USELF

• Definition of Self:

  • A person's essential being that distinguishes them from others
  • Considered as the object of introspection or reflexive action
• Perspectives of Self:

  • Philosophical
  • Psychological
  • Anthropological
  • Spiritual
  • Sociological
• Views on Self from different religious systems:

  • Judaism-Christianity
  • Hinduism
  • Buddhism
  • Taoism
• Philosophical View of the Self:

  • Socrates: Dualist, Knowledge = virtues, "Know Thyself"
  • Plato: Knowledge seeks what truly is, "The Soul is Immortal"
  • Aristotle: Rational self = intellect, "The soul is the essence of the Self"
  • St. Augustine of Hippo: Faith and Reason, Self connected to God
  • St. Thomas Aquinas: Faith and Reason, "The intellect knows many things which the senses cannot perceive"
  • René Descartes: Rationalism, "Cogito Ergo Sum"
  • John Locke: Empiricism, Rejects Descartes, Tabula rasa
  • David Hume: Empiricist, Bundle Theory, "There is no self"
• • Immanuel Kant: Empiricism and Rationalism, "Acting morally is grounded in acting rationally"
• Western Philosophy vs. Eastern/Oriental Philosophy vs. Religious Systems as Philosophy:

  • Hinduism: Aim to achieve moksha, Brahman and Atman, Nirvana
  • Buddhism: Quest for true happiness, Anatta, Nirvana
  • Taoism: Natural harmony, Yin, yang, ch'i, Attaining enlightenment
  • Judaic-Christianity: Monotheism, Self-sacrificing for Salvation
• Difference between Avocado and Artichoke:

  • Humans are many layers that function at various times in life
  • Life requires reacting in different ways
  • No moral absolutes or certain truth
  • The seed at the center contains essential information about what makes an avocado an avocado
  • The core or the seed can be the mind/reasoning, the soul, or the spirit