Understanding the Self

Module 1: Philosophical Perspective of the Self

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

 explain the role of philosophy in understanding the concept of self;

 discuss the different concepts of the self from the philosophical perspective;
 differentiate the various concepts of the self and identify their similarities; and
 develop your own philosophy of the self.

Integration of Core Values and Biblical Principles: Truthfulness

For this module, it is important to develop your sense of truthfulness. We are living in a
world full of challeges and struggles that sometimes we failed to be true to ourselves
and to others. Having this core value helps you become a better person that will inspire
people and spread the goodness in you. Let us learn to be truthful not only to oneself
but to everyone it does not matter what it caused.

Introduction:

Philosophy employs the inquisitive mind to discover the ultimate causes, reasons, and
principles of everything. It goes beyond scientific investigation by exploring all areas of
knowledge such as religion, psychology, politics, physics, and even medicine. Hence,
the etymological definition of philosophy “love of wisdom” could pertain to the desire for
truth by formulating never ending questions to provide answers to every inquiry about
the nature of human existence. The nature of self is a topic of interest among
philosophers.

Learning Activities and Resources:

The following are the links to other learning resources for your further reading process.

1. https://youtu.be/oWTkRKzNUrM
2. https://youtu.be/oWTkRKzNUrM and textbook
 3. https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-immortal-soul-ideas-of-socrates-plato-
augustine.html#:~:text=As%20a%20supposed%20student%20of,and
%20separate%20from%20the%20body.&text=He%20believed%20the
%20soul%20was,being%20joined%20to%20the%20body .
4. https://iep.utm.edu/descarte/
5. https://youtu.be/hBAxUBeVfsk

CONTENT DISCUSSION

1. SOCRATES: An unexamined life is not worth living.

 Ancient Greek Philosopher
 Know Thyself
 He believed that the real self is not the physical
body, but rather the psyche (soul).
o Self is synonymous with the soul.
o Believes that every human possesses an
immortal soul that survives the physical
body.

 Focus on human self:

o Who we are
o Who we should be
o Who we will become.

 There are two Dichotomous Realms

1. Physical Realm is changeable, transient and imperfect.
The body belongs to physical realm.
2. Ideal Realm is unchanging, eternal and immortal.
o Includes the intellectual essences of the universe, concepts such as truth,
goodness, and beauty.
o The soul belongs to the ideal realm
o The self- the soul- is the immortal entity.

 The soul strives for wisdom and perfection, and reason is the soul’s tool to
achieve this exalted state.
o But then as long as the soul is tied to the body, the quest for wisdom is
inhibited by imperfection of the physical realm.
 o Socrates thus suggests that man must live an examined life and a life of
purpose and value.
o An Unexamined life is not worth living.
o 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 continuous soul-searching.
o The Socrates method, the so called introspection, is a method of carefully
examining one’s thoughts and emotions- to gain self-knowledge.

2. Plato: The Self is an Immortal Soul

 Ancient Greek Philosopher

 Believes that the Self is synonymous with the
soul.
 His philosophy can be examined as a process of
self-knowledge and purification of the soul.

 The Idea of a Three-part Soul/Self.

1. Reason is the divine essence that enables us to think deeply, make wise
choices and eternal truth.
2. Physical Appetite includes basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst and
sexual desire.
3. Spirit or Passion includes basic emotions such as love, anger, ambition,
aggressiveness and empathy.
o These three element of our selves are in a dynamic relationship with one
another, sometimes in conflict. When conflict occurs, Plato believes it is
the responsibility of reason to sort things out and exert control restoring a
harmonious relationship among the three elements of our selves.
o Plato 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.
o The harmonious integration under the control of Reason is the essence of
Plato’s concept of justice.

 Theory of Forms
1. The World of Forms (non-physical ideas) is real and permanent.
2. The World of Sense (Reality) is temporary and only a replica of the ideal
world.
 o Plato claims that the sensible world is dependent on the ideal world where
the concept of the soul belongs. Since the soul is regarded as something
permanent, man should give importance to it than the physical body which
resides in the world of sense.

3. Aristotle: The Soul is the Essence of the Self

 Greek Philosopher
 Believes that the soul is rarely a set of defining
features and does not consider the body and soul
as separate entities.
 Anything with life has a soul
 SOUL is the essence of all living things
 Soul is the essence of SELF
 Human different from other living things because
of their capacity for RATIONAL THINKING.

 THREE KINDS OF SOUL

o Vegetative Soul that includes the Physical Body that can grow.
o Sentient Soul includes the sensual desires, feeling and emotions.
o Rational Soul is what makes man human. It includes INTELLECT that
allows man to know and understand things.

