Look at Yourself in The Mirror and Answer The Following Question
Look at Yourself in The Mirror and Answer The Following Question
Look at Yourself in The Mirror and Answer The Following Question
1. How can you describe yourself based on your own perspective or point of view?
I am…
2. What aspects of yourself do you feel good about? Why?
See, its always hard to answer on questions which requires us to describe ourselves,
the essential question of “who am I?”, it would have been so much easier if the question
was “who are you?” which we will automatically answer it with or name, age, so on…
Here on this subject we will try to uncover yourself. Understanding the self. Now how do
we begin to answer this daunting question? A particular field of study will help us get
there, which is Philosophy.
Now what is philosophy? In basic terms Philosophy is derived from the Greek word
philos – the love of; and Sophia – wisdom. So basically, philosophy is the love of
wisdom. But in definition, Philosophy is a systematic study of general and fundamental
questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, value, mind, and
language. It seeks to answer the fundamental question of existence, knowledge, truth,
morality, nature of man, and other aspects of life through the use of rational or logical
thinking.
Here philosophy is different from the sciences and other humanities. Philosophers tend
to consider questions that are broader. For example, physicists ask “what cause some
event?” while philosophers ask whether causation even exists.
Now you may have heard that philosophy is the mother of all sciences. This is in part
true as most of the sciences branched out from philosophy. However, philosophy in
itself is not science. It provided the foundation for the development of contemporary
sources of knowledge but does not utilize the scientific method.
Now, earlier we said that through philosophy we are going to be able to answer “who
am I?” basically viewing the SELF. It would depend on the school of thought that will be
utilized as the foundation to answering that question. Let’s take a look on how self is
defined through different philosophers.
ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY
SOCRATES
Socrates was a Greek philosopher. Though, unlike other philosophers during his
time, he never wrote anything. All the information’s about him today is through
second-hand information from his student Plato and historian Xenophon (The Standford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2017).
For Socrates the self is synonymous with the soul. He believes that every human
possesses an immortal soul that survives the physical body. Socrates is concerned with
the problem of the self. Socrates believed that the real self is not the physical body,
but rather the psyche (or soul).
Thus, Socrates suggests that man must live an examined life and a life of purpose
and value. For him, an individual can have a meaningful and happy life only if he
becomes virtuous and knows the value of himself that can be achieved through
incessant soul-searching (Rappe, 1995).
He added that self-knowledge would open your eyes to your true nature; which is
contrary to pop culture. It is not about how many properties you own or how many
“likes” you get in your social media accounts and even how successful you are in
chosen career. In a real sense, your real self is not even your body. He added that the
state of your inner being (soul/self) determines the quality of your life.
Socrates was described to have gone about in Athens questioning everyday views and
popular Athenian beliefs. This leads to some leaders got offended by him. He was
accused of lack or reverence for the gods and for corrupting the minds of the youth. At
the age of 70, he was sentenced to death through drinking a cup of poison hemlock
(Brickhouse & Smith, 2002).
The core of Socratic ethics is the concept of virtue and knowledge. Virtue is the
basic and most basic propensity of man and Self-knowledge is the source of all
wisdom, an individual may gain possession of oneself and be one’s own master
through knowledge (The Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2017). The famous line
of Socrates, “Know thy Self”, tells each man to bring his inner self to light.
Some Socratic ideas were:
“the worst thing that can happen to anyone is to live but die inside.” - This
highlights the importance of inner vitality and personal fulfillment. Living without
emotional or intellectual growth can be seen as a form of existential stagnation.
“every person is dualistic” - This suggests that individuals possess two
fundamental aspects or dimensions, such as mind and body, or spirit and matter.
Socratic thought often explored the tension and interplay between these aspects.
“the true task of the philosopher is to know oneself.” - Socrates famously said,
“Know thyself.” This emphasizes self-knowledge as central to philosophical inquiry
and personal development. Understanding oneself is key to achieving wisdom.
Body + soul = Man - Here, Socrates is expressing the idea that the essence of
being human involves both the physical body and the non-physical soul. The
integration of these elements defines human existence.
imperfect/permanent (body) + perfect & permanent (soul) = Individual - The
physical body is subject to change, decay, and imperfection. It represents our mortal
and material side, bound by time and the limitations of the physical world. The soul
is often seen as the eternal, unchanging essence of a person. It embodies
perfection, purity, and an enduring nature that transcends the physical realm. The
combination of these two elements—the body and the soul—creates the unique,
complete individual. The individual is seen as a synthesis of both the physical and
spiritual dimensions, balancing the temporal with the eternal.
This idea contrasts the transient, imperfect nature of the body with the ideal,
enduring nature of the soul. Together, they form the complete individual, combining
the temporal and eternal aspects of human life.
