UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

 The inquiry on the self has preoccupied the earliest thinkers in the history of philosophy: the Greeks.
 The Greeks were the ones who seriously questioned myths and moved away from them in attempting to understand
reality and respond to perennial questions of curiosity, including the question of the self.
 The different perspectives and views on the self can be best seen and understood by revisiting the prime movers and
identify the most important conjectures made by philosophers from the ancient times to the contemporary period.

The Three Most Famous Greek Philosophers

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

What is Philosophy?

 Philosophy is a combination of the word "Philos " ( love ) and "sophia " ( wisdom ) which translated means love of
wisdom .
 As used originally by the ancient Greeks, the term "philosophy" meant the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake ,
and comprised ALL areas of speculative thought , including the arts , sciences and religion .

* The search for knowledge and truth, especially about the nature of man and his behavior and beliefs.

"I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think." - Socrates

Philosophers are people who seek after wisdom and curious about the world seeking to understand the nature
of things . Oftentimes the result of philosophy is not so much putting forward new philosophies or propositions but
making existing philosophies or propositions clearer .

Those who study philosophy are perpetually engaged in asking , answering , and arguing for their answers to
life's most basic questions .

Wonder is the feeling of the philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder . – Plato

Philosophy is often called the mother of all disciplines simply because all fields of study began as philosophical
discourses. Philosophers have striven to explain natural and social phenomena, coming up with their own definitions of
how the world works and what factors contribute to such phenomena . Thus, it was inevitable that they would come up
with various conceptions of what it means to be human , and in so doing , the definitions of the SELF .

• The issue of personal identity has always been of concern for many philosophers.

• Questions are raised as to what does being the person that you are, from one day to the next, necessarily consist of .
Personal identity theory is the philosophical confrontation with the ultimate questions of our own existence, such as
who are we, and is there a life after death? This sort of analysis of personal identity provides a set of necessary and
sufficient conditions for the identity of the person over time.

" Know Thyself "

Pausanias, Description of Greece ( X , 24.1 )

In the fore - temple at Delphi are written maxims useful ΓΝΩΘΙ ΣΑΥΤΟΝ for the life of men , National Museum of the
Thermae , Rome inscribed by those whom the Greeks say were sages [ who ] came to Delphi and dedicated to Apollo the
celebrated maxims , " Know thyself , " and " Nothing in excess . " -THE TEMPLE AT DELPHI

 The ancient philosophy of the SELF can be traced back from the ancient Greek aphorism ( one of the aphorism ( one
of the 147 aphorisms prominently inscribed in the temple of Apollo at Delphi , know thyself .
 The aphorism was used by Socrates as his guiding principle that he passed on to his students in endless discussions ,
- it is said that he had never written down any of his ideas but instead untiringly discussed concepts and principles
with his students .
Socrates
o Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher born in Athens in 469 BC . He is considered the father of Western
philosophy .
o He is famous for his method of philosophical inquiry, what is known as the Socratic Method - is a form of
cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate
critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions .
o He was the first philosopher who engaged in a systematic questioning about the self. To Socrates, and this has
become his life - long mission , the true task of the philosopher is to know oneself .
o Socrates believed that the best way to live one's life was to focus on self - development , rather than trying to
become rich .
o He saw virtue as the key to happiness, and he considered virtue -the search for what is Good. He dedicated his life to
searching for truth, believing that it is the philosopher's job to show others how little they really know.
o The core of socratic ethics is the concept of virtue and knowledge. Virtue is the deepest and most basic propensity
of man. Knowing ones own virtue is necessary and can be learned. Since virtue is innate in the mind and knowledge
is the source of all wisdom. An individual may gain possession of oneself and be one's own master through
knowledge .

Most men were really not fully aware of who they were and the virtues that they were supposed to attain in order to
preserve their souls for the afterlife.

o For Socrates, every man is composed of body & soul . This means every human is dualistic. That is, he is
composed of two aspects of his personhood.
o For Socrates, this means all individuals have an imperfect, impermanent aspect to him - the body while
maintaining that there is also the soul that is perfect and permanent.

