2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES GEED 001 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF e- Education Approach Prepared by: TACIANA V.SAN JOSE, RGC, RPm, MP ( WEEK 2-3) pg. 1 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the end of this section, you are expected to: 1.Discuss the different representations and conceptualizations of the self from various disciplinal perspectives. 2. Examine the different influences, factors and forces that shape the self. 3. Compare and contrast how the self has been represented across the different disciplines and perspectives. 4. Demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the development of one's self and identity by developing a theory of the self. INTRODUCTION PHILOSOPHY Philosophy is a training guide for your mind, showing how you think in clear, analytic, and powerful ways. Studying philosophy in a serious and reflective way will change you as a person. Learning to think philosophically will inspire you to be more thoughtful, more open-minded, more attuned to the complexities and subtleties of life, more willing to think critically about yourself and all of life’s important issues, and less willing to accept superficial interpretations and simplistic answers. And will help you develop the understanding and insight you will need to make intelligent choices and fulfill your potential as an individual. This is the special power of philosophy: to provide the conceptual tools required to craft a life inspiring in its challenges and rich in its fulfillment. Philosophy is not intended to limit your options or dictate your choices. Your responsibility as a student is to explore, to reflect, to think critically- and then to create yourself in the image you have envisioned. ( WEEK 2-3) pg. 2 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES LESSON PROPER PHILOSOPHY OF THE SELF Philosophy is often called the mother of all disciplines simply because all fields of study began as philosophical discourses. What is Philosophy? study of acquiring knowledge through rational thinking and inquiries that involves in answering questions regarding the nature and existence of man and the world we live in. What is Self? It is defined as “a unified being, essentially connected to consciousness, awareness and agency (or, at least, with the faculty of rational choice). PHILOSOPHERS Philosopher Theory Concept about Self SOCRATES (470-399 BC) Greek Philosopher 1st philosopher who engaged in a systematic questioning about the self. Know Thyself An Unexamined Life is not worth living For Socrates, it is ridiculous to investigate unimportant things when he has not known his self yet. by going around Athens, most Athenian men were not fully aware of who they were and the virtues that they were supposed to attain in order to preserve their souls for afterlife. Socrates thought that this is the worst that can happen to anyone: TO LIVE BUT DIE INSIDE. Accepting self that doesn’t To know is to know that know anything, one should you know nothing, that is pursue in continuing a search for knowledge. ( WEEK 2-3) pg. 3 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES the meaning of true knowledge Philosopher Theory Concept about Self ST. AUGUSTINE (1227-1274) Mother- a Christian Father – remains a pagan. he takes different philosophy before he became a Christian at the age of 35 Man is bifurcated in nature. The body is bound to die on earth and the soul is to anticipate living eternally in a Knowledge is acquired on realm of spiritual bliss in account of divine communion with God. illumination The goal of every human person is to attain the communion and bliss with the Divine by living his life on earth in virtue. Introspection Philosopher Theory He introduced and used the method of Introspection. Concept about Self ST. THOMAS AQUINAS (354 - 430 BC) 13th century Scholar, A medieval philosopher. Aquinas combined the science of mind and religion to explain the idea of immortality. Man is composed of 2 parts: Matter and Form. Human Person is a soulbody unity MATTER (hyle in Greek), and FORM (morphe in Greek).What makes a human person, PERSON, is his SOUL. To him, the soul is immortal, it is what animates the body, it is what makes us humans. ( WEEK 2-3) pg. 4 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES Philosopher Theory Concept about Self RENE DESCARTES (1649) Founder of Modern Philosophy In his early realization of the nature of the world Descartes was struck with extreme skepticism doubting everything’s “existence” even his own which then resulted in his theories. Because of his extreme skepticism he devised a way to figure out “truths” wherein he discarded all his beliefs and tried building a better foundation of beliefs. Formulated the theory of mind and body interaction. Mind and body interaction The mind exists. Not far from the mind of man, so man exists. SELF has a combination of 2 distinct entities: COGITO – the thing that thinks (mind) EXTENZA – or the extension of the mind(body) “Cogito Ergo Sum”(I Think Therefore I am) The body is nothing else but a machine that is attached to mind. But it is not what makes a man, MAN – It is his MIND. Reflex theory ( WEEK 2-3) pg. 5 SELF is a thinking thing. – a thing that doubts, understands, conceives, affirms, denies, refuses, imagines and perceives. Whatever I think who or what I am, it is ME.. He proposed a mechanism for automatic reaction in response to external events 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES where he stated that mind, like machine can be studied. Philosopher Theory Concept about Self DAVID HUME Scottish Philosopher There should be