Uts Assignment 1

Assignment/Activity.
1. Look for a detailed biography of one of the philosophers discussed in this module and make
an analysis on how their life experiences influenced their concepts about the self. Cite your
sources or references.
Socrates was born circa 470 B.C. in Athens, Greece. Socrates was the son of
Sophroniscus, an Athenian stonemason and sculptor, and Phaenarete, a midwife. Because he
wasn't from a noble family, he probably received a basic Greek education and learned his father's
craft at a young age. It's believed Socrates worked as mason for many years before he devoted
his life to philosophy.
Socrates married Xanthippe, a younger woman, who bore him three sons:
Lamprocles, Sophroniscus and Menexenus. There is little known about her except for
Xenophon's characterization of Xanthippe as "undesirable." He writes she was not happy with
Socrates's second profession and complained that he wasn’t supporting family as a philosopher.
By his own words, Socrates had little to do with his sons' upbringing and expressed far more
interest in the intellectual development of Athens' other young boys.
He’s a Scholar, Teacher and Philosopher. His Socratic method laid the groundwork for
Western systems of logic and philosophy.
Plato's Symposium provides the best details of Socrates' physical appearance. He was not

the ideal of Athenian masculinity. Short and stocky, with a snub nose and bulging eyes, Socrates
always seemed to appear to be staring.
However, Plato pointed out that in the eyes of his students, Socrates possessed a different
kind of attractiveness, not based on a physical ideal but on his brilliant debates and penetrating
thought.
Socrates always emphasized the importance of the mind over the relative unimportance
of the human body. This credo inspired Plato’s philosophy of dividing reality into two separate
realms, the world of the senses and the world of ideas, declaring that the latter was the only
important one.
In 399 B.C., Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and of impiety, or
heresy. He chose to defend himself in court.
Rather than present himself as wrongly accused, Socrates declared he fulfilled an

important role as a gadfly, one who provides an important service to his community by
continually questioning and challenging the status quo and its defenders.
The jury was not swayed by Socrates' defense and convicted him by a vote of 280 to 221.
Possibly the defiant tone of his defense contributed to the verdict and he made things worse
during the deliberation over his punishment.
Athenian law allowed a convicted citizen to propose an alternative punishment to the one
called for by the prosecution and the jury would decide. Instead of proposing he be exiled,
Socrates suggested he be honored by the city for his contribution to their enlightenment and be
paid for his services.
The jury was not amused and sentenced him to death by drinking a mixture of poison
hemlock.
Before Socrates' execution, friends offered to bribe the guards and rescue him so he could
flee into exile.
He declined, stating he wasn't afraid of death, felt he would be no better off if in exile and
said he was still a loyal citizen of Athens, willing to abide by its laws, even the ones that
condemned him to death.
When the political climate of Greece turned against him, Socrates was sentenced to death
by hemlock poisoning in 399 B.C. He accepted this judgment rather than fleeing into exile.
Plato described Socrates' execution in his Phaedo dialogue: Socrates drank the hemlock

mixture without hesitation. Numbness slowly crept into his body until it reached his heart.
Shortly before his final breath, Socrates described his death as a release of the soul from the
body.
SOURCE/REFERENCES:
https://www.biography.com/scholar/socrates
https://www.biography.com/scholar/socrates#:~:text=Socrates%20was%20a%20scholar%2C
%20teacher%20and%20philosopher%20born%20in%20ancient%20Greece.&text=When
%20the%20political%20climate%20of,rather%20than%20fleeing%20into%20exile.
- In my own opinion, Socrates’ concept of the self is influenced by his life experiences
through the things that he experienced when he was alive. I don’t think he regret
anything when he said that he wasn’t afraid of death. His concept about the self is “an
unexamined life is not worth living” or “know thyself”. My interpretation of his
concept is if you don’t experience any struggles or problem in your life, I don’t
think you’re living or I don’t think your life is worth it. He encountered a lot of
problems and he’s not scared of facing it even death because that is his concept
about the self. He faced those struggles and he made his life worth living.
2. Philosopher Concept about the Self.
I. Socrates
- His expression “an unexamined life is not worth living” or “know thyself”.
- He suggested that we should rely on rational thought and introspection or the careful
observation/examination of one’s own thoughts and emotions.
- He believed that the self is the soul.
- He’s also the one who suggested that reality consists of two dichotomous realms
which are physical and ideal. The physical realms have the body while the ideal realms
have the intellectual essences.
- A person can have a happy and meaningful life through soul-searching or
introspection.
II. Plato
- He also believed with the soul. Thus, it inhibits the body as “knower”, “thinker”, and
“determiner” of individual’s actions.
- He introduced the three parts of the soul. First, the reason which is the divine essence
that enables us to think deeply and make wise choices. Second, the physical appetite
that includes our basic instinctual needs. Thirdly, the spirit or passion includes basic
emotions.
- He also believed that the knowledge existed in the soul before any actual
experiences.
III. Aristotle
- He also believed with the soul and introduced its three function which is Vegetative
that deals with the basic maintenance of life, Appetitive that focuses on the desires and
motives, and Rational that governs reason that is located in the heart.
- For him, the brain is simply a gland that can only perform basic functions.
- He also offered the concept of potency and act.
- A being may carry within itself certain potentials, but this requires to be actualized.
IV. St. Augustine

- He introduced he method of introspection where in an individual tries to describe his
own conscious process.
- For him, “knowledge can only come by seeing the truth that dwells within us” and that
is knowing God.
V. René Descartes
- The Latin phrase Cogito ergo sum – “I think therefore I am” is the keystone of his
concept of self.
- For him, the act of thinking about the self or of being self-conscious is in itself a solid
basis that there is self that exists.
- He introduced the idea of dualism and the concept of reflex action which indicates that
the mind and body interact.
VI. John Locke

- He is also well-known for his term “Tabula Rasa” or a blank slate of which at birth, the
mind is just a blank sheet that collects its contents through experiences that a person will
go through in his/ her entire life.
- It was basically through this process of reflection, or what we call it today as
introspection, that it became possible for people to engage in the process we call
thinking.
VII. David Hume

- The self is nothing but the physical body.
- He believes that one can know what comes from the sense and experience.
- Hume claims that people have no experience of a simple and individual impression that
they can call the self where the self is the totality of a person’s consciousness.
VIII. Immanuel Kant

- He opposed the concept of Locke that the mind is a blank slate, rather, according to
him, it is capable of acquiring knowledge through sensory experience.
- For him, Humans can act according to reasons while animals act according to their
impulses.
IX. Gilbert Ryle

- His concept of the human self provides us with the principle, “I act, therefore I am.”
- For him, what truly matter are the behaviours that a person does.
- He concludes the human mind is totality of the human person, the way we behave,
our system of thoughts, and our emotions.
X. Maurice Merleau-Ponty
- He said that the mind and body are intertwined that they cannot be separated from
one another.
- The living body, thoughts, emotions, and experiences are all one.
XI. Paul Churchland

- He is known for his “eliminative materialism”, the view that the mind is the brain.
- The mind does not really exist because it cannot be experienced by the senses.

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Assignment/Activity.

Plato's Symposium provides the best details of Socrates' physical appearance. He was not

Rather than present himself as wrongly accused, Socrates declared he fulfilled an

Plato described Socrates' execution in his Phaedo dialogue: Socrates drank the hemlock

IV. St. Augustine

VI. John Locke

VII. David Hume

VIII. Immanuel Kant

IX. Gilbert Ryle

XI. Paul Churchland

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