CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE

PDEV 1013 (Understanding the Self)

AY 2020-2021

Lesson 1: The Self from Various Perspectives

Topic: Introduction to Understanding the Self and

Philosophical Perspectives of the Self

Learning Outcomes: At the end of this module, you are expected to:

1. Explain the significance of understanding the self

2. Share expectation about how the course will help develop their understanding of the self
3. Discuss the different notions of the self from the points-of-view of the various
philosophers across time and place
4. Formulate a personal philosophical understanding of the self

This Week’s Timetable: (January 27- February 6, 2020)

Date Topics Activities or Tasks

January 27- Orientation/Setting of Expectations Read the General Introduction and note
29 The USL-Vision-Mission and Core the contact details of the instructor
Values
Introduction to the Read Introduction of the course
Understanding the Self

February 1-6 Philosophical Perspective of the Read the Philosophical Perspective of

Self the Self
Completion of Learning Task and
Journal
Actual Quiz for the modular

LEARNING CONTENT

Introduction:

γνῶθι σεαυτόν transliterated: gnōthi seauton

Know thyself

The Ancient Greek aphorism "know thyself" were inscribed above the entrance to the
temple of Apollo at Delphi, site of the sacred oracle. It was said to have been inscribed along
with the words μηδὲν ἄγαν (transliterated as mēden agan, meaning “nothing to excess”) in
the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delph. The maxim may be interpreted in numerous
ways.

Prins (2014) mentions that:

You could think of it (know thyself) in terms of limitations, of understanding your various
strengths and weaknesses; what you are capable of and what you are not. You can look
 at it in terms of mortality, in knowing and accepting that as a human you are not
immortal and will die. You may see it in terms of knowing your place, in your family,
work, and social networks. You may interpret “know thyself” as Socrates did, as a
process of questioning and testing one’s most fundamental beliefs.

Kagan in an Open Yale Course interprets the two maxims as:

“Know your own limitations as a fallible mortal and then exercise moderation because
you are not divine, you are mortal.”

This has been a subject of myriad of interpretation by philosophers since then. However
the interpretation is, the maxim is generally believed to invite people of self-reflection – to
discern. Gregory of Nissa suggests that “turning one’s gaze inward is the only way to bring to
light one’s real essence, while looking to the outside makes such task impossible” (Berolini,
2018). By taking the opportunity to gain knowledge to take responsibility for our actions and
how we live life.

To know thyself is first an imperative and then a requirement. It being imperative means
that it is necessary and must not be avoided. It is imperative to know the limits of the self so
that one knows what one is capable of doing and what one is not. One who does not know his
limitations and strengths only has least power to make change in his actions and his life in
general. Thus, we can also say that it a requirement.

To know one’s self is a requirement for self-moderation, prudence, good judgment, and
excellence of the soul (Ortiz de Landazuri,2014). “Anything excessive is not good. Thus, it is
prudent to strike the balance of things. Too much power might lead to abuse; too many friends
might decrease the quality of relationships; too many problems might bring about depression;
too much knowledge might make one think, as in the ancient rulers, that there is nothing else to
know about (Villafuerte, et.al, 2019)”, too much generosity might make one financially stable,
too much kindness might be taken advantage by other people. The list goes on. To know one
self makes one capable of understanding whether he is need of moderation so that he is able to
desire what is good and avoid those that will bring him harm. Through moderation one is able to
have better control and create sound judgment in his life.

Lesson Proper:

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF

Many philosophers grappled to understand the meaning of human life. They have
attempted to answer the question “who am I?” and most of their views have influenced the way
we look at our lives today. They have different notions of the self from the points-of-view of the
various philosophers across time and place. Let’s begin with Socrates.

“Know thyself”

This is an ancient greeting of the highly civilized Greeks. It was believed that the temple
gods greet the people with this salutation as they enter the holy sanctuary. To know thyself is
first an imperative and then a requirement. It is imperative to know the limits of the self so that
one knows what one is capable of doing and what one is not. The real meaning of knowing
thyself is a requirement for self-moderation, prudence, good judgment, and excellence of the
soul. (Ortiz de Landazuri,2014). Anything excessive is not good is termed Self-moderation.
Part of it is prudence, it strikes the balance of things, it is just wise then to put oneself in
moderation so that one is capable of self-control and sound judgment.

