UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE

1. Philosophical Perspective
2. Sociological and Anthropological Perspective
3. Psychological Perspective
PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE
Philosophy employs the inquisitive mind to discover
the ultimate causes, reasons and principles of everything. It
goes beyond scientific investigation by exploring all areas
of knowledge such as religion, psychology, politics and
even medicine. Hence the etymological definition of
philosophy “Love of Wisdom” could pertain to the desire
for truth by formulating never ending questions to provide
answers to every inquiry about the nature of human
existence. The nature of self is a topic of interest among
philosophers.
THE PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF SELF
1. Socrates: Know Yourself
2. Plato: The Ideal Self, the Perfect Self
3. Immanuel Kant: Respect your Self
4. Rene Descartes: I think, therefore I am
5. John Locke: Personal Identity
6. David Hume: The self is the Bundle Theory of Mind
7. St. Augustine: Love and Justice as the Foundation of the
Individual Self
Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher credited as one of the founders of
Western philosophy, and as being the first moral philosopher, of the Western ethical
tradition of thought.
Born: Alopece
Died: 399 BC, Classical Athens
Cause of death: Sentenced to death by drinking hemlock
SOCRATES
 Socrates is principally concerned with man. He considers man from the
point of view of his inner life. The famous line of Socrates, “Know
yourself,” tell each man to bring his inner self to light.
 A bad man is not virtuous through ignorance; the man who does not
follow the good fails to do so because he does not recognize it.
 The core of Socratic ethics is the concept of virtue and knowledge.
Virtue is the deepest and most basic propensity of man. Knowing one’s
own virtue is necessary and can be learned.
 Since virtue is innate in the mind and self-knowledge is the source of
all wisdom , an individual may gain possession of oneself and one’s own
master through knowledge.
Plato was a philosopher in Classical Greece and the founder of the Academy
in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world.
Born: Classical Athens
Died: Athens, Greece
PLATO
 According to Plato, man was omniscient or all-knowing before he came to be
born in this world. With this separation from the paradise of truth and
knowledge and his long exile on earth, he forgot most of the knowledge he
had. However, by constant remembering through contemplation and doing
good, he can regain his former perfections.
 Man who is now an exile on earth has a guiding star, a model, or divine
exemplar which he must follow to reach and attain his destiny. In practical
terms, this means that man in this life should imitate his former self; more
specifically, he should live a life of virtue in which true human perfection exists.
Happiness which is the fruit of virtue, is attained by the constant imitation of
the divine exemplar of virtue, embodied in man’s former perfect self.
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher who is a central figure in modern
philosophy. Kant argued that the human mind creates the structure of human
experience, that reason is the source of morality.
Born: 22 April 1724, Königsberg
Died: 12 February 1804
IMMANUEL KANT
 Man is the only creature who governs and directs himself and his actions,
who set up ends for himself and his purpose, and who freely orders means
for the attainment of his aims.
 Every man is thus an end in himself and should never be treated merely as
a means-as per order of the Creator and the natural order of things. This
rule is a plain dictum of reason and justice: Respect others as you would
respect yourself.
A person should not be used as a tool, instrument, or device to accomplish
another’s private ends. Thus all men are persons gifted with the same basic
rights and should treat each other as equals.
René Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. Dubbed the
father of modern Western philosophy, much of subsequent Western philosophy is a
response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day.
Born: 31 March 1596, Descartes, Indre-et-Loire, France
Died: 11 February 1650, Stockholm, Sweden
RENE DESCARTES

Descartes states that the self is a thinking entity distinct from the
body. His first famous principle was “Cogito, ergo sum” which
means “ I think, therefore I am.” Although the mind and the body
are independent from each other and serve their own function, man
must use his own mind and thinking abilities to investigate, analyze,
experiment, and develop himself.
John Locke FRS was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of
the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "Father of
Liberalism
Born: 29 August 1632, Wrington, United Kingdom
Died: 28 October 1704, High Laver, United Kingdom
JOHN LOCKE

 John Locke holds that personal identity (the self) is a matter of psychological
continuity. For him, personal identity is founded on consciousness (memory) and
not on the substance of either the soul or the body.
 Personal identity is the concept about oneself that evolves over the course of
an individual’s life. It may include aspects of life that man has no control over,
such as where he grew up or the color of his skin, as well as the choices he
makes, like how he spends his time and what he believes.
David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, who is best
known today for his highly influential system of philosophical empiricism, skepticism,
and naturalism.
Born: 7 May 1711, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Died: 25 August 1776, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
DAVID HUME

Hume is skeptical about the existence of the self, specifically. On the whether
there is a simple, unified self that exist overtime. For him, man has no “clear
and intelligible” idea of the self. He posits that no single impression of the self
exists; rather, the self is just the thing to which all perceptions of a man is
ascribed. Moreover, even if there were such impression of the self it would
have to remain constant overtime to constitute.
Put simply, a person can never observe oneself without some other
perceptions. Thus, Hume asserts that what we call the “self” is really just “ a
bundle or collection of different perceptions which succeed each other with an
inconceivable rapidity.
Saint Augustine of Hippo was a Roman African, early Christian theologian and
philosopher from Numidia whose writings influenced the development of Western
Christianity and Western philosophy.
Born: 13 November 354 AD, Thagaste
Died: 28 August 430 AD, Hippo Regius, Annaba, Algeria
ST. AUGUSTINE

St. Augustine believes that a virtuous life is a dynamism of love. It

is a constant following of and turning towards love while a wicked
life is a constant turning away from love. Loving God means loving
one’s fellowmen; and loving one’s fellowmen denotes never doing
any harm to another or, as the golden principle of justice states.
Doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.