gned 08 summarized version

• Socrates


  Mentored Plato, who in turn mentored Aristotle
• Ancient Greek Philosophers


  • The Big Three: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
  • Athens in 600 BCE marked the birth of Philosophy, influencing Western thought
  • Greek philosophers in Miletus sought natural explanations for events
  • Socrates focused on knowledge, justice, beauty, and goodness
  • Socrates used the Socratic/dialectic method for discovering truths
• Plato's Theory of Forms

  • Plato's Forms are eternal, unchanging, and unmoving
  • Plato introduced the Realm of Forms and Plato's Dualism
  • Realm of Forms is composed of eternal things which are permanent and perfect
  • Plato's Theory of Love emphasizes seeking higher stages of being
  • Plato's Allegory of the Cave illustrates the pursuit of true knowledge
  • Plato's metaphysics is known as the 'Theory of Forms'
  • Plato believed in the immortal soul and the Theory of Forms
  • Plato saw the soul as having three components: reason, spirit, and appetite, with reason seeking truth and the other two pulling towards worldly pleasures
• St. Augustine of Hippo


  • Rejected Christianity initially but later embraced it
  • Love for God is the supreme virtue according to St. Augustine
  • St. Augustine identified different types of love and their associated sins
  • St. Augustine believed that real happiness can only be found in God
  • St. Augustine equated ignorance with evil
• Rene Descartes

  • Introduced the Cartesian method and analytic geometry
  • Descartes' famous statement "I think, therefore I am" reflects his view that the cognitive/thinking aspect is the basis of human existence and identity
  • Descartes believed in the mind-body problem and the existence of the soul
  • Descartes' mind-body problem led to the concepts of intuition and deduction
  • Descartes believed in reasoning to discover absolute truths
• David Hume


  • Gave empiricism its clearest formulation
  • Analyzed perceptions, impressions, and ideas
  • Hume's Principle of Cause and Effect changed beliefs about knowledge
  • Hume believed that the mind receives materials from the senses
  • Hume's skepticism arose from limitations in the mind's workings
• John Locke


  • Proposed that knowledge results from ideas produced a posteriori, through sensation (objects experienced through senses) and reflection (mind discovering relationships between experienced objects)
  • Contrary to Descartes, Locke claimed that the mind at birth is a 'tabula rasa' (blank slate), and that ideas are not innate
  • According to Locke, all ideas, including morals, religious, and political values, derive from sense experiences
  • Locke defined mental acts as acts that produce the 'greatest possible good', but he acknowledged that knowing what is good doesn't guarantee that people will always do what is good
  • Locke introduced three laws: Law of Opinion, Civil law, and Divine law
• Immanuel Kant


  • Combined Rationalism and Empiricism in his philosophy
  • Believed the mind actively participates in knowing the external world
  • Kant's transcendental perception explains the relationship between self and objects
  • Emphasized duty as a divine command and the importance of God
  • Kant's philosophy focused on human understanding applied to sense experience
• Sigmund Freud


  Structure of Mind: Id (based on pleasure principle), Ego (based on reality principle), Superego (depends on learning right and wrong)
• Ryle's view of human nature and knowledge


  • Rejected free will as an invented concept, agreed with Kant that free will involves moral responsibility
  • Distinguished between "Knowing-that" (factual/propositional knowledge) and "Knowing-how" (ability to use knowledge to perform skills)
  • Criticized "intellectualist legend" that all knowledge is "knowing-that"
  • Argued that simply accumulating facts (knowing-that) is not enough - ability to apply knowledge (knowing-how) is key
  • Viewed knowledge as inherently tied to intelligent, skillful action, not just passive possession of facts
• Neurophilosophy


  • Examines the overlap between neuroscience and philosophy, exploring how neuroscientific findings can inform philosophical questions about the mind, consciousness, decision-making, and more
  • Patricia Churchland argues that the brain and its biochemical properties are responsible for human thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
  • Neurophilosophy examines how brain anomalies/aberrations can lead to deviant thoughts, feelings, and actions
  • Neurophilosophy acknowledges the self as real, a tool to understand the brain and reality, which can malfunction but also enable amazing human abilities
  • Humans are seen as complex, evolving works of art shaped by both physical/neurological and experiential factors
• Maurice Merleau-Ponty


  • Emphasized the human body as the primary site of knowing the world
  • Introduced the concept of body-subject and perceptual gestalt
  • Merleau-Ponty's philosophy focuses on the interconnectedness of consciousness, the world, and the body
  • Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception describes human experience and perception
• George Herbert Mead's Social Behaviorism