This means that prudence and judgement 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 judgements in desiring what is good and
avoiding that which will only bring harm.
 SOCRATES
“THE UNEXAMINED IS LIFE NOT WORTH LIVING”

He is the first philosopher who ever engaged in a systematic

questioning of the self. according to him, the true task of the
philosopher is to know oneself. He affirmed that the unexamined
life is not worth living.

An examined life is a life that is duty bound to develop self-

knowledge and a self-dignified with values and integrity. The
unexamined life is no better than animal life, the worst that can
happen to anyone: to live but die inside wherein he distinguishes
the “Examined life” as having the wisdom to distinguish right from
wrong, only in recognizing your ignorance can a person truly know
oneself - “I KNOW THAT I DO NOT KNOW”. For him, only in recognition of one’s ignorance
that a person can truly know oneself.

This only means that when we become readily contented with the information we receive
from the social media, for example, and submit to how virtual reality defines life, develop needs
and wants, classify morality, delineate universal values, and mystify human reason, we are not
better off than the dogs who become contented with the crumbs provided by their “masters.”

The individual person can have a meaningful and happy life only if he becomes virtuous
and knows the value of himself that can be achieved through incessant soul-searching.
Socratic-Method or “Introspection” – is a method of carefully examining one’s thoughts and
emotions – to gain self-knowledge.

He believed that every man is dualistic. This means that human person is composed of
two important aspects of his personhood. Body which refers to imperfect, impermanent aspect
that is vulnerable to basic emotions and actions, whereas soul refers to the perfect and
permanent aspect that controls the body and prevents it from falling into fallacy and inadequate
behavior. Therefore, the “soul” in the context of ancient philosophers refers to the mind.

SOCRATES – Two Dichotomous realm

Physical Realm - changeable, transient, and imperfect. The physical world “like body” in which
man lives belongs to the physical realm.

Ideal Realm - unchanging, eternal, and immortal. Intellectual essences of the universe,
concepts such as truth, goodness and beauty.

He believed that evil is the result of ignorance wherein most men were really not fully
aware of who they were and the virtues that they were supposed to attain in order to preserve
their souls for the afterlife. Therefore, it means that humans always seek to do what is obviously
perceived to be the good. For example, even if the action of a person can be perceived to be
evil to everyone else, the person who commits the act is seeking to attain some good that they
perceive in it. This does not excuse anyone of the wrong committed. Rather it is a recognition
that ignorance and confused perception can be the source of great evil.

THE EXAMINED LIFE: 7 QUESTIONS

But what does the statement “unexamined life is not worth living” mean for us today?
In order to facilitate our reflection, I want you to read the following questions provided by
Taibbi (2018) and reflect on your answers:

1. How is my life going?

 On an average day, is it good enough that you want to live it over? If you had to pick
one emotion to describe your overall state of mind, your everyday mood, what would it
be?

2. When I look over the past 6 months, year, what have I learned from my mistakes?
Successfully running your life is a process of elimination where mistakes are
opportunities to learn a lesson so you don’t make the same mistakes again.

3. What is my one conflict?

Everyone is essentially grabbling with one core issue that your life is trying to resolve,
one problem that your life is circling around. When you look back over past 5, 10, 20
years and the problems you've faced, is there something that links them all together?
If you were to see your past played out as movie, what would the title of that movie
be?

4. Does my life reflect my values?

Take some time to consider and write down what your values may be — defining what
is important in life and what it means to you to be a good human being. The next part
is evaluating whether there is a gap between your values and the way they are
reflected in your everyday life.

5. Do I have integrity?
Integrity comes from the Latin, integritas, meaning unified, whole. Do you think that
what you believe and what you present to others are the same? Is there a gap
between them? What do you need to do bring them back in line?

6. Has my vision of the future changed?

Have your current priorities and goals changed since the last time you checked in?
Time to upgrade who you are and what you want?

