LESSON 1, (UNDERSTANDING THE SELF)

WHAT IS THIS LESSON ABOUT?

In this lesson one topic one, we will spend time to reflect on the philosophical issues that we
think are important to us. And to aid us in this endeavor, will seek the wisdom of philosophers like
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Freud, and St. Augustine. Topic two will
introduce you into the psychological perspective of the self specifically those of Freud, William James,
Karen Horney and Carl Rogers. Topic three will bring us into the sociological dimension of the self. It will
describe the looking glass self and how it affects self-concept. Topic four will try to synthesize
anthropological perspectives on self-awareness and self-reflexive conduct. And topic five will distinguish
the self in Western and Oriental/Eastern thought. We will look into the spirituality and philosophy of
Confucius.

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

After studying this lesson, you should be able to:

1articulate the various philosophical views about the self.

2.propose an answer to the question “Who Am I?”

3.demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the different psychological theories in the
study of the self.

3.describe the concept of the looking-glass self and how it affects the concept of the self.

4.explain the concept of social comparison and why it is important to human behavior.

5.synthesize anthropological perspectives on self-awareness.

6.show the distinction of the eastern from western construct of the self.

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LET’S STUDY!

WEEKS 1,2 AND 3

INTRODUCTION: The discussions will give focus on the philosophical view of the self. Reflections of
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Scholastics, the modern and contemporary thinkers will be the basis of
analysis on the self.
OBJECTIVES: The students will be able to:

1.articulate the various philosophical views about the self as reflected by Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Kant,
Descartes, Locke and Hume.

2.examine one’s thoughts and experiences according to the philosophical views of the self.

3.propose an answer to the question ‘who am i?’

ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE: LESSON PRESENTATION.

THE PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF THE SELF.

SOCRATES: KNOW THYSELF

Socrates is principally concerned with man. He considers man from the point of view of his inner
life. The famous line of Socrates ”Know Thyself,” tells each man to bring this inner self to light. A bad
man is not virtuous through ignorance, the man who does not follow the good fails to do so because he
does recognize it. The core of Socratic ethics is the concept of virtue and knowledge. Virtue is the
deepest and the most basic propensity of man. Knowing one’s own virtue is necessary and can’t be
learned. Since virtue is innate in the mind, and self-knowledge is not the source of all wisdom, an
individual may gain possession of oneself and be one’s master through knowledge.

The prudence and judgment aspects of knowing thyself are already extensions from self-
knowledge to ethics. The expression is an ethical requirement to be wise in choosing moderation , and
to be able to make good judgments in desiring what is good and avoiding that which will only bring
harm. Moderation in the expression of love for sweethearts, for example will bring the best of the other
in the course of their loving companionship.

For the ancient Greeks, the soul is the essence of the person, one must be able to bring about
the excellence of the soul of the other as a result of relationships. To know thyself, therefore is to
examine whether we have prudence in choosing the good and have brought about excellence of the
soul.

Socrates insisted that ‘The unexamined life is not worth living.’ This is perhaps the most
satisfying philosophical assertion that Socrates claimed in order to protect human beings from the
shallowness of living their lives. An unexamined life is a life that is duty-bound to develop self-
knowledge and a self dignified with values and integrity. Not only that, living a good life means having
the wisdom to distinguish what is right from wrong.

Here in fact, Socrates wanted to tell lawmakers, the community leaders, those who claimed to
be learned and especially his accusers, to recognize their ignorance. What hinders these experts in
seeing reality is the belief that they already know everything. Socrates proudly pronounced that ‘I know
that I do not know.’ This perhaps is what makes Socrates the wisest among philosophers. Only in the
recognition of one’s ignorance that a person can truly know oneself.

PLATO: THE IDEAL SELF, THE PERFECT SELF

According to Plato, man was omniscient or all-knowing before he came to be born into this
world. With his separation from the paradise of truth and knowledge, and his long exile on earth, he
forgot most of the knowledge he had. However, by constant remembering through contemplation and
doing good, he can regain his former perfection. Man who is now an exile on earth, has a guiding star, a
model, or a divine exemplar which he must follow to reach and attain his destiny. In practical terms, this
means that man in this life should imitate his former self; more specifically, he should live a life of virtue
in which true human perfection exists. Happiness, which is the fruit of virtue, is attained by the constant
imitation of the divine exemplar of virtue, embodied in man’s former perfect self.

Influenced by the wise pronouncements of Socrates, Plato proposed his own philosophy of the
self. He started on the examination of the self as a unique experience. The experience will eventually
better understand the core of the self which he called the psyche.

The psyche is composed of three elements. The appetitive, spirited and the mind. The appetitive
includes the desires, pleasures, physical satisfaction, comforts. The spirited is what is excited when given
challenges, fights back when agitated or fights for justice. This is the hot-blooded part of the psyche. The
mind is the nous, the conscious awareness of the self. This is the super power that controls the affairs of
the self. It decides, analyses, thinks ahead, proposes what is best, and rationally controls both the
appetitive and spirited elements of the psyche.

IMMANUEL KANT: RESPECT FOR SELF

Kant is a Prussian metaphysicist who synthesized the rationalist view of Descartes and the
empiricist view of Locke and Hume. The self is always transcendental, he calls his philosophy the
Transcendental Unity of Apperception.

