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Understanding the Self

Lesson 2: The Philosophical Perspectives of the Self

An unexamined life is not worth living. -Socrates

At the end of the lesson, the learner is expected to:

1. Explain the concept of the self from different philosophical perspectives
2. Compare and contrast the views of the self in the different philosophical
perspectives.
3. Examine oneself using the different perspectives of self.
Introduction
Over the last decade, the concept of the Self has come under intense scrutiny from
researchers across various disciplines such as philosophy, neuroscience, psychology,
anthropology, and sociology. Gaining insight into the nature of the human “Self” in
general, and into our own selves in particular, is a challenging endeavor. However, in
order to live a purposeful and meaningful life, as Socrates urged us to do, we must start
by understanding ourselves—the source of all knowledge and significance. In this lesson,
we will explore the perspectives of different philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, Saint
Augustine, Descartes, Locke, Hume, and Kant, among others, on the nature of the self.
Let’s Do This
Warm-up #101
Write down something you know about yourself.
Write down something you don’t know about yourself.
Write down something pretty much everyone who knows you knows about you.
Write down something hardly anyone who knows you knows about you.
Processing Your Experience
Reflect on the following questions:
1. Was it easy to identify things you know about yourself? Why/Why not?
2. Was it easy to identify things you do not know about yourself? Why/Why not?
3. How did you feel while listing down these things about you?
4. What did you realize about yourself?
You may share your answers with your seatmate.
Abstraction
The different views about the self can be best understood by revisiting
the ideas of philosophers from the ancient times to the contemporary period.
Socrates and Plato - The Soul Is Immortal

Socrates (470 – 399 BC) was a classical Greek philosopher credited as one of the
founders of Western philosophy and the pioneer of Western Moral Philosophy. He was
the first thinker in recorded history to focus the full power of reason on the human self:
who we are, who we should be, and who we will become. His Socratic method, a way of
asking questions that helps the individual know what he knows and does not know, is
perhaps his greatest contribution to philosophy. This method prompts a dialogue between
the self and the soul, encouraging individual learning and self-discovery, with the goal of
"Know thyself." Socrates believed that in addition to our physical bodies, each person
possesses an immortal soul that survives beyond the death of the body.

Socrates' teachings were interpreted by his followers as focusing on how to live a

good and virtuous life. The claim attributed to him by Plato, his student, that "an
unexamined life is not worth living" seems historically accurate, as it is clear that he
inspired his followers to think for themselves instead of following the dictates of society
and the accepted superstitions concerning the gods and how one should behave.
Examining oneself is the most important task one can undertake; it alone will give us the
knowledge necessary to answer the question 'How should I live my life?' As Socrates
explained, "Once we know ourselves, we may learn how to care for ourselves, but
otherwise we never shall."

Plato

Plato (427-347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher. He was a student of Socrates, a
teacher of Aristotle, and the founder of the first school of learning in Athens, called the
Academy. This institution was eventually described as the 1st European University.
Plato supported the idea of his teacher Socrates, who believed that man has a dual nature
of body (the material body) and soul (immaterial mind). He held the belief that it is the
soul that knows the forms and that the soul exists before birth and after death. Therefore,
he emphasized the importance of caring for our souls rather than our bodies.
Plato elaborated on his concept of the mind (the Greek word is psyche) by dividing it into
three parts:
- Reason: the divine essence that enables us to think deeply, make wise choices, and
achieve a true understanding of eternal truths.
- Physical Appetite: our basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire.
- Spirit or Passion: our basic emotions such as love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness, and
empathy.
According to Plato, these three parts of the self are in a dynamic relationship with
one another, sometimes working in concert, sometimes in bitter conflict. He used
examples to show how these parts interact and sometimes create conflicts within oneself.
He believed that it is the responsibility of our reason to sort things out and exert control,
reestablishing a harmonious relationship between the three elements of ourselves when
conflicts occur.

St Augustine

St Augustine (AD 354–430) also called Saint Augustine of Hippo is a Christian

philosopher. Augustine’s influence on Christian philosophy and theology was
unparalleled in the Middle Ages. Augustine’s adaptation of classical thought to Christian
teaching created a theological system of great power and lasting influence. His numerous
written works, the most important of which are Confessions (c. 400) and The City of God
(c. 413–426), shaped the practice of biblical exegesis and helped lay the foundation for
much of medieval and modern Christian thought.