7. What do you need to change in the next 6 months, next year, to make your life
better, be who you want to be, have the future you envision?
Begin to think in terms of concrete behavioral change — bad habits you want to give
up, new ones to develop, parts of your personality that have been pushed to the
sideline of your life that you want to reclaim or expand. It's time to come up with a plan
to begin this process.

Taibbi, R. (2018), The Examined Life: 7 Questions, Psychology Today,

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fixing-families/201806/the-examined-life-7-
questions

DID YOU KNOW THAT…

Socrates is called the gadfly of the Athenian State?

A gadfly is a person who disrupts with the status quo of a society or community by posing novel,
potentially upsetting questions, usually directed at authorities. In this case, Socrates was a gadfly to the
Athenian state because he wanted to remind the people of Athens of their real duties and obligations and
to focus on something greater than respite and comfort.
PLATO
“SELF IS AN IMMORTAL SOUL”
He is a follower of Socrates who also believes that self is soul. His
philosophy focuses on a process of self-knowledge and purification of the
soul. He believes that genuine happiness can only be achieved by people
who consistently make sure that their Reason is in control of their Spirits
and Appetites. He believes that it is the responsibility of Reason to sort
things out and exert control, restoring harmonious relationship among the
three elements of our selves:

The appetitive soul also termed as “physical appetite” that is in charge

of effortless craving required to stay alive like eating, drinking, sleeping, and
having sex that is only intended for married couples and must be controlled as well. The
spirited soul is in charge of basic emotions such as love, anger, and empathy. It is also termed
as “Spirit or passion” that produces desires that love victory and honor. This means that it is a
part of psyche or mind that is excited when given challenges, or fights back when agitated, or
fights for justice when unjust practices are evident. In a way for example, this is the hot-blooded
part of the psyche. The rational soul also known as “reason” is forged by reason and intellect,
has to govern the affairs of the human person. Plato emphasizes that justice in the human
person can only be attained if the three parts of the soul are harmoniously with one another.

He conceptualized Psyche as core of the self that is composed of three elements

mentioned above. Nous which means the conscious awareness of the self. It is the super power
that controls the affairs of the self. One has to develop the nous and fill it with the understanding
of the limits of the self, and the correct ethical standards.

To enrich these three ideas of Plato, we take as an example - college life. College
students want to hang out with their friends, spend time on computer games, eat the favorite
food, do thrilling activities that will excite the whole gang. These satisfy the appetitive element of
the psyche. However, when professors throw challenging projects and assignments that would
require tremendous amount of time and effort, the spirited psyche kicks in to face the challenges
head on. All these are going on because the mind or the nous is orchestrating these pursuits
according to the quality of the nous a person has. In other words, in order to have a good life,
one has to develop the nous, and fill it with the understanding of the limits of the self, and the
correct ethical standards.

Something to think about:

What experiences do you have in the past that you can relate to desire of the appetitive
soul? Did reason affect your attain or avoidance of the desire?

ST. AUGUSTINE
“You have made us for yourself., O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds rest in You.”

“SELF HAS AN IMMORTAL SOUL”

He believed that the development of the self is achieved through self-
presentation and self-realization. Following the ancient view of Plato and
infusing it with the newfound doctrine of Christianity, Augustine agreed that
man is of a bifurcated (split/branched) nature: body dwells in the world and
is imperfect and continuously yearns to be with the Divine; is bound to die
on earth and the soul is capable of reaching immortality; anticipate living
eternally in a realm of spiritual bliss in communion with God. The goal of
every human person is to attain this communion and bliss with the Divine by living his life on
earth in virtue

He believes that man’s goal is happiness. The body is bound to die on earth and the
soul is to anticipate living eternally in a realm of spiritual bliss in communion with God. He
believes that the physical body is radically different from and inferior to its inhabitant, the
Immortal soul. Body “spouse” of the soul. (Attached by one another by a “natural appetite”). He
believes that the body is united with the Soul, so that man may be entire and complete.
“Knowledge can only come by seeing the truth that dwells within us” (The truth of knowing God)
- Human beings alone, without God, is bound to fail. Augustine argues that the soul must be a
reality because of its capacity to reason (freewill). He believed that we are eternal and the body
is not. The soul is immortal because God created them and intended them to be immortal. It
bears the very image of God.
 This only means that for him, 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
that refers to God himself. For example, Christianity is the full and true philosophy. It is the full
revelation of the true God. Human beings alone, without God, are bound to fail.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

“Experiencing that something exists doesn’t tell us what it is.”

