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UTS - Prelims Notes
UTS - Prelims Notes
Y 2022-2023 1
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
OF PHILOSOPHY Modern Philosophers
Philosophy – concerns itself with acquisition of truth Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
It is a search for meaning - “epistemological turn”
It involves critical thinking - “cogito ergo sum”- marked the beginning of a
It deals with the systematic kind about the origin new trend in philosophy.
and nature of the world
Explanation of one’s knowledge and belief Relate forward
Devoted to acquiring knowledge about
The manner of life
KNOWLEDGE
Ancient Philosophy (Pre-Socratic Philosophers) capacity of the human person to acquire the
Concerned with the nature and origin of the TRUTH.
world
Early philosophers were “metaphysicians” Contemporary Philosophy
(“meta” – above or beyond) Focused on the human person himself.
Concern with the establishment of nature of Anthropocentric – came from the greek word
existing beings as a whole. “Anthropos” meaning “man”
Focused on the origin and nature of the Brought about by the person of the political and
universe. cultural forces
Cosmo-centric – centering on the cosmos or Focused on the following:
universe - Looking for change
- Social reformations and economic
Material things as the origin of things
improvements
Medieval Philosophy (Middle Age Philosophers) - Industrial Revolution ( (1) To speed up
Became religious in nature production and transportation; (2) Brought on
Philosophers on this age began drawing on the the absence of social conscience)
metaphysics of Plato, then on Aristotle. Rediscovery of human dignity as the main goal
Concerns with metaphysics of philosophy.
Philosophers tried to reflect on the mystery of
Beginning of everything must be something
human existence
outside the complexus of finite things.
wonder – is the beginning, the starting point or
Theocentric – focus of attention in the
the origin of philosophy search for every
existence of God
individual.
- “Theos” – God
philosophical wonder - To search for the
It is also identified as “The Christian Medieval
meaning of life
Ages”
- To philosophize
Making the Act of Faith as the conclusion for
- Innate desire to search for TRUTH AND
logical processes and negating the “supra- MEANING
rational” character of faith.
Branches of Philosophy
Modern Philosophy
Metaphysics
By 17th Century-development in modern
Epistemology
science
Ethics
Combined with a decline in authority of a single
Social Philosophy
(Roman Catholic) church
Political Philosophy
Signaled the end of the Medieval Era and the
beginning of the modern world view. Aesthetics
a shift away from metaphysics toward Logic
Epistemology
considered as Ideo-centric
LESSON 1: THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE SELF
It tried to focus on the certitude of human
knowledge
Socrates – born in Athens around 469 BC.
followed his father’s trade as a stone mason
and served the Athenian Army.
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Brought to trial in 399 BC due to corrupting the Concept of Dualism (mind and body)
youth of the city. 1. Mind – Mind is separate from the physical
Sentenced to death by drinking hemlock body.
poison - part of the unseen creation.
To question oneself and others – the highest - houses drives, intellect, passion, and
form of human excellence understanding.
“Know Yourself” - gives identity and sense of self.
“An Unexamined life is not worth living” 2. Body – nothing but a “part” attached to the
“Live but die inside.” mind.
to preserve ourselves in the afterlife, we must Cogito ergo, sum – “I think, therefore I am”
be fully aware of who we are. Only thing that cannot be doubted is the
Soul – immortal existence of the self, as man himself was the
- death is not the end of existence one doing the doubting in the first place.
- death is the separation of the soul from the We exist because we think.
body. “Nothing but a thinking thing that doubts,
Knowledge – always and universally true understands, affirms, denies, is willing, is
Belief – true in certain circumstances unwilling, and also imagines and has sensory
perceptions.”
Plato – sustained the idea of Socrates that man is
composed of dual nature (body and soul). John Locke – identity is tied with consciousness
“Soul was external” Identity – What makes you “you” and “me”
It exists prior to being joined to the body. Consciousness – perception of what passes in
Reincarnation – the soul lives within a body man’s own mind. It comprises of our memories.
and upon death moves unto another body. Principle of Individuation – the idea that a
Body – Prison of the Soul person keeps the same identity over time.
Memories gives us our identity.
Tripartile (3 Parts of the Human Soul)
1. Appetitive Soul – based on desires
David Hume – known for his lack of self theory
2. Spiritual Soul – based on mood and
emotions Empiricism – all knowledge is derived from
3. Rational Soul – based on logic or intellect human senses.
Only through our physical experience using our
Augustine – Similar to Plato; “Soul is immortal” sense of sight, sound, touch, taste, and
Soul and body make up a human. smell that we know what we know.
Does not believe in reincarnation (where soul Impressions – everything that originate from
jumps from one body to another) our senses.