St. Augustine (354–430 C.E.), connected Platonic and Neoplatonic concepts of a

separate and immortal soul with emerging Christian doctrine. In his Confessions, he takes
this idea and expands it into an entire genre that critically inquires what it means to be a
person. In other words, he explores the idea of the self until he discovers personal
subjectivity. As Augustine constructs a view of God that would come to dominate
Western thinking, he also creates a new concept of individual identity: the idea of the self.
This identity is achieved through a twofold process: self-presentation, which leads to self-
realization. Augustine creates a literary character out of the self and places it in a
narrative text so that it becomes part of the grand allegory of redemption. In The
Confessions, Augustine plays the lead role in the story of his own life. By telling this tale
he transforms himself into a metaphor of the struggle of both body and soul to find
happiness, which exists only in God’s love. He reads his life as an allegory to arrive at a
larger truth.
Rene Descartes - A Modern Perspective on the Self

René Descartes (1596–1650), a French philosopher, is considered the "founder of

modern philosophy." Descartes introduced a new and modern perspective to philosophy
in general and the concept of self in particular. One of the most significant legacies of
Descartes' philosophy is his idea that the mind and body are fundamentally different—a
concept referred to as "mind-body dualism." He arrives at this conclusion by arguing that
the nature of the mind (being a thinking, non-extended entity) is entirely distinct from
that of the body (being an extended, non-thinking entity), thus implying that one can exist
without the other.

Descartes' pursuit of true knowledge leads to his famous first principle: cogito,
ergo sum—"I think, therefore I am." He suggests that no rational person would doubt
their existence as a conscious, thinking entity, as long as they are aware of thinking about
themselves. He argues that even in dreams or hallucinations, or if consciousness is
manipulated by an external force, it is still the self-aware individual who is dreaming,
hallucinating, or being manipulated. Therefore, cogito, ergo sum, besides being the first
principle of his epistemology, is also pivotal to Descartes' understanding of the self. The
essence of human identity lies in the ability to be aware of oneself. Being self-conscious
is integral to possessing a personal identity, and conversely, being self-conscious would
be impossible without a personal identity to be conscious of.
Descartes contends that the act of being self-conscious, of contemplating the self, is in
itself evidence of the "self." Influenced by Platonic thought and Christian theology, he
makes a clear distinction between the physical body (which he believes to be material,
mortal, and non-thinking) and an immortal, non-material thinking self, governed by
God's will and the laws of nature.
John Locke - The Self is Consciousness

John Locke (1632–1704) was an English philosopher and physician who explored the
concept of self from an empiricist perspective, believing that sensory experience is the
main source of knowledge about the self and the world. According to Locke,
consciousness, specifically self-consciousness, is essential for understanding "personal
identity." He differed from earlier philosophers by rejecting the idea that the self is
immortal and separate from the body. Instead, he argued that our identity and the
immortal "soul" are distinct entities.
Locke's empiricist viewpoint led to several surprising conclusions about the self,
including the belief that the self's existence depends on our consciousness of it. He
proposed that the self is not tied to any specific body or substance, and it only exists in
other times and places because of our memory of those experiences.
Hume – There is no Self

David Hume (1711–1776) was a Scottish philosopher who continued in the empiricist
tradition of John Locke. He believed that the source of all genuine knowledge is our
direct sense experience. Using the same empiricist principles as Locke, Hume arrived at a
startling conclusion - upon careful introspection of our sense experience, he argued that
there is no self. According to Hume, the self we experience is a "bundle or collection of
different perceptions, which succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidity, and are in
a perpetual flux and movement." He maintained that humans construct a fictional self
using their imaginations, but this self is not real. Instead, the self is an imaginary
construct derived from impermanent states and events.

Hume's examination of our stream of consciousness reveals no self, soul, or "I"

that exists continually through time. He suggested that we create a "fictional self" to
unify transient mental events, but this "self" has no real existence. Hume then concluded
that if there is no "self" while the body is living, there can be no immortal "self" or "soul"
that continues to exist after the death of the physical body.

Kant - We Construct the Self

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), a German philosopher, is widely regarded as the greatest

philosopher of the modern period. He disagreed with Hume's pessimistic views about
human potential. Building on Hume's idea that the self is made up of sensory experiences,
Kant suggested that these experiences are not random but are organized and given order
by the conscious self, according to a priori organizing rules. Kant proposed that an
actively engaged and synthesizing intelligence constructs knowledge based on
experiences. This synthesizing faculty, which Kant calls the "self," goes beyond the
senses and unifies experience. Additionally, Kant proposed a second "self," the ego,
which encompasses the traits that make each person a unique personality. This second
self or empirical self (or ego) includes all the specific aspects that differentiate
individuals, such as their bodies, memories, personalities, ways of thinking, emotional
patterns, and more.
Your self can perform the synthesizing, unifying function because it goes beyond
sense experience. Your self is not an object within your consciousness among other
objects - it is a subject, an organizing principle that enables a unified and understandable
experience. Metaphorically, it is "above" or "behind" sense experience and uses the
categories of your mind to filter, order, relate, organize, and synthesize sensations into a
coherent whole. That's why Kant attributes "transcendental" status to the self, as it exists
independently of experience. The self is a product of reason, a regulative principle
because it "regulates" experience by enabling a unified experience.
Freud - There Are Two Selves, One Conscious, One Unconscious

