GE 1: Understanding the Self - Course Overview and Philosophical Perspectives

Flashcards testing core concepts and key philosophers from the GE 1: Understanding the Self lecture transcript.

What main themes does the course GE 1: Understanding the Self explore within the hospitality and tourism context?

It explores the self through service, culture, and interpersonal dynamics, emphasizing personal identity, emotional intelligence, cross-cultural sensitivity, professionalism, empathy, and purpose.

What three major topics are included in the PRELIM section of the course outline?

1. The Self from Various Philosophical Perspectives
2. The Self as a Cognitive Construct
3. Multiple Intelligences

According to the lecture notes, what significance does a person's name hold?

A name represents and signifies who a person is, forming a bond that even death cannot stop, as names are inscribed on gravestones.

What was Socrates's life-long mission and his famous quote regarding an unexamined life?

His life-long mission was to know oneself, and his famous quote is: "The unexamined life is not worth living."

How did Socrates view the composition of human nature?

Socrates viewed every human as dualistic, composed of an imperfect and impermanent BODY and a perfect and permanent SOUL.

What are the three components of the soul according to Plato?

1. Rational Soul (reason and intellect)
2. Spirited Soul (emotions)
3. Appetitive Soul (desires, e.g., eating, drinking, sleeping, sex)

How did St. Augustine view human nature and the goal of every human person?

St. Augustine infused Plato's dualistic view with Christianity, viewing man as bifurcated into a body bound to die on earth and a soul seeking eternal spiritual bliss with God. The goal of every human is to attain communion with the Divine by living a virtuous life.

In Thomas Aquinas's philosophical view, what are MATTER (hyle) and FORM (morphe)?

MATTER (hyle) is the common physical stuff that makes up everything in the universe (including the human body). FORM (morphe) is the essence of a substance, which for a human is the soul that animates the body.

Who is known as the "Father of Modern Philosophy" and what is his famous Latin line?

Rene Descartes, who coined the famous line: "cogito ergo sum" ("I think therefore, I am.")

How did Rene Descartes define the two distinct entities of the self?

MIND (cogito), which is the thinking thing that defines a human, and BODY (extenza), which is the extension of the mind and acts as a machine attached to it.

How did David Hume explain how men attain knowledge?

As an empiricist, David Hume believed that men can only attain knowledge by experiencing through the senses.

What are the two kinds of perceptions according to David Hume?

1. IMPRESSIONS: Direct, immediate experiences (e.g., the impression of heat when touching fire).
2. IDEAS: Later thoughts, memories, or imaginations based on experiences (e.g., the idea of heat experienced yesterday).

How did David Hume describe the "self"?

David Hume described the self as a bundle or collection of different perceptions.

What was Gilbert Ryle's stance on the concept of an internal, non-physical self?

Gilbert Ryle denied the concept of an internal, non-physical self, asserting that "self" is simply a convenient name used to refer to all the behaviors a person manifests in daily life.

What was Merleau-Ponty's view on the relationship between the mind and the body?

Merleau-Ponty maintained that the mind and body are inseparable and intertwined; consciousness and physicality are one, and the body is the medium through which we perceive, act, and exist.