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1. Philosophical Views about the Self Chapter 2

2. SELF The philosophy of self defines the essential qualities that make one person distinct from all others. There have been numerous approaches to defining these qualities. The self is the idea of a unified being which is the source of consciousness. Moreover, this self is the agent responsible for the thoughts and actions of an individual to which they are ascribed. It is a substance, which therefore endures through time; thus, the thoughts and actions at different moments may pertain to the same self.

3. Famous Philosophers

4. Socrates (469-399 bc )

5. Socrates (469-399 bc ) Socrates' view of the self is centered on the idea of self-knowledge and the soul. His famous statement, "The unexamined life is not worth living," emphasizes the importance of self-reflection and understanding one's true nature.

6. Socrates (469-399 bc ) Key Aspects of Socrates’ View of the Self: The Self as the Soul – Socrates believed that the true self is not the physical body but the soul (psyche) , which is the seat of reason and wisdom. Self-Knowledge is the Path to Virtue – He argued that knowing oneself leads to moral and intellectual improvement. Ignorance, on the other hand, leads to wrongdoing. Dialogue and Reflection – Socrates used his Socratic Method (questioning and dialogue) to help individuals examine their beliefs and discover the truth about themselves. The Immortality of the Soul – While not explicitly stating it himself, later interpretations (especially through Plato) suggest that Socrates viewed the soul as immortal and separate from the body.

7. Plato (427-347 bc )

8. Plato (427-347 bc ) Plato elaborates his concept of the soul (the Greek word is psyche) in his later dialogues such as the monumental Republic and the Phaedrus. In particular, he introduces the idea of a three-part soul/self constituted by 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, empathy.

9. Aristotle (384-322 bc ) Aristotle’s view on the self is deeply connected to his concept of the soul (psyche) and the function (telos) of a human being. His perspective is both biological and philosophical , emphasizing that the self is defined by reason and purpose. For Aristotle, the self is not a separate soul but a unified being whose purpose is to think, act virtuously, and flourish within society . The best life is one where reason guides actions, leading to happiness and fulfillment.

10. 2 lens of philosophy of self in Greek times

11. rationalism “Rationalism” denotes a family of philosophical views that have emerged over the past two millennia. Many of the views have in common the idea that the possibility of knowledge is rooted in certain inherent features of the mind. These features fall into at least three distinct though related categories. The first includes any feature that serves as an organizing principle, specifically organizing sensations or sensory data (e.g., colors, sounds, tastes, and so on), the result of which is a unified sensory experience.

12. rationalism The second category includes any inherent feature that serves as a link between thoughts, a link that specifically preserves truth, such that if one thought (or proposition) is true, another thought (or proposition), distinct from the first, is true (i.e., it cannot be false if the first is true).

13. empiricism Empiricism is the philosophy of knowledge by observation. It holds that the best way to gain knowledge is to see, hear, touch, or otherwise sense things directly. In stronger versions, it holds that this is the only kind of knowledge that really counts. It has been extremely important to the history of science, as various thinkers over the centuries have proposed that all knowledge should be tested empirically rather than just through thought-experiments or rational calculation.

14. empiricism It is an idea about how we know things, which means it belongs to the field of epistemology. It is often contrasted with rationalism, a rival school which holds that knowledge is based primarily on logic and intuition, or innate ideas that we can understand through contemplation, not observation.

15. Towards modern philosophy

16. St. agustine (354-430 bc ) St. Augustine is a fourth century philosopher whose groundbreaking philosophy infused Christian doctrine with Neoplatonism. He is famous for being an inimitable Catholic theologian and for his agnostic contributions to Western philosophy. He argues that skeptics have no basis for claiming to know that there is no knowledge. In a proof for existence similar to one later made famous by René Descartes, Augustine says, “[Even] If I am mistaken, I am.”

17. John locke (1632-1704) John Locke was among the most famous philosophers and political theorists of the 17th century. He is often regarded as the founder of a school of thought known as British Empiricism, and he made foundational contributions to modern theories of limited, liberal government. He was also influential in the areas of theology, religious toleration, and educational theory. Locke holds that consciousness can be transferred from one soul to another and that personal identity goes with consciousness.

18. John locke (1632-1704) Consciousness can be transferred from one substance to another, and thus, while the soul is changed, consciousness remains the same, thereby preserving the personal identity through the change. On the other hand, consciousness can be lost as in utter forgetfulness while the soul or thinking substance remains the same.

19. Immanuel kant At the foundation of Kant’s system is the doctrine of “transcendental idealism,” which emphasizes a distinction between what we can experience (the natural, observable world) and what we cannot (“supersensible” objects such as God and the soul). Kant argued that we can only have knowledge of things we can experience. Kant used inner sense to defend the heterogeneity of body and soul: "bodies are objects of outer sense; souls are objects of inner sense"

20. Immanuel kant In Kant's thought there are two components of the self: 1. inner self 2. outer self. There are two kinds of consciousness of self: Consciousness of oneself and one's psychological states in inner sense Consciousness of oneself and one's states via performing acts of apperception.

21. Rene Descartes (1596-1650) René Descartes is often credited with being the “Father of Modern Philosophy.” This title is justified due both to his break with the traditional Scholastic-Aristotelian philosophy prevalent at his time and to his development and promotion of the new, mechanistic sciences.

22. Rene Descartes (1596-1650) Descartes’ view of what a person is might be summarized in this way : “A live human being is composed of two parts: a material body and a non-material mind. It is the latter – the mind, or, as we might say, the soul – that is the real person. For it is here that mental states occur; and it is these states – rather than the physical states of my body – that are fundamental to my life as a person. During my present life the mind ‘inhabits’ the body, in the sense that it is closely causally linked with this particular body. But there is no difficulty in the idea that I – that is, my mind – should continue to exist in a completely non-bodily form after the destruction of my body. “

23. Contemporary philosophers Contemporary philosophers have incorporated science to their theories in the light of the technological advancements that they have been exposed to. The term ‘contemporary philosophy’ refers to the current era of philosophy, generally dealing with philosophers from the late nineteenth century through to the twenty-first. Majority of contemporary philosopher were empiricists. Some well-known contemporary philosophers were: