GE 101: Understanding the Self Flashcards

A comprehensive collection of vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, theories, and philosophers discussed in the GE 101 Understanding the Self lecture notes.

Self

Who you are as a person, including your understanding of your own identity, thoughts, feelings, personality, and values.

Personality

The unique pattern of how a person thinks, feels, and behaves, as well as the conglomeration of physical self, intelligence, character traits, attitudes, habits, interest, personal discipline, moral values, principles, and philosophies in life.

Determinants of Personality

The factors that shape personality, categorized into Environmental factors, Biological Factors, Situational Factors, and Cultural Factors.

Socrates

The philosopher who stated 'Know Thyself' and 'The unexamined life is not worth living,' believing that understanding yourself by examining your beliefs, decisions, strengths, weaknesses, and values is essential to living a meaningful life.

Plato's Concept of Self

The idea that 'The self is the soul,' which is constituted by three parts: Rational (reason), Spirit or Passion (emotions), and Physical Appetite (pleasure/desires).

Reason (Plato)

Our divine essence that enables us to think deeply, make wise choices, and achieve a true understanding of eternal truths.

Physical Appetite (Plato)

The part of the soul encompassing basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire.

Spirit or Passion (Plato)

The part of the soul encompassing basic emotions such as love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness, and empathy.

Saint Augustine

The philosopher who asserted that man is a rational substance constituted of soul and body, where the self is the soul created by God and understood through self-reflection, faith, and relationship with God.

Rene Descartes

The philosopher who coined 'Cogito Ergo Sum' ('I think, therefore I am'), stating that the self is primarily a thinking being.

Cogito Ergo Sum

A philosophical statement by Rene Descartes meaning 'I think, therefore I am,' which asserts that the self is primarily a thinking being.

John Locke

The philosopher who claimed 'The Self Is Consciousness' and introduced the concept of 'Tabula Rasa'.

Tabula Rasa

'Blank Slate'; John Locke's concept stating that our mind at birth is like a blank piece of paper, and our experiences, learning, and interactions shape what we know and how we understand the world.

David Hume

The philosopher who asserted 'There is no self,' viewing the self as a bundle of experiences with no permanent, unchanging essence.

Immanuel Kant

The philosopher who claimed 'We construct the self,' stating that the self actively organizes our experiences.

Sigmund Freud

The theorist who claimed 'The self is multilayered,' consisting of three levels of the mind (Conscious, Preconscious, Unconscious) and three structural components (Id, Ego, Superego).

Id

In Freud's theory, the component of the mind driven by the pleasure principle.

Ego

In Freud's theory, the component of the mind driven by the reality principle.

Superego

In Freud's theory, the component of the mind driven by the moral principle.

Preconscious

In Freud's iceberg model, the level of the mind that contains dream states and recent experiences.

Unconscious

In Freud's iceberg model, the level of the mind that contains instincts, traumas, fears, passions, and other underlying drives.

Gilbert Ryle

The philosopher who proposed 'The self is how you behave' ('I act therefore I am').

Paul Churchland

The philosopher who proposed 'The brain is the self,' stating that the self is the product of brain activity.

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

The philosopher who asserted that the self is embodied, mind and body are not two completely separate things, and we experience ourselves and the world through our lived body.