Philosophical Perspective of The Self: 1. Socrates
Philosophical Perspective of The Self: 1. Socrates
Philosophical Perspective of The Self: 1. Socrates
WHATV IS PHILOSOPHY?
A. THE PRE-SOCRATICS
The Pre-Socratics (Thales, Pythagoras, Parmenides, Heraclitus, Empedocles, etc.) were concerned with
answering questions such as;
DO YOU AGREE THAT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BODY AND THE SOUL?
1. SOCRATES
concerned with the problem of the self
“the true task of the philosopher is to know oneself”
“the unexamined life is not worth living”
underwent a trial for ‘corrupting the minds of the youth’
succeeded made people think about who they are
3. (ST.) AUGUSTINE
‘spirit of man’ in medieval philosophy
following view of Plato but adds Christianity
man is of a bifurcated nature
part of man dwells in the world (imperfect) and yearns to be with the Divine
other part is capable of reaching immortality
body – dies on earth; soul – lives eternally in spiritual bliss with “God”
DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE CONCEPT OF THE SOUL COMING TO HEAVEN AFTER DEATH?
B. MODERN PHILOSOPHY
1.Rene DESCARTES
Father of Modern Philosophy
human person = body + mind
“there is so much that we should doubt”
DO YOU AGREE WITH THE STATEMENTS ABOUT THE SELF (body & soul) SO FAR?
2. David HUME
disagrees with the all the other aforementioned philosophers
“one can only know what comes from the senses & experiences” (he is an empiricist)
“the self is not an entity beyond the physical body”
you know that other people are humans not because you have seen their soul, but because you
see them, hear them, feel them etc
“the self is nothing but a bundle of impressions and ideas”
impression - basic objects of our experience/sensation
- forms the core of our thoughts
Idea -copies of impressions
- not as “real” as impressions feeling mo lang yun !
self - a collection of different perceptions which rapidly succeed each other
self - in a perpetual flux and movement
we want to believe that there is a unified , coherent self, soul, mind, etc. but ~~actually~~ it is
all just a combination of experiences.
3. Immanuel KANT
agrees with HUME that everything starts with perception/sensation of impressions
there is a MIND that regulates these impressions
“time, space, etc. are ideas that one cannot find in the world, but is built in our minds
“apparatus of the mind”
the self organizes different impressions that one gets in relation to his own existence
we need active intelligence to synthesize all knowledge and experience
4. Gilbert RYLE
denies the internal, non-physical self
“what truly matters is the behavior that a person manifests in his day-to-day life.”
looking for the self is like entering LU and looking for the “university” (explain!)
the self is not an entity one can locate and analyze but simply the convenient name that
we use to refer to the behaviors that we make
5.MERLEAU-PONTY
a phenomenologist who says the mindbody bifurcation is an invalid problem
mind and body are inseparable
“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.