Ancient Greek Philosophers
SOCRATES
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First philosopher who ever engaged in a systematic questioning about the SELF
Man is composed of body and soul
“Ignorance is the beginning of wisdom” (his dictum)
Ignorance is a depravity (evil, corruption, wickedness)
He died as a martyr trying to fought against ignorance and mindedness
Made to choose between exile and death via the intake of hemlock
“The unexamined life is not worth living” (his quote)
PLATO
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Student of Socrates
The self is the immortal soul of the body
Father of academy
“Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion and
knowledge”.
Dualism
-Man is a dual nature composed of Body and Soul.
His notable works are:
1. Allegory of the cave
2. The apology
3. Perfect Government and Societal system
4. The republic
3 Different parts/component of the soul
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Appetitive soul
-the part of the person that is driven by and needs to satisfy oneself
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Spirited Soul
-In charge of Emotion
-courageous part of a person
-to correct wrong to make it right
-This is very competitive and is very active
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Rational soul
-Governs our intellect and reasoning
-the driver of our lives
-it decides what to do
-the part that thinks and plans for the future
ARISTOTLE “The soul is the essence of the self”
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The Self
-composed of body and soul, mind and matter, sense and intellect, passion and
reason.
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Reason
-is supreme and therefore
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Senses
-the lower nature of a human person, dominates a human nature’s life, he/she
tends to live a chaotic life
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Perfection and happiness comes from wisdom and virtue.
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Golden Mean
-moderation
-avoid extreme
-Do not do unto others if you do not want others to do unto you.
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VIEWS OF NATURE OF MAN
Philosophy
-Man is a rational being
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Psychology
-Man is thinking, feeling, and acting individual
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Theology
-Man is composed of body and soul
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Sociology
-Man is a social being
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Biology
-Man is made up of cells
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHER
St.Augustine
- before he became philosopher he was a `sinner’
-THE ORDER OF LOVE
- he believe that human person is created after the image and likeness of god.
-for him, SELF is in relation with god and to him god is our center.
- he believed that all knowledge leads to God. Only the pure in heart can see God
GOLDEN MEAN- “do not do unto others if you do not want other to do unto you.”
St. Thomas Aquinas
- SELF is composed of FORM and MATTER
-for him the soul is what animates the body; it is what makes us humans.
WHY WE ARE DISTINCT TO ANIMALS?
-we are distinct to animals because we have the ability to reason and a freedom to choose or the
essence of human.
MODERN PHILOSOPHER
RENE DECARTES
- french philosopher
-Father of Modern Philosophy.
-methodical doubt
-says that only mind, not the body can arrive at clear and distinct idea
- He thought that the only thing that one cannot doubt is the existence of the self.
- his pespective is according to the scientific method.
- he also believe the existence of body and soul.
Cogito Ergo Sum-”I think,therefore I am”
- is the famous statement of him
DAVID HUME
-He is a Scottish Philosopher,
-He focused his work in the field of empiricism
-BUNDLE THEORY- knowledge originates from our experience.
-for him, Self is nothing but a collection of impressions. According to him, impressions are products of
our direct experiences while ideas are copies of our impressions.