DILOY’S NOTES achieve true understanding of

eternal truths.
 Physical appetite – biological
CHAPTER 1: PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE OF needs (e.g. hunger, thirst, sexual
THE SELF desire)
 Spirit or passion – basic
“Know thy self” –Socrates emotions (e.g. love, anger,
SOCRATES (468-399 BCE) ambition, aggressiveness, and
empathy)
 “An unexamined life is not worth living”  Reason can sort things out and exert
 More concern of the problem of the self control, restoring harmonious
 Engage in systematic questioning about relationship when conflict occurs
the self  If man lives in accordance to his nature,
 Priority is knowing thy self then he is giving justice to his existence
 Every human possesses an immortal  Theory of forms of the two worlds:
soul  World of forms (nonphysical ideas)
 Man is dualistic: body and soul – real and permanent
 Two dichotomous realms of reality:  World of sense ( reality) –
 Physical realm (body) – temporary and only a replica of the
changeable, transient, and ideal world
imperfect  If the souls will not work harmoniously,
 Ideal realm (soul) –unchanging, human justice will not be served.
eternal, immortal, truth,
goodness and beauty ANCIENT TIMES
 The essence of self is soul which is Idealism Dualism 1. Moral
immortal and virtue is
 Live an examined life and a life with idealism rooted in
purpose and value the intellect
 Meaningful and happy life and lead to
 Becomes virtuous and knows happiness.
the value of himself through
2.Wisdom
incessant searching
and
 Introspection – Socratic method that knowledge
means carefully examining one’s
thoughts and emotions to gain self- ARISTOTLE
knowledge.
 The soul is the essence of the self
ANCIENT TIMES
 Does not consider the body and soul as
idealism Socratic 1. Knowledge is separate entities
Philosophy the
 Anything with life has a soul
personification
of good while  Self-realization is attained by fulfilling
the ignorance man’s threefold nature/three kinds of
is evil. soul:
 Vegetative soul – physical body that
2. Self- can grow
knowledge is  Sentient soul – sensual desires,
the ultimate feelings, and emotions
virtue.  Rational soul (what makes man
human) – intellect that allows man
PLATO (428-347 BC) to know and understand things
– Characterized by moral
 “The ideal self, the perfect self” virtues such as justice and courage
 The self is an immortal soul  Rational nature of the self is to lead a
 Self-knowledge and purification of the good, flourishing, and fulfilling life (self-
soul actualization)
 Three part soul/self:
 Reason – enables us to think DAVID HUMES
deeply, make wise choices,
  “The self is the bundle theory of mind” and outer
 “Self is a simple bundle of perceptions” self
 There is no self
 He believes that the self is nothing but a
collection of interconnected and RENE DESCARTES
continually changing perceptions
passing through the theater of our mind  “cogito ergo sum” or “I think therefore, I
 Knowledge is possible if it is sensed or am”
experienced  Father of Modern Philosophy
 Distinct entities:  The self is the thinking thing, distinct
 Impressions – basic sensations of from the body
people’s experience (e.g. hate, love,  If to think is infallible, then it can be false
joy, grief, pain, cold and heat)  One cannot doubt in the existence of self
– Core of the thoughts  The act of thinking about the self, of
makes it lively because of the direct being self-conscious, is in itself a proof
experience that there is a self
 Ideas – thoughts and images from  2 distinct:
impressions are less lively and vivid  Cogito – a thing that thinks
– You cannot feel it  Extenza – the extension of mind
RENAISSANCE which is the body
Empiricist Skeptical All  A body is nothing else but a machine that
(expression knowledge is attached to the mid
of doubt) passes  Thinking entity as the essence of a
philosophy through the human self:
senses  Comprehends
 Understands
IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804)  Doubts
 Analyzes
 “Respect for self”  Questions
 “The self is not about what gives one his  Reasons
personality, it is also the seat of  Two dimensions of a human self:
knowledge, acquisition for all human  Thinking self (soul) – non-material,
persons” immortal, conscious being,
 We construct the self independent of the physical laws of
 Everything starts in perceptions and the universe.
impressions  Physical body – material, mortal,
 There must be a mind that controls or non-thinking entity, fully governed
organizes the impression that men get by the physical laws of nature.
from external world  The soul and the body are independent
 Time and space are ideas that one of one another, and each can exist
cannot find, there must be an actively without the other.
engage intelligence
 The self is the product of reason and a RENAISSANCE
regulative principle Rationalist Mind-body 1. The mind
 The self transcends experience dualism and soul can
 Rationality – able to understand exist without
abstract ideas with no physical object or the body
sensory experience
2. distinction
RENAISSANCE of soul from
the body can
Empiricist Metaphysics 1. Reason is
make people
of the self the final
believe in
authority of
the afterlife
morality
and soul’s
immortality
2. There is
inner self
(includes JOHN LOCKE (d.1632, d.1704)
reasoning)
 “Personal identity”
  Human mind at birth is Tabula rasa or a
blank slate 2. Only the
 The self is consciousness pure in heart
 Conscious awareness (thinking, can see God
reasoning, reflecting identity) and
3. Love of
memory of previous experiences are
God, faith in
the keys to understanding the self
him and
 Self-consciousness – a coherent understanding
personal (self) identity or knowledge of his Gospel will
the self as a person ultimately
 Consciousness – makes identity of a lead to
person similar in different situations happiness
 Knowledge – based on a careful
observations of experiences
 Reason – figure out the significance of GILBERT RYLE ( August 19, 1900 – October 6,
sense of experience and to reach 1976)
intelligent conclusions
 Reason and introspection enables to  “I act therefore, I am”
achieve accurate conclusions about self  The self is the way people behave
(or personal identity)  Behaviorist
 Mind and body can be intrinsically
RENAISSANCE linked in complex and intimate ways
Empiricist Theory of Consciousness  Self is the same as bodily behavior
Personal alone is  Mind expresses the entire system of
identity where thoughts, emotions and actions that
personal make up the human self
identity or the  “Nothing else matters but the behavior
self is found,
of man”
not on the
substance of
either the MODERN TIMES
body or soul. Empiricist The 1. The mind
concept of is the seat
ST. AUGUSTINE (354-430) mind of self. It is
not
separated, it
 “You have made us for yourself, O Lord is a parallel
and our hearts are restless until they rest thing to our
in you.” body
 “I am doubting, therefore I am”
 The self has an immortal soul 2. The mind
 Physical body is radically different from is the
and inferior to its inhabitant, the categorical
immortal soul mistake
 Body as “spouse” of the soul, both brought
about by
attached to one another by “natural
habitual use
appetite”
through the
 Soul is what governs and defines man external
 From his work Confessions, humankind world.
is created in the image and likeness of
God MAURICE MERLOU-PONTY (1908-1961)
 The self is only known through God
 The self seeks to be united with God  The self is embodied subjectivity
through faith and reason  “Mind and body are intertwined” which
 “knowledge can only come by seeing the means it is inseparable
truth that dwells within us.”  Knowledge of self is based on a
MIDDLE AGES phenomena of experience
Platonism Neoplatonism 1. All  From his book, Phenomenology of
knowledge Perception, everything that people are
leads to God aware of is within consciousness
  Consciousness – is responsible for  “Being entirely honest with oneself is a
actively structuring conscious ideas and good exercise”
physical behavior  The self is multilayered
 Self consists of three layers:
MODERN TIMES
Empiricist Phenomenology 1. Both  Conscious self or ego (reality
of Perception empiricism principle)- Usually takes into
and account the realistic demands of
intellectualism the situation, the consequences of
are flawed in various actions and the overriding
nature “we
need of balance
are bodies”
 Unconscious self or ID (pleasure
2. Experiences principle- basic instinctual drives
do not detach including sexuality, aggressiveness,
on the subject and self-destruction, traumatic
memories, unfulfilled wishes and
PATRICIA CHURCHLAND ( JULY 16, 1943) childhood fantasies, thoughts and
feelings
 “Brains are not magical; they are casual  Preconscious/subconscious self or
machines” super-ego – not threatening and
 Contributed to the fields of philosophy easily brought to mind
of neuroscience, philosophy of the – Located between the
mind, and neuro ethics conscious and the unconscious part
 Her research centered between of self
neuroscience and philosophy, with a
current focus on the association of
morality and social brain

