GOOD AFTERNOON

☺
Mirror Reflection Activity:
Instructions: Take out the small hand mirror
provided, or use your phone’s front camera if you
don’t have one. Hold it so you can see your reflection
clearly. Pay attention not just to your face, but to
what thoughts or feelings arise as you look.

Guide Question:
“When you look at yourself, are you only seeing your
physical appearance, or something deeper?”
 Philosophic
LESSON 1:

al
Perspective
on the Self
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the lesson; the student should be able to:
a. Compare and contrast the philosophical perspectives on the self;
b. Examine yourself against the different philosophical views on the
self;
c. Distinguish how the philosophical perspectives on the self are
applied; and
d. Create your own theory of the self.
INTRODUCTION:
Philosophy studies different ideas from many
philosophers, including their thoughts about the self.

Self means trying to understand our meaning and

purpose in life.

If we don’t understand ourselves:

• may face confusion
• contradictions later in life.
 Classical
Philosophers on the
Self
Activity: Fill me in!

s___
_n_w_e_g_
SOCRATES
• Known mainly through his students,
especially Plato

• Famous for the reminder to “know thyself”

• Self-knowledge is understanding one’s

capabilities, potentials, and limits

• Knowledge is virtue; ignorance is vice

• Body is mortal and imperfect

SOCRATES
• Accepting ignorance is the first step to
wisdom
• A dualist: soul is immortal, divine, and rules
the body
• Soul controls emotions and actions through
reason, making it superior to the body
 According to
Socrates, why is
‘knowing yourself’
important, and how can
it guide the way you live
your life?
PLATO
Activity: Observe Me!
Direction: Observe the given picture.

_d__l_s_
PLATO

• Plato an ancient Greek philosopher

• His works laid the foundation of
Western thought

• Advocated Idealism: the physical world is

an illusion; ultimate reality consists of
eternal, abstract, universal essences.
PLATO

• Ideas are known by reason alone and

exist in their own independent realm
• Regarding the self: Plato believed in an
enduring, eternal soul that represents
the true self.

• The soul continues to exist even after

death.
 Plato b
el
world i ieved that th
sj e phys
eternal ust an imperf ical
e c
forms. and perfect t copy of
Ca i
from e n you give a deas or
ve n exam
‘idea’ o ryday life ple
r ‘esse where
seems nce’ of th
more r someth e
its phy e ing
sical fo al or lasting
rm? than
Activity:
Direction: Analyze the given picture!
St. Augustine
• St. Augustine’s views on time and
memory greatly influenced early
psychology.

• Time is not a property of the external

world but of the mind.

• Memory of the past is essential for

anticipating the future and experiencing
the present.
St. Augustine
• The soul holds three “presents”
simultaneously:
Present of past things → memory
Present of present things → direct experience
Present of future things → expectation

• Past and future exist only in the mind or consciousness,

not as independent realities.

• In Confessions, Augustine stated that past events survive

only as images in memory, not as the events themselves.
 St. Augustine said
the past exists
in memory, the p
resent in direct
experience, and
the future in
expectation. Can
you share an
example from yo
ur own life that
shows how these
three ‘presents’
are connected?"
Activity: Fill me in!

m__d &_o_y
Rene Descartes

• A French philosopher and mathematician,

is famous for the dictum “Cogito, ergo
sum” (“I think, therefore I am”)

• The self is a thinking substance,

different from the body — mind-body
dichotomy. Thought (mind) always
precedes action (body).
 Rene Descartes

• Humans are free to choose and create

their own reality.

• Humans are masters of their own

universe through thought and
self-awareness.

• Filipino term “diskarte” derives from

Descartes’ name.
 Descar
te
I am,’ s said, ‘I think
meanin , theref
prove g our th ore
our ex oughts
think o istence
f a sit . Can
way of u at you
thinkin ion where y
you g shap our
acted ed the
someth or e way
ing?" x perienc
ed
Guide Question:

1. What have you observe in the given picture?

Sigmund Freud
• A psychoanalytic theory
introduced a multi-layered view of
the mind: id, ego, and superego.
❑ Id
✔ Present from birth; instinctual.
✔ Stores wishes and obsessions related to sexual
and aggressive desires.
✔ Operates on the pleasure principle — seeks
pleasure, avoids pain.
✔ Ignores reality, morality, and rules.
✔ Driven by libido (sexual energy
✔ selfish, aggressive, and uncontrolled behavior.
 Sigmund Freud
• A psychoanalytic theory
introduced a multi-layered view of
the mind: id, ego, and superego.
❑ Ego
✔ Operates on the reality principle.
✔ Balances demands of id and superego.
✔ Uses reason and logic; shaped by personal
experiences.
✔ Ensures survival and adaptation to the
environment.
✔ Successful ego → creative, emotionally balanced
individual..
Sigmund Freud
• A psychoanalytic theory introduced
a multi-layered view of the mind: id,
ego, and superego.
❑ Superego
✔ Develops last; based on the morality principle.
✔ Stores moral standards learned through
socialization (home, school, church, etc.).
✔ Has two systems:
Conscience → punishes with guilt.
Ideal self → rewards when living up to societal
standards.
✔ Dominance produces a moral, law-abiding, socially
acceptable person.
 Freud said our
mind has three
parts — id, ego
, and superego.
Can you share a
n example from
your own experie
nce where you
felt a conflict be
tween what you
wanted to do, wha
t was realistic to
do, and what y
ou felt was the
‘right’ thing to do?
"
Awesome Words!
Let’s have some stretching <3
A picture is worth
a thousand words
John Locke

