Republic of the Philippines
AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
Zabali, Baler, Aurora
School of Arts and Sciences
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
1st Semester, S.Y 2023-2024
Chapter 1
PYTHAGORAS- the first to use the term
“Philosophy”
Course
Topic:
PHILOSOPHICAL
PHILO- Greek word for love
UNDERSTANDING OF THE SELF
SOPHIA- Greek word wisdom
Educational Objectives of the chapter:
At the end of the lesson, the students
are expected to:
1. Explore the issues and concerns regarding
self from various perspectives.
2. Analyze the different representations and
conceptualization of the self from various
perspectives.
3. Write their own philosophies that stand
for what they believe in.
What is PHILOSOPHY?
Finding answers to serious questions about
ourselves and about the world we live in.
1. What is morally right and wrong?
And why?
2. What is a good life?
3. Does God exist?
4. What is the mind?
And much more?
Questioning existing knowledge and
intuitions to get closer to the truth.
What will you get out of the
PHILOSOPHY?
The skills are:
Critical Thinking
Argument Skills
Communication
Reasoning
Analysis
Problem-solving
Which will allow you to:
 Justify your opinions
 Spot a bad argument, no matter
what the topic is.
 Explain to people why they are
wrong and you are right.
 Philosophy basically teaches us to
THINK
PHILOSOPHY AND THE SELF
The Ancient Greek Philosophers:
 Socrates
 Plato
 Aristotle
“Know thyself”
-Socrates
Philosophers agree that self-knowledge is a
prerequisite to a happy and meaningful life.
SOCRATES
“An unexamined life is not worth living.”
 Every man is dualistic
 Composed of body and soul
 2 important aspects of his
personhood.
Body- Imperfect, Impermanent
Soul- Perfect, Permanent
In Socrates’ concept of REALITY, it consists
of two (2) DICHOTOMOUS REALMS:
Physical realm and Ideal realm
PHYSICAL REALM
Changeable, transient, and imperfect. The
Body belongs to the physical realm.
IDEAL REALM
Unchanging, eternal, and immortal. The
Soul belongs to the ideal realm.
Socrates was the first thinker to focus on the
full power of reason on the human self:
who we are, who we should be, and who we
will become.
The soul strives for wisdom and perfection,
and reason is the soul’s tool to achieve an
exalted state of life.
”Our preoccupation with bodily needs such
as food, drink, sex, pleasure, material
possessions, and wealth keep us from
attaining wisdom” - SOCRATES
Republic of the Philippines
AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
Zabali, Baler, Aurora
School of Arts and Sciences
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
1st Semester, S.Y 2023-2024
A person can have a meaningful and happy
ARISTOTLE
life only if he becomes virtuous and knows
“The SOUL is the essence of the self”
the value of himself that can be achieved
• Student of Plato
through constant soul-searching.
• The body and soul are not two
separate elements but are one thing.
The Socratic Method (Introspection) –
• The soul is simply the form of the
a method of carefully examining our
body.
thoughts and emotions to gain self• The soul makes a person a person.
knowledge. (Reflecting, talking to oneself)
The soul is the essence of the self.
• Without the body, the soul cannot
PLATO
exist. The soul dies along with the
‘‘The Soul is Immortal’’
body.
• Is a student of Socrates.
• He suggested that anything with life
• Philosophy of the self can be
has a soul.
explained as a process of selfThree kinds of soul:
knowledge and purification of the
VEGETATIVE
soul.
Includes the physical body that can GROW.
• He believed in the existence of the
SENTIENT
mind and the soul.
Includes the sensual desires, feelings, and
• Mind and soul are given in perfection
EMOTIONS.
with God.
RATIONAL
Is what makes a man human. It includes the
THE SELF CONSISTS OF THREE PARTS:
INTELLECT that makes man know and
understand things.
REASON
The rational nature of the self is to lead a
Is the divine essence that enables us to think
GOOD, FLOURISHING, and FULFILLING
deeply, make wise choices, and achieve a true
life.”
understanding of eternal truths.
-Aristotle
SPIRIT / PASSION
Includes basic emotions such as love, anger,
ambition, aggressiveness, and empathy.
