Philosophical Perspectives of the Self (UTS Course)
Summary
TLDRThis philosophical exploration delves into the nature of the self, urging individuals to question their existence and purpose. It traces the evolution of philosophical thought from Socrates' emphasis on the immortal soul to Freud's multi-layered self, highlighting key figures like Plato, Descartes, and Locke. The script encourages critical thinking and self-reflection, challenging viewers to transcend conformity and ignorance to discover their authentic selves.
Takeaways
- 🤔 Philosophy encourages introspection by prompting questions about the meaning of life, personal freedom, and responsibility.
- 🧐 Philosophy is a process of making wisdom, akin to carpentry, focusing on organized interpretation and the exploration of philosophical questions.
- 🌟 Philosophy is a search for truth about the world and our place in it, rooted in personal questioning and the pursuit of understanding.
- 💭 Socrates, considered the father of Western philosophy, emphasized the human self and posited a dualistic view of reality with an immortal soul.
- 🔍 Plato expanded on Socrates' ideas, suggesting the soul's three parts—reason, spirit, and appetite—and the quest for wisdom and perfection.
- 🕊️ St. Augustine integrated Platonic philosophy with Christianity, emphasizing the soul's journey towards union with God through faith and reason.
- 📏 Rene Descartes introduced a modern perspective with 'cogito ergo sum' (I think, therefore I am), highlighting the thinking process as the essence of self.
- 📝 John Locke proposed the tabula rasa theory, suggesting the mind is a blank slate shaped by experience, challenging the concept of an immortal soul.
- 🌈 David Hume, an empiricist, argued against the idea of a unified self, viewing it as a collection of perceptions and experiences rather than a continuous entity.
- 🧩 Immanuel Kant discussed the self as a mental construct, emphasizing the role of the mind in organizing our experiences of the world.
- 🧠 Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory presented the self as multi-layered, consisting of the id, ego, and super-ego, affecting our behavior and moral compass.
Q & A
What is the primary purpose of studying philosophy according to the script?
-The primary purpose of studying philosophy is to explore life's most challenging issues, understand the meaning of life, and gain the intellectual abilities to think critically about ourselves and the world around us.
What does the script suggest we often forget to do in our daily lives?
-The script suggests that we often forget to take a step back from the details and demands of life to consider the bigger picture, such as our purpose and identity.
How does philosophy inspire us to think about ourselves and the world?
-Philosophy inspires us to be more thoughtful, open-minded, and to think critically about ourselves and the world, encouraging us to see beyond what meets the eye and to question our beliefs and understanding.
What is the script's definition of philosophy?
-The script defines philosophy as a process of making wisdom, involving the asking of fundamental questions about the nature of reality, goodness, beauty, free will, God, and the self.
What does the script suggest is the root of philosophy?
-The script suggests that the root of philosophy is a personal affair of questioning, an act of wanting to know and understand one's identity and the world.
How does philosophy liberate us according to the script?
-Philosophy liberates us by freeing us from the chains of unquestioning acceptance, ignorance, and conformity, allowing us to see the world as it truly is.
What is the significance of Socrates' view on the self according to the script?
-Socrates' view on the self is significant because he focused on the human self, proposing that we have an immortal soul that survives beyond death and seeks communion with an eternal, unchanging realm.
What is the concept of 'tabula rasa' as mentioned in the script?
-The concept of 'tabula rasa' is a theory by John Locke that suggests the mind is a blank slate waiting to be written on by experiences, emphasizing that experience is the best teacher.
How does David Hume view the self?
-David Hume views the self as an imaginary construct derived from a succession of impermanent states and events, arguing that there is no unified and continuous self or soul that survives death.
What is Immanuel Kant's perspective on the self as described in the script?
-Immanuel Kant's perspective is that the self is a mental construct, a construct that the mind creates, and that our primary experience of the world is in terms of a disconnected stream of sensations.
How does Sigmund Freud's theory contribute to the understanding of the self in the script?
-Sigmund Freud's theory contributes to the understanding of the self by suggesting that the self is multi-layered, consisting of the id, ego, and super-ego, which interact to form our personality and behavior.
Outlines
🤔 The Search for Self and Philosophical Inquiry
This paragraph introduces the philosophical quest for self-understanding, emphasizing the importance of stepping back from daily life to ponder deeper questions about existence and purpose. It discusses how philosophy encourages critical thinking and the exploration of life's most challenging issues, such as personal identity, free will, and morality. The paragraph also touches on the difficulty of defining philosophy, likening it to carpentry as a process of creating wisdom, and highlights the philosophical pursuit of truth about the world and our place in it.
