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Theory of Forms (Christian Perspective)

SOCRATES These forms were concepts existing within the perfect
(I know That I don’t know) and eternal God where the soul
belonged.
● Greek Philosopher ● Self– inner and immaterial “I” that had
● His works were handed through his student self-knowledge and self-awareness
Plato and historian Xenophon (Second-Hand ● Humans are both body and soul.
Information)
● Known for his method of inquiry in testing an The aspects of the self/soul according to Saint
idea (Socratic Method)- asking a series of Augustine’s are:
questions. ● It is able to be aware of itself
● It recognizes itself as a holistic one
Some of Socrates’ Ideas ● It is aware of its unity
● The Soul is immortal
● The care of the soul is the task of philosophy
RENE DESCARTES
● Virtue is necessary to attain happiness
(I think, Therefore I am)
Philosophy had a very important role to play in the lives
of the people. ● French philosopher, mathematician and
scientist.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” ● Father of Modern Western Philosophy
● First thinker to emphasize the use of reason to
Self-knowledge/examination of one's' self describe, predict and understand natural
- Knowing yourself can help to improve your life. phenomena based on observational and
empirical evidence.
Two kinds of existence ● Doubt was a principal tool of disciplined inquiry.
● Visible– body ● Method
● Invisible – soul - Hyperbolical/Metaphysical Doubt
- Also known as, Methodological Skepticism –
“When the soul and body are together nature assigns being skeptical about the truth of ones’ belief.
our body to be slave and to be ruled and the soul to be ● “Cogito ergo sum” I think, therefore I am
ruler and master” - Everything perceived by the senses could be not
be used as proof of existence because human
senses could be fooled
PLATO - One thing could be sure“Everything could be
(Balance between mind and body) doubted.”
● Rationalism – reason is the foundation of
● Student of Socrates knowledge.
● He wrote the “Socratic Dialogue” ● Self are:
● Philosophical Method “Collection and Division” - It is Constant; it is not prone to change; not
affected by time.
“Soul is the most divine part of the body” - Only the immaterial soul remains the same
throughout time.
● 3 Parts of the Soul - Immaterial soul is the source of identity.
- The Appetitive (Sensual) Soul can exist without the body, because it is an
- The Rational (Reasoning) immaterial substance, but possesses a body and
- The Spiritual (Feeling) intimately bound.
DISTINCTIONS
Theory of Forms – the physical world is not really the SOUL BODY
“real”world but exists beyond the physical world.
Conscious, thinking Material substance that
ST. AUGUSTINE substance that is change throughout time.
(All knowledge leads to God) unaffected by time.
It can be doubted.
Only known to itself.
● The Latin Father of the Church Made up of physical,
● One of the Doctors of the Church Not made-up of parts. quantifiable, divisible
● Influenced by Plato and adopted the view “self” parts.
is immaterial (but rational)
 Two Components of Self
1. Inner Self. This includes your rational intellect
JOHN LOCKE
and psychological state, such as moods,
(Human mind at birth is a tabula rasa, which means
feelings, and sensations, pleasure and pain.
that knowledge is derived from experience)
2. Outer Self. It gathers information from the
external world through the senses, which the
● Philosopher and Physician “Influential inner self interprets and coherently.
Enlightenment Thinkers”
● Self – include the memory of the thinking thing. Self organizes information in three ways.
● A person’s memories provide a continuity of 1. Raw perceptual inputs
experience that allows him to identify himself as 2. Recognizing the concepts
the same person 3. Reproducing in the imagination
● Tabula rasa
SIGMUND FREUD
DAVID HUME (Wish fulfillment is the road to the conscious)
(All knowledge is derived from human senses)
● Philosopher, Physiologist, and Psychologist
● Scottish philosopher, economist, and Historian ● His most important contribution was
● Was a fierce opponent of Descartes, psychoanalysis - A practice devised to treat
Rationalism those who are mentally ill through dialogue
● Made Empiricism – origin of knowledge is
sense experience. Three levels of consciousness
1. Conscious
Bundle Theory – “self” or person (mind) as a bundle or 2. Pre-conscious/ subconscious
collection of different perceptions that are moving in a 3. Unconscious
very fast and successive manner.
Psychoanalytic Theory
● Believed that human intellect and experiences ● Is a personality theory based on the notion that
are limited; therefore, it is impossible to attribute unseen forces, controlled by the conscious and
it to an independent persisting entity. the rational thought, motivate an individual.

