PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE The physical realm also consists of ignorance, lies, evil

and ugliness.
OF THE SELF
On the other hand, our soul (our “real self”), belongs
What is Philosophy? to the ideal realm. The ideal realm is unchanging,
eternal and immortal – it is perfect. Aside from the soul,
The word “Philosophy” is coined by the Greek
the “perfect” realm also consists of the intellectual
philosopher, Pythagoras, in 6th century BC. It comes
essences of the universe and concepts such as truth,
from the Ancient Greek word, “Philosophos”, which is a
goodness and beauty.
combination of the root words, “philo” (love), and
“sophia” (wisdom). Literally translated, it means “love But what happens to us who have parts in both
of wisdom” realms? We become imperfect as well. Our soul will be
tainted. However, because we also have a “perfect” side,
By studying Philosophy, we employ the
we have the ability to try to attain perfection.
inquisitive or curious mind to discover the ultimate
causes, reasons, and principles of everything. It also goes How do we attain perfection? Through reason and/or
beyond scientific investigation by exploring all areas of knowledge. If we seek enlightenment, knowledge and
knowledge such as religion, psychology, politics, physics, understanding of the universe (or the world), we become
and medicine. closer towards perfection. Since the intellectual essence of
the universe resides in the ideal realm, all types of
Since it is the “love of wisdom”, Philosophy desires
knowledge are considered by Socrates as perfect. The
for truth by formulating never-ending questions to provide
more we strive for knowledge, the more we attain
answers every inquiry about the nature of human
wisdom, the more we become closer to perfection. Being
existence.
in the physical realms, we are subjected to imperfection
Basically, we want to answer serious questions about but if we try to learn or gain knowledge, we strive for
ourselves and the world we live in. But one of the topics perfection.
philosophers are most interested in is the nature of the
This explains the famous philosophical quote by
self.
Socrates saying,” An unexamined life is not worth living.”
He suggests that humans must live an examined life, and a
life of purpose and value – the process being called the
<< “self” may refer as the “soul”, “ego”, “psyche”, Socratic Method or Introspection. In short, our life only
“identity”, “I”, “me”, “am”, “being” << has value when we seek for knowledge because
knowledge is the personification of good, while
ignorance is that of evil. This is what he referred to as
1.) SOCRATES “incessant soul-searching”.

“An unexamined life is not worth living”

