“LOVING YOURSELF

ISN’T VANITY. IT’S

SANITY.”
– KATRINA MAYER
understanding
the self
Angelica E. Balatong
HOW DO YOU DEFINE
"SELF"?
WHY DO WE NEED TO
KNOW ABOUT THE
SELF
How kind were you
to yourself
today?

whY DO WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND OURSELF?

 Lessons To Be Covered

Part I. The Self in

Various Perspective
Part III. Managing and Caring for
the Self

Part II. Unpacking the Self

part 1. the self in various perspective
Lesson 1. Philosophy

What is Philosophy?
Socrates: The Soul is Immortal
Plato: The Soul is Immortal
Augustine: Christianity
Rene Descartes: A 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: There Are Two Selves, Conscious and Unconscious
Gilbert Ryle: The Is How You Behave
Paul Churchland: The Self Is the Brain
Maurice Merleau-Ponty: The Self is Embodied Subjectivity
 The word "philosophy"
originates from two Greek
words ("Philos" means
what is beloved and “Sophia"

philosophy? means wisdom), meaning

"love of wisdom."
Socrates: The Soul is Immortal

“The
unexamined
life is not
worth living”
Socrates The physical body is a tangible
aspect of us. It is mortal (it dies),
constantly changing, imperfect,
Socrates was believed to be the first transforming, disappearing.
thinker to focus on the full power of
reason on the human self - our
existence in the universe, who we
are, who we should be, and whom
we will become.

Our soul, which Socrates believed to

be immortal, is eternal, unchanging,
perfect, or ideal.
For Socrates, the self exists in
two parts: the physical body
and the soul.
 Socrates
Knowing ourselves is knowing how
Soul first before man's body
to take care ourselves.
Socrates believed that there was a soul first before a
Socrates’ conviction is conveyed in his famous
man's body. The soul has all the knowledge that is stored
in his mind. However, once he came to the material world statement: "the unexamined life is not worth
or the world of senses, he forgot most of what he knew. living." The most important task one can undertake
This resulted in a lack of knowledge or ignorance, which is to examine one's self, for it alone will give one
causes problems for men. Knowledge can be restored the knowledge necessary to answer the question
through the process of dialectic method or Socratic
'how should I live my life.' Socrates explained:
method - an exchange of question and answer that
ultimately aims to make a person remember all the
"...once we know ourselves, we may learn how to
knowledge that he has forgotten, including his former all- care for ourselves, but otherwise, we never shall."
knowing self.
Plato: The Soul is Immortal

“The first and

the best
victory is to
conquer self.”
 Plato
Plato is a Dualist How to be genuinely happy?

There is both an immaterial mind

(soul) and a material body, and it is Plato believed that true and genuine
the soul that represents the self. happiness could only be achieved if we
Plato believed the soul exists before consistently make sure that our reason
birth and after death. For him, one is in control of our Spirits and Appetites.
should care about his soul rather
than his body.
 Plato: Soul is divided into Three Parts

Reason is our divine essence that Will or Spirit is our basic

enables us to think deeply, make emotion or passion, such as
wise choices, and achieve a true empathy, aggressiveness, love,
understanding of eternal truths. anger, ambition.

Reason Physical Appetite Will or Spirit

Physical Appetite is our basic When conflict occurs, Plato believes

The three elements of our “self” are biological needs such as it is the responsibility of our reason
in a dynamic relationship with one hunger, thirst, and sexual to sort things out and exert control,
desire. re-establishing a harmonious
another. Sometimes, they work in
relationship between the three
concert, sometimes in conflict.
elements of ourselves.
St. Augustine: Christianity

“Accepting God
is the path to
know thyself.”
 St. Agustine
Man's likeness to God Self is all about God
Augustine's sense of self is his relation to God,
both in his recognition of God's love, and his
Augustine believes that man is response to it. It is achieved through self-
created in the image and likeness of presentation then self-realization. Augustine
God, and he is essentially a soul believed one could not achieve inner peace
without finding God's love and through faith and
whose goal is to be with God. reason, our self seeks to be united with God.
Augustine believes that God is transcendent, and
everything created by God, who is all good, is good.
Rene Descartes: A Modern Perspective on the Self

“Cogito ergo
sum (I think;
therefore I
am.)”
 René Descartes
Essence of Self - you are a thinking
Founder of Modern Philosophy self
For Descartes, this is the essence of self— The thinking self—or soul—is a non-material,
you are a "thinking thing" (I exist because I immortal, conscious being, independent of the
think: I think, therefore I exist). The mind is physical laws of the universe.
what matters. But what about your body?
The physical body is a mortal, non-thinking
Descartes believes that our physical body
material that is fully governed by the physical laws
is secondary to our personal identity.
of nature. Further, your soul and your body are
Descartes declares that the essential self, independent of one another. Each one can exist
or the self as a thinking entity, is radically and function without the other. This, in a way,
different from the self as a physical body. echoes the dualism of Plato.
John Locke: The Self Is Consciousness

"the MIND Is A
TABULA RASA"
 John Locke
Essence of Self - you are a thinking
The Mind is a Tabula Rasa self
He theorized that we are the same person as we
were in the past for as long as we can remember
Locke believed that we are born without memories from that past. It is our memory or our
thoughts, or our mind was empty and that consciousness of our past that makes us that same
knowledge is instead determined only by person as we were in the past. Thus, to Locke, our
experience. According to Locke, our conscious awareness and memory of previous
memory plays a key role in our definition experiences are the keys to understanding the self.
of the self. It is our consciousness that makes possible our
belief that we are the same identity at different
times and different places.
David Hume: There Is No “Self”

“There is no such
thing as freedom
of choice unless
there is freedom
to refuse.”
 David Hume
Direct Sense of Experience