🧐 Philosophical Perspectives on the Self
The second paragraph delves into various philosophical perspectives on the self, starting with Socrates, considered the father of Western philosophy, who focused on self-examination and the distinction between the physical and the ideal realm. It mentions Socrates' belief in the immortal soul and the concept of the 'idea realm' where truth, goodness, and beauty reside. The paragraph also introduces Plato's tripartite theory of the soul, which includes reason, spirit, and appetite, and how these elements interact to form our identity and personality.
📚 The Integration of Philosophy and Religion
This paragraph continues the exploration of the self by discussing St. Augustine of Hippo's integration of Platonic philosophy with Christian theology. It highlights Augustine's belief in the restless human soul finding peace in God and the transformation of Plato's ideas into a Christian context. The paragraph also touches on St. Thomas Aquinas' concept of matter and form, suggesting that life and humanity are a result of the combination of these elements, giving rise to the soul.
🕵️♂️ Descartes and the Modern Perspective on the Self
The fourth paragraph presents René Descartes' modern approach to philosophy, focusing on the thinking process and the methodical doubt as a means to establish a solid foundation for belief. Descartes' famous assertion 'cogito, ergo sum' (I think, therefore I am) is highlighted, emphasizing the existence of the self as a thinking entity independent of the physical body. The paragraph also introduces John Locke's theory of the mind as a 'tabula rasa' and his views on personal identity and the immortal soul.
🧐 Hume's Empiricism and the Fiction of the Self
The fifth paragraph examines David Hume's empiricist perspective, which challenges the idea of a unified and continuous self. Hume posits that the self is a bundle of perceptions, a series of impermanent states and events, rather than a fixed entity. This view contrasts with the belief in an immortal soul and suggests that our sense of self is a construct of our imagination, derived from our sensory experiences.
💭 Freud's Psychoanalytic Approach to the Self
The final paragraph discusses Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory of the self, which presents the self as a multi-layered structure consisting of the id, ego, and super-ego. Freud's model explains how these components interact, with the id driven by primal instincts, the ego mediating reality, and the super-ego representing moral conscience. The paragraph also touches on the concepts of the unconscious, preconscious, and conscious mind, illustrating Freud's comprehensive view of human personality and behavior.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Philosophy
💡Self
💡Socrates
💡Plato
💡St. Augustine
💡Descartes
💡Locke
💡Hume
💡Kant
💡Freud
💡Empiricism
Highlights
Philosophy encourages us to step back from daily life to consider larger questions about our existence and purpose.
Philosophy provides intellectual tools to explore life's most challenging questions, such as the meaning of life and our freedom to make choices.
Philosophy teaches us to think critically about ourselves, to see beyond what meets the eye.
Defining philosophy is akin to defining carpentry; both are processes of creating something valuable.
Philosophical questions are timeless, such as inquiries into good, beauty, free will, God's existence, and the nature of truth and evil.
Philosophy is a personal affair, starting with the individual's quest for self-understanding and identity.
Socrates is considered the father of Western philosophy, focusing on the human self and the concept of an immortal soul.
Plato's philosophy suggests a dualistic view of reality, with a physical world and an unchanging, eternal realm of ideas.
Aristotle's view of the soul includes three parts: reason, physical appetite, and spirit, which are in dynamic relationship.
St. Augustine integrated Platonic concepts with Christianity, emphasizing the soul's journey to union with God through faith and reason.
Thomas Aquinas discussed the necessity of matter and form for existence, contributing to the understanding of what makes us human.
René Descartes introduced the modern perspective that the self is fundamentally a thinking process, with the famous phrase 'I think, therefore I am'.
John Locke's theory of tabula rasa posits that the mind is a blank slate to be written on by experience.
David Hume challenged the idea of a unified self, suggesting it is a fiction created by the mind from a series of perceptions.
Immanuel Kant proposed that the self is a mental construct, the experiencer of a disconnected stream of sensations.
Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory describes the self as multi-layered, with the id, ego, and super-ego representing different aspects of personality.
Freud's model of the self has had a profound impact on philosophy and various disciplines within the humanities and social sciences.