Socrates believed that every human consists of 2.) PLATO

an immortal “soul” and this soul that he mentioned is
actually the “self”. Simply put, the “self” is synonymous “The self is an immortal soul”
to the “soul”. However, according to Socrates, our “soul” Plato was a student of Socrates and therefore his
exists in a different realm or reality. That is why we need concept or philosophy of the self is somewhat influenced
our physical body to manifest in this realm to serve as a by him. Him and Socrates are the foundation of the
vessel or container. inquiry on the concept of the self. Like Socrates, Plato
Socrates believes that the “soul”, or the “real self”, believed that the self is synonymous with the soul.
resides in the afterlife instead of the mortal realm or Similar also to his teacher, his philosophy is a process of
physical world. Additionally, he suggested that reality self-knowledge and purification of the soul.
consists of 2 dichotomous (or opposite) realms – the (1) Plato introduced the Tripartite or 3-part soul
physical realm and the (2) ideal realm. which consists of reason, physical appetite, and spirit
Humans manifest in the physical realm as this is or passion.
where our bodies belong. According to Socrates, the According to Plato, Reason is the divine
physical world is changeable, transient and imperfect. essence that enables us, humans, to think deeply, and
be rational and innately logical. It makes us grasp a
deep understanding of eternal truths. It also enables us the body is temporary. It is useless to focus on our
to make wise choices. Same with Socrates, Plato physical body because we will all die in the end anyway.
considers reason as a “remedy” for imperfection. We can’t bring our riches to the grave, but the knowledge
and wisdom that we gain will always be with us.
The Physical Appetite is our basic biological needs
(such as pain, hunger, thirst and sexual desires). These are
our “external” feelings.
3.) ARISTOTLE
Lastly, the Spirit or Passion is our basic emotions
(such as joy, sorrow, love, anger, empathy). These are our “The soul is the essence of the self”
“internal” feelings.
Aristotle is a student of Plato thus his concepts
When we think of Plato’s concept of the self, let’s are influenced by his teacher. Unlike the philosophers
remember the mind, body and heart. For the mind, we before him who were idealists, Aristotle is an empiricist
have reason. For the body, we have the physical appetite. who applied scientific methods and investigation in his
And for the heart, the spirit or passion. concept of the self. Because he is empirical, he dismissed
the idealistic concepts of Socrates and Plato which is the
All 3 parts of the soul should always be harmonious. body and soul reside in different and opposite realms. For
Why? Because he believed that when we live in Aristotle, the body and soul are just one entity that
accordance with our nature, the tripartite soul, we exist in one reality which is our perceived reality.
provide justice to our existence. Justice is important to
Plato and this is what he emphasized in his concept of the Aristotle believed that anything with life has a
self. If we are unable to balance the 3-part soul, our soul. Therefore, the soul is the essence of all living
existence becomes obsolete. things. What does he mean by this? In our life, what
makes us move and what makes us wake up every day is
When our 3-part soul is not harmonious, there will be our soul. It’s like the “driver” of our bodies.
conflict. What do we do when our 3-part soul becomes
disharmonious? Plato emphasized that when this happens, Aristotle proposed 3 kinds of souls – the vegetative
reason should take responsibility to sort things out at soul, the sentient soul and the rational soul. He took
assert control. For example, your enemy slaps you. Your Plato’s idea of the tripartite soul and changed it according
physical appetite becomes disturbed because you feel pain to what he believed the soul is.
from the slap. Your spirit also gets disturbed because this
The vegetative soul is the physical body since it
person is your enemy thus you feel aggression, anger and
grows. All living things – plants, animals and humans –
hatred. If you don’t use reason, you’ll end up beating
have this. The body grows because of the vegetative soul.
them because your animal instinct is to take revenge.
Does this lead to happiness? No. On the other hand, if you The sentient soul consists of sensual desires, feelings
use your reason and choose not to hit back, you will gain and emotions. This is a combination of Plato’s physical
happiness from being in peace. Plato believes that we can appetite and spirit. Only humans and animals have this.
only acquire genuine happiness if we make sure our
reason is in control of our physical appetite and spirit or The rational soul is what makes us human as we
passion. have the ability to think and rationalize. Why don’t
animals have this when they can be trained? They can’t
Plato has formulated an idea that has a similar have this because they only act according to their
concept to Socrates’ dichotomous realms which he called instincts. No matter how much they’re trained, they will
the Theory of Forms. The Theory of Forms has two always operate through their instincts unlike humans who
worlds – the world of forms where our soul resides, and can make their own choices.
the world of sense which is our perceived reality.
Since humans are the only ones with the rational soul,
The “world of forms” is real and permanent; only humans are able to pursue happiness by
Plato’s version of the “ideal realm”. The “world of searching for a good life, including doing virtuous
sense” is temporary and only a replica of the ideal actions and characterizing moral virtues like justice and
world. He believed that the “world of sense” will end courage. Just like his predecessors, he also believes that to
eventually and this world is dependent on the “world of be able to have a moral life, we need to seek knowledge
forms” where our soul resides. If the “world of forms” and wisdom because any type of knowledge is perfect.
disintegrates, the physical world will also collapse.
Because of this, Plato advises people to give more
importance to the soul because it is permanent whereas
4.) ST. AUGUSTINE mortal, non-thinking entity, fully-governed by physical
laws. His concept is similar to that of the Greek
“I am doubting therefore I am” philosophers’ where there is a perfect immortal soul and
an imperfect, mortal body. Descartes believed that the
St. Augustine is an African philosopher during
body and mind are independent and can be separated
the medieval times, regarded as a saint in the Catholic
entities. We don’t need the body to think because our soul
church. He provided the philosophical principle: “I am
is the primary thinker.
doubting therefore I am.”

