MODULE The Self from Various
Perspectives
1: Lesson 1: Philosophical Perspectives
by: Jemimah G. Pizarro-Ompad
INTRODUCTION
“Who am I?” is a very fundamental existential question. It is an inquiry that the self
addresses to the owner of the self. The self’s (you) answer to this defines how much you
know about your self and thus presents your identity. It is critical as this will give meaning to
your existence and help you navigate your life in this world of different co-existing beings
and things. “Know thyself” is Socrates’ advice to make your life worth living since, for him,
“An unexamined life is not worth living.” That is his mandate as a philosopher.
Socrates and the other thinkers had long tried to propose different tenets on seeking
the answers for that main inquiry “Who am I?” Philosophers from the Pre-Socratic period up
to the Contemporary time of philosophy provided different answers to related questions “Is
there a self?”, “Does the self really exist?”, “Who am I in relation to the cosmos, God, and
others?”, and “In what ways do I get to know my self?” Their answers to these questions are
very foundational but deep. Upon reflection, they will help you define the concept of the self
and identify the meaning of your self.
This lesson will first introduce you to philosophy as an intellectual enterprise to relate
it to the inquiry. Further, this will mainly focus on discussing the different philosophers’ ideas
on the self.
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
1. Identify the different philosophical perspectives in the conceptualizations of the self;
2. Examine the different influences, factors, and forces that shape the self proposed by
the philosophers; and
3. Demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the development of one’s self
and identity by developing a preliminary philosophical theory of the self.
LESSON PROPER
Philosophy When you love something, you spend time, effort, resources to
etymologically search, care for, and attain it. That is the mandate of philosophy. It
means “love of encourages you to ask questions and seek answers to fundamental
wisdom”. ideas that will
give meaning to your life and existence. It encourages you to ask,
“Who am I?” It inspires you to love that question and the answers for
it.
In this lesson, the main question posed by philosophy is “How do you
answer the question ‘Who am I?’
ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY
Some Pre-Socratic philosophers tried to seek answers by relating the inquiry to the cosmos
with the question, “Who am I in relation to the natural world?” These early philosophers
focused on the workings of the things around us, i.e., elements, numbers, heavenly entities,
and the microscopic substances as the underlying principles of everything, including the
human self (Price, 2000).
With a shift of focus from the cosmo- centric approach to humans' inner world, the Ancient
Triumvirate, i.e., Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, began the inquiry “In what ways do I get to
know myself?”
Socrates’ answer is “Know thyself” by examining your life. Examined life means
continuous inquiry, search for answers, and reflection about anything that you encounter.
His reflections arrived at the dualism of the soul and body.
Plato also, as Socrates’ student, upheld the immortality of the soul. Further, however,
he believed that the three aspects of the soul, i.e., reason, physical desire, and passion are
in a dynamic relationship in conflict or agreement. And it is the body that is always the
cause of endless trouble; thus, it should strive to attain harmony through reason.
For Aristotle, the self is known through experiences by way of the senses. The self
(mind) is brought into the world as a tabula rasa (blank tablet).
The Post-Aristotelians maintained the dualism of the soul and body as the
composition of the self. But they became more ethical in approaching the concept of the
self. The Stoics believed that the self should be apathetic or indifferent to pleasure. The
Hedonists encouraged the self to attain happiness through focusing on the present since
everybody will die tomorrow anyway. The Epicureans maintained moderate pleasure for the
self.
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
The Medieval philosopher St. Augustine of Hippo turned the main question into “Is
the self related to a supreme being/God? Who am I in relation to a supreme being/God?”
His time aimed to merge philosophy and religion. Thus, he integrated the ideas of Plato and
Christianity of his age. He believed in the dualism of the self as body and soul. The body in
the temporary world becomes a proving ground for the soul's superiority, which should be
unified with God through faith and reason (Price, 2000).
MODERN PHILOSOPHY
The Modern philosophers approach became anthropocentric and less reliant on
handed-down knowledge (Moore & Bruder, 2002). Independent inquiries became the trend
as they attempted to ask questions like “How can I be sure that the self exists? What are the
proofs that the self exists?”
For Rene Descartes, the mere fact that the self thinks implies that the self exists. His
phrase “cogito ergo sum” means “I think; therefore I am.” According to him, the
thinking thing, the self, can exist independently of the body.
John Locke believed in Aristotle’s concept of the self (mind) as tabula rasa. For him,
the self is created by memories written on the tablet. Thus, there is a self that exists
because of memory.
As opposed to Locke and Descartes, David Hume suggested that the self does not
exist. According to him, what we believe as the “self” is just a bundle of constantly
changing perceptions that we encounter. There is no unified self that forms our
identity.
Immanuel Kant contested Hume’s No Self theory and suggested that the self is a
priori. Thus, it exists independently of experiences and serves as the unifying and
organizing consciousness that makes sense of all aspects of identity.
Sigmund Freud’s focus on identifying the structures of the self implies that the self
exists. The self is multilayered and has three personality structures, i.e., id, ego, and
superego, and has three levels of consciousness, i.e., conscious, pre-conscious, and
unconscious. All these layers shape the personality/identity of the self.
Two physicalists, Gilbert Ryle and Paul Churchland, did away with the concept of the mind
being the seat of self.
Ryle proposed that the seat of self is the behavior and not the mind. The self is the
pattern of behavior, the tendency or disposition for one to behave in a particular
circumstance. The self is “I act; therefore I am.”
Churchland believed that the self is the brain itself. It is the physical brain that gives
us the sense of self and not the imaginary mind.
CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY
The contemporary thinkers approached the concept of human existence and being
humanistic (Chaffee, 2016). They focused more on very humanly experiences. Thus, the
inquiry about the self could be translated into one sample question that probes the human
experience of falling in love by the self, that is, “What happens to you when you fall in love—
physically, emotionally, and mentally (cognitively)?”
The approach is called phenomenological. The idea is the self has its way of
experiencing things like falling in love. It is subjective. It is a lived experience. That is, when
you fall in love, the aspects of physical (biological), emotional, and mental are seamlessly
woven together, unified by the self.
Edmund Husserl proposed that concepts of mental and physical as intertwined.
For Maurice Merleau-Ponty, the self is the “lived body” that is the primary site of
knowing the world and experiencing everything in it.
Thus, the self is not just the mind, the physical brain, or the behavior. The self is the living
body that is the natural synthesis of mind and biology.
REFERENCES
Chaffee, J. (2016). The philosopher’s way: A text with readings: Thinking critically about
profound ideas. New York: Pearson.
Moore, B. and Bruder, K. (2002). Philosophy: The power of ideas. New York: McGraw Hill
International Edition.
Price, J. (2000). Philosophy through the ages. Canada: Wadsworth Thomson Learning.
