UNDERSTANDING THE SELF because only by knowing yourself

can you hope to improve your life.

MODULE 1: PHILOSOPHICAL (Rappe,1995)
PERSPECTIVES ● Socrates believed that you, as a
person, should consciously
Philosophy – love of wisdom contemplate, turn your gaze inward,
and analyze the true nature and
ETYMOLOGY values that are guiding your life.

Greek word “philo” – loving and “sophia” – PLATO

knowledge/wisdom
● Plato was the student of Socrates.
DEFINITION According to him, “soul” is the most
divine aspect of human beings.
● At its simplest, Philosophy means However, his concept of the divine is
“loving knowledge” or “loving not a spiritual being but rather one
wisdom”. The term as originally used that has an intellectual connotation.
by the Greeks meant “the pursuit of
knowledge for its own sake” 3 COMPONENTS OF THE SOUL
● It is a set of ideals, standards or beliefs
used to describe behavior and 1. The Appetitive (sensual)
thought. (Western Philosophy, ● The element that enjoys
EasternPhilosophy…) sensual experiences, such as
● Investigates the legitimacy of food, drink and sex.
concepts by rational argument 2. The Rational (reasoning)
concerning their implications, ● This is conscious awareness.
relationships as well as reality, This is the part of us that
knowledge, moral judgment, etc thinks and analyzes.
3. The Spirited (feeling)
SOCRATES ● The one with lots of energy,
● The Greeks were the ones who power, emotions.
seriously questioned myths and
moved away from them to - When these are attained, the
understand reality and respond to human person's soul becomes
perennial questions of curiosity, just and virtuous.
including the question of the self.
ST. AUGUSTINE
● “The unexamined life is not
worth living" ● He was deeply influenced by Plato’s
ideas.
● Self-knowledge, or the examination ● Following view of Plato but adds
of one-self, as well as the question Christianity.
about how one ought to live one’s ● Man is of a bifurcated nature
life, are very important concerns (meaning man is divided into two
 parts about the truth to determine
1. Part of man dwells in the which beliefs could be
world, and yearns to be with the ascertained as true)
Divine ● The only thing one can't doubt is the
(body) existence of the self.

2. The other part is capable of DAVID HUME

reaching immortality. (soul)
● Disagrees with all the other
Body - dies on earth. aforementioned philosophers.
● All knowledge is derived from
Soul - lives eternally in human senses.
spiritual bliss with God. ● “One can only know what comes from
the senses and experiences (he is an
ST. TOMAS AQUINAS empiricist- someone who
believes that knowledge comes from
● Man = matter + form experiences and senses)
● Matter – common stuff that makes ● The self is not an entity beyond the
up everything in the universe physical body.
● Form – essence of a substance or a ● You know that other people are
thing (what makes it what it is) humans not because you have seen
● The body of a human is similar to their soul, but because you see them,
animals/objects, but what makes a hear them, feel them. (again, senses)
human is his essence.
● The soul is what makes us humans. IMMANUEL KANT

RENE DESCARTES ● Agrees with Hume that everything

starts with perception/sensation of
● Father of Modern Philosophy ● impressions. There is a “mind” that
There is so much that we should regulates these impressions.
doubt. ● The human mind creates the
● If something is so clear and lucid as structure of human experience.
not to be doubted, that's the only ● Time, space, etc are ideas that one
time one should believe. cannot find in the world, but are
● “Cogito ergo sum” – I think, built in our minds.
therefore I am.
● He asserted that everything GILBERT RYLE
perceived by the senses could not be
used as proof of existence because ● What truly matters is the behavior
human senses could be fooled. He that a person manifests in his
added that there was only one thing day-to-day life.
we could be sure of in this world, ● Sense of self is derived from our
and that was everything could be behaviors and actions.
doubted. (He was skeptical
 Ryle’s view, your actions define your own
For example you think of yourself as a kind concept of “Self”
person because of your acts of kindness. In
MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY

● Mind-body bifurcation is an invalid

problem. Mind and body are
inseparable. Mind is part of the
body, and the body is part of the
mind. They need each other. One’s
body is his opening toward his
existence to the world.
● The living body, his thoughts,
emotions, and experiences are all
one.
● If you hate this subject,
Merleau-Ponty understands you.

Prepared by:

Mary Claudine N. Pineda, RPm