GE SELF | NUEVA VISCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

● Moral virtue leads to life's ideal,
CHAPTER 1: PHILOSOPHICAL i.e., "happiness" and that
VIEWS OF THE SELF happiness is impossible without
moral virtue.
What is Philosophy?
➤ Greek words "philos" which means ● Humanity commits evil because
love and "sophia" which means people do not know any better -
wisdom, thus, philosophy is a "love of ignorance.
wisdom" - study of general and
fundamental problems concerning For Your Information
matters like existence, values, ● Knowing oneself is not only
knowledge, mind and language about measurable facts that
pertain to the self such as age,
➤ Famous Philosophers who height, color, blood type or
attempted to understand the meaning cholesterol level but first an
of human life and braved to answer the imperative and then a
question "Who am I?" and whose requirement. It is imperative to
views have inf Luenced the way we know the limits of the self so
look at our lives today: that one knows what one is
capable of doing and what one
Socrates, Plato, Augustine, is not. The real meaning of
Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Ryle, knowing thyself, then, is a
Churchland and Merleau- Ponty requirement for
self-moderation/self- control,
1. SOCRATES (470-399 B.C.) prudence/good judgment, and
● known for the dictum "KNOW excellence of the soul (Ortiz de
THYSELF" Landazuri, 2014).
Views:
● Proper way to solve problems Anything that is excessive is not good.
is to discover our true nature - Thus it is just prudent to strike the
"Know Thyself" balance of things:

● Man is a being who wills and ● Too much power might lead to
thinks and knowledge is a virtue abuse;
while ignorance is a vice.
● Too many friends might
● Man should discover the truth, decrease the quality of
truth about good life, for it is in relationships;
knowing the good life that man
can act correctly. ● Too many problems might bring
about depression;
● The admission of ignorance is
the beginning of wisdom.

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GE SELF | NUEVA VISCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY

● Too much knowledge might ● "Love and Justice as the

make one think there is nothing Foundation of the Individual
else to know about, and so on. Self"

2. PLATO (Aristocles) ● born in Tagaste, North Africa

"The Ideal Self, The Perfect Self"
● student of Socrates ● - was not a former Christian
Views: before becoming a saint. He
● Man is a soul(immaterial) using succumbed to vices and
a body (material). The soul pleasures of the world. ("Late
exists prior to the body. Have I Loved You")

● Reason would rule over the ● Baptized into the Catholic

physical desires. Church in answer to his
mother's prayers
● Man was omniscient before he
came to be born. With his ● Dedicated his Christian life to
separation from the paradise of the pursuit of contemplative
truth and knowledge, and his ideals.
long exile on earth, he forgot
most of the knowledge he had. ● Practiced extreme self-denial
But by constant remembering and self-mortif cation.
through contemplation and
doing good, he can regain his ● "My heart is restless until it f nds
former perfection. rest in You."

● Man should live a life of virtue in ● Became a priest then bishop of

which true human perfection Hippo
exists.
● Died in 430 and was later
● Perfect happiness is the result awarded the title of Doctor of
of virtue which in turn is wisdom the Church, being a defender of
or true knowledge. the Church

● Happiness, which is the fruit of ● - known as "the great formulator

virtue, is attained by the of Christian doctrine”
constant imitation of the divine Views:
exemplar of virtue, embodied in ● Man is a perfect unity of the
man's former perfect self. body and the soul - a material
body which belongs to the
physical world and a soul which
can know God.
3. ST. AUGUSTINE (354-430 A.D.) ● A virtuous life is a dynamism of
love, which is a constant

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following of and turning towards ● Everything must be subjected to

love (God) while a wicked life is doubt. Our existence, our
a constant turning away from religion, our world, our God, our
love. The golden rule applies. special someone, even our
● Man's end goal is happiness. teacher! There will never be
certain in this world as long as it
● Only in God can man attain true passes our senses.
and eternal happiness, made
possible in his contemplation of Simply put:
the Truth and the Divine "We need reason in order to evaluate
Wisdom, i.e., God Himself. our thoughts and actions.

● Christianity is the full and true ● We need reason to live fully the
philosophy. It is the full demands, challenges and call of
revelation of the true God. our religion. We need reason in
order to establish f im
● Human beings alone, without foundations for universal truth
God, are bound to fail. and morals. We need reason in
order to exist and to continue to
4. RENE DESCARTES survive the generations to come
"Cogito, ergo Sum" ("I think, therefore, by protecting our environment.
I am." or "I doubt, therefore, I exist.") We need reason in order to
Views: protect ourselves from our
● The self is a thinking entity being savage to one another.
distinct from the body. We need reason in order to
build and live out our peace."
● Man must use his own mind
and thinking abilities to 5. JOHN LOCKE
investigate, analyze, "Theory of Personal Identity"
experiment, and develop ● a British philosopher and
himself. politician
Views:
● We cannot really rely on our ● His proposition is that the self is
senses because our sense comparable to an empty space
perceptions can often deceive where everyday experiences
us. contribute to the pile of
knowledge that is put forth on
● Only after the certitude of the that empty space.
"doubting I" can all the other
existences (e.g. God, the ● Experience, therefore, is an
universe, things, events, etc.) important requirement in order
become certain. to have sense data which,
through the process of reflection

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GE SELF | NUEVA VISCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY

and analysis, eventually ● Man has no "clear and

becomes sense perception. intelligible" idea of the self.