He borrowed the idea of Plato about the self and

integrated it with Christianity. Just as with Socrates and 6.) JOHN LOCKE
Plato he believed that the soul is more superior than the
body, considering the body only as a vessel in the “The self is consciousness”
physical world. He added that the body is the spouse of
the soul and that both are connected due to the John Locke is an English philosopher who
“natural appetite”. This means that for a man to be posited that the human mind, at birth, is “tabula rasa”
entire and complete, one needs to be reunited with his or a blank slate. What fills this blank canvas?
soul. The “natural appetite” refers to one’s seeking for Locke believes that the self (our personal identity) is
unification with their soul. a product of sense experiences (see, hear, smell, taste,
St. Augustine describes that humankind is feel). Our experiences become the different strokes and
created in the image and likeness of God. This implies colors that fill our canvas. The masterpiece we produce
that everything created by God is good because God would be our personal identity.
himself is good. That is why humans are thought to be Additionally, he believed that our conscious
geared towards goodness. Unlike the Greek philosophers awareness (rational mind) and memory from previous
who believed that the soul is a result of accumulating experiences are the keys to understanding the self. For
knowledge, St. Augustine believes that the more we seek example, a cockroach landed on you. Cockroaches are
God, the more we understand ourselves and the more smelly, dirty, and disgusting, and this triggers your senses.
our soul is nourished. If we detach ourselves from God, Because of these experiences, you become fearful of
we lose our sense of self and purpose. This is St. cockroaches. Every time you see a cockroach, you
Augustine’s concept: that we only understand ourselves if become scared because you recall your past experience
we are close to God, the creator. That’s why, St. with a cockroach. If you hadn’t experienced something
Augustine said that “knowledge can only come by bad with a cockroach before then maybe you would be a
seeing the truth that dwells within us.” The truth here is different person.
knowing God whereas for the Greek philosophers, the
truth is the answer to the universe. It is for this reason that Locke proposed that people could use the power of
St. Augustine encourages us to keep doubting because as reason to gain knowledge and use this knowledge to
we keep doing so, the more we seek God because He is understand experiences we didn’t directly experience
the truth. God will complete our existence as human or encounter. From the example above, let’s say that you
beings. told your friend about your experience with a cockroach.
As you talk, your friend will end up imagining your
experiences, eventually making them scared of
cockroaches as well. Now whenever they see
5.) RENE DESCRATES cockroaches, they’ll recall your experience which will
“I think, therefore I am” affect how they react to the situation.

