0749 GSELF

1.1. THE SELF FROM THE PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE

THE PHILOSOPHERS
2 Plato

1. Ancient and Medieval “The examination of the self is a unique experience.”

2. Modern
3. Contemporary Elements of the Psyche (Self)

ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL 1. APPETITIVE/PHYSICAL

Our basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst, and sexual
SELF: perfection of the soul via self-examination and self-control desire, pleasures, physical satisfactions, comforts
Ancient Greeks: “the soul is the essence of man”
2. SPIRITED/PASSION
“Know Thyself” Our basic emotions such as love, anger, ambition,
• imperative – one must know the limits of the self aggressiveness, empathy, motivations, fights back
• requirement – self-moderation; prudence; good judgment
3. MIND/REASON
Our divine essence that enables us to think deeply, make wise
1 Socrates choices, and achieve a true understanding of eternal truths, most
superior, controls the appetitive and spirited elements “nous” –
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” conscious awareness

An examined life: These three elements of our selves are in a dynamic relationship
• self-knowledge with one another, sometimes working in concert, sometimes in bitter
• self-dignified with values and integrity conflict. For example, we may develop a romantic relationship with
someone who is an intellectual companion (Reason), with whom we
• wisdom
are passionately in love (Spirit), and whom we find sexually attractive,
• recognize ignorance
igniting our lustful desires (Appetite).
When conflict occurs, Plato believes it is the responsibility of our
Socrates’s Central Concern: The Soul
Reason to sort things out and exert control, reestablishing a
harmonious relationship among the three elements of our selves.
Psyche: the true self or “soul,” which is immortal and imperishable and
after death should continue to exist in another world
Chariot Analogy

What is the soul?

“We will liken the soul to the composite nature of
• core identity a pair of winged horses and a charioteer.”
• unique spirit that makes you distinctively you
• authentic personality, your distinctive character. One horse represents Passion (noble horse), the other Appetite
• source of your deepest thoughts and highest aspirations, the (wild horse), and the charioteer who tries to control them is Reason.
unique life force that shapes and defines itself through choices
made on a daily basis "Human behavior flows from three sources:
desire, emotion and knowledge."
Socrates believes, there is a clearly defined path to achieving
happiness, though many don’t choose to take it.
3 St. Augustine
The only people who are truly happy are those who are virtuous
and wise, who live reflective, “examined” lives and strive to behave “The development of the self is achieved through self-presentation
rightly and justly in every area of their lives. These people create souls and self-realization centered on religious convictions and beliefs.”
that are good, wise, and courageous and as a result they achieve
genuine and lasting happiness Man’s end goal = HAPPINESS = attained in and through GOD

"To know, is to know that you know nothing. "This is the very perfection of a man,
That is the meaning of true knowledge." to find out his own imperfections."

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 MODERN B. Describe some of the ways your body significantly affects your mind:
for example, when you are feeling sick, taking medications, or finding
SELF: dialectic synthesis between: yourself in a physically dangerous or threatening situation
• Rationalism: reason is in itself a source of knowledge
• Empiricism: all knowledge originates in experience) C. Create your own metaphysical framework for the self by describing
1. Your self as thinking subject
2. Your self as physical body
1 Rene Descartes 3. Your analysis of how these two aspects of your self relate to one
another.
“I think therefore I am.”

Rational Method 2 John Locke

Methodic Doubt = everything must be subjected to doubt “tabula rasa”

Who is doubting? Me! = Self
SELF: initially an empty space being filled by everyday experience
HUMAN RATIONALITY necessary for sense data sense perception
• primary condition of the existence of the self
Man is capable of learning from experience, and skillful enough to
• a way of searching for certainty by systematically tentatively
process different perceptions to form a more complex idea. For Locke,
doubting everything/ constant doubting regarding one’s
all knowledge originates in our direct sense experience, which acts as
existence is a proof that a person actually exist
the final court of judgment in evaluating the accuracy and value of
ideas.
We need to reason to:
• evaluate our thoughts Keys to understanding the self are:
• evaluate our actions
• conscious awareness
• establish firm foundations
• memory of previous experiences
• exist
• protect ourselves You have a coherent concept of your self as a personal identity
• build because you are aware of your self when you are thinking, feeling, and
willing (sensation), and you have memories of times when you were
The essential self (the self as thinking entity) is radically different than aware of your self in the past or in other situations (perception).
the self as physical body.
"No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience."
1. The thinking self (soul)
non-material, immortal, conscious being, independent of the
physical laws of the universe 3 David Hume