 Aristotle suggests that the rational Nature of the self is to lead a good, flourishing
and fulfilling life (self-actualization)
 Part of rational soul is characterized by moral and virtues such as justice and
courage.

4. Saint Augustine: The Self has an Immortal

Soul.
 African Philosopher, saint in the Catholic
Church.
 Integrates the teachings of Plato and
Teachings of Christianity.
 Believes that the physical body is different
from and inferior to its inhabitant, THE
IMMORTAL SOUL.
  View the body as “spouse of the Soul”.
 As religious philosopher, Soul as an important element of man.
 Humankind is created in the likeness and image of God.
 Human person, being a creation of God is always geared towards the good.
 SELF is known only through knowing God.
 Self-knowledge is a consequence of knowledge of God.
 Significance of reflection, prayers and confessions to arrive a justification for the
existence of God.
 For Augustine, Knowledge can only come by seeing the truth that dwells within
us.
1. Truth of Knowing God.
 God is Transcendent and the self seeks to be united with God through FAITH
and REASON.

5. Rene Descartes: I Think Therefore I Am.

 French Philosopher, Father of Modern
Philosophy.
 The Latin Phrase “COGITO ERGO SUM” – I
Think Therefore I Am is the Keystone of
Descartes concept of self.
 For him, the act of thinking about the self- of
being self-conscious – is in itself proof that there
is a self.
 The human self- a thinking entity that doubts,
understands, analyzes, questions and reasons.

 Two Dimensions of the Human Self.

1. The Self as a Thinking Entity- (or SOUL) as non-material, immortal,
conscious being and independent of the physical laws of the universe.
2. The Self as Physical Body – is a material, mortal, non-thinking entity, fully
governed by the physical laws of nature.

 The Soul and Body are INDEPENDENT of one another, and each can exist and
function without the other.
6. John Locke: The Self is Consciousness.
 English Philosopher.
 The Human Mind at Birth is Tabula Rasa or a blank
tablet/slate.
 Self or personal identity is constructed from SENSE
EXPERIENCES, or what people see, hear, smell, taste
and feel.

 These experiences shape and mold the self throughout the person’s life.
 For Locke, conscious awareness and memory of previous experiences are the
keys to understand the self.
 Conscious awareness of itself as a Thinking, Reasoning, and Reflecting Identity.
 Consciousness is what makes identity of a person similar in different situations.
 Using the power of reason and introspection enables one to understand and
achieve accurate conclusions about the self. (or personal identity)

7. David Hume: There is No Self

 Scottish Philosopher
 David Hume suggests that if people carefully
examine their sense experience through the
process of introspection, they will discover that
there is “NO SELF”.
 What people experience is just a bundle or
collection of different perceptions.

 If people carefully examine the contents of their experiences, they will find out
that there are only distinct entities:
1. Impressions are vivid perceptions and are strong and lively
2. Ideas are thoughts and images from impressions so they are less lively
and vivid.
 The idea of personal identity is a result of imagination.
8. Immanuel Kant: We Construct the Self
 German Philosopher
 It is the Self that makes experiencing an intelligible world
possible because it is the self that is actively organizing
and synthesizing all our thoughts and perceptions.
 The self, in the form of consciousness, utilizes
conceptual categories which he calls
TRANSCENDENTAL deduction of categories to
construct an orderly and objective world that is stable
and can be investigated scientifically.

 He believes that the self is an organizing principle that makes a unified and
intelligible experience possible.
 The Self constructs its own reality, actively creating a world that is familiar,
predictable, and most significantly, MINE.
 The self is the product of reason, a regulating principle, because the self
regulates experience by making unified experiences possible.
 The self transcends experience because the mind can grasp aspects of reality
which are not limited to the senses.

9. Sigmund Freud: The Self is

Multilayered
 Austrian Psychoanalyst
 Self is Consists of Three
Layers:

 Self is Consists of Three Layers:

1. Conscious Self is governed by the “reality principle” and appropriate to the
environment.
 Usually takes into account the realistic demands of the situation,
the consequences of various actions, and the overriding need to
preserve the equilibrium (balance) of the entire psychodynamic of
self.
  Thoughts and Perceptions
2. Unconscious Self contains the basic instinctive drives including sexuality,
aggressiveness and self-destruction, traumatic memories, unfulfilled
wishes, childhood fantacies, and thoughts and feelings that would be
considered socially taboo.
 “Pleasure Principle”
3. Preconscious Self contains material that is not threatening and easily
brought to mind.
 Located between the conscious and unconscious part of the self.
 Memories and stored knowledge.

