UNDS - Philosophical Perspective on Self

• Philosophy: derived from the Greek word "Philos" and "Sophia" which literally means "love for wisdom"
• Philosophy: It is the study of acquiring knowledge through rational thinking and inquiries that involves answering questions regarding the nature and existence of man and the world we live in
• The philosophy of Socrates underlies the importance of the notion "knowing oneself"
• Socrates: For him, men's goal in life is to obtain happiness and such goal motivates us to act towards or avoid things that could have negative repercussions in our lives
• Socrates also posited that a person's acceptance of ignorance is the beginning of acquisition of knowledge. One must first have the humility to acknowledge one's ignorance so as to be able to know what he is lacking and what he needs to know.
• Socrates believes that the answer to our pursuit of knowing ourselves lies in our abilities and wisdom, and the only way to understand ourselves is through internal questioning or introspection
• Socratic Method: The method of questioning oneself, where the person assumes the role of both the teacher and the student.
• Socratic method: By continuously asking and evaluating who we are, we would be able to act in accordance to who we are, and live our lives following the knowledge we have of ourselves.
• According to Plato, a person who is a follower of truth and wisdom will not be tempted by vices and will always be just.
• Plato believed in the division of a person's body and soul which forms the person as a whole
• Plato's three parts of the soul: Appetitive Soul, Spirited Soul, Rational Soul
• Appetitive Soul - it is the part of the person driven by desire and the need to satisfy oneself
• Spirited Soul - it is the part of the soul that is courageous and competitive which pushes a person to do the right thing
• Rational Soul - it is the driver of our lives; it is the part that thinks and plans for the future.
• St. Augustine follows the idea that God encompasses us all, that everything will be better if we are with God. His work's focal point is on how God and his teachings affect various aspects in life
• St. Augustine also relates our existence to God being modeled in his likeness, though being alive means that we are still far from God and has yet to be truly with him
• St. Augustine: He believes that the more one doubts and questions his life means that the person is actually living. By continuously questioning, we will be able to find the best answer to who we are and what our role is in the world.
• Methodical Doubt - it is a continuous process of questioning what we perceive and accepting the fact that doubting and asking questions are part of one's existence.
• "Cogito Ergo Sum" which means "I think therefore I am".
• According to Descartes, a person is comprised of mind and body, the body perceives from the different senses and the mind thinks and questions what the body has experienced.
• Rene Descartes: explained that the body and its perceptions cannot be fully trusted, and implied that being in a constant doubt regarding one's existence is proof that a person actually exist.
• John Locke: He is considered to be the father of Classical Liberalism
• John Locke: some of his works paved the way to several revolutions to fight the absolute powers of monarchs that led to the development of governance, politics, and economic system that we know today.
• "Tabula Rasa" which means Blank Slate
• John Locke: A person is born knowing nothing, and we learn from our experiences, failures, references, and observations.
• John Locke: He believed that the experiences and perceptions of a person is important in the identification and establishment of who we are
• Locke: Every person has the potential to be who he wants to be with the right stimulations, experiences, and awareness.
• Locke explained that primarily knowing nothing will enable one to be open to any kind of learning and does not limit any possibilities for growth.
• Locke: The opportunity for one person to develop to anything he wants to be is limited only to the environment, experiences, and the choices of a person.
• David Hume: He focused his work in the field of Empiricism, Skepticism, and Naturalism.
• Hume: Being an empiricist, his notion of the self focuses on the concrete evidences and observable experiences that mold a person.
• According to Hume, there is no permanent self. Since our knowledge and ideas may change due to our everyday impressions and experiences, this affects who we are and what we can potentially do.
• Immanuel Kant: He is known for his works on Empiricism and Rationalism.
• Kant argued that the awareness of different emotions, impressions, and behavior that we have is only a part of ourselves. We are not only an object that perceives and reacts, but we also have the capabilities tunderstand beyond those experiences
• Kant: To fully understand oneself, a certain level of consciousness uses our intuition which synthesizes all the experiences and perceptions we have of ourselves. This paves the way to knowing who we really are.
• Transcendental Apperception: An essence of our consciousness that provide basis for understanding and establishing the notion of self by synthesizing one's accumulation of experiences, intuition, and imagination.
• Transcendental Apperception: This idea goes beyond what we experience but still be able to become aware of.
• Transcendental Apperception: Much like the movement of time and space, we are still capable of understanding their concept based from what we can observe.
• Sigmund Freud: The father of Psychoanalysis, and is known for his work on human nature and the unconscious.
• Freud believed that man has different constructs of personality that interacts with each other