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of

psychoanalysis. Although not a philosopher, his views on the nature of the self have had
a profound impact on philosophical thinking and many other disciplines in the humanities
and social sciences. Freud proposed a revolutionary way to understand the self.
According to his theory, the self consists of both rational, conscious thought and a more
primitive, impulsive unconscious. Consciousness refers to mental processes of which we
are aware, while unconsciousness refers to mental processes that are not easily accessible
to our awareness. Freud believed that the unconscious contains basic instinctual drives,
such as sexuality, aggressiveness, and self-destructive impulses, as well as traumatic
memories, unfulfilled wishes, childhood fantasies, and thoughts and feelings that might
be considered socially unacceptable. The unconscious mind operates at a prelogical and
prerational level and influences us throughout our lives, although it is not directly
observable. Its existence can only be inferred from phenomena such as neurotic
symptoms, dreams, and "slips of the tongue."

In contrast, the conscious self is governed by the "reality principle" rather than the
"pleasure principle." At this level of functioning, behavior, and experience are organized
in rational, practical ways that are appropriate to the social environment. While the
ultimate goals of the conscious and unconscious self are the same—satisfying needs and
reducing tensions to optimal levels—the means of achieving these goals differ. Instead of
seeking these goals impulsively and irrationally, the conscious self takes into account the
realistic demands of the situation, the consequences of actions, and the need to maintain
equilibrium within the entire psychodynamic system. Consequently, the conscious self
has the task of controlling the constant pressures of the unconscious self, as its primitive
impulses continually seek immediate discharge.

Ryle - The Self Is How You Behave

Gilbert Ryle (1900–1976) was a British philosopher who rejected the idea of the
mind/body dualism proposed by René Descartes. He advocated for a behaviorist theory
of mind, which focused on observable dimensions of the self. Ryle denied the existence
of a non-physical self, immortal souls, states of consciousness, and unconscious entities,
rejecting what he called "the ghost in the machine." According to Ryle, the self should be
understood through observable behavior rather than as a separate, transcendent entity. He
believed that the self is best understood as a pattern of behavior caused by the physical
workings of the body, rather than as an immaterial consciousness.
Ponty - The Self Is Embodied Subjectivity

Maurice Jean Jacques Merleau-Ponty (1908–1961) was a French philosopher and

public intellectual, known for his significant contributions to existentialism and
phenomenology in post-war France. He is renowned for his influential work on
embodiment, perception, and ontology, as well as for his important contributions to the
philosophy of art, history, language, nature, and politics. Instead of accepting Cartesian
dualism, he rejects it as a product of imagination. According to Merleau-Ponty, the living,
physical body and its experiences are intricately connected, forming a natural synthesis
known as the Lebenswelt (a German word meaning “lived world”). Phenomenology, in
his view, aims not to explain experience, but rather to clarify our understanding of it.

Merleau-Ponty emphasized the significance of the physical body in the

construction of the subjective self. He argued that the self and perception are
encompassed within the physical body, with the mind's perceptions and the body's actions
being interconnected. According to him, the body is the primary means through which we
come to know the world, and the body and its perceptions cannot be separated from one
another.

Churchland – The Self is the brain

Churchland - The Self Is the Brain

Paul Churchland (1942- ) is a Canadian philosopher and an Emeritus Professor of

Philosophy at the University of California. His areas of interest are philosophy of mind,
philosophy of science, cognitive neurobiology, epistemology, and perception. Churchland
has worked to resolve the complexities of the relationship between mind and brain.
Rather than adhering to dualism, he holds to materialism, the belief that nothing but
matter exists. Materialism posits that the "self" is inseparable from the substance of the
brain and the physiology of the body. It is the physical brain and not the imaginary mind
from which we derive our sense of self. Furthermore, he asserts that since the mind
cannot be experienced by our senses, it does not exist. Based on this assertion,
Churchland holds to eliminative materialism. Simply put, eliminative materialism argues
that the ordinary folk psychology or more traditional "commonsense" ways of
understanding the psychology of the mind are wrong. Churchland believes that this "older
framework will simply be eliminated" by advances in neuroscience. He holds that the
new, accurate, objective, and scientifically based understanding of our "selves" will
contribute substantially toward a more peaceful and humane society.

Making Connections
Based on one (1) philosophical perspective, write a 2- stanza poem with the
title, “WHO AM I” or “SINO AKO”?
Check-Up
In your own words, state the concept of self according to each of the following
philosophers:
Philosophers Concepts of Self
1. Socrates

2. Plato

3.St Augustine

4.Descartes

5.Hume

6.Freud

7. Kant

8.Locke

9. Ponty

10.Ryle

11. Churchland

Prepared by;
Jesusa A Novesteras, EdD, LPT, RGC
Source: The Philosophical Review, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Jul., 1916), pp. 587-615 Published by: Duke
University Press on behalf of Philosophical Review