The Self from Philosophical Perspectives

Flashcards covering the philosophical perspectives of the self from the views of Socrates, Plato, St. Augustine, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Freud, Ryle, Churchland, and Merleau-Ponty.

Socratic Method

A method of inquiry in testing ideas by asking a series of questions to determine underlying beliefs and guide the person toward better understanding.

Virtue

Moral excellence and the one and only supreme good that will secure happiness; includes qualities such as courage, temperance, prudence, and justice.

Visible existence

One of Socrates' two kinds of existence that refers to the body which changes.

Invisible existence

One of Socrates' two kinds of existence that is constant and understood by the mind or soul.

Collection and Division

Plato's philosophical method of collecting generic ideas with common characteristics and dividing them into different kinds until subdivisions become specific.

Theory of Forms

Plato's assertion that the physical world is not the "real" world because the ultimate reality exists beyond it.

Appetitive (sensual) element

The part of Plato's tripartite soul that enjoys sensual experiences.

Spirited (feeling) element

The part of Plato's tripartite soul that is inclined toward reason but understands the demand of passion.

Rational (reasoning) element

The part of Plato's tripartite soul that forbids the person to enjoy sensual experiences.

Self (St. Augustine)

An inner, immaterial "I" that has self-knowledge and self-awareness.

Methodological skepticism

Rene Descartes' systematic process of being skeptical about the truth of one's beliefs in order to determine which beliefs could be ascertained as true.

Cogito ergo sum

Translated as "I think, therefore I am," it is the one thing Descartes was sure of in the world.

Cartesian Dualism

The idea that the immaterial soul and the physical body are intimately bound to form a union but remain distinct from each other.

Consciousness (John Locke)

The source of the self's identity, which includes the memories of the thinking thing and provides continuity over time.

Empiricism

The philosophical perspective, championed by David Hume, that the origin of all knowledge is sense experience.

Bundle theory

David Hume’s theory describing the self as a collection of different perceptions moving in a perpetual flux.

Impressions

Perceptions that are the most strong, as categorized in David Hume's division of the mind’s perceptions.

Ideas (David Hume)

Perceptions that are less forcible and lively compared to impressions.

Apperception

The mental process by which a person makes sense of an idea by assimilating it to the body of ideas he or she already possesses.

Inner self (Immanuel Kant)

The component of the self by which you are aware of the alterations in your own state.

Outer self (Immanuel Kant)

The component of the self that includes your senses and the physical world.

Psychoanalysis

A clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst, founded by Sigmund Freud.

Psyche

The totality of the human mind, comprising both the conscious and unconscious levels.

Id

The part of the psyche that operates on the pleasure principle, seeking the achievement of demands and avoiding unpleasant tension.

Ego

The part of the psyche that operates according to the reality principle and uses defense mechanisms to ward off anxiety.

Superego

The part of the psyche that operates according to the moral principle, consisting of the conscience and the ideal self.

Category-mistake

Gilbert Ryle's critique of the distinction between mind and matter, arguing that mental processes are not isolated from physical acts.

Eliminative materialism

Paul Churchland's view that the common-sense understanding of the mind is false and the sense of self is a product of electrochemical signals in the brain.

Embodied subjectivity

Maurice Merleau-Ponty's view of the self where the body is not just a house for the mind, but the means through which the world is perceived and interacted with.