Transcripts
[Music]
this is the philosophical perspective of
the self so why study philosophy why is
philosophy part of the topics and
understanding the self the first
question what are you thinking of on
daily basis this many of us get caught
up in the details and demands of life
the deadlines the household chores and
all the chores
school word the little tasks of everyday
life we are too caught up in this little
things we forget to take a step back and
even lift up the bigger picture what am
i doing why am i doing it where am i
handed what does it all mean Who am I
who do I want to become and this is the
philosophy summation this is what
philosophy provides for us with
motivation and intellectual abilities to
explore life's most challenging issues
what is the meaning of my life to what
extent am i free and responsible for my
choices what is the right thing to do
hello inspires us to be more thoughtful
open-minded think critically about
ourselves and Philip teaches us to think
to see more than what meets the eye
so let's define philosophy it is also a
difficult definition trying to define
love philosophy is like carpentry
carpentry is making a house right while
still also fee is seen as a process of
making wisdom
so both philosophy and carpentry our
processes house and philosophy which is
written organized interpretation and
both Rama the philosophical questions
will always be this what is good what is
beauty do we have free will does God
exist does the world around us exist
what is a person and even what is the
truth and what is evil what is the
relationship between mind and body
what is silence what is philosophy
what is wrong
philosophy is a search for the truth
about the world and our place in it and
at the root of philosophy is this
personal affair of question asked
is by Jonathan all the questioning is
the act of one thing to know it is also
the initiation of the laws of me asking
a question like I want to know who and
what I am wanting to know and understand
our identity the halo of man which is
trying to understand the self wondering
about the world and ourselves as we dig
deeper we ask why we also have this
liberation we are liberated freed from
the chains of unquestioning acceptance
of whatever in it at hand when you begin
to resist the currents which pull you
toward toughness conformity
freed from the constraints of ignorance
fashion erroneous beliefs and dominating
powers to reveal the world as it is
truly is philosophical employees must
also be very objective in personhood
because every person is a philosopher
that must asked his own questions about
his own world authentic expression of
his being and become that every man
wants to know himself and do something
about himself we are driven by our own
personhood man's search for meaning and
search for himself
as they mentioned the philosophize means
to view life and diversity rather than
conformity and this is where again for
you students that we are really
encouraging you to get more and
meaningful lives
here are the philosophers and even the
Pinker's so they help us a lot with the
Furies of the south
Socrates Sigmund Freud David you Rene
Descartes one of my favorite st.
Augustine of Hippo label and and Freud
so we will start to philosopher that we
mentioned that the soul is immortal so
let's start with Socrates we know that
Socrates when it was again an ancient
Greek philosopher who is widely
considered to be the father of Western
philosophy
he was the first thinker in Western
history to focus recent on the human
self who we are who we should be and who
will be become reality is dualistic one
realm is changeable transient and
imperfect the other is unchanging
eternal immortal physical world
and also belongs to this potential girl
that is transforming disappearing
constantly changing
well the intellect wild essence of the
universe again these are the concept of
truth goodness and beauty and that is
what we call the idea realm
so here we believe that our physical
body that each person possess an
immortal soul that survives beyond death
so us by death of Hemlock mention that
he also tried to store this kind of
subject following his trial before he
was executed now but he was both found
guilty on corrupting the minds of the
youth of Athens and impact of impiety
story greater by hemlock so here our
bodies mention that we belong to the
physical realm they changed their
imperfect
the ball
but there's also every belong to this
death surviving death of the body they
are unchanging and enviable and although
a close relationship exists between our
souls and our bodies they are radically
different entities our souls try for
wisdom and perfection and even in
as long as the soul is tied to the body
it is inhibited by the imperfection of
the physical real for this a Bennigan's
for the reason that we free the soul
from the corrupting impact of the
physical self and achieve communion with
unchanging the finite body an immortal
soul perfect and eternal realm in which
the soul seeks communion and eternal
bliss all this and really basic elements
of Western and some is religious
you
though the idealist self as he mentioned
beta was committed to Socrates view but
further define the soul that has three
parts
the reason physical appetite and the
spirit or even the passions reason are
our divine essence that enables us to
think deeply make wise choices and
achieve a true understanding of eternal
truth our physical appetite these are
our basic biological needs such as
hunger thirst and sexual desire while
the spirit are the passions these are
the basic emotions that we all feel now
which is love anger ambition our also
being aggressive and empathetic these
three elements of ourselves are in
dynamic relationship with one another
sometimes working in concert together
sometimes in bitter conflict examples
the reason he developed a romantic
relationship with someone who is an
intellect on companion and with whom we
are passionately in love with and that's
the work of the spirit and whom we find
sexually attractive igniting our last
four desires which is our appetite or a
romantic relationship with someone who
ignites one part of the self but in
conflict with the rest when this
conflict occurs is recents job to
resolve it
so is likened to a chariot drawn by two
powerful winged horses a noble horse
representing the spirit and a wild horse
embodying appetite the Charter is risen
whose task is to die the charger to the
eternal realm by controlling the two
independent-minded horses those charters
who are successful in shopping at two
cores and ensuring that the two steeds