Let us now go to
PLATO
Plato is another Greek Philosopher who elaborates Socrates’ concept of the soul.
He was the student of Socrates.
He is best known for his Theory of Forms that asserted the physical world is not
really the “real” world because the ultimate reality exists beyond the physical
world. He introduces the idea of a three-part soul/self-reason, physical appetite, and
spirit or passion. The self/soul/mind according to Plato, is the best aspect of the human
beings by which the FORMS (ideas) are known.
REASON (Logos) is the divine essence that enables us to think deeply, make wise
decisions and achieve the true understanding of eternal truths. This part of the soul
is responsible for rational thought, logic, and wisdom. It seeks truth and knowledge
and is considered the guiding principle that should rule over the other parts of the
soul. Reason is associated with the pursuit of long-term goals and the ability to
discern what is truly beneficial.
PHYSICAL APPETITE (Epithymia) includes our biological needs such as hunger,
thirst, and sexual desires. his component represents the desires and cravings for
physical pleasures and material needs, such as food, drink, and sexual gratification.
It is driven by the body's immediate urges and is necessary for survival and bodily
health, but it needs to be controlled and moderated by reason to prevent excess and
imbalance.
SPIRIT or PASSION (Thymos) composes the basic emotions like love, anger,
ambition, aggressiveness, and empathy. This aspect of the soul is linked to
emotions, especially those related to pride, ambition, and courage. It drives
individuals to achieve honor, recognition, and self-assertion. Spirit acts as an
intermediary between reason and appetite, often supporting reason in its
governance over the appetitive desires.
ST. AGUSTINE
The African philosopher, Augustine, is regarded as a saint (St. Augustine of Hippo) in
the Catholic Church. He integrates the ideas of Plato and teachings of Christianity.
He adopted Plato’s view that the “self” is an immaterial (but rational) soul.
Augustine believes that the physical body is radically different form the inferior to
its inhabitant, the immortal soul. Giving the Theory of Forms a Christian perspective,
Augustine asserted that these forms were concepts existing within the perfect and
eternal God (The Catholic University of America Press, 1982) where the soul belonged.
What is the "self" according to Augustine? Augustine's sense of self is his relation to
God, both in his recognition of God's love and his response to it—achieved through self-
presentation, then self-realization. Augustine believed one could not achieve inner
peace without finding God's love.
The aspects of the self/soul according to St. Augustine’s are:
It is able to be aware of itself. - St. Augustine believed that the soul has the
capability to be aware of itself. This means that the soul possesses the capacity
for introspection and self-reflection, allowing individuals to understand their own
thoughts, feelings, and existence. Self-awareness is crucial for personal growth
and moral development, as it enables individuals to examine their actions and
intentions.
It recognizes the self as a holistic one. - Augustine emphasized that the soul
recognizes itself as a unified and holistic entity. This means that the soul does
not see itself as fragmented or divided but as a complete and coherent whole.
This holistic recognition is important for understanding the integrity and
consistency of one's identity, leading to a more profound sense of self-
understanding.
It is aware of its unity. - The soul is aware of its unity and coherence. This
aspect of Augustine's thought highlights the idea that the soul is not composed of
disparate parts but is a single, unified entity. This unity is essential for
understanding the soul's relationship with God and the world, as it allows the
individual to experience a coherent and integrated existence.
St. Augustine believes that a virtuous life is dynamism of love. It’s the constant turning
point towards life. Loving God means loving one’s fellowmen; and loving one’s
fellowmen denoted never doing any harm to another or as the golden rule of justice
denoted, doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. Love and justice as
the foundation of the individual self.
MODERN PHILOSPHY
RENE DESCARTES
René Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician, and a scientist and
considered as the father of modern philosophy. He was regarded as the first thinker to
emphasize the use of reason to describe, predict, and understand natural
phenomena based on observations and empirical evidence (Bertrand, 2004;
Grosholz, 1991).
The Latin phrase Cogito Ergo Sum – “I think therefore I am” is the keystone of
Descartes’ concept of self. For him, the act of thinking about the self – of being
self-conscious – I in it proof that there is a self.
Descartes’ claims about the “self” are:
It is constant; it is not prone to change; and it is not affected by time. -
Descartes believed that the self is constant, meaning it remains unchanged and
is not affected by time. This is encapsulated in his famous statement "Cogito,
ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am"), suggesting a continuous, unchanging
existence of the thinking self.
Only the immaterial soul remains the same throughout the time. - He
posited that only the immaterial soul remains the same throughout time.
Descartes distinguished between the material body, which is subject to change
and decay, and the immaterial soul, which is eternal and unchanging.
