COURSE TITLE: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
Lesson 1: The Self from the Perspective of Philosophy
PHILOSOPHER PROFILE CONTRIBUTIONS PHILOSOPHY VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE OTHERS
Socrates Mentor of Plato and first Socratic Method (the search for Knowing Thyself ("The only true ”The unexamined life is not Socratic Method is known to
martyr of education, knowledge the correct/proper definition of wisdom is in knowing you know worth living.” (making people the world esp. in educational
and philosophy. a thing); its goal is to bring the nothing" think, seek and ask again and institutions (asking and
The wisest of all men by Delphi person closer to the final Happiness motivates us to act again and get them to touch answering questions to
Oracle. understanding. towards or avoid things that their souls). stimulate critical thinking, and to
Charged with corruption of could have negative effects in A person’s acceptance of draw out ideas and underlying
minors and sentenced into our lives. ignorance is the beginning of presumptions).
death. acquisition of knowledge.
PHILOSOPHER PROFILE CONTRIBUTIONS PHILOSOPHY VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE OTHERS
Plato Father of Academy (a place Theory of Forms (forms refers A person who is a follower of Believed in the division of a Theory of Being – the more the
where learning and sharing to what are real; they’re not truth and wisdom will not be person’s body and soul which person knows, the more he is
happens) objects that are encountered tempted by vices and will always forms the person as a whole and the better he is.
Followed the idea of Socrates in with the senses but can only be be correct/moral/ethical. aside from the material things
Knowing Thyself. grasped intellectually) ”Allegory of Cave” (what and that could be observed and
Forms are: people in the cave see are only associated with a person.
1. Ageless, therefore are shadows of reality which they Knowledge lies within the
eternal; believe are real things and person’s soul
2. Unchanging, therefore represents knowledge; what Components of soul:
permanent; these people fail to realize is 1. The Reason – rational
3. Unmoving and that the shadows are not real). and is the motivation for
indivisible. goodness and truth
Dualism 2. The Spirited – non-
1. The Realm of the rational and is the will or
Shadows (changing the drive toward action
sensible things which that can be
are lesser entities and influenced/pulled into
therefore imperfect and two directions.
flawed) 3. The Appetites –
2. The Realm of irrational and lean
Forms(eternal things towards the desire for
which are permanent pleasure of the body
and perfect-the source
of all reality and true
knowledge)
PHILOSOPHER PROFILE CONTRIBUTIONS PHILOSOPHY VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE OTHERS
St. Augustine of Hippo A saint and a philosopher of the An important figure in the God encompasses us all, that Realms of life: Real happiness can only be
church. development of Western everything will be better if we God as the source of all reality found in God. Problems arise
Wants to know about moral Christianity. are with God. and truth – man is capable of because of the objects humans
evil and why it existed in people, To love God means to love knowing eternal truths through choose to love.
his personal desire for sensual one's fellowmen, and to love the existence of the one eternal 1. Love of physical objects
pleasures and questions about one's fellowmen means never to truth which is God. leads to the sin of greed.
all the sufferings in the world. do any harm to another. The sinfulness of man – the 2. Love for the other
cause of sin or evil is an act of people is not lasting and
man’s freewill. excessive love for them
is the sin of jealousy.
3. Love for the self leads to
the sin of pride.
4. Love for God is the
supreme virtue and only
through loving God can
man find real happiness.
PHILOSOPHER PROFILE CONTRIBUTIONS PHILOSOPHY VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE OTHERS
Rene Descartes French philosopher known to Introduced the CARTESIAN There were always differences He believes that to doubt is to Known to be the proponent of
be the ”Father of Modern METHOD and invented analytic in the facts, ideas and opinions. think; the cognitive aspect of the “Methodical Doubt”
Philosophy” because of his geometry (‘is there anything I Reasoning could produce human nature is his basis for (continuous process of
radical use of systematic and can know with certainty?’) absolute truths about nature, existence of the self. questioning as part of one’s
early scientific method to aid his Through math, he discovered existence, morality and God; the The self is a combination of 2 existence).
idea and assumptions that the human mind has two truths can be discovered are a distinct entities:
His dreams instructed him to powers: priori 1.Cogito – the things that thinks
construct a system of knowledge 1. Intuition – the ability to (mind)
using just the power of human apprehend direction of 2. Extenza – extension of the
reason (Price 2000). certain truths mind (body)
2. Deduction – the power The body is like a machine that
to discover what is not is controlled by the mind and
known by progressing in aided by the mind.
an orderly way from
what is already known
(process).
PHILOSOPHER PROFILE CONTRIBUTIONS PHILOSOPHY VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE OTHERS
John Locke English philosopher and Published a book on the scope Knowledge results from ideas Morality has to do with
physician and limits of the human mind produced a posteriori or by choosing or willing the good
Interested in politics and like which played a significant role in objects that were experienced (Price, 2000); moral good
his father was a defender of the the new era of thought known Forms of Processes: depends on conformity or non-
parliamentary system as the “Enlightenment” 1. Sensation – objects are conformity of a person’s
experienced through the behavior towards some law.
senses Laws:
2. Reflection – the mind 1. Law of Opinion – where
looks at the objects that actions that are praise
were experienced to worthy are called virtues
discover relationships and those that are not
that may exists between are called vice.
them. 2. Civil Law – where right
ideas are not innate but rather actions are enforced by
the mind at birth is a tabula rasa people in authority.
(blank state). 3. Divine Law – set by God
believed that “nothing exists in on the actions of man.
the mind that was not first in This is deemed to be the
the senses” (what the senses true law for human
have experienced are simple behavior.
ideas which are the raw
materials from which knowledge
begins).
PHILOSOPHER PROFILE CONTRIBUTIONS PHILOSOPHY VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE OTHERS
David Hume Scottish philosopher He was credited for giving The mind receives materials Believed that just like causality, The principle of cause and
Focused his work in the field of empiricism its clearest from the senses called the self is also a product of the effect – the idea of cause and
empiricism, skepticism, and formulation; he discovered the perceptions. imagination. effect arise only when people
naturalism limitations of the mind. Types of perceptions: There is no such thing as experience certain relations
1. Impressions – “personal identity” behind between objects thus it cannot
immediate sensations of perceptions and feelings that be a basis for knowledge.
external reality; more come and go.
vivid than the ideas it There’s no permanent self
produces. because impressions of things
2. Ideas – recollections of are based from our experiences
these impressions where we can create our ideas
Without impressions, there will and knowledge thus, it may
be no formation of ideas. improve or totally be replaced.