Man is the only creature who governs and directs himself and his actions, who sets up ends for
himself and his purpose and who freely orders means for the attainment of his aims. Every man is thus
an end in himself, and should never be treated merely as a means- as per the order of the Creator and
the natural order of things. This rule is a plain dictum of reason and justice; Respect others as you would
respect yourself. A person should not be used as a tool, instrument, or a device to accomplish another’s
private ends. Thus, all men are persons gifted with the same basic rights and should treat each other as
equal.
 Kant says that it is our rationality that unifies and makes sense the perceptions we have in our
experiences and make sensible ideas about ourselves and the world. This ingenious synthesis saved the
empirical theories of the sciences and the rational justification innate ideas. Kant also solved the
problem of the ability of the self to perceive the world.

RENE DESCARTES: ” I THINK, THEREFORE I AM.”

Descartes was the Father of Modern Philosophy. He deviated from the theocentric philosophies
on the years before him. He was in fact able to readdress the question concerning the self in a very
different rational method. He started his quest of discovering the self by his methodic doubt.

Everything must be subjected to doubt. Our existence, our religion, our world, our God. There will never
be certain in this world, as long as it passes our senses. Further, Descartes cannot even distinguish
between the events in his dream and in reality. He claimed that since we could no longer doubt that we
are doubting, there should be a level of certitude that there must be someone who is doubting-that is
him. Then he said, ‘Cogito ergo, sum’. ‘I think, therefore, I am.’ Only after the certitude of the doubting I
can all the other existence, become certain.

Descartes states that the self is the thinking entity distinct from the body. His famous pirinciple
was “Cogito, ergo sum,” which means “I think, therefore I am.”Although the mind and the body are
independent from each other and serve their own functions, man must use his own mind and thinking
abilities to investigate, analyze, experiment, and develop himself.

JOHN LOCKE: PERSONAL IDENTITY

John Locke holds that personal identity (the self) is a matter of psychological continuity. For him,
personal identity is founded on the continuous (memory), and not on the substance of either the soul
or the body. Personal identity is the concept about oneself that evolved over the course of an
individual’s life. It may include aspects of life that man has no control over, such as where he grew up or
the color of his skin, as well as the choices he makes, like how he spends his time, and what he believes.

DAVID HUME: THE SELF AS THE BUNDLE THEORY OF MIND

Hume is sceptical about the existence of self, specifically on whether there is a simple, unified
self that exists over time. For him, man has no clear and intelligent idea of the self. He posits that no
single impression of the self exists; rather the self is just the thing to which all perceptions of a man is
ascribed. Moreover, even if there were such an impression of the self, it would to remain overtime to
constitute identity. However, man’s impressions vary and always change. Even attempts to have
impressions of the self must fail for these attempts are really just occasions for one to notice
perceptions. Put simply, a person can never observe oneself without some other perceptions. Thus,
Hume asserts that what we call the self is really just a bundle or collection of different perceptions which
succed each other with an inconceivable rapidity.

ST. AUGUSTINE: LOVE AND JUSTICE AS THE FOUNDATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL SELF

He believes that a virtuous life is a dynamism of love. It is a constant turning away of and turning
towards love while a wicked life is a constant turning away from love. Loving God means loving one’s
fellowmen, and loving one’s fellowmen denotes never doing any harm to another or, as the golden rule
of justice states, doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.

The development of the self is achieved through self- presentation and self –realization. He was
not afraid to accept to himself and tell the people about his sinfulness. However, the realization of the
wasted self is achieved through his conversion to the faith. Thus his journey toward the understanding
of the self was centered on his religious convictions and belief.

Man’s end goal is happiness. Only in God can man attain true and eternal happiness, made
possible in his contemplation of the truth and divine Wisdom.

LET’S TRY THIS!

EVALUATIVE ACTIVITY: To be conducted in the synchronous sessions.

A.TRUE OR FALSE: WRITE TRUE FOR CORRECT STATEMENTS, FALSE IF OTHERWISE(15PTS).

________1.Socrates is principally concerned with man. He looked at man from the view point of his
inner life.

________2.The core of Socratic ethics is the concept of virtue and knowledge.

________3.For Socrates, virtue is the basic propensity of man.

________4.For Socrates, self-knowledge is the source of all wisdom, an individual may gain possession
of onself and be one’s own master.

________5.Plato describes the self as omniscient, that is all-knowing before he came into this world.

________6.Plato describes his construct on the self as something that is Ideal or Perfect.

________7.Plato further emphasized that happiness is the fruit of virtue, attained in one’s constant
imitation of the divine exemplar.
________8.Kant taught that man is never a means to an end. He emphasized respect for self .

________9.Kant further taught that all men are gifted with the same basic rights, and should be treated
equal.

________10.Descartes states that, “I think, therefore I am.”

B.EXPLAIN BRIEFLY(20 PTS) Share your thoughts on these in our synch sessions.

1.For St. Augustine, love and justice are the foundation of the individual self.

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2.For Socrates, how is self-knowledge the springboard of wisdom?

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