proof to believe Empiricism is the theory that says all knowledge comes from the senses. The mind is not separated from perception The entire contents of the mind are transmitted daily to the human condition. EMPIRICISM is the school of thought that espouses the idea that KNOWLEDGE CAN ONLY BE POSSIBLE IF IT IS SENSED AND EXPERIENCED. To know other person’s existence is to see, hear and touched him/her. Perception – view, opinion Knowledge should be experienced. Mind is connected to perception and transpired in behavior Self is a bundle of impressions. if one tries to examine experiences it should be analyzed through 2 categories: IMPRESSION – are the basic objects of our experience or sensation. The core of our thoughts. - are vivid(bright) because they are products of our direct experience with the world. IDEA – are copies of impressions. The man is a collection of different successive perception which is always changing and moving. The qualities that we feel are only part of something. A wise man therefore proportions his belief to the evidence ( WEEK 2-3) pg. 6 Philosopher Gilbert Ryle countered the idea of the self itself saying were all just a bundle of behaviors. David Hume argued that an orderly universe does not 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES necessarily prove or mean that there is a God that exist with which the order comes from. Philosopher Theory Concept about Self IMMANUEL KANT German Philosopher Somewhat countering Socrates belief of Virtue being the only good with which being the object of our desires for happiness Kant said that Morality is the way in which we make ourselves worthy of happiness. Interesting moral theory by Immanuel Kant are Categorical Imperative. Which aligns itself with Moral absolutism. Rationalism – reason Empiricism - by the senses -It also explains how we get knowledge. The path to true knowledge The consciousness is divided into: Internal Self (noumena)composed of psychological states and informed decisions; remembering our own state, how can we combine the new and old ideas with our mind External Self(phenomena) made up of ourselves and the physical world where the representation of objects There is a MIND or SELF that organizes the impressions that men get from the external world. Self is the seat of knowledge acquisition for all human persons Without the SELF, one cannot organize it in relation to his own existence. ---It is an actively engaged intelligence in man that ( WEEK 2-3) pg. 7 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES synthesizes all knowledge and experience Correction Space-time is real being which Synthetic a priori things that exist independent of us. That of which is an illusion is our perception of the flow of time. Philosopher Theory MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY The body is our general medium for having a world. Concept about Self Mind and body are so intertwined that they cannot be separated from one another. Once cannot experience that is not an embodied experience. ALL EXPERIENCE IS EMBODIED. One body is his opening toward his existence to the world. Because of these bodies, men are in the world. For him, the LIVING BODY, his thoughts, emotions, and experiences are ALL ONE. We need to have meanings in life – our goals, aspirations, and goodness etc , that will provide us our legacy. Because we are in the world, we are condemned to meaning, and we cannot do or say anything without its acquiring a name in history Meaning in philosophy is very dicey as some even claim that it does not exist at all that we are just creatures who cry and cry out into the wilderness recieving no response but we cry anyway. Some claim we make meaning such as existentialists. We are creatures that if left alone to our devices are ( WEEK 2-3) pg. 8 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES naturally drawn to these questions of meaning. Saying something such as mind and body being intertwined raises questions such as how would such an abstract non physical thing such as the mind interacts with the physical we call body. Philosopher Theory Concept about Self GILBERT RYLE He deny the concept of an internal, non-physical self. In searching for the self, one cannot simultaneously be the hunter and the hunted 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. Ghost(mind) in the machine(body) Our MIND controls our BODY. It is our interpretation to a situation that provokes us to decide and make our actions. Problems arise in such theories I made it, and so I am or I when we ask certain questions ACT therefore I Am if there is no self then what are we what makes us different from a machine or a simple insect other than being more complicated behaviors roled into one. ( WEEK 2-3) pg. 9 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES Philosopher Theory Concept about Self PATRICIA CHURCHLAND The SELF as a BRAIN. There To understand the mind, isn’t a special thing called the one must understand the mind, the mind is just the brain brain. Mental states are processes and activities of the brain. – what activities and level of description still to be seen Philosopher Theory Whatever our mind does, it is the processes and activities of our brain. – this activities should be seen and described. Concept about Self JOHN LOCKE (1690) Introduced the idea that all experiences may be analyzed. In contrast with PLATO who says that knowledge as a higher form of awareness, because it is gained from REASON rather than from sense experience. KNOWLEDGE CAME FROM REASON (rational) that manages the action of a person. Idea of tabula-rasa At birth the mind is like a blank sheet that gathers its