  • Focused on how the environment shapes human behavior
  • Developed the concept of the self, which he believed develops over time and cannot be separated from society
  • Described the stages of self-development: The Preparatory Stage (IMITATION), The Play Stage (ROLE PLAY), and The Game Stage (generalized other)
  • Presented his Theory of the Self and explained the 'I' self (subjective, initiating part) and 'Me' self (objective part that takes the perspective of others)
• Charles Horton Cooley


  • Believed people learn who they are through their social interaction with others
  • Introduced the 'looking-glass self' concept and outlined the process of developing a self in three phases
  • Cooley's three phases of self-development involve imagining self-presentation and evaluation
  • Cooley's theory emphasizes the influence of social perception on self-identity
• Erving Goffman


  • Noted for his work "The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life"
  • Introduced the concept of 'impression management' and the 'dramaturgical approach'
  • Goffman's "Dramaturgical Approach" likens social interactions to theater performances
  • His "Impression Management" concept refers to individuals controlling their perception by adjusting behavior, speech, or appearance as needed
  • Coined the term 'face-work' to describe maintaining a proper self-image in frustrating or embarrassing situations
• Field of Anthropology


  • Anthropology studies the totality of human characteristics, social relationships, and culture
  • Anthropology is a social science that studies the totality of what it means to be human, including physical/biological characteristics, social relationships, and cultural influences
  • Archaeologists' focus is the past and how it may have contributed to the present ways of how people conduct their daily lives
  • The four subfields of anthropology are Archeology, Biological Anthropology, Linguistics, and Cultural Anthropology
  • Anthropology explores both the similarities and differences among human beings
  • Anthropology helps individuals understand themselves and others
• Management concept


  Individuals controlling their perception by adjusting behavior, speech, or appearance as needed
• Face-work


  Maintaining a proper self-image in frustrating or embarrassing situations
• Anthropology


  • Studies the totality of human characteristics, social relationships, and culture
  • A social science that studies the totality of what it means to be human, including physical/biological characteristics, social relationships, and cultural influences
• Archaeologists


  • Focus is the past and how it may have contributed to the present ways of how people conduct their daily lives
• Subfields of anthropology


  • Archeology
  • Biological Anthropology
  • Linguistics
  • Cultural Anthropology
• Anthropology


  • Explores both the similarities and differences among human beings
  • Helps individuals understand themselves and others better
• Archaeology


  • Involves studying artifacts to understand past human ways of life and survival strategies
• Biological Anthropology


  • Focuses on how the human body adapts to different environments, causes of disease, physical mutation, and death, and human evolution
• Linguistic Anthropology


  • Studies how language is used for communication, social interaction, and worldview expression, as well as how it changes over time
• Cultural Anthropology


  • Examines culture, which includes behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols, and how it impacts individual self-perception and social identity
• Theory of Cultural Determinism

  The theory that human nature is determined by the ideas, meanings, beliefs, and values learned as members of a society
• Cultural diversities


  Manifests itself in symbols, heroes, rituals, and values
• Psychology


  The field of the social sciences that deals with the description, explanation, prediction, and control of behavior
• William James

  • An American Philosopher and Psychologist who was professor of psychology and philosophy at Harvard University
  • Known for his Theory of the Self, suggesting that all human thoughts are owned by some personal self and are constantly changing
  • Introduced the concept of the ME self and the I self
• ME self


  The empirical ME, a separate object that the person refers to when discussing personal experiences
• I self


  The Pure Ego or the thinking self, the self that knows and recognizes who they are and what they have done
• Consciousness


  Can focus on specific objects, thoughts are associated with the self's existence
• Self


  • Comprises the ME self and the I self
  • The ME self is a separate object referred to in personal experiences
  • The I self recognizes personal identity and actions
• Material Self


  Refers to tangible things or entities associated with a person, such as their body, family, clothes, and money
• Social Self


  Who the person is in social situations, adapting behavior accordingly
• Spiritual Self


  More concrete and permanent, includes aspects like personality, values, and morals, the most subjective and intimate part of the self
• Pure Ego or I Self


  The total identity of a person, considering past, present, and future selves, arises from a continuous stream of human consciousness
• Carl Rogers


  • An American psychologist who proposed the Person-Centered Theory
  • Stated that self-concept refers to how a person thinks about or perceives himself
  • Introduced the concepts of the real self-concept and the ideal self-concept
• Real self-concept


  Who the person actually is