The immaterial soul is the source of our identity. - According to Descartes,
the immaterial soul is the source of our identity. He argued that our sense of self
and personal identity is rooted in the immaterial soul, which is the true essence
of who we are.
Some distinctions between the soul and body as pointed out by Descartes are:
THE SOUL THE BODY
It is a conscious, thinking substance It is a material substance that
that is unaffected by time. changes through time.
It is known only to itself (only you It can be doubted; The public can
know your own mental event and correct claims about the body
others correct your mental states). It is made up of physical,
It is not made up of parts. It views quantifiable, divisible parts.
the entirely of itself with no hidden or
separate compartments. It is both
conscious and aware of itself at the
same time.
In particular, he introduces the idea of the thinking self (soul) as non-material, immortal,
conscious being, and independent of the physical laws of the universe. In contrast, the
physical body is a material mortal, non-thinking entity, fully governed by the physical
laws of the nature. On the other hand, each other, the body and the soul are
independent of one another and each can exist and function without the other.
JOHN LOCKE
John Locke is an English philosopher and physician. For Locke, the human mind at
birth is Tabula rasa or a blank slate. He expanded the definition of the “self” that
includes the memories of that thinking thing. He feels that the “self” or personal
identity is basically constructed from the experiences – like what people see,
smell, taste, hear and feel. He also interpreted that to mean the “self” - it must
consist of memory; meaning the person existing today is the same person
yesterday (Natsoulas, 1994; Fuchs, 2017).
For Locke, the memories of a person provide the continuity of its experiences that
allows him/her to really identify himself as the same person over the time (Winkler,
1991). Since Locke account that the person is the same “self” in the passing of time,
therefore, he/she is accountable for whatever behaviors he will act. Locke's denial of
innate ideas put a premium on individual effort, on the labor necessary to gain
knowledge from experience (Tarcov, P. 83). Man could be ruled and be free - man is
endowed with natural rights such as life, liberty and property (Cranston,, p. 12)
Some of John Locke’s ideas about the “self”:
Believed that at birth human mind is a blank slate; a tabula rasa (empty of
ideas). - Locke believed that the human mind at birth is a "tabula rasa" (blank slate),
meaning it starts out without any inherent knowledge or ideas. He argued that all
knowledge comes from experience, not innate ideas.
All ideas are based on sensation – arriving at explanation by observing
phenomena. - According to Locke, all ideas originate from sensation and reflection.
Sensation involves observing external phenomena through the senses, while
reflection involves internal processes of the mind. These experiences are the basis
for all knowledge and ideas.
DAVID HUME
Scottish Philosopher David Hume suggests that if people carefully examine their sense
of experience through the process of introspection, they will discover that there is no
self.
According to him, what people experience is just bundle or collection of different
perceptions (Monilla, M.J. & Ramirez, N. (2018). He was a fierce opponent of
Descartes’ Rationalism. Rationalism is a theory that reason, rather than experience, is
the foundation of all knowledge. He was one of the figureheads of the influential British
Empiricism movement. Empiricism is the idea that the origin of all knowledge is
experience (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2017).
Hume is identified with the Bundle Theory wherein he described the “self” or
person (which Hume assumed to be “mind”) as a bundle or collection of different
perceptions that are moving in a very fast manner. He believed that the human
intellect and experiences are limited; therefore, it is impossible to attribute it to
an independent persisting entity (i.e., soul) (Pike, 1967; Seigel, 2005).
Hume divided the mind’s perceptions into two groups:
1) Impressions. Perceptions that are the strongest. These are directly experienced;
they result from inward and outward sentiments.
2) Ideas. The less lively counterparts of impressions. These are mechanisms that copy
and reproduce sense data formulated based upon the previously perceived
impressions.
For Hume, the “self” was nothing but a series of incoherent impressions received by the
senses (Montgomery, 1889). Hume compared the “self” to a nation; where a nation
retains its “being a nation “not by some single core of identity but by being composed of
different, constantly changing elements like people, systems, culture and beliefs. Hume
did not believe in the existence of the “self”. He insisted that your perceptions are only
active for as long as you are conscious. In line with this, Hume seemed to reduce the
“self” as a light bulb that may be switched on and off.
IMMANUEL KANT
For German philosopher Immanuel Kant, it is the self that makes experiencing an
intelligible world possible because it is the self that is actively organizing and
synthesizing all of our thoughts and perceptions (Monilla, M.J. & Ramirez, N.
(2018). He also proposed that the human mind creates the structure of human
experience.
Kant’s view of the “self” is transcendental, which means the “self” is related to spiritual
or nonphysical realm. For Kant, the self is not in the body. The self is outside the
body, and it does not have qualities of the body. He proposed that it is knowledge
that bridges the “self” and the material things together (Boee, 1999; Brook, 2004).