contents from experiences that an individual encounters during his lifetime. Experience is more important than knowledge. Experience is an applied knowledge. No mans knowledge can People are given intelligence go beyond his experience (ability to think) but becomes useless if it is not being utilized. Some choose to be uneducated having low selfesteem and others are satisfied with what or who he is. ( WEEK 2-3) pg. 10 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES SOCRATES - First martyr of education, knowledge and philosophy - charged with corruption of minors - died as a martyr that fought against ignorance and narrowmindedness - his philosophy underlies in the importance of the notion "knowing oneself" - for him, men's goal in life is to obtain happiness - happiness motivates us to act towards or avoid things that could have negative effects in our lives. As such, by fully knowing oneself a person will be able to achieve happiness. - possession of knowledge is a virtue; ignorance is a depravity (evil, corruption, wickedness) - a person's acceptance of ignorance is the beginning of acquisition of knowledge - knowing ourselves, lies in our own abilities, and wisdom - understanding ourselves is through internal questioning or introspection (understanding our strengths and weaknesses, like vs. Dislike) - use Socratic Method or Socratic conversation (role of both the teacher and the student is known to the world; asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions) ST. AUGUSTINE ( WEEK 2-3) - A saint and a philosopher of the church - follows that idea that God encompasses us all, that everything will be better if we are with God - believed that God and his teachings affects various aspects in life (that everything is better if we devote ourselves in mending our relationship with God. - his idea of a man and how to understand who we are as a person is related to our understanding of who we are and how we question ourselves pg. 11 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES - relates our existence to God being modelled in his likeness though being alive means that we are still far from god and has yet to be truly with him - rejected the doubtfulness of the academy in which one cannot or should not accept ideas from others - emphasized that we may not be able to give our agreement to everything other people tell us but we can still agree to those who we are from our own perception - teaching of the church and establishing our sense of self with God identifies the essence of our existence and role in the world (the reason for this is because our bodies are limited) ST. THOMAS AQUINAS - The most eminent thirteenth century scholar and stalwart of the medieval philosophy. - Appended something to this Christian view. - Adopting some ideas from Aristotle - The cells in man’s body are more or less akin to the cells of any other living, organic being in the world. - To Aquinas, just in Aristotle, the soul is what animates the body; it is what makes us humans RENE DESCARTES - - ( WEEK 2-3) French philosopher known to be the father of modern philosophy because of his radical use of systematic and early scientific method to aid his ideas and assumptions believed in modern dualism or the existence of body and mind and its importance to on e's existence were presented with the evidences from experiments as well as philosophical reasoning - known to be the proponent of the "methodical doubt" (Continuous process of questioning) - doubting, asking questions are part of one's existence - defined the roles of the mind and body to the notion of one's existence and sense of self - known for the statement "cogito ergo sum" (I think therefore I am) - according to him, a person is comprised of mind (thinks and questions what the body has experienced) and body (perceives from the different senses) pg. 12 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES - body and its perceptions cannot fully be trusted or can easily be deceived (for example: there are times that we feel that a dream is real before actually waking up or having different perception of size based on an objects distance from the viewer) - we should focus on the mind in order to perceive as who we are or the essence of our existence because we cannot always trust our senses - explained that the more we think and doubt what we perceived from our senses and the answer that came from such thin king or doubting leads to better understanding of ourselves - being in constant doubt regarding one's existence is proof that a person actually exists DAVID HUME - Scottish philosopher - focused his work in the field of empiricism, skepticism, and Naturalism - Self is accumulation of different impressions, and does not exceed the physical realm - There is no permanent self because impressions of things are based from our experiences where we can create our ideas and knowledge. Thus, it may improve or totally be replaced IMMANUEL KANT ( WEEK 2-3) - German philosopher that is known for his works on empiricism and rationalism - established that the collection of impressions and different contents is what it only takes to define a person - Awareness of different emotions that we have, impressions and behavior is only a part of ourselves - to fully understand the self, a certain level of consciousness or sense that uses our intuition which synthesizes all the experiences, impressions and perceptions of ourselves will pave the way to define and know who we are really are. - argued that the sense called "transcendental apperception" is an essence of our consciousness that provides basis for understanding and establishing the notion of self