Philosophical Perspective

The Self from Various
Perspectives
Rev. Kevin B. Samillano

Jason James N. Ayupan
Instructor
A. Philosophy
At the end of the lesson, the students would be able to:
• Discuss the different representations and conceptualization of the self

from various disciplinal perspectives
• Compare (relate and contrast) how the self has been represented by
different philosophers
“Who am I?”
Philosophy
• the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality,

and existence.
• the use of reason in understanding such things as the nature of

the real world and existence.
• the use and limits of knowledge, and the principles of moral

judgement.
Socrates
• The first philosopher who ever engaged in a

systematic questioning about the self.
• According to him, the true task of a

philosopher is to know oneself.
• Every man is composed of body and soul.

• Know thyself
• The unexamined life is not worth living.
• Ultimate wisdom comes from knowing oneself.
• The more a person knows, the greater his or her ability

to reason and make choices that will bring true
happiness.
Plato
• Socrate’s student who basically supported the

idea that man is a dual nature of body and
soul.
• He added that there are three components of

the soul:
1. the rational soul
2. the spirited soul
3. the appetitive soul
Plato emphasizes that justice in the human person can only be attained if the three
parts of the soul are working harmoniously with one another.
• The rational soul (intellect) is the thinking portion within each of
us, which discerns what is real and not, judges what is true and what
is false, and makes the rational decisions.
• The spirited soul, is the active portion; its function is to carry out
the dictates of reason.
• Finally, the appetitive soul (emotion or desire) is the portion of

each of us that wants and feels many things, most of which must be
deferred if we are to achieve self-control.
• Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.
• Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools speak
because they have to say something.
• Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter

how slow.
• Love is a serious mental disease.

St. Augustine
• An aspect of man dwells in the world and is imperfect

and continuously yearns to be with the Divine and the
other is capable of reaching immortality.
• 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 introduced the concept of freewill which means that humans are
morally responsible for their actions.
• The goal of every human person is to attain communion and bliss with
the Divine by living his life on earth in virtue.
• He created a new concept of individual identity: the idea of the self

• The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.
• To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest
adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement.
• Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a teardrop.
• Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, seek not to understand

that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.
Rene Descartes
• Father of Modern Philosophy
• “I think therefore, I am”
• He claims that there is so much of that we

should doubt.
• According to him, the only thing that cannot

doubt is the existence of self.
• I think therefore I am (Cogito ergo sum).
• Dualistic distinction of the immaterial mind from the body, all that we
really are, or our identity, comes from the mind.
• The fact that one thinks should lead one to conclude without a trace of
doubt that he exists
• Except our own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in our power.
• Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one

thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
John Locke
• According to him, the self depends on

“consciousness”, not on substance nor on the
soul.
• We are the same person to the extent that we

are conscious of the past and future thoughts
and actions in the same way as we are conscious
of present thoughts and actions
• Holds that personal identity is a matter of psychological
continuity.
• He considered personal identity (self) to be founded on

consciousness (memory) and not on the substance of either soul or
body.
• Man is a bundle of collection of different perceptions.

• I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of
their thoughts.
• We are like chameleons, we take our hue and the color of our
moral character, from those who are around us.
• No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience.

David Hume
• A philosopher who had a very unique way of looking at

man.
• According to him, the self is not an entity over and

beyond the physical body.
• The self is nothing else but a bundle of

impressions/perceptions.
- The basic objects of our
experience and sensation.
• There is no self that remains the same, consciousness is always
changing.
• Hume’s sceptical claim is that we have no experience of a simple,

individual impression that we can call the self—where the “self” is
the totality of a person’s conscious life.
• Be a philosopher; but, amidst all your philosophy, be still a man.
• Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them.
• Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the

mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a
different beauty.
Immanuel Kant
• There is an inner and outer self.
• According to Kant, there is necessarily a mind that

recognizes the different impressions that one gets in
relation to his own existence.
• An actively engaged intelligence in man that

synthesizes all knowledge and experience.
• There is a mind that organizes the different impressions that one
gets from the external world.
• We are not rich by what we possess but by what we can do without.
• He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with

men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.
• Look closely. The beautiful may be small.
• Dare to think!
Sigmund Freud
• Freud's view of the self was multilayered, divided among:
1. Conscious
- governed by the “reality principle”
2. Preconscious
- contains thoughts that are unconscious but can be
easily recalled
3. Unconscious
- characterized by the most primitive level of
human motivation and human functioning.
Structures of Personality
• Id • Ego • Superego
- Instincts - Balances the id - Morale
- Psychic energy or and the superego - ego-ideal (rewards)
libido - conscience
(punishment)
The Development of the Self:
1. Oral Stage – attachment