Rene Descartes is the “Father of Modern

Philosophy.” He describes his concept of self as “Cogito
7.) DAVID HUME
ergo sum” which translates to “I think, therefore I am.”
He believes that the act of thinking about the self is “There is no self”
enough proof that the self exists.
According to David Hume (a Scottish
Descartes introduced the idea of the thinking philosopher) if we examine ourselves critically, we will
self or the soul. The thinking self is an immortal, discover that there is no self. He believes that our
conscious, being that is independent of the physical personal identity is only a result of our imagination.
laws of the universe. Whereas the body is a material He said that what we, humans, experience is just a bundle
or collection of different perceptions. If we examine our
experience objectively, we will find that what we think as
our concept of self are just a product of 2 distinct entities 8.) IMMANUEL KANT
– impressions and ideas.
“We construct the self”
Impressions are our basic sensations from
experience (like hate, love, joy, grief, pain cold and heat). Immanuel Kant is a German philosopher who
They are vivid perceptions, strong and lively. In other tried to disprove Hume’s concept of the self and went
words, they are our individual and unique reactions to beyond John Locke’s sensory experiences. For Kant, there
certain direct experiences. is indeed a self. According to him, the self is a thinking
entity that makes up our consciousness. This is similar
For example, a “cockroach experience” may be scary to Rene Descartes’. Because the self makes up our
and traumatizing to us but to others, it may be nothing to consciousness, we are able to experience an intelligible
them. Our reactions differ from person to person. It is not world or reality that is objective and orderly. A world
to be expected that one’s reaction to an experience is true that is systematic – something concrete and
to everyone. comprehensible. But what does he mean by this? He
meant that we construct our own reality that is
Ideas are our thoughts and images from familiar, predictable. We are actively creating a world
impressions which makes them less lively and vivid. that is “ours”. We are the masters of our reality and how
John Locke said in his theory that we can use the power of we deal with the world is up to us and not the other way
reason to react to an experience we did not directly around (unlike David Hume’s theory). The world is
encounter, which means that the more we describe an shaped according to how we want it to be like. But how
experience (and our reaction to that experience) to do we do this? Through the transcendental deduction of
someone, they will imitate our reaction even though they categories.
did not directly experience it. This is what David Hume
refers as an idea – image procured in our minds as With the power of our mind (our self), in the
somebody else’s impression. form of consciousness, we are able to deduce our world
via scientific investigation. We have the ability to use the
For example, you’re the type of friend to give advice categories of our mind to filter, order, relate, and
on the heartbreaks of your friends. You’ve heard so many synthesize sensations/experiences. These are opposite to
heartbreaking stories which you have no interest in the theories of John Locke and David Hume where
because you’re not interested in romance and love. One sensory experiences are treated as separate entities from
day, you watched the MV of Moira’s song “Paubaya” and us humans. Our sensory experiences are just products of
you don’t understand why you felt pain from listening to the forces of nature; or something sort of destiny we are
it because you’re not heartbroken. Instead, you felt pain meant to encounter.
because you recalled the experiences of your friends in
the lyrics of the song and the scenes portrayed in the MV. For Kant, we choose the kind of experiences we
encounter. We have a choice. It’s a conscious experience.
David Hume’s theory supports the theory of the We become who we want to be. That’s why he said “We
multiverse where each universe holds a version of us. construct our self” because we actively organize and
These versions of ourselves are the same at the core but synthesize all our thoughts and perceptions as we see
the difference is that they have unique experiences that fit.
shaped their perceptions. For example, in one universe,
you ended up as Nursing student because you watched a For example, you aim to be a summa cum laude when
show about nurses. Or in this universe, you ended up as you graduate. You imagine yourself walking up the stage
an MT student because of your own specific reason. to receive your diploma and then walking down fully-
acknowledged as a summa cum laude. Because of this, all
Hume’s perspective is interesting because he doesn’t your decisions at present will be leaning towards the
believe that there is a “self” because of our different realization of that goal or dream. In this sense, you are
perceptions. At the end of the day, we are just products constructing your future self as someone who becomes a
of what we have been through and we are not our real summa cum laude.
selves.
Kant went beyond Locke’s whose theory only ended
To summarize, Hume’s concept of the self is simply in the sensory, physical experiences. Based on Kant’s
an illusion based on our subjective reactions to certain philosophy, our mins (self) has the ability to
experiences and our ideas/images of what unknown comprehend not just the physical or sense experiences
experiences feel like. but also those abstract ideas (love, sense of justice,
hatred). He combined the idealist and empiricist points of knowledge – external elements that we’ve absorbed and
view because not every experience is sensory. embedded in our minds. They did not come from within,
but from outside.

9.) SIGMUND FREUD

“The self is multi-layered”

Sigmund Freud is a famous Austrian

psychoanalyst whose concept of the self not only fits the
philosophical aspect of the self, but also those of
psychology and sociology.