2. The physical body “There is no self.”

material, mortal, non-thinking entity, fully governed by the physical
laws of nature The idea of the self is derived from impressions subjective, temporary,
prejudicial, cannot be persisting
If you reflect thoughtfully, you can see that you have clear ideas of both
self as a thinking entity and as a physical body. Knowledge of the self = bundles of temporary impressions/perceptions
Q: Who am I?
"It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well." A: David, Psychology student, 65kg, good singer

Analyzing Descartes on the Mind-Body Problem Humans so desperately want to believe that they have a unified and
continuous self or soul that they use their imaginations to construct a
A. Describe one way your mind significantly affects your body: for fictional self. But this fictional self is not real; what we call the self is an
example, when you are anxious, elated, depressed, in love (or lust), imaginary creature, derived from a succession of impermanent states
and so on. and events.

"Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them."

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 Mind: never separate from the body; physical actions or behaviors are
4 Immanuel Kant dispositions of the self
Self: understood based on external manifestations (behaviors,
RATIONALITY language, expressions)
• unifies and makes sense the perceptions we have in our Soul: the way one behaves
experiences
"In searching for the self, one cannot simultaneously
• makes sensible ideas about ourselves and the world
be the hunter and hunted.”
The self/being:
• always transcendental
2 Paul & Patricia Churchland
• outside the body
• isn’t an object located in your consciousness with other objects Eliminative Materialism
• a subject, an organizing principle that makes a unified and The way we commonly think and talk about the mind is so mistaken
intelligible experience possible that mental concepts should be abandoned and brain processed be
• product of reason, a regulative principle because the self focused on instead.
“regulates” experience by making unified experience possible
Neuroscience in understanding the self
Ideas are perceived by the self and they connect the self and the world. To understand the present condition of the brain and how it is currently
working, one must go for MRI scan or CT scan.
"If man makes himself a worm he must not complain
when he is trodden on."
3 Maurice Merleau-Ponty

CONTEMPORARY Phenomenological Rhythm

SELF: explained by a wide variety of theories SELF: phenomenon of the whole
• perception
• idealist-intellectual alternative
1 Sigmund Freud • synthesis of both perception = causal process
Perceptions are caused by the experiences of the self and processed
The self is the “I” that constitutes both mental and physical actions. intellectually. Truth is distinguished from illusion.
The “I” is a product of multiple interacting processes.

Topographical Model SUMMARY Who are you? Consciousness, Identity & the Self
We know and do not know certain things at the same time
1. Socrates, Plato & Augustine 5. Immanuel Kant
“I” is the Conscious and Unconscious The Self is an immortal soul that The Self is a unifying subject, an
1. Conscious Level: Thoughts and Perceptions exists over time organizing consciousness that
2. Subconscious Level: Memories and Stored Knowledge makes intelligible choices.
3. Unconscious Level: Fears, Violent Motives, Unacceptable Sexual 2. Rene Descartes
desires, Irrational Wishes, Immoral Urges, The Self is a thinking thing, distinct 6. Sigmund Freud
Shameful Experiences, Selfish Need from the body The Self is multi-layered.

Structural Model 3. John Locke 7. Gilbert Ryle

SELF: Id, Ego and Superego *Personal identity is made The Self is the way people
possible by self-consciousness behave.
• Id: "I want chocolate."
• Ego: "Eat a small bar of chocolate."
4. David Hume 8. Paul & Patricia Churchland
• Superego: "You're on a diet." There is No “Self”, only a bundle of *The Self is the Brain. Mental
constantly changing perceptions states will be superseded by
passing through the theater of our Brain states.
2 Gilbert Ryle minds
9. Maurice Merleau-Ponty
“You are what you do.” The Self is embodied Subjectivity
“I act therefore I am.”

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