Plato: The self is an immortal soul

o Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher born in Athens in 427 BC. He was the student of Socrates and the teacher
of Aristotle. Together these three philosophers are seen as the founders of Western philosophy as practiced today.
o Plato, Socrates's student basically took off from his master and supported the idea that man is dual nature of body
and soul. In addition to what Socrates espoused, Plato added that there are three components of the soul/self:

1. Rational soul or Reason is the divine essence that enables us to think deeply, make wise choices, and achieve a
true understanding of eternal truths.
2. Appetitive soul includes our basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst, sleep and sexual desire.
3. Spirited soul or passion includes our basic emotions such as love, anger, ambition, aggressiveness, and
empathy.

o Plato believes that genuine happiness can only be achieved by people who consistently make sure that their Reason
is in control of their Spirit and Appetites.

Aristotle: The soul is the essence of the self

o Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, born in Stagira, Greece in 384 BCE, was one of the greatest
intellectual figures of Western history.
o His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics,
politics, psychology and the arts.
o Aristotle believes that the soul is merely a set of defining features and does not consider the body and soul as
separate entities.
 He suggest that anything with life has a soul.
 He holds that the soul is the essence of all living things.

Thus, the soul is the essence of the self.

o His discussion about the self centers on the kinds of soul possessed by
man. Thus, he introduces the three kinds of soul:

Aristotle, suggests that the rational nature of the self is to lead a good, flourishing, and fulfilling life (self- actualization).
o The pursuit of happiness is a search for a good life that includes doing virtuous actions. In saying this, he posits that
part of the rational soul is characterized by moral virtues such as justice and courage.

St. Augustine: The self has an immortal souls

o Saint Augustine of Hippo, was the bishop of Hippo in North Africa and is viewed as one of the most important
Church Fathers in Western Christianity.
o 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.
o This identity is achieved through a twofold process: self-presentation, which leads to self-realization.
o 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, only in the presence of the Omnipotent and the Omniscient can
the self attain happiness and completeness.

 Self-presentation refers to how people attempt to present themselves to control or shape how others (called the
audience) view them. It involves expressing oneself and behaving in ways that create a desired impression.
 Self-realization is an expression used in Western psychology, philosophy, and spirituality; and in Indian religions.
In the Western, it may be defined as the "fulfillment by oneself of the possibilities of one's character or
personality.

Rene Descartes: I think therefore I am

o Rene Descartes (French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. )

o 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.
o Although the mind and 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.

The self then for Descartes is also a combination of two distinct entities,

 The cogito, the thing that thinks, which is the mind, and
 The extenza or extension of the mind, which is the body. The body is nothing else but a machine that is attached
to the mind. The human person has it but it is not what makes man a man. If at all, that is the mind.
o Descartes suggests that the act of thinking about the self or being self-conscious is proof that there is a self.

The self then for Descartes is also a combination of two distinct entities:

1. The self as a thinking entity -the cogito, the thing that thinks, which is the mind that doubts, understands,
analyzes, questions, and reasons.
2. The self as a physical body - the extension of the mind, which is the body. The body is nothing else but a
machine that is attached to the mind. The human person has it but it is not what makes man a man. If at all,
that is the mind.

Maurice Merleau –Ponty

o Was a French phenomenological philosopher who believed that the mind and body are so intertwined that they
cannot be separated from one another. One cannot find any experience that is not an embodied experience. All
experience is embodied. One's body is his opening toward his existence to the world. Because of these bodies, men
are in the world. The living body, his thoughts, emotions, and experiences are all one.
o Knowing yourself lets you live the life you truly want- you know who you are, what you want, and what brings out
the best in you.
o If you don't have a full understanding of who you are, you will continue to make decisions against your true self.