One person = one soul Ideas – faint images of thinking and reasoning
Body is bound to perish on earth. based on impressions.
Soul is capable of reaching immortality by Impressions are changing, shifting elements of
staying after death with God. our existence and because of this, our personal
Purpose of humans is to attain spiritual union identity cannot persist through.
with God. We perceive a sense of self depending on how
our mind put impressions together and makes
Thomas Aquinas – Our experiences determine self sense of them as “me”
knowledge (deeper sense of self) The idea of the self that we make is a bunch of
Experiences shape our awareness of ourselves. physical impressions.
More experiences = more we get to know Bundle Theory – properties we can sense are
ourselves the only real parts of an object.
Answering “Who am I” can be unravelled from Our sense of self is simply a combination of all
the inside by me. the impressions that we have, that, once
We are agents interacting with the environment. removed, leave us with a complete lack of self.
The way you see your self is also manipulated there are rules that one must follow in order to
by your values and beliefs. win the game or be successful in an activity.
Values – what you think is right or wrong. Me – generalized other
Beliefs – what you see as true and untrue. - Children and young adults interact with the
society and adopt to other people’s
Social Identity – the way others see you
expectations.
It is influenced by others’ perceptions, attitudes,
- considered as the socialized aspect of the
values, and beliefs.
individual.
Social identity and self-identity are not always
- represents the learned behaviors, attitudes,
on the same page.
and expectations of others and of the society.
Stereotypes – assumptions that are made about - Knowledge is developed through our social
individuals because they belong to a particular social interactions with other people.
group. I – the representation of the person’s identity
When someone believes that a stereotype is based on the response to the “me”
true, unfair judgements are made about an - “I” allows us to bend some rules governing
individual. social interactions, which enables us to still
Sense of self – collection of beliefs that we hold about express our creativity, originality, and
ourselves. imaginations.
We put together these beliefs based upon our To Mead, the “me” and the “I” make up the
social interactions with others. self.
Self-socialization – a developmental process that Charles Cooley – build on the work of Mead with his
allows us to reflect upon and argue with ourselves for theory called the Looking-Glass Self.
us to develop an accurate self-image Looking-Glass Self – People develop a sense
This process begins in early childhood and has of self through three elements – (1) how we
many influencing factors such as the family, imagine we appear to others, (2) the judgement
peers, teachers, and the media we imagine that other people may be making
about us, (3) our self-image based upon the
George Herbert Mead – developed the Social Self evaluations of others.
Theory The Three Stages of Behavioral and
Social Self Theory – the sense of self is Personality Development of the Looking-
developed through social interactions, such as Glass Self:
observing and interacting with others.
Self is not yet present at birth. It is developed 1. Imagining – when an individual judges the
over time from social experiences and activities. way he or she acts and appears from the
He also identified three activities that develop points of view of family and friends.
- These views make-up a self-concept
the self – (1) language, (2) play, (3) games
- “this is how I must appear to others” stage
Language – By means of symbols, gestures, 2. Interpreting – A person elicits conclusions
words, and sounds, which enables individuals to coming not only from past experiences but
communicate with and respond to each other. from what others think as well, and then
- A person’s attitudes and opinions towards reacts to the judgement of other people’s
another person are conveyed using language. views.
Play – it allows us to take on different roles, 3. Developing Self-Concept – individual
pretend, and express expectation of others. combines everything from his past
- self-consciousness is developed through role- experiences, including other’s
playing, which enables us to assume other roles perspectives.
and internalize how others perceive us in a - a sense of self-image is formed
variety of social situations. - “This is who I am” stage
Games – allows individuals to understand and
Cultural Context – How we see ourselves shapes our
adhere to the rules of the activity, teaching them
lives and is shaped by our culture.
the value of accountability.
- The self is developed by understanding that
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Self-perceptions – influence how we think about the LESSON 3: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE SELF
world, our social relationships, health and lifestyle
choices, community engagement, political actions, and
ultimately our own and others’ well being. Psychology – the scientific study of the human mind
and its functions, especially those affecting behaviour
Individualism – the “I” idea that describes the self as in a given context.
existing independently of others and includes own
traits. Self – has been defined several times as one’s
personal identity that characterizes who we are as a
Collectivism – “We” idea, views the self in relation to human being.
others, emphasizing the interdependence of the self Entails an individual’s conscious and
as part of a larger network of people who all help unconscious aspects, his or her personality,
shape each other. cognitions, or thoughts and feelings.
Family – The primary agent of socialization. Sense of Self – the way a person thinks about and
We first learn to interact with our parents and views his or her traits, beliefs, and purpose within the
other family members. world.
The most basic foundation of our growth and
development. William James – Known as the father of American
Psychology; was one of the first to propose a theory of
Without a family, the sense of self will be difficult
the “self” in the Principles of Psychology.
to develop.
