation of nature.

Faith and Reason (Aquinas)

Aquinas argued that faith and reason are complementary paths to truth, not contradictory.

Human Composite (Aquinas)

Aquinas' view that humans are a substantial union of body (matter) and soul (form), with the soul acting as the animating principle.

Beatific Vision (Aquinas)

The ultimate end of human existence: the direct, intellectual perception of God as the supreme truth and good.

Scholasticism (Aquinas)

A medieval philosophical and theological method, exemplified by Aquinas, aiming to reconcile classical philosophy with Christian doctrine.

Descartes' Cogito

His assertion 'I think, therefore I am' highlights the self as a thinking entity.

Descartes' Method of Doubt

A systematic process of questioning the truth of one's beliefs to arrive at indubitable certainty.

Cartesian Dualism

Descartes' theory proposing a radical separation between the immaterial mind (res cogitans) and the material body (res extensa).

Rationalism (Descartes)

The philosophical school of thought, championed by Descartes, that emphasizes reason as the primary source of knowledge, independent of sensory experience.

Clear and Distinct Ideas (Descartes)

Descartes' criterion for truth, where an idea is true if it is self-evident, fully grasped by the intellect, and sharply demarcated from other ideas.

Pineal Gland (Descartes)

Descartes proposed this small gland in the brain as the principal seat of the soul and the point of interaction between mind and body.

Meditations on First Philosophy (Descartes)

Descartes' seminal work where he systematically lays out his foundationalist philosophy and arguments for God's existence and mind-body dualism.

Hume's Bundle Theory

Proposed that the self is not a singular entity but a collection of experiences and perceptions.

Radical Empiricism (Hume)

Hume's philosophical position that all knowledge originates from sensory experience, leading to skepticism about unobservable entities.

Impressions and Ideas (Hume)

Hume's distinction between vivid, immediate sensations (impressions) and their fainter copies in thought (ideas).

Hume on Causality

He argued that causality is merely 'constant conjunction' (repeated observation of events, A followed by B), not a necessary connection.

Problem of Induction (Hume)

Hume's challenge to the justification of inductive reasoning, questioning why we assume past patterns will continue in the future.

Hume's Skepticism

His philosophical stance questioning the possibility of certain knowledge in metaphysics, ethics, and theology, emphasizing the limits of human reason.

Passions over Reason (Hume)

Hume famously claimed that 'Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions,' implying that emotions primarily drive human action.

Kant's Mind Apparatus

Believed that the self organizes impressions and experiences through an active intelligence.

Transcendental Idealism (Kant)

Kant's philosophical position that our knowledge is limited to phenomena (appearances) shaped by the mind's categories, not to noumena (things-in-themselves).

Categorical Imperative (Kant)

Kant's supreme moral principle, stating one should act only according to a maxim that could be universally applied without contradiction.

Noumenal World (Kant)

The realm of things-in-themselves, existing independently of human perception and understanding, which Kant considered ultimately unknowable.

Phenomenal World (Kant)

The world as it appears to us, constituted by our minds, and the only world we can experience and gain knowledge about.

Autonomy of the Will (Kant)

The idea that a rational agent's will is free when it acts according to its own self-imposed moral laws, rather than external determinations or desires.

Duty-Based Ethics (Deontology - Kant)

An ethical framework where the morality of an action is judged by its adherence to rules or duties, rather than its consequences.

Augustine's Dual Nature

Posited humanity as having both a mortal body and an immortal soul.

Original Sin (Augustine)

The theological doctrine, heavily influenced by Augustine, asserting that humanity inherits a corrupted nature from Adam's first sin.

Free Will (Augustine)

Augustine's defense of human capacity for choice, essential for moral responsibility, even amidst divine foreknowledge and grace.

Problem of Evil (Augustine's Solution)

Augustine explained evil not as a substance, but as a privation of good, largely resulting from the misuse of free will by rational beings.

Search for Truth (Augustine)

Augustine famously advised to look inward for truth: 'Do not go outside, return into yourself. In the inner man dwells truth.'

The City of God (Augustine)

Augustine's major work contrasting the earthly city (driven by self-love) with the heavenly City of God (driven by love of God).