MODERN TIMES
Empiricist Neurophilosophy 1. A fully
matured
neuroscience
will
eliminate the
need for
beliefs since
“they are not
real”

2. The
physical
brain gives
us the sense
of self

PAUL CHURCHLAND ( October 21, 1942)

 The self is the brain

 Advocates the idea of eliminative
materialism
 The self is inseparable from the brain
and the physiology of the body
 The physical brain, and not the
imaginary mind, gives people the sense
of self.

SIGMUND FREUD (1856 – 1939)

 “The goal of life is death”

CHAPTER 2: SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: THE - Self is developing
SELF AS A PRODUCT OF SOCIETY  Game stage (begins in early
school years; about 8-9 years
CHARLES HORTON COOLEY old) – children understand not
only their own social position
 Looking glass self – people whom a but also those of other’s around
person interacts become a mirror in them
which he or she views himself or herself. – Children become
 Threefold event of self-identity: concerned and take into
 How a person presents himself account in their behavior
or herself to others – Self is now present
 How he or she analyzes how
others perceive him or her SELF AS A PRODUCT OF MODERN AND
 How he or she creates an image POSTMODERN SOCIETIES
of himself or herself
 Perceptions are subjective that might GERRY LANUZA
have wrong interpretations when
others judge him or her unfavorably that  According to his book “The Constitution
could lead to negative self- image of the Self”, in modern societies, the
attainment and stability of self-identity
GEORGE HERBERT MEAD are freely chosen
 Things that hinder the full development
 Person develops a sense of self through of human:
social interaction and not the biological  Alienation
preconditions of interaction  Dehumanization
 Theory of the social self  Discover the “authentic core” of the self
 I – subjective element and the for the individual to freely work towards
active side of self self-realization
– spontaneous and unique  Modern society has led the individual to
traits construct a solid and stable self-identity
 Me – internalized attitudes,  Postmodern individual welcomes all
demands of other people and possibilities for self-improvement
the individual’s awareness of  Postmodern societies – self-identity
those demands continuously changes due to the
 Self is attained when “I” and “me” are demands of multitude of social contexts,
united new information technologies, and
 Self is not present at birth globalization
 Self is developed with social experience
like language, gestures or other things JEAN BAUDRILLARD
used to communicate meaningfully
 Role-taking – understanding the world  Exposes the negative consequences of
from others’ point of view postmodernity to individuals in the
 Self continues to change along with his society
or her social experience or in other  Postmodern individuals achieve self-
words, no matter how much the world identity through prestige symbols that
shapes a person, he or she will remain a they consume
creative being, and be able to react to  Cultural practices of advertising and
the world around him or her mass media greatly influence individuals
 Development of the self in three-stage to consume goods not for their primary
process: value and utility but for the feeling of
 Preparatory stage (0-3 years goodness and power when compared
old) –children imitate the other with others
people around them  Postmodern has become an insatiable
- have no sense of self consumer and may never be satisfied his
- children are just preparing for or her life
role-taking  Self may be in a never-ending search for
 Play stage(3-5 years old) – they prestige in the postmodern society
learn to communicate through
language and other symbols