SIGMUND FREUD
an Austrian neurologist who became known as the founding father of psychoanalysis.
Sigmund Freud developed the best-known theory of personality focused upon internal
growth or psychodynamics’. The theory stresses the influence of unconscious fears,
desires and motivation on thoughts and behavior.
Psychoanalytic theory has three major parts: A theory of the structure of personality, in
which the id, ego and superego are the principal parts. Freud's concept of the "self" is
closely tied to his structure of the psyche, which includes the id, ego, and superego.
However, Freud did not use the term "self" in the same way contemporary psychology
might. Instead, he focused on how these three components interact to form the
personality.
Id:
The id is the primal part of the personality.
It operates based on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification of basic
drives and urges.
It is entirely unconscious and includes innate biological instincts and urges, such as
hunger, sex, and aggression.
Ego:
The ego is the rational part of the personality.
It operates based on the reality principle, mediating between the unrealistic id and the
external real world.
It is responsible for decision-making and uses reason and logic to find realistic ways to
satisfy the id's desires.
Superego:
The superego is the moral component of the personality.
It incorporates the values and morals of society which are learned from one's parents
and others.
It strives for perfection and judges’ actions, leading to feelings of pride or guilt.
GILBERT RYLE
a 20th-century British philosopher, is best known for his critique of Cartesian dualism
and his concept of the "self" in his work "The Concept of Mind" (1949).
For Ryle, the self is not an inner entity or substance. Instead, it is the sum of a person's
behaviors and actions. He believed that what we call the "self" is essentially a pattern of
behavior that can be observed and described.
PAUL CHURCHLAND
His views on the "self" are grounded in a neuroscientific perspective, which significantly
departs from traditional philosophical accounts. Churchland asserts that the self is best
understood in terms of brain states and neural processes. The self is not a separate,
immaterial entity but a complex pattern of neural activity that can be explained
scientifically. Churchland suggests that what we refer to as the "self" is a construct
based on the brain's ability to represent and process information.
Rather than dualism, Churchland holds to materialism, the belief that nothing but matter
exists. When discussing the mind, this means that the physical brain, and not the mind,
exists. Adding to this, THE PHYSICAL BRAIN IS WHERE WE GET OUR SENSE OF
SELF.
This new conceptual framework will be based on and will integrate all that we are
learning about how the brain works on a neurological level. Although he believes
strongly in the logic of his position, Churchland recognizes that many people will resist
the argument he is making for a variety of reasons.
MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY
a French phenomenologist, offers a unique perspective on the self, emphasizing the
embodied nature of human existence.
Merleau-Ponty argues that the self is fundamentally embodied. This means that our
experiences, perceptions, and sense of self are deeply rooted in our bodily existence.
The body is not merely a vessel for the mind but is integral to how we experience and
engage with the world.
Maurice Merleau-Ponty believed the physical body to be an important part of what
makes up the subjective self. This concept stands in contradiction to rationalism and
empiricism. Rationalism asserts that reason and mental perception, rather than physical
senses and experience, are the basis of knowledge and self.
For Merleau-Ponty, everything that we are aware of—and can possibly knows—is
contained within our own consciousness. It’s impossible for us to get “outside” of our
consciousness because it defines the boundaries of our personal universe. The so-
called real world of objects existing in space and time initially exists only as objects of
my consciousness. Yet in a cognitive sleight-of-hand, we act as if the space/time world
is primary and our immediate consciousness is secondary.
In cases when the two worlds conflict, scientists automatically assume that the scientific
perspective is correct, and the direct experience of the individual wrong. This is the
difficulty we pointed out with the concept of the unconscious: it was considered by
Freud and many of his followers to be of such supreme authority that no individual’s
contrasting point of view can measure up to the ultimate truth of the unconscious
interpretation.
As a philosophical theory of knowledge, phenomenology is distinctive in the sense that
its goal is not to explain experience, but rather to clarify our understanding of it. A
phenomenologist like Merleau-Ponty sees his aim of describing what he sees and then
assuming that his description will strike a familiar chord with us, stimulating us to say, “I
understand what you’re saying—that makes sense to me!” From this perspective, the
responsibility of philosophy is not to provide explanations but to seek the root and
genesis of meaning, “to reveal the mystery of the world and of reason,” to help us think
and see things more clearly.
For example, to develop a clear understanding of your “being in love,” you need to delay
using elaborate psychological theories and instead begin by describing the phenomena
of the experience in a clear, vivid fashion, trying to uncover the meaning of what you are
experiencing. Then you can begin developing concepts and theories to help you make
sense of the phenomena of “being in love.” The danger of using theories prematurely is
that you may very well distort your actual experience, forcing it to conform to someone
else’s idea of what “being in love” means instead of clearly understanding your unique
experience.