Confessions (Augustine)

Augustine's autobiographical work detailing his spiritual journey, intellectual development, and conversion to Christianity.

Locke's Personal Identity

Defined personal identity based on psychological continuity, particularly memory.

Tabula Rasa (Locke)

Locke's concept of the mind as a 'blank slate' at birth, upon which all knowledge is inscribed through experience.

Empiricism (Locke)

A foundational figure of British Empiricism, asserting that all ideas and knowledge come from sensory experience and reflection.

Primary and Secondary Qualities (Locke)

Distinction between qualities inherent in objects (e.g., shape, motion) and those that produce sensations in us (e.g., color, taste).

Social Contract Theory (Locke)

Locke's theory of government where individuals consent to be governed to protect their natural rights (life, liberty, and property).

Natural Rights (Locke)

Inherent, unalienable rights possessed by all individuals, which governments are instituted to protect, pre-dating any social contract.

Locke on Self as Consciousness

The self is not a substance but an enduring consciousness, capable of remembering past experiences and identifying with them.

Freud's Theory of Personality

Characterized by the id, ego, and superego, with human drives primarily being unconscious.

The Id (Freud)

The archaic, primal part of the personality operating on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification of instincts and desires.

The Ego (Freud)

The rational, reality-oriented part of the personality that mediates between the id's demands, superego's restrictions, and external reality.

The Superego (Freud)

The moral component of personality, representing internalized societal and parental standards of right and wrong, forming one's conscience.

Psychosexual Stages (Freud)

Freud's theory of personality development, comprising oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages, each linked to specific erogenous zones.

Oedipus Complex (Freud)

A child's unconscious sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex and feelings of rivalry with the parent of the same sex, typically occurring during the phallic stage.

Defense Mechanisms (Freud)

Unconscious psychological strategies employed by the ego to reduce anxiety arising from unacceptable thoughts or feelings (e.g., repression, rationalization).

Ryle's View of Self

Rejected the idea of a non-physical self, emphasizing observable behavior.

Ghost in the Machine (Ryle)

Ryle's pejorative term for Cartesian dualism, satirizing the idea of a non-material mind inhabiting and controlling a physical body.

Category Mistake (Ryle)

A logical error of treating a concept as if it belongs to a logical category to which it does not, which Ryle applied to the mind-body problem.

Philosophical Behaviorism (Ryle)

Ryle's position that mental states are not inner, hidden entities but rather dispositions to behave in certain ways under certain circumstances.

Knowing How vs. Knowing That (Ryle)

Ryle distinguished between practical abilities or skills (knowing how) and propositional knowledge or facts (knowing that).

Dispositions (Ryle)

Mental qualities like intelligence or courage are explained as tendencies or capacities for a person to act in particular observable ways.

The Concept of Mind (Ryle)

Ryle's influential critique of Cartesian dualism and his defense of a behaviorist account of mental concepts.

Merleau-Ponty

Argued against mind-body dualism, asserting that all experiences are embodied.

Phenomenology (Merleau-Ponty)

A philosophical approach focusing on the study of structures of consciousness as experienced from the first-person point of view.

Primacy of Perception (Merleau-Ponty)

The idea that perception is not merely a passive reception of sensory data but an active, foundational process through which we engage with and constitute the world.

Body-Subject (Merleau-Ponty)

Merleau-Ponty's concept of the lived body as the primary vehicle for our being-in-the-world, rather than merely an object.

The Lived Body (Merleau-Ponty)

Description of the body not as a physiological object but as the subject of experience, intertwined with our perception and action in the world.

Intercorporeality (Merleau-Ponty)

The concept that our bodily experience is deeply connected with and influenced by the presence and interaction with other bodies.

Merleau-Ponty on Perception

He emphasized perception as an active, synthetic process that gives meaning to the world, rejecting the notion of a disembodied consciousness.

Physical Self

Refers to one's tangible body, appearance, health, and physical capabilities, which contribute to self-perception and identity.

Sexual Self

Encompasses one's biological sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual feelings, and behaviors, all integral to personal identity.

Material Self

Consists of things that one owns or possesses, including one's body, family, home, clothes, and other material possessions, which extend and define one's self.