by synthesizing one's accumulation of experiences, intuition and imagination pg. 13 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES MAURICE JEAN JACQUES MERLEAU- PONTY - French philosopher - known for his works on existentialism and phenomenology - regarded that the body and mind are not separate entities but rather those two components is one and the same - coined the idea of phenomenology of perception (unity of the function of the mind and the body) which is divided into three division - idea of perception follows the idea of Gestalt psychology (gives importance on the whole rather than the sum of its parts) perception guides our action based from our experiences - the body perceives while our consciousness provide the meaning or interprets the various perception we have in the world and the self could be established by the perceptions we have in the world - one's actions, behavior and language used could be said to be the reflection of our united perception of the world. GILBERT RYLE ( WEEK 2-3) - used behavioristic approach to self - self is the behavior presented by the person - behavior that we show, emotions, and actions are the reflection of our mind and as such is the manifestation of who we are - does not believe that the mind and body are two separate entities which is said to be evident in the unexplainable phenomenon or abilities of the mind where the soul is considered; however, to some they can co-exist - self is exemplified in his "ghost in the machine" view (man is a complex machine with different functioning parts, and the intelligence, and other characteristic or behavior of man is represented by the ghost in the said machine - his idea is saying that the things that we do, how we behave and react and all other components like the way we talk, walk and look is generally who we are as a person pg. 14 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES CHURCHLAND - Canadian philosopher whose focus is on the idea that people should improve our association and use of worth in identifying the self - The self is defined by the movement of our brain - main is philosophy is the idea of "eliminative materialism" - understanding the different neural pathways, how they work, and what implications are those movement to people is a measurable classification on one's behavior - constant movement of the brain can be the basis of who the person is (emphasized by Churchland and his wife in the statement "the brain as the self") JOHN LOCKE - English philosopher and physician - considered to be the Father of Classical Liberation - His works paved the way to several revolutions to fight the absolute powers of monarchs and rulers of his time that led to the development of governance, politics and economic system that we now know. - Work on the self is most represented by the concept "tabula rasa" (blank - The experiences and perceptions of a person is important in the establishment of who that person can become - He does not disregard the experiences of the person in the identification and establishment of who we are as a person - Stated that a person is born with knowing nothing and that is susceptible to stimulation and accumulation of learning from the experiences, failures, references, and observations of the person Slate). ( WEEK 2-3) pg. 15 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES SUMMARY The philosophical framework for understanding the self was first introduced by the ancient Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. In particular, Socrates: “Know thyself”. But what exactly does “know thyself” mean that is self and the qualities that define it. The different views of prominent philosophers regarding the nature of the self are discussed and while there are disagreements in how philosophers view of the self, most of them agree that self-knowledge is a prerequisite to a happy and meaningful life. ( WEEK 2-3) pg. 16 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES ASSIGNMENT *Please see attached to your Class Record RECITATION Write your philosophy in life. Express your ideas as completely and clearly as you can. Think deeply and beyond superficialities and refuse to be satisfied with the first idea that you have. Guide questions: 1. What do you most value in life? Why? 2. What gives your life meaning? 3. What is the purpose of your life? 4. What do you hope to achieve in your life? ( WEEK 2-3) pg. 17 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES SOURCES AND REFERENCES: • Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Psychology Department, Main Campus. • Alata, Eden Joy Pastor et al 2018. Understanding the Self, Manila: Rex Publishing • Bandura, A. (2006). Guide for constructing self-efficacy scales. Selfefficacy beliefs of adolescents, 5(1), 307-337. • Caraan, Aleli, 2016. Introduction to Philosophy of the Human Person, Manila: Diwa Learning Systems, Inc. • Chowdhury, M.R.,(2020) 4 Ways To Improve And Increase Self-Efficacy. retrieved from https://positivepsychology.com • Dweck, C. S. (2008). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House Digital, Inc.. • Elmore, K., Oyserman, D., & Smith, G. (2012). Self, self-concept, and identity. 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Simply psychology: https://www.simplypsychology.org/self-concept.html • Vargas-Tonsing, T. M. (2009). An exploratory examination of the effects of coaches' pre-game speeches on athletes' perceptions of self-efficacy and emotion. Journal of Sport Behavior, 32(1), 92. Prepared by: TACIANA V. SAN JOSE, RGC, RPm, MP Instructor ( WEEK 2-3) pg. 19 2020 MODULE THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES ( WEEK 2-3) pg. 20