Adapting some ideas from Aristotle, St. Aquinas contended man is

composed of two parts: matter comes from the greek word “hyle” which
means the common stuff that makes up everything in the universe that
includes man's body while form come from the greek word “morphe which
means the essence of a substance or thing that makes it what it is. In the
case of the human person, the body is something that he shares even with
animals; what makes a human person a human person is his soul, his
essence.

It only means that the cells in man’s bod for example are more or less akin to the cells of
any other living, organic being in the world. However, what makes a human person a human
person and not a dog, or tiger for example is his soul, his essence. For him, we don’t encounter
ourselves as isolated minds or selves, but always an agent interacting with our environment.
Therefore, the soul is what animates the body, it is what makes us humans.

RENE DESCARTES
“Cogito, Ergo Sum”

He is the father of Modern Philosophy, a rationalist (a person

who bases her opinions and actions on reason and knowledge not
beliefs). He conceived of the human person as having a body and a
mind. In his famous treatise, The Meditations of First Philosophy, he
claims that there is so much that we should doubt.

The Act of thinking about the self- of being conscious – is in

itself proof that there is a self. If man reflects thoughtfully, he will realize
that there are two dimensions of human self: The self as Thinking
Entity and The self as a physical body.

“Cogito,ergo Sum” translated as “ I think therefore I am” or “ I doubt therefore I exist.”

The discovery of the cogito revolutionizes the way we view ourselves and the world around us.
Human rationality which includes the need of reason in order to evaluate our thoughts and
actions. One should only believe that since which can pass the test of doubt; if something is so
clear and lucid as not to be even doubted, then that is the only time when one should actually
buy a proposition. According to him, everything must be subjected to doubts- our existence, our
world. The only thing that one cannot doubt is the existence of the self for even if one doubts
oneself, that only proves that there is a doubting self, a thing that thinks and therefore, that
cannot be doubted.

He quoted: “But what then am I? A thinking thing. It has been said. But what is a thinking
thing? It is a thing that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses; that imagines also,
and perceives.”
 The self, then, is also a combination of two distinct entities: the cogito refers to the thing
that thinks, which is the mind the extenza refers to the extension of the mind, which is the body.
In Descartes view, the body is nothing else but a machine that is attached to the mind; it is the
mind that makes man a man.

The concept of Descartes will best explain through human rationality. For example,
human being needs a reason in order to evaluate his thoughts and actions. In this he live fully
the demands, challenges and call of his religion for example.

Something to think about:

What is it that you can never doubt?... It is the fact that you are doubting…
I doubt therefore, I exist

JOHN LOCKE
“Tabula Rasa”

Self is comparable to an empty space where everyday

experiences contribute to the pile of knowledge that is put forth on that
empty space. Experience is an important requirement. Personal identity
is a matter of psychological continuity. It means that it is not in the brain,
nut in the consciousness.

Arguing against both the Augustinian view of man as originally sinful and the Cartesian
position, which holds that man innately knows basic logical propositions, Locke posits an
“empty” mind, a tabula rasa, which is shaped by experience, and sensations and reflections
being the two sources of all our ideas. Self- is compared to an empty space where everyday
experiences contribute to the pile of knowledge that is put forth on that empty space

DAVID HUME
“The ego is a fictional idea”

He is an empiricist who believes that one can know

only what comes from the senses and experiences and argues
that the self is nothing else but a bundle of impressions. If one
tries to examine his experiences, he finds that they can all be
categorized into two: impressions refers to the basic objects of
our experience or sensation; they form the core of our thoughts;
they are the products of our direct experience with the world, yet
they are temporary while ideas refers to the copies of
impressions and are thus not as lively and vivid as our
impressions.