According to him, the self has two aspects – the
Culture plays a significant role in determining
“I Self” and the “Me Self”
the kind of relationships we establish with our
I Self – a reflection of what people see in one’s
families.
actions in the physical world (e.g., recognizing
Gender – a social interpretation that varies across that one is reading)
culture - I Self is the thinking
How a person express his or her biological sex Me Self – an individual’s reflections about
according to cultural definitions himself or herself (e.g., branding oneself as
Sex – biological term for a person’s genetic intelligent or kind)
condition of being male or female. - The physical and psychological capabilities
Ethnicity – social construct determined by a person’s that make you who you are.
ancestral origins, culture, and physical attributes
inherited from their ancestors. Carl Rogers – a Human Psychologist who contributed
Racial or ethnic differences affect one’s self- a great deal about the development of the self.
image. He believed that there are three contributing
components to the development of the sense of
Nationality – combines with ethnicity to further define self: (1) self-image, (2) self-esteem, (3) and the
a person’s identity within his or her larger community. ideal self.
Self-image – How we view ourselves.
Socio-economic Class – determines where we live, - Includes personality traits and physical
the benefits and shortcomings we experienced during descriptions (e.g., tall, short, confident, loyal)
our upbringing, the kind of education that we have, the - Also includes one’s social roles (e.g., working
kind of language that we learn, and even the choice of students, youngest in the family)
social groups. - A person’s self-image is not always true.
It contributes to the development of one’s self - A person suffering from bulimia may have the
confidence that gives them the feeling of either self-image that they are extremely overweight,
superiority or inferiority in relation to others who even if they are not in reality.
belong to a different class. - The real self
- As you grow, self-image also changes and
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ourselves, with a unique combination of a Hinduism – major religion common in the south Asian
multitude of talents, skills, interests, and Countries like India and Sri Lanka.
abilities.
Brahman – considered as the sacred, the god
There is no disparity between values lived and spirit or the universe.
lived values because the “self” is genuine
Atman – the human soul or the self
Rooted from early infancy.
Hinduism teaches that the Atman is a fragment
The body’s spontaneous, non-verbal gestures of the Brahman.
are derived from his or her instincts – the sense
Reincarnation – teaches that people die and
of “reality”
are reborn over and over again.
If good parenting is not in place, the grown-up - each time a person dies and is reborn, it
baby’s spontaneity is in danger, which results to comes closer to Brahman.
developing the need to comply with the parents’ - When the person completes the cycle of
expectations. reincarnation, they stop being reborn and are
False Self – when a person puts on a façade with fully reunited with the Brahman.
others that may result in an internal sensation of being - The Atman or the self is tied to everything.
depleted. The self in Hinduism is just a part of a larger
One’s actions may feel forced, alienated, or whole (the Brahman).
detached. Buddhism – a common Eastern Religion and
Other people’s expectations can become too Philosophy where the self is often thought of as an
overriding or contradicting with the original illusion.
sense of self. There is no such as thing as a “self” at all
There are possible tendencies to turn to mood- Interconnectedness – everything is connected
altering substances in order to feel “different” - humans are just a stream of consciousness
and not a separate entity.
THE WESTERN AND EASTERN THOUGHTS - Our interconnection with each other eliminates
ABOUT THE SELF
the idea that there is us and there is others.
- We, as humans, are just a single part of a
Western Thought – focused on individualism.
larger whole.
People view self as autonomous relative to
Nirvana – a place of perfect peace and
others and the environment.
happiness akin to heaven
Western Beliefs – we are separate and unique from - since the self is an illusion, we should
each other. (Individualism) therefore forget about the self, the cravings, and
What one person does or experiences is its attachment to human-centered desires which
completely independent of other people and the cause suffering.
world at large. Confucianism – Focused more on human behaviour,
Eastern Culture – dominated by the “we” idea causing many scholars to consider it more of an
(Collectivism) ethical system or a code of conduct rather than a
Self is part of a larger networks of people who religion.
help shape each other. A human being is a social being, whose
WESTERN CULTURE EASTERN CULTURE personality is not inherently existing but is being
Individualistic culture Collectivistic culture formed through upbringing and environment.
Their focus is on the Groups and relations The self will develop through practice of virtues
person and individual are given more of compassion, righteousness, propriety, and
needs and wants importance wisdom.
Values competitions Values cooperation Self-cultivation is the supreme goal
Emphasizes equality Emphasizes on Chun-tzu – a man of virtue or noble character.
hierarchy as the culture Taoism – ancient Chinese philosophy that stresses
wants to keep things in the importance of living simply and honestly and in
harmony and in order
harmony with nature.
Often referred to as the way
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