Two groups of mind’s perception. Three parts of the psyche/mind

● Impression. These are directly ● Id – the pleasure principle
experienced. Enters through the senses. ● Ego – the reality principle
● Ideas. These are mechanisms that copy and ● Superego – incorporates the values and morals
reproduce sense data formulated based upon of the society
the previously perceived impressions. ➢ Conscience
➢ Ideal Self – imaginary picture of how you ought
IMMANUEL KANT to be
(REASON is the final authority of morality. Morality is
achieved only when there is absence of war because GILBERT RYLE
of the result of enlightenment) (I act, therefore I am)

● The human mind creates the structure of human ● He wrote The Concept of Mind (1949) where he
experience. rejected the notion that mental states are
● “Self” is transcendental, which means the “self” separable from physical states.
is related to a spiritual or non-physical realm.
● “Self” is not the body, but it is outside the body. Ryle’s point against the theory of Descartes are:
● Knowledge bridges the self and material things - The relation between the mind and body are not
together. isolated
- Mental processes are intelligent acts, and are
Apperception is the mental process by which a person not distinct from each other.
make sense of an idea by assimilating it to the body of - The operation of the mind is itself an intelligent
ideas he or she already possesses. act.
● Your own actions define your own concept of
self.
 George Simmel: Social Network and Social Groups
PAUL CHURCHLAND
(The physical brain and NOT the imaginary mind
● Social Group - Having two or more people
gives us our sense of self)
interacting with one another.
- Organic Group. Traditional (influenced by
● Philosopher and Professor, known for his studies family)
in Neurophilosophy and Philosophy of mind o Organic Motivation. You are there because of
● The immaterial, unchanging soul/self does not family.
exist because it cannot be experiences by the - Rational Group. Modern Societies.
senses o Rational Motivation. You are there because
● Eliminative Materialism - claim that people’s of free will.
common-sense understanding of the mind is ● Social Network. Connection or ties the
false, mental states most people believe in do members of the social group.
not exist.
● The sense of “self” originated from the brain
MEAD AND THE SOCIAL SELF
itself, and that this “self” is a product of
electrochemical signals produced by the brain.
● George Mead is known for the theory “theory of
the social self.”
MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY
● Self is a product of social interactions.
(Physical body is an important part of the self)
- It is not present at birth, rather developed over
time.
● Philosopher and Author ● Stages of Self-development
● Body is the primary site of knowing the world - Language
Embodied Subjectivity - Play
● Embodied - “to give a body to (usually an - Game
immaterial substance like a soul) Two sides of self
● Subjectivity - in philosophy, is the state of being ● “Me” is the product of what a person has
a subject – an entity that possesses conscious learned while interacting.
experiences, such as perspective, feelings, - Learned behaviors, attitudes and expectations.
beliefs, and desires. ● “I” is the part that is unsocialized and
● Object - a subject acts upon or affects some spontaneous. Response to community’s attitude.
other entity. - Impulses and drives.
● Insisted that the mind and body are intrinsically
connected.
THE SELF AS A COGNITIVE CONSTRUCTION

THE SELF AS THE PRODUCT OF MODERN

● “Theory of cognitive development” – a theory
SOCIETY AMONG OTHER CONSTRUCTIONS
about the development of human intelligence.

● Modernization has significantly changed society 3 Basic Components to Piaget’s cognitive theory
and, and this has affected how an individual ● Schemas/Schemes - Building blocks of
builds and develops his/her self-identity. knowledge.
● Pre-modern society was centered on survival. ● Adaptation - Involves the child's learning
● People were limited to traditions and culture. processes to meet situational demands.
● Modernization improved people’s living ● Stages of Cognitive Development - They
conditions. reflect the increasing sophistication of the child's
Key characteristics of modernity thought process.
1. Industrialism, the social relations implied in the - Sensorimotor (0-2)
extensive use of material power and machinery - Pre-operational (2-7)
in all processes of production - Concrete Operations (7-11)
2. Capitalism, a production system involving both - Formal Operations (12+)
competitive product markets and the
commodification of labor power. ● Assimilation – application of previous
3. Institutions of surveillance, the massive knowledge
increase of power and reach by institutions, ● Accommodation – encountering completely
especially in government. new information.
4. Dynamism, the most evident characteristic of a
modern society.
 HARTER’S SELF-DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT MULTIPLE VS UNIFIED SELVES

The development of self-concept: “Properly speaking, a man has as many social selves as
● Early Childhood there are individuals who recognize him and carry an
● Middle to later childhood
image of him in their head” William James (1980)
● Adolescence
● Emerging Adults
“But the concept of the self loses its meaning if a person
has multiple selves… the essence of self involves
WILLIAM JAMES THE ME-SELF; I-SELF
integration of diverse experiences into a unity. In short,
unity is one of the defining features of selfhood and
“ The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook”
identity” Roy Baumeister (2010)
● The father of American Psychology
The “self” has two elements:
● I-self is the pure ego There is something in you that cannot be reduced to
- A sense of being the agent or initiator of biology, chemistry, or physics.
behavior
- A sense of being unique
- A sense of continuity THE UNITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
- A sense of awareness about being aware
● Me-self is the self that is the object. ● Rene Descartes, the mind ( that is the thinking,
- Material - Physical appearance and extensions
experiencing being) is not made up of parts.
of it such as clothing, immediate family, and
home. ● “Being” is of unified consciousness and not
- Social - Social skills and significant composed of merged fragments.
interpersonal relationships ● Immanuel Kant's “Unity of consciousness” I
- Spiritual - personality, character, defining can do and be conscious of doing a number of
values. actions at the same time.