5. Genital Stage – heterosexual
2. Anal Stage – autonomy interests
3. Phallic Stage – identity
4. Latency Stage – interests

Defense Mechanisms
1. Repression
- whenever the ego is threatened by undesirable id impulses, it
protects itself by repressing those impulses.
2. Reaction formation
- one of the ways in which a repressed impulse may become
conscious is through adopting a disguise that is directly opposite to its
original form.
3. Displacement
- people can redirect their unacceptable urges onto a variety of
people or objects so that the original impulse is disguised or
concealed.
4. Projection
- defined as seeing in others unacceptable feelings or tendencies
that actually reside in one’s own unconscious.
• One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the
most beautiful.
• Being entirely honest is a good exercise.
• Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and
will come forth later in uglier ways.
Paul and Patricia Churchland
• Churchland holds to eliminative materialism.
• Argues that the ordinary folk psychology of

the mind is wrong.
• It is the physical brain and not the

imaginary mind that gives us our sense
of self.
• Churchland asserts that since the mind can't be
experienced by our senses, then the it doesn't
really exist.
• Brains are not magical, they are causal machines.
• I am less attracted to guesses about what cannot be done, than

about making progress on a problem.
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
• According to him, the mind and body are so intertwined that they
cannot be separated from one another.
• Intercorporeal self.
• One cannot find any experience that is not an embodies

experience.
• One’s body is his opening toward his existence to the world.
• Mind or consciousness cannot be defined formally in terms of self-

knowledge or representation, then, but is essentially engaged in the
structures and actions of the human world and encompasses all of the
diverse intentional orientations of human life.
• The body is our general medium for having a world.
• We know not through our intellect but through our experience.
• The world and I are within one another.

References
• https://study.com/academy/topic/understanding-the-self.html
• https://study.com/academy/lesson/self-understanding-and-self-co
ncept.html
• https://www.slideshare.net/shinpaiwa/understanding-the-self-lec
ture-1-philosophical-perspectives

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The Self from Various

Rev. Kevin B. Samillano

At the end of the lesson, the students would be able to:

• Discuss the different representations and conceptualization of the self

• the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality,

• the use of reason in understanding such things as the nature of

• the use and limits of knowledge, and the principles of moral

• The first philosopher who ever engaged in a

• According to him, the true task of a

• Every man is composed of body and soul.

• The unexamined life is not worth living.

• Ultimate wisdom comes from knowing oneself.

• The more a person knows, the greater his or her ability

• Socrate’s student who basically supported the

• He added that there are three components of

• Finally, the appetitive soul (emotion or desire) is the portion of

• Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter

• Love is a serious mental disease.

• An aspect of man dwells in the world and is imperfect

• The body is bound to die on earth and the soul is to

• He created a new concept of individual identity: the idea of the self

• Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, seek not to understand

• Father of Modern Philosophy

• “I think therefore, I am”

• He claims that there is so much of that we

• According to him, the only thing that cannot

• Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one

• According to him, the self depends on

• We are the same person to the extent that we

• He considered personal identity (self) to be founded on

• Man is a bundle of collection of different perceptions.

• No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience.

• A philosopher who had a very unique way of looking at

• According to him, the self is not an entity over and

• The self is nothing else but a bundle of

• Hume’s sceptical claim is that we have no experience of a simple,

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

• Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the

• There is an inner and outer self.

• According to Kant, there is necessarily a mind that

• An actively engaged intelligence in man that

• He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with

• Look closely. The beautiful may be small.

• Freud's view of the self was multilayered, divided among:

1. Oral Stage – attachment

3. Phallic Stage – identity

4. Latency Stage – interests

• Being entirely honest is a good exercise.

• Churchland holds to eliminative materialism.

• Argues that the ordinary folk psychology of

• It is the physical brain and not the

• I am less attracted to guesses about what cannot be done, than

• One cannot find any experience that is not an embodies

• One’s body is his opening toward his existence to the world.

• Mind or consciousness cannot be defined formally in terms of self-

• We know not through our intellect but through our experience.

• The world and I are within one another.

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