The Self from

Philosophical
Perspective
Objectives
•Define the meaning of Philosophy
and its etymology

•Know the different categories of

Philosophy

•Discuss the different viewpoints of

famous philosophers in their
concept about the “SELF”

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 Defining
Philosophy
What is Philosophy?
Philosophy is…

…the study of general and fundamental problems concerning

matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind,
and language.

…the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and

existence, especially when considered as an academic
discipline.

…the discipline that looks for reasoned answers to certain very

abstract questions, usually left unasked in everyday life,

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Sample Questions in Philosophy
Examples of the questions being asked in Philosophy are:

Is there an objective difference between right and

wrong?
Is the universe sustained in existence by a god?
Can we know about things that we cannot see or touch?
What is a mind?
Why do words mean what they do?
Why should we obey the state?

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Etymology
Philosophy

from the Greek words:

PHYLOS – “love” or “to love”

SOPHIA – “knowledge”

Philosophy literally means “love for knowledge”

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The Concept of
“Self” According
to the
Philosophers

Ancient Greeks
The Soul Is
Immortal :
Socrates and
Plato

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Socrates
Socrates was the first thinker in Western history to
focus the full power of reason on the human self:
who we are, who we should be, and who we will
become.

• Know Thyself
• Question Everything
• Only the Pursuit of Goodness Bring Happiness
• Socratic Method: Question and Answer

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Socrates
Socrates explains that the soul uses the body as “an
instrument of perception,” and that the soul
“rules” the body in the same way that the divine
rules the mortals.

Socrates argues that because the soul is of a

unified, indissoluble form we should not be
concerned about death because the soul is
incapable of being dispersed into nonexistence—
it must be eternal.

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Plato
Greek philosopher of extraordinary significance in
the history of ideas. Contributed original ideas on
a wide range of issues such as morality, politics,
metaphysics, and epistemology.

Human behavior flows from three main sources:

DESIRE, EMOTION, and KNOWLEDGE

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Plato
Tripartite Soul

Reason —Our 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.

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Self : Plato

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 The Concept of
“Self” According
to the
Philosophers

Middle Ages (Neoplatonism)

St.Augustine
He considers the body a “slave” to the soul, and sees
their relation as contentious: “The soul makes war
with the body.”

“Soul and body are two things, and cannot be called a

“man” if the other did not exist”

The absolute and immutable is the Living God, the

Creator of the entire universe. To love God means
to love one’s fellowmen, and to love one’s
fellowmen means never to do any harm to another.

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Rene Descartes
The Self is defined as a subject that thinks.

The self that has full competence in the powers of

human reason.

Having distanced the self from all sources of truth

from authority and tradition, the self can only find
its truth and authenticity within its own capacity
to think.

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Sigmund Freud
The self continues from childhood to adulthood

Personality is determined by childhood

experiences

Structure of the Self:

1. Id: animalistic self; pleasure principle
2. Ego: executive self; reality principle
3. Superego: conscience; morality principle

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John Locke
Personal identity is a matter of psychological
continuity.

Personal identity (or the self) is founded on

consciousness.

Locke posits an “empty” mind, a tabula rasa, which

is shaped by experience, and sensations and
reflections being the two sources of all our ideas.

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David Hume
He rejects the notion of identity over time. There are
no “persons” that continue to exist over time,
there are merely impressions.

✗ Hume notes, there is no basis for the belief that

there is any self and believed that hat there is
no self or immortal soul in the traditional sense.

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Immanuel Kant
Consciousness is the central feature of the self.

The consciousness is divided into:

1. Internal Self - composed of psychological states

and informed decisions; remembering our own
state, how can we combine the new and old ideas
with our mind

2. External Self - made up of ourselves and the

physical world where the representation of objects

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Gilbert Ryle
Rejects the theory that mental states are separable
from physical states.

He concluded that adequate descriptions of human

behaviour need never refer to anything but the
operations of human bodies

His form of Philosophical Behaviourism (the belief that

all mental phenomena can be explained by
reference to publicly observable behaviour) became
a standard view for several decades.

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SUMMARY
PHILOSOPHER CONCEPT OF SELF

Socrates and Plato The Soul Is Immortal

Saint Augustine Synthesis of Plato

and Christianity
Rene Descartes Modern Perspective on the Self

John Locke The Self Is Consciousness

David Hume There Is No Self

Immanuel Kant We Construct the Self

Sigmund Freud The Self Is Multilayered

Gilbert Ryle The Self Is How You Behave

References
Chafee, J. (2013). Consciousness, Identity, and Self.
In the Philosopher’s Way: Thinking Critically about
Profound Ideas. Pearson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy

https://philosophy.missouri.edu/undergrad/what-
philosophy

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