PHYSICAL APPETITE
Includes our basic biological needs such as
hunger, thirst, and sexual desire.
These 3 elements of ourselves are in a
dynamic relationship with one another,
sometimes in conflict.
Reason is responsible for sorting things out
and exerting control, to restore a harmonious
relationship among the 3 elements of
ourselves.
Plato believes that genuine happiness can
only be achieved by people who consistently
make sure that their rational is in control of
their spirits and appetites.
ST. AUGUSTINE
“Knowledge can only come by seeing
the TRUTH that dwells within us.”
• St. Augustine integrated the ideas of
Plato and Christianity.
• The soul is united with the body so
that man may be entire and complete.
Republic of the Philippines
AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
Zabali, Baler, Aurora
School of Arts and Sciences
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
1st Semester, S.Y 2023-2024
DAVID HUME
• Believed humankind is created by the
“The idea of personal identity is a result of
image and likeness of God.
IMAGINATION”
• God is transcendent and the self
There is no self
seeks to be united with God through
• Hume suggests that if people
FAITH and REASON.
carefully examine their sense
experience through the process of
In Augustine’s mission to discover the truth
introspection, they will discover that
on the existence of God, he developed the
there is no self.
fundamental concept of the human person
and thus, provided the philosophical
• According to Hume, what people
principle, “I am doubting, therefore I am”
experience is just a bundle or
collection of different perceptions,
RENE DESCARTES
impressions,
sensations,
ideas,
“I think therefore I am”
thoughts, and images.
• For him, the act of thinking about the
IMMANUEL KANT
self of being self-conscious – is in
“We construct the self”
itself proof that there is self.
• It is the self that makes experiencing
• For Descartes, the essence of the self
an intelligible world possible because
– a thinking entity that doubts,
it is the self that is actively organizing
understands, analyzes, questions,
and synthesizing all of our thoughts
and reasons.
and perceptions.
Two (2) Dimensions of the Self:
THINKING SELF
• In other words, the self constructs its
( Soul )
own reality creating a world that is
Is the nonmaterial, immortal, conscious
familiar and predictable.
being, and independent of the physical laws
• Through our rationality, the self
of the universe.
transcends sense experience.
PHYSICAL BODY
Is the material, mortal, non-thinking entity,
SIGMUND FREUD
fully governed by the physical laws of nature.
“The self is Multilayered”
THE SELF CONSISTS OF THREE
*The soul & and body are independent of one
LAYERS:
another and each can exist and function
CONSCIOUS
without the other.
Is governed by the reality principle and is
organized in ways that are rational, practical,
JOHN LOCKE
and appropriate.
“The self is consciousness”
PRECONSCIOUS
The Human mind at birth is like a
Is located between the conscious and
Tabularasa or Blank slate
unconscious part of the self that is not
• He felt that the self, or personal
threatening and is easily brought to mind.
identity, is constructed primarily
UNCONSCIOUS
from sense experiences – or more
Contains the basic instinctual drives that
specifically, what we see, hear, smell,
would be considered socially taboo and is
taste, and feel.
governed by the pleasure principle.
• These experiences shape and mold
the self throughout a person’s life.
Republic of the Philippines
AURORA STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
Zabali, Baler, Aurora
School of Arts and Sciences
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
1st Semester, S.Y 2023-2024
GILBERT RYLE
The self is the way people behave
“I ACT therefore I am.”
• The self is best understood as a
pattern of behavior, the tendency or
disposition for a person to behave in
a
certain
way
in
certain
circumstances.
• The self is the same as bodily
behavior.
PAUL CHURCHLAND
“The self is the BRAIN”
• The self is inseparable from the brain
and the physiology of the body.
• All we have is the brain and so, if the
brain is gone, there is no self.
• For Churchland, the Physical brain
and not the imaginary mind, gives us
our sense of self.
MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY
“The self is embodied subjectivity”
• All knowledge of ourselves and our
world is based on subjective
experience.
• The self can never be truly objectified
or known in a completely objective
sort of
Prepared by:
Wincel Q. Carrasco, LPT
Instructor 1