UTS LESSON 1 happy life only if he becomes virtuous and

knows the value of himself.

• Socratic method – introspection to gain self-
Introduction knowledge (“Know Thyself”)
You have entered another phase of your life that
needs more focus and concentration. In this lesson,
PLATO
you shall once and for all get in touch with yourself.
You will spend time reflecting on the issues that • ancient Greek philosopher
you think are important to you. And to aid you in • Self is synonymous with soul. Soul is indeed
this endeavor, you will seek the wisdom of the most divine aspect of the human being
Philosophers like Socrates, Plato, Augustine, which has three parts namely:
Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Ryle, Churchland, a. appetitive (sensual - basic biological
and Merleau-Ponty. They have all braved to answer needs),
the question, “WHO AM I?” and you will learn with b. rational (reasoning - enables us to think
them as you also attempt to answer the same deeply, make wise choices), and
question. c. spirited (feeling - basic emotions).

SELF Theory of Forms - Asserted that physical world is

(Merriam-Webster) not really the "real" world because the ultimate
noun reality exists beyond the physical world. Since the
- An individual's typical character or behavior soul is regarded as something permanent, man
- A person in prime condition should give more importance to it than the
- The union of elements such as body, emotions, physical body.
thoughts, and sensations that constitute the
individuality and identity of a person. ST. AUGUSTINE
- The entire person of an individual
• Self was an inner immaterial "I" that had self-
PHILOSOPHY knowledge and self-awareness.
Philos (love) + Sophia (wisdom) = "love of wisdom" • He believed that the human being was both a
soul and body, and the body possessed senses
DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES IN THE such as imagination, memory, reason and
EXPLANATION OF SELF mind through which the soul experienced the
world.
• The body is bound to die on earth and the
SOCRATES soul is to anticipate living eternally in a realm
• Ancient Greek philosopher of spiritual bliss in communion with God.
• The most important thing in life is the state of • God is transcendent and the self seeks to be
an individual soul. united with God through through faith and
• The essence of the self—the soul—is the reason.
immortal entity. The soul strives for wisdom • The goal of the human person is to attain
and perfection, and reason is the soul’s tool. this communion and bliss with the Divine by
• Reality consists of two dichotomous realms: living his life on earth in virtue.
a. Physical realm (body) – changing
b. Ideal realm (intellectual essences of the
universe) – unchanging, eternal
• “An unexamined life is not worth living.” The
individual person can have a meaningful and
RENE DESCARTES a.Impressions (basic sensations of people's
experience) and
• French philosopher b. ideas (thoughts and images from
• the father of modern philosophy impressions)
• He wants to penetrate the nature of reasoning
process and understand its relationship to the
human self. IMMANUEL KANT
• "Cogito ergo sum"—I think, therefore, I am.
• German philosopher
• The act of thinking about the self—of being
• Human mind creates the structure of human
self-conscious—is in itself proof that there is a
experience.
self.
• The self is an organizing principle that makes
Theory of Rationalism - No rational person will a unified and intelligible experience possible.
doubt his or her own existence as a conscious The self constructs its own own reality,
thinking entity while while we are aware of actively creating a world that is familiar,
thinking about our selves. predictable, and most significantly, mine.
• Two components of self:
JOHN LOCKE a. Inner self - includes rational, intellect, and
psychological state such as moods, feelings,
• English philosopher and sensations, pleasures and pain.
• The human mind at birth is tabula rasa or a b. Outer self-it includes your sense and the
blank slate physical world.
• Self is identified with consciousness and this
self consists of memory that the person
existing now is the same person yesterday SIGMUND FREUD
because he/she remembers the thoughts,
• Austrian psychoanalyst
experiences or actions of the earlier self
• Levels of consciousness:
• Self-consciousness is necessary to have a a) Conscious - awareness of present
coherent personal (self) identity or knowledge perceptions, feelings, thoughts, memories
of the self as person
and fantasies at any particular moment
• Empiricism - the origin of all knowledge is b) Pre-conscious/subconscious - related to
sense of experience. These experiences shape data that can readily be brought to
and mold the self-throughout a person's life. consciousness
c) Unconscious - refers to date retained but
not easily available to the individual's
DAVID HUME conscious awareness or scrutiny; contains
• Scottish philosopher the basic instinctual drives including
• The self is not an entity over and beyond the sexuality, aggressiveness, and self-
physical body. destruction, unfulfilled wishes and
• Self was nothing but a series of incoherent childhood fantasies
impressions received by the senses. Did not
believe in the existence of self; perceptions are
only active as long as one is conscious.
• What people experience is just a bundle or
collection of different perceptions (Bundle
Theory)
• Contents of experience - there are only two
distinct entities
 • Consciousness, the world, and the human
body are intricately intertwined in perceiving
the world.
• All knowledge about the self is based on the
"phenomena" of experience
• Perception is not merely a consequence of
sensory experience; rather, it is a conscious
experience.

SUMMARY
GILBERT RYLE
• Socrates: every human possesses an immortal
• British philosopher soul; "An unexamined life is not worth living."
• Individual's actions define his/her own
concept of self • Plato: three aspects of the soul/self-appetitive,
• The self is best understood as a pattern of rational, and spirited
behavior, the tendency or disposition of a
person to behave in a certain way in certain • Augustine: the self seeks to be united with God
circumstances through faith and reason.
• The self is not an entity one can locate and
analyze, but simply the convenient name that
• Rene Descartes: the self as a thinking entity; "I
people use to refer to all the behaviors that
think, therefore, I am."
people make.
• What truly matters is the behavior that a
person manifests in in his day to day life. • John Locke: the origin of all knowledge is sense
of experience
• "I act, therefore, I am."

• David Hume: Self was nothing but a series of

PAUL CHURCHLAND incoherent impressions received by the senses.
No self.
• Canadian philosopher
• The self is inseparable from the brain and the • Immanuel Kant: The self is an organizing
physiology of the body (eliminative principle; constructs its own reality
materialism)
• The physical brain and not the imaginary mind • Sigmund Freud: three levels of consciousness
gives people the sense of self
• The mind does not really exist because it cannot
• Gilbert Ryle: Individual's actions define his/her
be experienced by the senses.
own concept of self
Theory of Materialism - the belief that nothing but
matter exists • Paul Churchland: The self is inseparable from
the brain. The brain gives people the sense of
self
MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY
• Maurice Merleau-Ponty: Self as an embodied
• French philosopher subjectivity. Perception is conscious experience.
• Self as an embodied subjectivity. The mind and
body are intrinsically connected. Body is part
of the mind and the mind is part of the body