• John Locke’s philosophy of personal

identity is based on consciousness or
memory.

• Consciousness = awareness of what

happens in one’s own mind.

• Personal identity resides in

consciousness, not in the brain or soul.
 John Locke

• Loss of consciousness (e.g., forgetfulness)

can create a different person even with
the same soul.

• Introduced tabula rasa: humans are born

as blank slates, with experiences shaping
identity over time.
 "Locke
person believe
al iden d
conscio tity com that o
usness es from ur
soul. If , ou
you wo not our body r
a com k
pletely e up tomorro or
kept a differen w in
ll t b
you st your memor ody but
ill be ies, w
Why or t h e sam ould
why no e person
t?" ?
David Hume

• David Hume believed there is ere is no

permanent, unchanging self — what we
call the “self” is just a temporary bundle of
perceptions (thoughts, feelings,
sensations, and memories) that constantly
change and only exist in the present
moment.
David Hume

• If you are looking for a self, you cannot

find it; thee only thing that you can
discover is a set of individual impressions.

• Scottish philosopher known for

his empiricist and skeptical approach,
particularly epistemology and moral
philosophy.
 Hume believed th
at the self is just
a bundle of cha
nging thoughts,
feelings, and sen
sations. Do you
agree that we ha
ve no permanent
self, only what
we are in the
present moment?
Why or why not?
Immanuel Kant

• German Philosopher who theorized that

consciousness is formed by one’s inner and
outer sense.

• Inner sense (psychological state, intellect)

• Outer sense (physical senses, external

world).
 Immanuel Kant
• Opposed Hume’s view; Kant argued the self
is real, though not a physical object or mere
appearance.

• Believed in the existence of God and soul.

• Humans gain knowledge through

experience, but some metaphysical
questions remain unanswerable.
 "Kant
be
organiz lieved the
ing pr s
our inciple elf is an
ex that u
cohere periences nites
nt int
momen whole. Can y o on
t ou reca e
sensat when ll a
ions, differen
feeling th o u ghts, t
s cam
you a e and
clear u together to
event o nd giv
r situat erstanding of e
ion?" an
Gilbert Ryle
• British philosopher, opposed René
Descartes’ idea of the self as a “thinking
thing.”

• Believed the mind is not separate from

the body — they form a whole.

• Supported behavioristic psychology;

developed logical (analytical)
behaviorism — mental concepts
understood through observable actions.
Gilbert Ryle

• Self is the combination of mind

and body, not separate entities.

• “I act, therefore I am” — self is

defined by behavior, not an
immaterial mind.

• The self is the way people behave

Paul Churchland and Patricia
Churchland
• Paul and Patricia Churchland are
neuroscientists who introduced eliminative
materialism — the claim that
common-sense understanding of the mind
is deeply wrong.

• They argue that folk psychology

(common-sense explanations of mental
states) is false.
Paul Churchland and Patricia
Churchland
• The Churchlands believe that talk of mental
states will eventually be replaced by a
scientific view of the brain.

• Self is nothing but the brain — entirely

contained in the physical brain.

• “My brain and I are inseparable. I am who I am

because my brain is what it is.” – Patricia Churchland
 "If the
se
the b lf is entirely c
ra ontaine
perspe in, how d in
ctive c does
hange
unders
tand the wa this
memor your y you
ies, an though
d ident ts,
ity?"
Maurice Merleau-Ponty

• A French phenomenological philosopher,

distinguished two types of the body:
Subjective body – lived and experienced.
Objective body – observed and scientifically studied.

• He emphasized that these are not two

separate bodies; the self is embodied
subjectivity
Maurice Merleau-Ponty

• Human beings are neither purely minds

without bodies nor just complex machines, but
living creatures whose consciousness is
shaped by their physical interaction with the
world.

• The body is the primary medium for

experiencing and engaging with the world.
 Questions?
Clarifications?
Are you ready?
Activity 1
Instruction: Using the table below, list down four philosopher
and their views. Then, cite the similarities and differences in
their philosophical perspective.
Activity 2:
Instruction: In your own words, explain the following
statements .

1. “Know thyself”

2. “I think, therefore I am”

3. After reading all the philosophical perspective on the self,

create your own theory of the self.