David Hume believed that the

source of all genuine knowledge is
our direct sense experience. He
believes in the existence of the
mind, and what’s inside the mind is
divided into two: impressions and
ideas.
 David Hume
Impressions Ideas
Ideas are those things that we create in our minds
even though we are no longer experiencing them.
Impressions are those things we For example, even when I’m already inside my
perceive through our senses as room and can no longer see the sky, I can still think
of the idea of the sky, like it’s a nice day, it’s not
we experience them. Like when I likely to rain, maybe I can do the laundry, or maybe
see the sky, and my sense of sight I can go out to the park.

tells me I am looking at a blue sky. Whenever we think of simple ideas, it must have as
a basis a simple impression.
 David Hume
There is no self because we change

For Hume, the self keeps on changing, like how

one looks, one feels, one thinks they constantly
change. There is no permanent and unchanging
self. A person is a bundle of perceptions. "I" will
constantly be changing because the different
experiences one has for every constant change
will affect and re-shape that person. Thus, we
cannot observe any permanent self because we
continuously undergo change. In conclusion,
there is no self.
Immanuel Kant: We Construct the Self

"A man is a free

agent"
 Immanuel Kant
We construct the self
Immanuel Kant refutes Hume’s theory that there
is no “self” and argues that it is possible to find
the essence of the self. For Kant, man is a free
agent, capable of making a decision for himself.
Man is a free agent, for he is gifted with reason
and free will to enable him to organize the data
gathered by the senses. From these data and the
way we organize them, we can build an idea of
who we are.

Hence, the self is very present.

Sigmund Freud: There are Two Selves

"There Are Two

Selves, One
Conscious, One
Unconscious"
 Sigmund Freud
Unconscious - Pleasure Principle Conscious - Reality Principle
The unconscious contains basic instinctual drives that
Conscious self is governed by the “reality principle.”
include aggressiveness, sexuality, and self-destruction;
traumatic memories; childhood fantasies and unfulfilled
At this level of functioning, our behavior and
wishes; thoughts and feelings that would be considered experience are organized in ways that are practical,
socially taboo. This unconscious level is characterized by the rational, and appropriate to the social
most primitive level of human motivation and functioning. environment. The conscious self takes into account
Our most basic instinctual drives in the unconscious level the realistic demands of situations, the
seek immediate gratification or discharge. The impulses at
consequences of actions, and the overriding need
this level are governed solely by the “pleasure principle.”
Our unconscious self exists and influences us throughout to preserve the equilibrium, rather than doing
our lives. Though it is not directly observable, its existence direct, impulsive, and irrational behaviors.
can be inferred from such phenomena as neurotic
symptoms, dreams, and “slips of the tongue.”
Sigmund Freud
Freud later developed the Structural model of the mind
that is divided into three: the id, ego, and superego.
Id represents man's biological nature, impulses, and
bodily desires.
Superego represents the ethical component of the
personality and provides the moral standards by
which the ego operates. The id and the superego find
themselves clashing against each other, with the
superego trying to control the id's impulses and its
attempt to satisfy its urges.
Ego. The winner of above inner battle is manifested in
the ego, which is the self. If the ego behaves, then the
superego won. If the ego misbehaves, the id won. This
battle is all taking place in the unconscious. The realm
of the ego is found in the conscious.
Gilbert Ryle: The Self Is How You Behave

"In searching of
the self, one
cannot
simultaneously be
the hunter and the
hunted"
Gilbert Ryle
Gilbert Ryle simply focused on observable behavior
cording
in defining thet self. No more inner selves, immortal
soul, states of consciousness, or unconscious self:
instead, the self is defined in terms of the behavior
that is presented to the world. From Ryle's point of
view, the self is best understood as a pattern of
behavior, a person’s tendency or disposition to
behave in a certain way in certain circumstances. In
short, the self is defined by the observable behaviors
we project to the world around us.
Paul Churchland: The Self Is the Brain

"the self is the

brain"
 Paul Churchland
There is no dualism. The Self is the Brain
He focused on the brain states rather than the mental
When it comes to learning of human experience, states. Neuroscience is into the fore of understanding the
the concept of dualism is that the mind and the self. When people want to ask what is going on with
body are separate. In other words, we do have a themselves, they might go for an MRI scan or CT scan to
understand the condition of the brain and how it works.
single brain and have a separate mind, too. Paul
Churchland disagrees with the concept of dualism.
Churchland believes that the term “mind,” our moods,
Churchland asserts that since the mind cannot be emotions, actions, consciousness are deeply affected by
experienced by the senses, it does not exist. It is the state of our brain. That by manipulating certain parts
the physical brain, not the imaginary mind, that of our brain, our feelings, actions, and physical state is
gives us our sense of self. successfully
altered.
Maurice Merleau-Ponty: The Self is Embodied Subjectivity

"THE SELF IS
EMBODIED
SUBJECTIVITY"
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Merleau-Ponty takes a very different approach to the
self. His ideas suggest that there is unity in our mental, physical,
and emotional disposition, and they all affect how we
experience our selves. For instance, when you wake up in the
morning and experience your gradually becoming aware of
where you are or how you feel, what are your first thoughts of
the day? Perhaps something like, “Oh no, it’s time to get up, but
I’m still sleepy, but I have a class that I can’t be late for.” Note
that at no point do you doubt that the “I” you refer to is a single
integrated entity, but a blending of mental, physical, and
emotional structure around a core identity: your self. Our self is
a product of our conscious human experience. The definition of
self is all about one’s perception of one’s experience and the
interpretation of those experiences. To Merleau-Ponty, the self
is embodied subjectivity. He entirely rejected the idea of mind
and body dichotomy because, for him, man is all about how
he sees himself.
Thank
You
Do you have any
questions for me?