UTS Philosophy

CHAPTER 1
THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES
PHILOSOPHY
SOCRATES- FATHER OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY

SOCRATIC METHOD – ask question and discuss possible answers.
He believed that man is composed of body and soul.
SOUL – is the person’s core identity, his/her unique spirit that makes one distinct.
Socrates also believes on the dualism of reality, that the nature of man is comprising with the a Body
which is imperfect and changeable and Soul that is perfect and unchanging.
“Know thyself”- inscribed on the frontispiece of the Temple of Delphi. This assertion, imperative in the
form, indicates that man must stand and live according his nature.
“The unexamined life is not worth living”
PLATO- Greek Philosopher
He also believed that man is composed of body and soul. Soul exists before birth after death.
Soul is composed of 3 parts:
TRI-PARTITE SOUL
• REASON (mind/ nous)- 0ur divine essence that enables us to think deeply, make wise choices,
and achieve a true understanding of eternal truths.
• SPIRIT (honor, emotion- our basic emotions such as love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness, and
empathy
• APPETITE (desire)- our basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire.
SAINT AUGUSTINE- Christian Theologian
Human self is an immaterial soul that can think.
After the death of the souls of those who most love the forms would rise to contemplate the
eternal truths.
Emphasized the importance of the will, the ability to choose between good and evil.
The fundamental religious duty is to love and serve God.
RENE DESCARTES- founder of modern Philosophy

There is an essential distinction between mind (soul) and body.
“I think, therefore I am”
The first thing a person can be certain is his own existence.
“I”
-Archetypal proponent of the rationalist view of knowledge
“We need reason in order to evaluate our thoughts and actions.”
Triadic Existence : a mind in a body in the world.
He believed that being human starts with the self.
Knowledge is a product of the rational mind.
Mind and body interact, but they are separate.
JOHN LOCKE - British philosopher and physician

o -Archetypal advocate of the empiricist view of knowledge
o -Believed that humans by nature are good.
o -People are naturally reasonable and moral.
o -Behavior is learned, people are either influenced to do good or bad.
o “We are like chameleons, we take our hue and the color of our moral character from
those who are around us”.
RATIONALIST EMPIRICIST
The view that reason is the primary source of The view that sense experience is the primary
all knowledge and that only our reasoning source of all knowledge and that only a
abilities can enable us to understand sense careful attention to sense experience can
experience and reach accurate conclusions. enable us to understand the world and
achieve accurate conclusions.
SIGMUND FREUD- Austrian neurologist/psychologist
UNCONSCIOUS CONSCIOUS
is defined as a reservoir of feelings, The conscious mind involves all of the things that you are
thoughts, urges, and memories that currently aware of and thinking about. It is somewhat
outside of conscious awareness. akin to short-term memory and is limited in terms of
Freud believed that the unconscious capacity. Your awareness of yourself and the world
continues to influence behavior even around you are part of your consciousness.
though people are unaware of these “Reality Principle”
underlying influences.
“Pleasure Principle”
The mental
Iceberg
Though
conscious self
also has
important role
to play in our
lives, it is the
unconscious
self that holds
the greatest
fascination
that has the
dominant
influence in our
personalities.
DAVID HUME- Scottish philosopher and historian
o He claimed that there cannot be a persisting idea of the self.

o All ideas are derived form impressions.
o Impressions are subjective , temporary, provisional, prejudicial and even skewed – and therefore
cannot be persisting.
o Impression – direct experience
o Ideas - imagination
o As long as we only derive our knowledge from sense impressions, there will never be the “self”.
o All we know about ourselves are just bundles of temporary impressions.
o Hume harshly claimed that there IS no self.
IMMANUEL KANT- Prussian metaphysicist
o believes that man is a free agent, capable of making decisions for himself. As
a free agent, man is gifted with reason and free will.
o “The busier we are, the more acutely we feel that we live, the more conscious
we are of life.”
GILBERT RYLE- British philosopher
o “The self is the way people behave”

o The self is basically our behavior. This concept provided the philosophical principle, “I act
therefore I am” or “You are what you do”.
o In short, the self is the same as bodily behavior.
PAUL and PATRICIA CHURCH LAND

o “The self is the brain”
o Stated that the self and brain I one. Basically if there is
no brain, there would be no self.
o The physical brain and not the imaginary mind, gives
people the sense of self. The mind does not really exist
because it can not be experienced by the senses.
MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY--French philosopher
“The self is embodied Subjectivity”.
This concept explained that all the knowledge of ourselves and our world is based on subjective
experiences. It is more on how we view and give perceptions. The self can never be truly objectified

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CHAPTER 1

THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

SOCRATES- FATHER OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY

PLATO- Greek Philosopher

Soul is composed of 3 parts:

RENE DESCARTES- founder of modern Philosophy

JOHN LOCKE - British philosopher and physician

SIGMUND FREUD- Austrian neurologist/psychologist

DAVID HUME- Scottish philosopher and historian

o He claimed that there cannot be a persisting idea of the self.

GILBERT RYLE- British philosopher

o “The self is the way people behave”

PAUL and PATRICIA CHURCH LAND

MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY--French philosopher

“The self is embodied Subjectivity”.

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