Unit 1 - Philosophical Perspective

Philosophical Perspective

Philosophical Perspective

The perspective that answers the question “Who am I?”

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

3 members of the ancient triumvate

Socrates

• Know thyself

• An unexamined life is not worth living

Body and Soul

For socrates, these are the two realms that make up reality

Wisdom and Perfection

For Socrates, this is what the soul strives for

Plato

• Greatest victory is to conquer yourself

• To be conquered by yourself is most shameful and vile

• 3 part self

Reason, Physical Appetite, and Spirit

For Plato, these are the 3 parts of the self/soul

Aristotle

He proposed that a soul is “the actuality of a body that has life“, where life means the capacity for self sustenance, growth, and reproduction

Tabula rasa

For Aristotle, the self is a _____ (Blank tablet)

Matter and Form

For aristotle, the self was composed of these two things

Gaining experiences

For aristotle, the process of complete is done through this

Stoicism, Hedonism, Epicurianism

These were the 3 philosophies during the post-aristotelian era

Stoicism

• Characterized by Apathy or indifference to pleasure

• It’s goal is to attain inner peace by overcoming adversity

Hedonism

• This belief says that pleasure is the only good in life

• It’s goal is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain

Epicurianism

• Characterize by moderate pleasure

• It’s goal was to maximize pleasure during one’s lifetime, yet doing so moderately to avoid the suffering caused by overindulging.

Theo-centric

Belief in Medieval Philosophy that focused on the search for happiness in another realm. Aimed to merge religion and philosophy.

St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine

2 saints involved in medieval philosophy

St. Augustine

He integrated platonic ideas with the tenets of Christianity

Union with God through faith and reason

For St. Augustine, the self strives to achieve this

St. Thomas Aquinas

• He believed that self-knowledge is dependent on our experience of the world around us

• He believed that the labels we attribute to ourselves are taken from the things we encounter in our environment.

• “The things we love tell us who we are“

Anthropocentric

Belief during the Modern Philosophical era where thinkers began to reject the medieval thinkers excessive reliance on divine authority

Rene Descartes, David Hume, Gilbert Ryle, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, Paul and Patricia Churchland

They were the 7 modern philosophers

Rene Descartes

• He argued that the self can be correctly considered as either a mind or a human being and it’s properties vary accordingly.

• He believed that the self is constituted by the beings that jointly produce this mental life, and derives unity from it.

Rationalist view of knowledge

Rene Descartes was considered an archetypal proponent for this

Dualism

The concept that reality or existence is divided into two parts

John Locke

He believed that personal identity is a matter of psychological continuity

Conciousness

For locke, personal identity was founded on this

Empiricist view of knowledge

John Locke was considered an archetypal advocate for this

David Hume

He believed that there is no self but only a bundle of constantly changing perceptions passing through our minds

Bundle theory

David Hume was a proponent for this theory

Immanuel Kant

He believed that the self is a unifying subject, an organizing consciousness that makes intelligible experience possible

Inner and Outer Self

For Kant, these form our conciousness.

Inner Self

Comprised of our psychological state and our rational intellect

Outer Self

Comprised of our senses and the Physical World

The unity of conciousness

Phrase invented by Kant to describe the unity of thoughts and perception in one conciousness

Gilbert Ryle

• He believed that the mind does not exist and self comes from behavior.

• “I act therefore I am”

Paul and Patricia Churchland

They believed that the self is the brain. Mental states will be superseded by brain states.

Physicalism

The philosophical view that states that all aspects of the universe is made of matter and can be fully explained by physical laws

Functionalism

This view states that the mind can be explained in terms of patterns of sensory inputs and behavior outputs mediated by functionally defined mental states.

Eliminative Materialism

This view believes that the mind is the brain and that over time a mature neuroscience vocabulary will replace the “folk psychology”

Edmund Husserl and Maurice Merleau-Ponty

2 Contemporary Philosophers

Embodied Subjectivity

Philosophy that states that our living body is a natural synthesis of mind and biology

Phenomenological Approach

It describes the phenomena of the lived experience by describing your immediate responses.

Physical, Emotional, Cognitive

3 immediate responses described by the phenomenological approach

Edmund Husserl

He believed that the self is the experienced totality of one’s life. He believed that the self as a unity where the mental and physical are seamlessly woven together.

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

He believed that the body as the primary site of knowing the world.