UTS

Concept and Nature of Self

Philosophy involves questioning existing knowledge and intuitions to find answers about ourselves and the world.

  • Skills Gained from Philosophy:

    • Critical Thinking

    • Argument skills

    • Communication

    • Reasoning

    • Analysis

    • Problem Solving

Philosophical Perspectives on the Self

  • Socrates: "An unexamined life is not worth living."

    • The self is synonymous with the soul.

    • Introspection (Socratic method) is used to gain self-knowledge through examining thoughts and emotions.

  • Plato: "The self is an immortal soul."

    • Three-part soul/self:

    1. Reason: Divine essence enabling deep thinking and wise choices.

    2. Physical Appetite: Basic biological needs (hunger, thirst, sexual desire).

    3. Spirit/Passion: Basic emotions (love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness, empathy).

  • Aristotle: "The soul is the essence of the self."

    • Anything with life has a soul.

    • Humans differ due to rational thinking; rational nature leads to a good, fulfilling life (self-actualization).

  • René Descartes: "I think, therefore I am."

    • Father of modern philosophy.

    • Thinking and self-consciousness prove existence.

  • John Locke: "The self is consciousness."

    • The mind at birth is a tabula rasa (blank slate).

    • Personal identity is constructed from sense experiences and memories.

  • David Hume: "There is no self."

    • Introspection reveals no persistent self, only impressions (basic sensations like joy or pain) and ideas (thoughts and images).

    • Personal identity is a product of imagination.

  • Immanuel Kant: "We construct the self."

    • The self actively organizes and synthesizes thoughts and perceptions to construct reality.

  • Sigmund Freud: "The self is multilayered."

    • Conscious: Takes into account realistic demands, thoughts, and perceptions.

    • Unconscious: Instinctual drives, aggressiveness, traumatic memories, unfulfilled fantasies.

    • Preconscious: Easily accessible, non-threatening material between conscious and unconscious.

  • Gilbert Ryle: "The self is the way people behave."

    • The self is a pattern of behavior or disposition to behave in certain ways.

  • Paul Churchland: "The self is the brain."

    • Eliminative materialism: the self is inseparable from brain and body physiology.

Physical Self
Factors in Development

  • Heredity (Nature): Transmission of traits/characteristics from parents to offspring.

  • Environment (Nurture): Sum total of forces or experiences undergone from conception to old age.

Biological Process of Reproduction and Conception

  • Egg Path and Timeline:

    • Released from the ovary and travels through the fallopian tube.

    • Moved toward the uterus by hair-like structures called cilia.

    • Takes 3–4 days to travel 5 inches along the fallopian tube.

    • Must be fertilized within 24 hours or it deteriorates.

  • Sperm Journey and Barriers:

    • Goal: Find and fertilize the egg.

    • Nearly 25% die almost immediately upon entering the female body.

    • Viable for 48 to 72 hours.

    • Barriers: Bacteria, cervix, vaginal acidity, support cells, zona.

    • Out of ~200 million sperm, around 50 reach the egg, and only 1 enters.

  • Fertilization:

    • Sperm sheds its coating and releases genetic material from its head.

    • The new cell begins to divide within 24 hours, containing DNA from both parents.

Stages in the Life Span

  1. Pre-natal period: Conception to birth

  2. Infancy: Birth to end of the second week

  3. Babyhood: End of the second week to end of the second year

  4. Early childhood (preschool age): 2 to 6 years

  5. Late childhood (elementary age): 6 to 10 or 12 years

  6. Puberty (preadolescence): 12 to 13 or 14 years

  7. Adolescence: 13 or 14 to 18 years

  8. Early Adulthood: 18 to 40 years

  9. Middle Age: 40 to 60 years

  10. Old Age (senescence): 60 years to death

Care for the Physical Body

  • Balanced diet: Consuming the right food at the right time and proportion.

  • Water: 8 glasses daily.

  • Sleep: Allows bones, muscles, and mind to recover.

Intelligent Behaviors

Behavior is defined as the manner in which a person conducts oneself in various circumstances. Costa (2000) identifies 14 intelligent behaviors/dispositions:

  1. Persistence: Not giving up when a solution is not immediately known.

  2. Overcoming Impulsiveness: Planning, clarifying goals, exploring strategies, and considering consequences before starting.

  3. Listening to others: Understanding another person's point of view.

  4. Metacognition: Awareness of one's own thinking process.

  5. Checking for accuracy and precision: Prioritizing craftsmanship and accuracy over speed.

  6. Flexibility in Thinking: Considering alternative points of view.

  7. Applying past knowledge to new situations: Calling upon stored knowledge/experience to solve new challenges.

  8. Precision of language and thought: Using descriptive terms and clear criteria for value judgments.

  9. Questioning and Problem-posing: Asking questions and discovering problems independently.

  10. Creativity: Generating original, unique, clever, or useful products and solutions.

  11. Living with the sense of wonderment: Maintaining curiosity and awe.

  12. Using all the senses: Utilizing sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell to solve problems.

  13. Sense of humor: Approaching situations and problems with fun.

  14. Cooperation: Capitalizing on knowledge and insights gained through social relationships.