Philosophical view of the Self

ancient and medieval period

1. self is the cornerstone of its intellectual history

2. object of ethical and metaphysical inquiry

3. practice moderation, do what is good, achieve excellence for the soul

Socrates

1. it is our duty to examine and know ourselves

2. recognition of ignorance = knowing yourself

3. self is dualistic,

   body - imperfect and temporary soul - perfect and permanent

Plato

• student of Socrates

• tripartite theory of the soul

1. reason (nous)-control, logical thinking

2. spirit - emotions and passion

3. appetite - desires, pleasures, and comforts

   reason governs the 2 parts in order to live a life of goodness and justice

Aristotle

• student of plato

1. hylomorphism - self is a composite of body and soul are inseparable

2. soul - the “form” or essense of body

3. humans - “rational creatures”

ST. Augustine

1. self is an immortal soul that yearns to union with God

2. self defined by its capacity for self reflection and it's relationship with the divine

3. knowing God is true self understanding

modern period

1. rationalism and empiricism (modern philosophers perspective)

2. views on self is from theocentric approaches of ancient/ medieval philosophers

Rene Descartes

1. father of modern philosophy

2. cogito ergo sum = i think therefore i am

3. self is

   - thinking thing (res cogitans)

   - substance whose essense is to think

   - distinct from the body (res extensa)

John Locke

1. personal identity is not based on the body or soul, but on consciousness and memory from sense experiences

2. mind begins as a blank slate (tabula rasa)

3. self is a “thinking intelligent being”

4. personal identity persists because we remember our past experiences

David Hume

1. we never directly permanent, unified self - only flow of changing perceptions like thoughts feelings and sensations

2. self is a “bundle” or “collection” of fleeting perceptions constantly shifting and in motion

3. self is an illusion created by the mind’s habit of linking experiences together

Immanuel Kant

1. rejected hume's extreme views of self and proposed - constructivist model of self

2. self actively organizes raw sensory data into a unified experience of life

3. transcendental unity of apperception

contemporary period

1. contemporary philosophers avoid relying on just one approach to explain the self

2. they use multiple theories to gain a brother and deeper understanding

Sigmund Freud

1. introduced a revolutionary model of the self (the “I”) is multilayered - conscious, preconscious, and unconscious

2. structured the personality into three parts:

   •Id - instinctual desires

   •ego - realistic mediator •superego - moral conscience

3. the self is shaped by ongoing conflict between the Id’s unconsciousness drives and the superego’s small standards

4. the ego mediates between disposing forces to maintain balance

Freud’s iceberg theory

conscious - thoughts perceptions

preconscious - memory stored knowledge

unconscious - instincts fear selfish motive

conscious level

ego

ego definition

executive mediating between Id impulses and superego inhibitions; testing reality; rational, operates mainly at conscious level but also at preconscious

preconscious level

superego

superego definition

ideas and morals; striving for perfection; incorporated from parents; becoming a person's conscious. operates mostly at preconscious level

unconscious level

Id

Id definition

basic impulses (sex and aggression); seeking immediate gratification; irrational impulsive. operates at unconscious level

Gilbert Ryle

1. the “ghost in the machine”

2. the self is not a mysterious, non-physical entity but is simply our behavior

3. the self is best understood by observing a person's actions in the world

4. simply put: you are what you do

Paul Churchland

1. eliminative materialism - our common sense understanding of the mind is flawed and will eventually be replaced by a more scientific understanding rooted in neuroscience

2. the “self” is the brain

3. our thoughts, feelings, and consciousness are simply the product of the physical processes of our brain

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

1. the live body as the center of our experience of the world

2. the self is an embodied subjectivity - we are not minds in bodies

3. our consciousness is fundamentally shaped by our physical existence

filipino philosophical views

1. western philosophy often views the self is an individualistic way

2. filipino thought emphasizes a deeply relational view of personhood, grounded in connections with others

Virgilio Enrique

1. father of sikolohiyang pilipino (filipino psychology)

2. introduce the core concept of kapwa

3. kapwa (“shared identity” or “togetherness”) - it refers to the idea of the self as interconnected with others

4. kapwa has two categories: ibang tao (outsider) and hindi ibang tao (one of us)

5. the filipino self is fundamentally defined by its relationships

Leonardo Mercado

1. filipino concept of loob refers to one's inner self or inner being

2. loob encompasses one's will character in relationship with others

3. a person with a “magandang loob” (beautiful inner self) is someone who is kind, compassionate, and just in their dealings with their kapwa