The document discusses various philosophical views on the concept of the self, emphasizing the importance of self-knowledge, identity, and the mind-soul distinction. Key philosophers like Socrates, Aquinas, Locke, and Heidegger contribute to the understanding of the self as a dynamic and constructed entity shaped by experiences and rationality. It highlights the interplay between consciousness, moral will, and the embodied experience in shaping one’s identity and understanding of the world.

1. P R E P A R E D B Y G R O U P 0 1
LESSON 1: VIEWS OF PHILOSOPHERS ON THE SELF

2. love + wisdom
"the love of wisdom"

3. The study of the ultimate nature of existence,
reality, knowledge and goodness, as
discoverable by human reasoning

4. • SELF - refers to the concept of the
individual self, or the unique identity of a
person.
• SELF - it is defined to as "a unified being,
essentially connected to consciousness,
awareness, and agency (or, at least, with
the faculty of rational choice).

5. The SELF is always unique and has its own
identity and One cannot be another person.
IDENTITY - "BEING" anything that exists.
PERSON - human or individual; personality of
a human being.

8. " An unexamined life
is not worth living"

9. • Greek philosophy was started by Socrates,
with his aphorism/principle of "know
thyself," which is also inscribed in the temple
of Apollo at Delphi.
• Socrates believed that the real self is not
the physical body, but rather the psyche, or
the soul.

10. • The self is synonymous with the soul.
• The soul is immortal and death is the
departure of the soul for the eternal world.
• One continues to live in the world after
death

11. Unlike the Pre-Socratics, Socrates is more concerned with the problem of the
self. He is the very first philosopher who question about the self. According to
him most men were really not fully aware of who they were and the virtues
that they were supposed to attain in order to preserve their souls for the after
life.
He is also 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.

12. • Changeable, transient, and
imperfect.
• The body belongs to the
physical realm.
• unchanging, eternal, and
immortal.
• The soul belongs to the
ideal realm.

13. Soul strives for wisdom and perfection, and reason is the soul's tool to
achieve an exalted state of life.
Preoccupation with bodily needs such as food, drink, sex, pleasure,
material possessions, and wealth keep us from attaining wisdom.
A person can have a meaningful and happy life only if he becomes
virtuous and knows the value of himself that can be achieved through
constant soul-searching. The Socratic method is a method of carefully
examining our thoughts and emotions to gain self knowledge.

15. • a student of Socrates
• philosophy of the self can be explained as a
process of self-knowledge and purification of
the soul.
• •he believed in the existence of the mind and
soul
• mind and soul are given in perfection with God

16. RATIONAL
SOUL
SPIRITED SOUL
APPETITIVE
SOUL

17. • reason and intellect
• divine essence that
enables us to think
deeply, make wise
choices and achieve a
true understanding of
eternal truths.

18. • emotion and passion
• basic emotion such as
love, anger, ambition,
empathy and
aggressiveness

19. • basic needs
• includes our biological
needs such as hunger,
thirst and sexual desire

23. "OUR AWARENESS OF OURSELVES
IS TRIGGERED AND SHAPED BY OUR
EXPERIENCES OF OBJECTS IN OUR
ENVIRONMENT."

24. - refers to the
essence or substance
of a thing.
- refers to the
common stuff that
makes up everything
in the universe.

25. • Aquinas begins his theory of self-knowledge
from the claim that all our self-knowledge is
dependent on our experience of the world
around us.

27. "I think, therefore i
am"

29. •The thing that thinks
•Mind
•The Extension
•Body

31. "There is no self"

32. • " Self is simply a bundle or collection of different perceptions, which succeed each
other with an inconceivable rapidly and are in a perpetual flex and movement."
• " The Idea of personal indentity is a result of imagination."
therefore...
• "There is no self"

33. IMPRESSIONS – These are
perceptions of the world we get
from experience, either through
subjective or objective means Ex.
you describe yourself as being a
pessimist, because you’ve had a
rough family life
IDEAS – Are perceptions we imagine or
strive to, but never really get to
experience just yet
Ex. Many of your friends call you a hard
worker at school, because you are
striving to be successful once you
complete your college degree

35. • "SELF IS NOT JUST WHAT GIVES ONE HOS
PERSONALITY BUT ALSO THE SEAT OF KNOWLEDGE
ACQUISITION FOR ALL HUMAN PERSONS."
• " THE SELF CONSTRUCS ITS OWN REALITY
CREATING A WORLD THAT IS FAMILIAR AND
PREDICTABLE."
• " THROUGH OUR RATIONALITY, THE SELF
TRANSCENDS EXPERIENCE."

36. • The Noumenal Self
• Human beings are subjected to free will,
meaning all rational thinking people are free to
choose decisions
• However, all human beings have innate moral
wills, that allow people to distinguish what is
right or wrong, regardless of their freedom to
do whatever they want
. • Respecting our dignity through our moral
will allows us not only to develop and respect
our own humanity, but also those of others.

38. THE SELF IS CONCIOUSNESS

39. made substantial contributions to epistemology
and political philosophy in the 17th century. He
is recognized as one of the most significant
Enlightenment intellectuals and a contributor to
liberal thought because of the significant
influence his views had on the growth of
political philosophy.

40. • the human mind at birth is tabula rasa or
blank state
• he felt that the self is constructed primarily
from sense experiences
• Locke theorized that when they are born, all
babies absolutely know nothing.
• He argued that the inside of a baby’s brain
was empty - ready to learn everything
through experience.

41. • necessary to have coherent personal
identity or knowledge of the self as a
person
• what makes possible our belief, is that we
are the same identity in different situations

43. THE SELF IS THE WAY PEOPLE BEHAVE

44. • most known for
challenging cartesian
dualism
• “I act therefore, I am”
• In short, the self is the
same as bodily behavior.
• 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
• the self is the way people
behave

46. WAS GREATLY INFLUENCED BY MARTIN
HEIDEGGER AND EDMUND HUSSERL. HIS
RESEARCH ON PERCEPTION, EMBODIED
EXPERIENCE, AND THE EXISTENTIAL AND
PHENOMENOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF LIFE AND
HUMAN EXISTENCE HAVE MADE HIM MOST
FAMOUS.

47. "THE SELF IS EMBODIED SUBJECTIVITY"

48. •The mind-body bifurcation that has
been going on for a long time is a futile
endeavor and an invalid problem
• 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 way
• The self is embodied subjectivity

49. •
He believed that our senses and physical experiences are
deeply connected to how we understand the world
around us. Instead of just observing the world from a
distance, how we feel and move plays a big role in our
understanding of it.

50. Picture yourself strolling in a woodland. Merleau-Ponty
argues that your body experience and your impression
of the trees, birds, and the feel of the ground beneath
your feet are all interconnected. Your experience of the
forest is influenced by how your body moves, what
you feel, and how you travel through the landscape.