“Bundles of temporary impressions” examples:

name, height, affiliations, skills, achievements and the like.
(temporary and non-persisting) He harshly claimed that there is
no Self. He quoted: “Self is simply a bundle or collection of different perceptions, which
succeeded each other with an inconceivable rapidity, and are in a perpetual flux and
movement."

It only means that what one thinks is a unified, coherent self, a soul or mind, just like
what previous philosophers thought, is simply a combination of all experiences with a particular
person.
 IMMANUEL KANT
“It is beyond a doubt that all our knowledge that begins with experience.”

Kant recognizes the veracity of Hume's account

that everything starts with perception and sensation of
impressions; however, he believes that the things that men
perceive around them are not just randomly infused into the
human person without an organizing principle that regulates the
relationship of these impressions.
For him, there is necessarily a mind that organizes
the impressions that men get from the external world (e.g., time
and space are ideas that one cannot find in the world but is built in
our minds). Kant calls this the apparatuses of the mind.
Along with the apparatuses of the mind goes the
"self". Without the self, one cannot organize the different
impressions that one gets in relation to his own existence.

Kant therefore suggests that it is an actively engaged. intelligence in man that

synthesizes all knowledge and experience Thus, the self is not just what gives one his
personality; in addition, it is also the seat of knowledge acquisition for all human persons Our
rationality makes sense the perceptions we have in our experiences. He also believes that
perception does not belong to the world, but to the self.

It only means that our rationality unifies and makes sense the perceptions we have in
our experiences and make sensible ideas about ourselves and the world. For example, we have
the capacity to solve the problem of the ability of the our self to perceive the world.

The self is always transcendental.

It explains that being or the self is not in the body, it is outside the body and even outside
the qualities of the body-meaning transcendent

SIGMUND FREUD
“Early childhood experiences that create high levels of anxiety are repressed into unconscious,
where they may influence behavior, emotions, and attitudes for years.”

The psyche is structured into three parts (i.e., tripartite), the id, ego, and superego, all
developing at different stages in our lives (also known as three layers of the self). These are
systems, not parts of the brain, or in any way physical.

ID (Pleasure Principle) is the primitive and instinctive component

of personality consists of all the inherited (i.e., biological) components
of personality present at birth, including the sex (life) instinct – Eros
(which contains the libido), and the aggressive (death) instinct -
Thanatos. It is the impulsive (and unconscious) part of our psyche
which responds directly and immediately to the instincts. It remains
infantile in its function throughout a person’s life and does not change
with time or experience, as it is not in touch with the external world; it
is not affected by reality, logic or the everyday world, as it operates
within the unconscious part of the mind. It operates on the pleasure
principle which is the idea that every wishful impulse should be satisfied immediately, regardless
of the consequences. When the id achieves its demands, we experience pleasure when it is
denied we experience ‘unpleasure’ or tension.
 EGO (Reality Principle) refers to the part of the id which has been modified by the
direct influence of the external world. It develops to mediate between the unrealistic id and the
external real world. It is the decision-making component of personality, it operates according to
the reality principle, working out realistic ways of satisfying the id’s demands, often
compromising or postponing satisfaction to avoid negative consequences of society. The ego
considers social realities and norms, etiquette and rules in deciding how to behave. Like the id,
the ego seeks pleasure (i.e., tension reduction) and avoids pain, but unlike the id, the ego is
concerned with devising a realistic strategy to obtain pleasure. The ego has no concept of right
or wrong; something is good simply if it achieves its end of satisfying without causing harm to
itself or the id. If the ego fails in its attempt to use the reality principle, and anxiety is
experienced, unconscious defense mechanisms are employed, to help ward off unpleasant
feelings (i.e., anxiety) or make good things feel better for the individual. The ego engages in
secondary process thinking, which is rational, realistic, and orientated towards problem-solving.
If a plan of action does not work, then it is thought through again until a solution is found. This is
known as reality testing and enables the person to control their impulses and demonstrate self-
control, via mastery of the ego.

