UTS P

• UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
• Bautista, John Moises M. 1 BSN-A | GO GO GO BADING!!
• LESSON 1: Philosophy
• Philosophy


  Its etymology comes from the Greek – Philos – love, and Sophia – wisdom – "love of wisdom". Arose from the idea of seeking to understand fundamental truths about us, the world we live, our relationship with the world we live, and everything in between.
• Branches of Philosophy


  • Metaphysics
  • Epistemology
  • Ethics
  • Logic
• Metaphysics


  The study of the nature of reality. Is there a God? Is the world strictly composed of matter? If people have minds, how is it related to the body?
• Epistemology


  The study of knowledge. What is knowledge? Do we know anything at all? How do we know what we know?
• Ethics


  Concerning with what we ought to do and what it would be best to do. What is good? What makes actions of people good? Is morality objective or subjective?
• Logic


  The nature and structure of arguments of reasons. What constitutes "good" or "bad" reasoning? How do we determine whether a given piece of reasoning is good or bad?
• Why study philosophy


  • Gives us the ability to think critically, to question things, which aids us in understanding ourselves better
  • Aids us in living a good life by knowing what is morally right from wrong
  • Understand your self from different perspectives
• Ancient Philosophy (1000 BC to 500 AD) before the end of the Roman empire.
• Major periods of Ancient Philosophy

  • Milesian School (Pre-Socratic philosophers)
  • Ancient Triumvirate (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle)
  • Post Aristotelians
• Pre-Socratic | MILESIANS


  Deals with the origin and the general structure of the universe –cosmology. Cosmo-centric philosophers seek the meaning and origin of the human self
• Thales | WATER


  Often hailed as the "father of Western philosophy," is the first of the Milesian trio. Known for his inquiries into the fundamental nature of reality, Thales famously posited that everything is ultimately composed of water, a theory that marked a significant departure from mythological explanations of the world. His commitment to rationality and observation laid the groundwork for empirical science and critical thinking. The speculation of his reasoning includes water being vital to life, nourishing living organisms. And water can change from and to vapor, liquid, and ice; water is used in religious rituals for purification and other uses.
• Anaximander | APEIRON


  A student of Thales, expanded upon his mentor's ideas and introduced the concept of the "apeiron" or the boundless. He proposed that the ultimate substance of the universe was this infinite, undefined principle rather than a specific element like water. Anaximander's notion of the boundless influenced later philosophers, including Pythagoras and Parmenides, and challenged traditional cosmological beliefs.
• Anaximenes | AIR


  Completing the Milesian trio, Anaximenes argued that AIR was the fundamental substance that underlay all of existence. He contended that through processes of condensation and rarefaction, air transformed into various forms of matter. Anaximenes' work was pivotal in shaping the subsequent development of Greek philosophy, particularly in the realms of cosmology and metaphysics.
• Pythagoras | NUMBERS


  Known for his contributions to mathematics, introduced the idea that reality could be understood through numerical relationships and mathematical ratios.
• Heraclitus | FIRE


  Famous for his doctrine of change and the idea that "everything flows," proposed that the fundamental nature of the universe is in a constant state of flux. His emphasis on the unity of opposites and the impermanence of all things had a profound impact on later philosophers, including Plato and Aristotle.
• Anaxagoras | NOUS or MIND


  Introducing the concept of "nous" or mind as the governing principle of the cosmos.
• The Ancient Triumvirate
• Socrates


  Did not write about anything, but his teachings were passed down through the works of his students, most notably Plato, who immortalized Socrates' dialogues and ideas in his writings. Declared a distinction between true knowledge (eternal, absolute, and unchanging) and opinion (temporal, changing, and relative). "Know thyself" - "An unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates believed that one's death is not the end, but merely a departure for afterlife. And that death is the departure of the soul for the eternal world.
• Two Aspects of Reality

  • Physical world: changeable, transient, and imperfect; World of Senses/Matter
  • Spiritual world: unchanging, eternal, perfect; The World of Ideas/ Form
• Plato


  Separated the soul into three parts: The appetitive part seeks the fulfillment of bodily pleasures, the spirited or emotional part seeks honor and dignity, the intellectual part (reason) seeks for the truth and knowledge. The intellectual part must be in control of all the parts, otherwise the individual's desires will create chaos as it strives for its own fulfillment. Harmony: Justice in the individual, social and political levels.
• Aristotle


  The mind is a blank slate. The self consists of matter and form; matter is in a continuous process of developing and becoming. The process of completion is through experiences as knowledge is acquired through the senses (and this knowledge is true). The soul is distinguishable by three: the nutritive, the sensory, and the thinking.
• Post Aristotelians | Stoicism


  Calls for people to accept reality and give up attachments to their fears and desires, hence is a form of realism. Apathy or indifference to pleasure.
• LESSON 2: Western vs Eastern Philosophical View of Self
• The concept of self perceived by the Western and Eastern philosophy are comparably opposite. In the West, there exists a multitude of definitions of the "self", while in the East the predominant view is that the self is rather an illusion.
• Western Philosophy


  • Rationalism
  • Empiricism
• Rationalism


  This philosophy regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge. That is, reality itself has an inherently logical structure.
• René Descartes | A rationalist


  "I think therefore I am" or Cogito Ergo Sum. Self can exist independently of the body but doesn't deny the association of the body to the self. Identifies consciousness with thinking. "Mind is the real self."
• Empiricism


  It is the idea that all knowledge comes from only experience and observations. That is, all concepts must originate from experience.
• John Locke | An Empiricist


  "The self is consciousness". The human mind is a tabula rasa (blank state). The conscious awareness and memory of former experiences are the keys in understanding the self. Every aspect of the physical body is integrated with personal identity. The body changes. The physical self change.
• David Hume | Empiricist, Sceptic & Nihilist


  "There is no self". There is no self but there is a collection of successive perceptions that can be used to define "self". "Identity" is solely a quality, which we attribute to an object, including the self, but due to the inconstancy of our perception, the self is a fiction.
• Immanuel Kant


  "We construct the self". For Kant, the self, as such, is a noumenon (a Ding-an-sich) and not a phenomenon. The human person has a two-fold nature, namely: homonoumenon and homophaenomenon. Noumenon refers to the essence of things. Cannot be known because, as the essence of things, it is beyond experience. Phaenomenon refers to the things as it appears to the observer. The empirical part of a thing. We all have an inner and an outer self which together form our consciousness.
• Eastern Philosophy


  • Buddhism
  • Confucianism
• Buddhism


  Teachings based on Siddhartha Gautama or Buddha ("the awakened one"). "Individual self" is an illusion. It is not possible to separate self from its surroundings. The true nature of self is discovered only through inquiry, doubting, and negating self. Buddhism argues that the self as such does not exist, that it is an illusion – "The self does not exist apart from the states of consciousness.
• The four (4) noble truths (that lead to Nirvana)


  • Dukkha: the noble truth of suffering
  • Samudaya: the noble truth of the origin of suffering
  • Nirodha: the noble truth of the cessation of suffering
  • Marga: the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering
• The Eightfold Path (that is a prescription given to us by Buddha to cure the samsaric condition of Dukkha)


  • Right view
  • Right thought
  • Right speech
  • Right action
  • Right livelihood
  • Right effort
  • Right mindfulness
  • Right concentration
• Confucianism


  The value of relationship (communal act). Centered in morality, interpersonal ethics and the cultivation of the civility, which is understood to contribute to the establishment of a harmonious and well-ordered society. The self is conceived as a "relational self" – "one which is intensely aware of the social presence of other human beings.
• Right mindfulness


  Constant awareness and watchfulness of our sensory experiences