For Freud, there are 3 layers of self – the

conscious self, unconscious self and preconscious self. 10.) GILBERT RYLE
The conscious self is governed by the reality “The self is the way people behave”
principle. This is the part that we share to the world (and
Gilbert Ryle is a British philosopher who
other people) because it is rational, practical and
proposed that the self is a pattern of behavior. This
appropriate to the environment. They are thoughts and
means that the way we behave is a reflection of who we
perceptions we outwardly reflect that are socially-
are – “I act therefore I am”. He believed this because he
acceptable. Whatever is the norm in society, that is what
considered that the body and mind are linked in intrinsic
we show. It is called the “conscious self” because we are
and intimate ways – the self is the same as bodily
“aware” and we become sensitive to the realistic
behavior. We are described by our actions. How we act
demands of a situation, the consequences of our
reflects who we are deep inside.
actions, and our need for an internal balance or
equilibrium. This part is what we show especially to For example, you eat a lot. You even snatch food
those who are not close to us. Like for civil and from others and not give any of yours to them. This shows
professional relationships, or acquaintances. The that you are a glutton for food and others will perceive
conscious self is our exterior. you as such. Your friends just stick with you because they
are used to your behavior.
The next layer is the unconscious self. The
unconscious self is governed by the pleasure principle. If St. Augustine believed “I am doubting
It is here that our true colors reside, containing our basic therefore I am” (which means that we doubt thus we are
instinctual drives (sexuality, aggressiveness, fears and driven to seek who we are) and Rene Descartes believed
selfishness). This contains the parts of ourselves that we “I think therefore I am” (which means that the act of
hide such as our vulnerabilities as humans and animals. thinking about our existence is proof of our existence),
We hide them because we know we will get judged for Gilbert Ryle believed “I act therefore I am” (which means
them but we can’t hide always hide them. We should that whatever action we show, they define us as a person).
always remember that other people have unconscious
layers too. The unconscious self holds the biggest portion This concept of the self is not something you,
of who we are because it is our core – the part of yourself, can reflect upon. Instead, it is the people around
ourselves that we can’t deny. This part of ourselves is you who can observe it.
unchangeable. What we can change, however, is how we
present our conscious self.
11.) PAUL CHURCHLAND
The 3rd and last layer is our preconscious self.
According to Kant, the preconscious self is the safest “The self is the brain”
and non-threatening. It can be easily brought to mind.
The preconscious self contains our memories and stored Paul Churchland is a Canadian philosopher who
posited the idea of eliminative materialism. It is the idea
that the self is inseparable from the brain and the things we want to encounter. The subjective portion is our
physiology of the body. He suggested that the sense of sensory experience that are out of our hands. When we
self is made possible because of the brain. combine them, the objective part is “tainted” by the
subjective parts which results to an embodied subjectivity.
Is the brain the same as the mind? For Churchland, We can’t say that we chose to be our current self because
it’s a no. For him, the mind is an imaginary entity that we “chose” to be this way from the past.
can’t be felt with our physical senses. It is the brain that
gives us the ability to think. Without the brain, there is Ponty basically combined the philosophies of
no self. If we die, we die. There is no such thing as the Hume’s and Locke’s experiences with Kant’s conscious
afterlife because Churchland’s philosophy is very experiences. According to Ponty, we can’t truly objectify
scientific. This contradicts Descartes’ philosophy who ourselves other forces are also at play. For example, a car
believed that the thinking self needs the body. Churchland hit you as you crossed the street. Is that decision in your
believed that the body is important because it is where our control? No. That’s why Ponty said the self is embodied
brain is contained in. This further contradicts Descartes subjectivity because we are combination of sensory
who suggested that the thinking self can transcend the (subjective) and conscious (objective) experiences.
physical body (and be transferred to machines or
computers), Ponty’s concept of self is basically a
combination of the concepts by previous modern
12.) MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY philosophers., eliminating the idealistic aspects and
leaning more towards modern sciences such as
“The self is embodied subjectivity” psychology, sociology, anthropology and the like.
Maurice Merleau-Ponty is a French philosopher
who emphasized that dualism (or mind-body
bifurcation separating the mind and body as separate
entities) is a futile endeavor and problematic thinking.
According to him, the thinking that the body is only a
vessel to the soul, self or mind is outdated. Modern
philosophers like Ponty no longer applied the dualistic
nature of the body and the self, connecting them together.
What they pondered the most instead is how the self, the
mind and the body, is perceived.

Aside from believing that the mind and the body

are one and the same, Ponty posited that they are
intertwined not only through conscious experiences (not
only as consequence of our choices), but also through
sensory experiences (consequences of something other
than ourselves).

Do we gain knowledge to discover or define the

nature of ourselves? Ponty’s philosophy is a combination
of conscious experience and sensory experience. Because
we cannot entirely control our sensory experiences, we
encounter all the knowledge we’ve come to perceive
about ourselves and the world as a product of subjective
experience. Even though we can manipulate our conscious
experience, choosing which choices to make, we can
never truly objectify our perception of ourselves or the
world because there are other forces at play. This is unlike
Kant’s philosophy where sensory experiences (that we
encounter out of our control) are dismissed.

This is why Ponty suggested that the self is

embodied subjectivity. We are the manifestation of
subjective elements. Again, the objective part is the
conscious experience where we get to encounter the