SUPEREGO (Moral and Idealistic Principle) refers to the incorporation of the values
and morals of society which are learned from one's parents and others. It develops around the
age of 3 – 5 during the phallic stage of psychosexual development. Its function is to control the
id's impulses, especially those which society forbids, such as sex and aggression; it also has the
function of persuading the ego to turn to moralistic goals rather than simply realistic ones and to
strive for perfection. It consists of two systems: conscience - can punish the ego through
causing feelings of guilt, ego-ideal - is an imaginary picture of how one ought to be, and
represents career aspirations, how to treat other people, and how to behave as a member of
society. Behavior which falls short of the ideal self may be punished by the superego through
guilt. The super-ego can also reward through the ideal self when one behaves ‘properly’ by
making him feel proud.

We are certain about the many wrong things that may be bought about by our actions,
but we never understand why there is something somewhere inside us that makes many of us
do what we know is wrong.

GILBERT RYLE
“Man need not to be degraded to a machine by being denied to be a ghost in a machine. He
might, after all, be a sort of animal, namely, a higher mammal.”

This means to solved the mind-body dichotomy that has

been running for a long time in the history of thought by blatantly
denying the concept of an internal, non-physical self. For him, what truly
matters is the behavior that a person manifests in his day-to-day life.
Mind is not separated from the body (contradict with Descartes’ dualism)
mind-ghost in the machine. He suggests that the "self" is not an entity
one can locate and analyze but simply the convenient name that people
use to refer to all the behaviors that people make. It simply says that
Mental Processes are merely intelligent acts. There is no internal, non-
physical self.

The thinking I will never be found because it is just a “ghost in the

machine”. The mind is never separate from the body. The physical actions or behaviors are
dispositions of the self. The mind is a disposition of the self.

This only means that all manifestation in physical activities or behavior for example are
the dispositions of the self, the basis of the statement; “I act therefore I am” or “You are what
you do”.
 PAUL AND PATRICIA CHURCHLAND
“Our behavior appears to have its basic cause in neural activity”

Paul and Patricia Churchland promoted the

position called “eliminative materialism” which bring forth
neuroscience into the fore of understanding the self. It
simply means that Philosophy and Psychology has failed
to provide satisfactory position in understanding the self.
They tossed aside the concept of dualism and the brain
and adhered to materialism - the belief that nothing but
matter exist, if it cannot be recognized by the senses,
then it is akin to a fairytale in his identity theory, the
minds are identical to a particular brain state
our mind and individuality are based upon unique neurological assemblies of one type of brain
function.

According to Churchland, “Our behavior appears to have its basic cause in neural activity..."
NEUROBIOLOGY- as the Churchland’s wanted to predict, when people wanted to ask what is
going on with themselves, they might as well go for MRI scan or CT scan to understand the
present condition of the brain and how it currently works.

Let’s take the idea that why should we believe in a mind when science is proving that
mental health is connected to the physical brain? For example, depression is strongly linked to
brain chemicals gone wrong. Yes, some people still say things like, 'She's lost her mind.'
However, neuroscience says, No, it's a physical problem and we aim to fix it.

Adding to this, Churchland challenges the concept of the mind by using the misfortune of
traumatic brain injury. With this, for example, eliminative materialism asks 'if the mind is the seat
of self, why does brain injury alter a person's personality?' If the mind was a real separate entity,
wouldn't it retain a person's sense of self despite damage to a physical organ? Since brain
damage alters a person's personality, Churchland asserts that the concept of self originates in
the physical brain, not an invented mind.

MERLEAU-PONTY
“The world and I are within one another”

A phenomenologist who asserts that the mind-body bifurcation is

a futile endeavor and an invalid problem. Unlike Ryle who simply
denies the "self," he instead says that the mind and body are
intertwined that they cannot be separated from one another.

For him, the living body, his thoughts, emotions, and experiences
are all one. He proposes treating perception as a causal process. It
means that our perceptions are caused by the intricate experiences
the self, and processed intellectually while distinguishing truthful
perceptions from illusory. Therefore, the self is taken as a
phenomenon of the world. He also believes that perception does not belong to the world, but to
the self.
*** END of LESSON 1***