10. Gilbert Ryle: The Self is the Way People Behave

 British Philosopher
 Self is best understood as a pattern of Behavior, the
tendency or disposition of a person to behave in a
certain way in certain circumstances.
 Concept of human self thus provides the philosophical
principle, “I Act Therefore I am”

 The self is the same as the bodily behavior.

 The mind is the totality of human dispositions that is known through the way
people behave.
 The Mind expresses the entire system of thoughts, emotions and actions that
make up the human self.

11. Paul Churchland: The Self is the Brain

 Canadian Philosopher
 The idea that the self is inseparable from the brain
and the physiology of the body.
 Each person has is the brain, and so if the brain is
gone, there is no self.
 The physical brain and not the imaginary mind gives
people the sense of self.
 The mind does not really exist because it cannot be
experience by the senses.
12. Maurice Merleau-Ponty; The Self is
Embodied Subjectivity.
 French Philosopher
 All knowledge about self (ex.
Understanding the nature of the self) is
based on the “Phenomena” of experience.
 It is an integrated CORE IDENTITY, a
combination of the Mental, Physical and
Emotional structures around a core
identity of the self.

 Mind and body are UNIFIED, not separated.

 Perception is not merely consequence of sensory experience, rather, it is a
conscious experience.
 Thus, self is embodied subjectivity.
Name: _____________________________________ Year & Section: _____________

Reflect. Write an essay on the philosophical perspective of the self. Consider the
following questions in writing your essay.
1. Explain how each philosophy of the self impacts your self-understanding.
2. Why philosophy relates to your own belief?
3. What is your philosophy of self?
4. What is the importance of having a philosophy of the self?
5. Describe who you are, the meaning of your life, the purpose of your existence,
and how to achieve a happy and successful life.
6. What are your characteristics that can contribute to your happiness and
success?

My Reflection
Name: _____________________________________ Year & Section: _____________

Read. Multiple Choice. Write the letter that corresponds to your answer.
1. He is regarded as the Father of Modern Philosophy.
a. Gilbert Ryle b. Paul Churchland c. Rene Descartes d. John Locke
2. According to him, “an unexamined life is not worth living”.
a. Socrates b. Plato c. Aristotle d. Augustine
3. He postulates that the human mind at birth is a blank slate or Tabula rasa.
a. Gilbert Ryle b. Paul Churchland c. Rene Descartes d. John Locke
4. He believes that the self is nothing but a collection of interconnected and continually
changing perceptions passing through the theater of our minds.
a. Immanuel Kant b. Murice Merleau-Ponty c. David Hume d. Gilbert Ryle
5. In his theory of Forms, he introduces the concept of the two worlds: the world of
forms and the world of sense.
a. Socrates b. Plato c. Aristotle d. Augustine
6. The Phenomenology of Perception is the work of:
a. Immanuel Kant b. Murice Merleau-Ponty c. David Hume d. Gilbert Ryle
7. The cornerstone of Socrates’ philosophy is
a. I think, therefore, I am b. know thyself
c. the Self is the way people behave d. tabula rasa
8. He believes that the mind is not the seat of self but behavior, thus the principle “I act,
therefore, I am”
a. Immanuel Kant b. Murice Merleau-Ponty c. David Hume d. Gilbert Ryle
9. He believes that the self is the brain
a. Gilbert Ryle b. Paul Churchland c. Rene Descartes d. John Locke
10. He introduces the idea of eliminative materialism.
a. Immanuel Kant b. Murice Merleau-Ponty c. David Hume d. Gilbert Ryle
Name: _______________________________________ Year & Section: ___________

Respond. Identify the philosopher who proposed a particular view of self presented
in the first column. Then examine your personal view about the nature of self and
indicate whether you believe or not in that philosophical view of self. If you believe in
the stated, recall an important experience you have had which relates to it. If you do not
believe, explain your disbelief. How do you think your experience or disbelief affects
your selfhood?

Philosophical Philosophe Believe it or Related Life Reasons Effects on

Views of Self r not Experiences Why I do not My Selfhood
(Write B if you Believe
believe; N if
you do not
believe)
An unexamined life
is not worth living.
If human beings do
not live in
accordance to their
nature/function, the
result will be
injustice.
Self-realization is
attained by fulfilling
man’s threefold
nature: vegetative,
sentient and
rational.
The self seeks to
be united with God
through faith and
reason.
The self is a
thinking thing,
distinct from the
body.
The human mind
at birth is blank
slate or tabula rasa
There is no self,
only bundle of
constantly
changing
perception passing
through the theater
of our minds.
The self
transcends
experience.
I act, therefore I
am
The self is the
brain.
The
consciousness, the
world and the
human body are
intricately
intertwined in
knowing the world.