Understanding the Self (UNDS) Practice Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering key philosophical, psychological, sociological, and anthropological concepts from the Understanding the Self (UNDS) lecture notes.

Philos

Greek word meaning love (as in philosophy: love for knowledge or wisdom).

Sophia

Greek word meaning wisdom or knowledge.

Introspection

Internal questioning or observation of ourselves.

Socratic Method

A method of questioning oneself where both participants assume the role of teacher and student.

Appetitive Soul

In Plato's tri-partite soul, the part driven by desire to satisfy oneself, including physical needs and pleasure desires.

Spirited Soul

In Plato's tri-partite soul, the courageous part that wants to act or right observed wrongs.

Rational Soul

In Plato's tri-partite soul, the conscious mind that thinks, plans ahead, and serves as the driver of life.

Allegory of the Cave

Plato's allegory illustrating that people living in a cave see only shadows as reality and must leave to know the truth.

Dualism (Descartes)

The philosophical position asserting the existence of body and mind as distinct entities, supported by empirical evidence and reasoning.

Cogito Ergo Sum

René Descartes' famous Latin statement translating to 'I think, therefore I am.'

Tabula Rasa

John Locke's concept of the mind as a 'blank slate', holding that a person is born knowing nothing and is shaped by experiences.

Transcendental Apperception

Immanuel Kant's concept of an essence of consciousness that synthesizes accumulated experiences, intuition, and imagination to establish the self.

Id

In Sigmund Freud's personality model, the 'child aspect' driven by the pleasure principle and primitive impulses like sex, food, and comfort.

Super Ego

In Freud's model, the moral conscience of personality acting on the morality principle as the center for ethical imperatives.

Ego

In Freud's model, the moderator/police between the Id and Super Ego operating on the rationality/reality principle within reality's boundaries.

Conscious Level

In Freud's levels of consciousness, the region where a minority of memories are stored and thoughts are easily accessible and aware.

Pre-conscious Level

In Freud's levels of consciousness, the middle layer where stored memories can still be accessed, though with slight difficulty.

Unconscious Level

In Freud's levels of consciousness, the region holding the majority of deeply stored, forgotten, or difficult-to-access memories and unaware thoughts.

Ghost in the Machine

Gilbert Ryle's term describing the dualist view where the body is a complex machine and intelligence/behavior is represented by an internal ghost.

Eliminative Materialism

Paul Churchland's view opposing common sense understanding of the mind, asserting that most mental states do not exist and self is defined by brain movements.

Neurophilosophy

The study asserting that understanding human behavior requires understanding neurological brain movements and their effects on the body.

The 'Me' (Mead)

In George Herbert Mead's theory, the socialized aspect of self that follows 'generalized others' and acts out actions.

The 'I' (Mead)

In George Herbert Mead's theory, the manifestation of individuality that reflects upon actions.

Preparatory Stage

Mead's first stage of self-development (Birth-2 YRS) where infants imitate and mimic environmental behaviors without intention or meaning.

Play Stage

Mead's second stage of self-development (2-6 YRS) where children interact using self-set rules through pretend play, marking the onset of self-consciousness.

Game Stage

Mead's final stage of self-development (6-9 YRS) where children recognize game rules and identify their own and others' roles.

Ethnography

In sociocultural anthropology, fieldwork-based data collection that is descriptive and specific to a group.

Ethnology

In sociocultural anthropology, synthetic and comparative cross-cultural analysis using data collected across multiple researchers.

Enculturation

The social process through which culture is learned and transmitted across generations.

I-self (James)

William James' term for the self-thought or self-knower aspect of consciousness.

Me-self (James)

William James' term for the phenomenal or experienced self ('self as known').

Material Self

In William James' sub-categories of self, the constituent formed by our bodies, family, and home.

Social Self

In William James' sub-categories of self, the constituent based on interactions with society and people's reactions toward us.

Spiritual Self

In William James' sub-categories of self, the most intimate constituent involving moral sensibility, conscience, and indomitable will.

Perceived Self

In Carl Rogers' concept of self, the self-worth view reflecting how individuals see themselves and how others see them.

Real Self

In Carl Rogers' concept of self, the self-image reflecting how a person really is.

Ideal Self

In Carl Rogers' concept of self, the depiction of how a person would like to be.

True Self

A sense of self rooted in early infancy ('The Simple Being') based on spontaneous, authentic experience and feeling alive.

Fake Self

A defense facade overlaying or contradicting the original sense of self, concealing inner emptiness behind an independent facade.