● Believes that our theories must ● No single impression of the self

be built on experience. Our exists.
concept of personal identity
must be derived from inner In a nutshell:
experience.It is the experience ● All knowledge passes through
that creates personal identity. the senses.

● It is in consciousness alone that ● There is no self, only a bundle

identity exists. of perceptions.

6. DAVID HUME 7. IMMANUEL KANT

"The Self is the Bundle Theory of "Respect for Self"
Mind" Views:
● a Scottish philosopher and ● Man is the only creature who
historian governs and directs himself and
Views: his actions, who sets up ends
● All knowledge is derived from for himself and his purpose, and
the senses. The impressions who freely orders means for the
that we create are more attainment of his aims.
superior than our ideas because
ideas come after impressions. ● Every man is thus an end in
himself and should never be
● All we know about ourselves treated as a means - a plain
are just bundles or collection of dictum of reason and justice:
different temporary impressions Respect others as you would
or perceptions. respect yourself.

● This idea supports the dif tulty ● A person should not be used
of answering the question "Who as a tool, instrument, or device
am I?" because what we can to accomplish another's private
readily answer are impressions ends. All men are persons
such as name, height, color of gifted with the same basic rights
hair, af fiations, skills, and should treat each other as
achievements and the like. All equals.
these are temporary and non-
persisting. ● Our rationality unif es and
makes sense the perceptions
● Hume harshly claimed that we have in our experiences and
there IS no self. make sensible ideas about
ourselves and the world.

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GE SELF | NUEVA VISCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY

8. GILBERT RYLE ● For the Churchlands, these

"I act, therefore, I am." or "You are philosophical and psychological
what you do." directions will eventually be
● a British philosopher, proposed abandoned only to be replaced
his Positive View in his by a more acceptable trend in
"Concept of the Mind", a stern neuroscience that provides
critique of Descartes' dualism of explanation of how the brain
the mind and body. works.
Views:
● The mind is never separate ➤ It is not impossible that folk
from the body. psychology will be replaced by
neurobiology. As the Churchlands
● Dualism is a category of wanted to predict, when people
mistake. wanted to ask what is going on with
themselves, they might as well go for
● The mind will depend on how MRI scan or CT Scan to understand
words are being told and the present condition of the brain and
expressed and delivered how it currently works.

● The mind will depend on how 10. MAURICE MERLEAU-PONTY

words are being told and "Phenomenology of Perception"
expressed and delivered. - ● a French philosopher who is
Physical actions or behaviors associated with Existentialism
are dispositions of the self Views:
which are derived from our ● Believes that the physical body
inner private experiences, is what makes up the subjective
meaning, we will only be able to self.
understand the self based from
the external manifestation ● Self and perception are
behaviors, expressions, encompassed in the physical
language, desires and the like, body
hence, he mind is nothing but a
disposition of the self. ● "We are our bodies."Our bodily
experiences do not detach the
9. Paul and Patricia Churchland subject/object, mind/body,
"The Self as the Brain" Paul rational/irrational.
Churchland
● a modern day philosopher who ● our perceptions are caused by
studies the brain. - promoted the intricate experiences of the
the position they called self, and processed
"eliminative materialism" which intellectually while
brings forth neuroscience in the distinguishing truthful
fore of understanding the self. perceptions from illusory.

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GE SELF | NUEVA VISCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY

● the real self becomes our

CHAPTER 2: PSYCHOLOGICAL self-image.
VIEWS OF THE SELF CONGRUENCE
● Ideal Self is closer to real self
SELF IMAGE
● the way you think about yourself INCONGRUENCE
and your abilities or appearance ● Feeling not aligned with our
actions
● one's conception of oneself or
of one's role IMPORTANCE OF ALIGNMENT

IDEAL SELF ➤ If the way that I am (the real self) is

● This is the person who we aligned with the way that I want to be
would like to be, consisting of (the ideal self), then I will feel a sense
our goals and ambitions in life of mental well-being or peace of mind.

● It is dynamic and forever ➤ If the way that I am is not aligned

changing with how I want to be, the
incongruence, or lack of alignment, will
● an idealized version of the self result in mental distress or anxiety.
created out of what we have
learned from our life ➤ The greater the level of
experiences, the demands of incongruence between the ideal self
society, and what we admire in and real self, the greater the level of
our role models. resulting distress.

● May include components of Healthy false self

what our parents have taught ● When the false self is functional
us, what we admire in others, both for the person and for
what our society promotes, and society then it is considered
what we think is in our best healthy. The healthy false self
interest. feels that it is still being true to
the true self.
REAL SELF
● It's the self that feels most true Unhealthy false self
to what and who we really are ● A self that fts in but through a
feeling of forced compliance
● How we think, feel, and look rather than loving adaptation is
unhealthy.
● The underlying organismic self:
What a person is capable of
becoming if s/he lived in an
ideal world.