REAL AND IDEAL SELF-CONCEPTS

ONE SELF OR MANY SELVES

Rogers further divided the self into two categories:

● Ideal self: ● Several major personality theorists proposed
- Notions influenced by your parents that the mind is made up of several sub-selves.
- What you admire in others
- What the society sees as acceptable
- What you think is in your best interest ALLPORT’S PERSONALITY THEORY
● Real self: ● “Personality trait” theory asserting that every
- is the person you actually are. person possesses “traits”
- It is how you behave right at the moment of a ● “Trait” is your essential characteristic that never,
situation.
ever changes and sticks with you all your life.
- It is who you are in reality– how you think, feel,
or act at present. The ego states
Transactional analysis is anchored on two notions:
The importance of alignment ● Every person has 3 parts called “ego states” in
his or her personality.
“If the way I am (the real self) is aligned with the way ● People communicate with one another assuming
that i want to be (the ideal self), then i will feel a sense roles of any of these ego states.
of mental well-being or peace of mind” Berne presented the ego states as:
● Parent - Voice of authority
● Congruence - When your real self and ideal self ● Adult - The rational person
are very similar. ● 3 child ego states
● Incongruence - When there is a great - Natural child - Sensitive and vulnerable
inconsistency between your ideal and real - Little professor - Curios Child
selves or if the way you are not aligned with - Adaptive Child - trying to fit in or is rebelling
what you want to be. against authority.
 Domains the self
EASTERN CONCEPT OF SELF
Gregg Henriques proposed that the human self has 3
related, but separable, domains.
These domains are: ● Vedas - Earliest religious writings in the
● Experiential self - theater of consciousness– East.
first to experience its beingness. ● Braham - True nature of human, The
● Private self-conscious - narrator or interpreter. divine universal consciousness
● Public self or persona - the image you project encompassing the universe– That is all
to the public– image that interacts with others. within us.
● Buddhism - composed of teachings of
buddha.
TRUE VS FALSE SELVES ● Annata - “no-self or no-soul”.Autonomous
“self” is an illusion.
● False self Four beginnings:
- The product of early experience ● Heart of Compassion that leads to Jen
- Based on being completely obedient to the ● Heart of righteousness that leads to Yi
parent’s wish. ● Heart of propriety that leads to Li
- Mask or a persona ● Heart of wisdom that leads to Chih
- Healthy false self- false self but can still Jen, Yi, Li, Chih are the perfection of the virtues that at
function both as an individual and in the society. the start were mere potentials.
- Unhealthy false self- An individual who may
seem happy and comfortable in his/her ● Jen - Goodwill, sympathy towards others,
environment but actually feels forced to fit in. politeness, and generosity.
● True self ● Yi - Rightness and the respect of duty.
- Sense of self based on “spontaneous authentic ● Li - The practice propriety in all that you do.
experience” ● Chih - Wisdom; this wisdom is expressed by
- Sense of being alive and real in one’s mind and putting jen, yi, and li into practice.
body. Nafs - arabic word of the “self”.

WESTERN CONCEPT OF SELF INDIVIDUALISM AND COLLECTIVISM

The psychiatrist and professor , Frank Johnson, ● Individualism - refers to the extent that you
outlined 4 categories on how the term “self” is used value independence and personal uniqueness.
in contemporary western discussion ● Collectivism - refers to the extent that we value
our duty to groups to which we belong and to
● Analytical - “tendency to see reality as an group harmony.
aggregate of parts” – the self is an observer Self-concept is organized in 3 aspects:
separate and distinct from external objects. ● Private - refers to the mental processes that
● Monotheistic - “self” as modeled after a unitary, perceive one;s own traits or behavior
omnipotent power. ● Public - refers to the generalized view of self,
● Individualistic - Quality of western thinking such as the perception of how others view you.
where self-expression and self-actualization are ● Collective - refers to the view of self in a
important. collective concept.
● Materialistic/ Rationalistic - Western thinking
THE SELF AS EMBEDDED IN RELATIONSHIPS
tends to discredit explanations that do not use AND THROUGH SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT I
analytic-deductive modes of thinking. CONFUCIAN THOUGHT
● Li - “proper product” or “propriety”
● “Self” is the center of relationships.