work together in this harmonious unity
achieved true wisdom and banquet with
the gods
however those charters who are unable to
control their whole horses and keep
their chariot on track are the skenes
experienced personal intellectual and
spiritual failure genuine happiness can
only be achieved by people who
consistently make sure their reason is
in control of their spirits and
appetites
so we'll go to the philosophy of during
the Middle Ages my favorite blog was
ashamed
Augustine people in st. Thomas Queens
st. Augustine of Hippo in his own
philosophy and God seek himself
his extraordinary and far-reaching
influence stemmed from his integration
of the philosophical concepts of Plato
with the tenets of Christianity
Plato's virtual and vision of immortal
souls striving to achieve union with
this eternal realm through intellectual
enlightenment became transformed by
Augustine input immortal souls striving
to achieve union with God through faith
and reason our Gospels believe one could
not achieve inner peace without finding
God's love that's right Amen so man is
restless until they rest in God
Thomas Aquinas that is mean matt'll
which is in greek hire refers the common
stuff that makes up the material
universe form in greek more wealth it's
Martha in Greek that refers to the
essence of a thing that which makes it
what it is matter and form require each
other in order to exist this gives us
life and makes us human it quartz has no
life hence has no soul you are alive
because you have a soul
while profound from thinkers like
Socrates and Plato they were truly
insightful in their concepts regarding
the nature of the self while here Rene
Descartes brought an entirely new and
modern perspective to philosophy that is
in general and most especially to the
self
ok Rene Descartes the earlier
philosopher that focus on questions such
as what is the nature of reality what is
the good life and how we ought to behave
does God exist if so what is God's
nature and relation to humankind what is
the nature of the soul what is the idea
of society Descartes was more concerned
with a thinking process we used to
answer these profound questions
reasoning effectively involves more than
just thinking in our own personal lives
we must apply scientific discipline and
scientific rigor and we must commit
ourselves to a wholesale and systematic
down feeding of all things that you have
been told to simply accept without
question by inventing
why is it important about all things if
you are not willing to question all that
we have been asked to accept on faith
then you will never have the opportunity
to construct rock solid form condition
for your own beliefs the beliefs about
your world and your own personal
philosophy of life the why just because
again
cogito ergo soul I think therefore I am
no matter how one doubts it is
absolutely clear and distinct that to
doubt means to exist the think means to
exist even though your body is not
essential to yourself as is your
capacity to think and reflect it clearly
plays a role in your own self-identity
in fact Descartes contends if you
reflect thoughtfully
you can see that you have clear ideas of
both yourself as a thinking entity and
we gain yourself as a physical model so
these two dimensions of really quite
distinct
at mine in the body
not no jungler that mention self is
consciousness so he was then an English
philosopher John Locke again continued
to explore the themes that they cart
initiated but using a different approach
Lots revolutionary theory of tabula rasa
that the mind was a black slave waiting
to be written on because experience is
the best teacher that's the same
consciousness is needed for the unity of
the self as a thinking reasoning
remembering and reflecting identity or
our personal identity and the immortal
soul in which that identity is located
and very different entities physical
body which is the substance is
integrated with a personal identity
keep your finger with a hammer and it's
you is experiencing the painful
sensation and poly-tree hand is cut off
in an industrial accident your personal
identity remains involved although the
substance or the physical body
associated with it has changed he only
have now one hand
now it's David you a wise man
proportions he's believed to the
evidence
[Music]
hey David you continued in the
empiricist tradition of john locke
source of our knowledge if our direct
sense of experience humans so
desperately want to believe that they
have a unified and continuous self or
even the soil that they use their
imaginations to construct a fictional
self but this fictional self is a real
what we call the self is an imaginary
creature derive from a succession of
impermanent States and events so that's
David human and believe an empiricist
now that there is no self
we have no sensation
and press on our ideas and also our
false belief that the cell father really
survived death but he mentioned that the
self is nothing but a bundle or
collection of different perception
so again it arrived from the succession
of impermanence dates and events and
that's David you see self as an
empiricist
experiencing no sauce
this is Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant
mention us the construct construct self
that the self is a memoir coaster
can't disputed use belief that there is
no self that the mind is simply a vessel
for fleeting sensation no unified sense
of self that the self is a mental
construct that the mind creates the self
you believe that our primary experience
of the world is in terms of a
disconnected stream of sensations can
also mention that we perceive and
experience an organised world of objects
relationships ideas all existing within
a fairly stable framework of space and
time
but he mentioned here no highlight that
that the self is not experienced it is
the one doing the experience
Sigmund Freud again no not strictly
speaking a philosopher
like you mentioned that the self is a
multi-layer so we will try to but
Sigmund Freud mentioned and the
multi-layer itself
his views and the nature of the south
have had a far-reaching impact on
philosophical thinking as well as
virtually every other discipline in the
humanities and social sciences he
mentioned that the in the ego and the
super-ego
edie consists of instincts and urges
that operates only on pleasure principle
so that is this pleasure principle these
are the immediate satisfaction of needs
without regard for the consequences ego
that is being rational and logical words
on the reality of principle so what is
this reality of principle this is the
satisfaction of the demands of the eda
only when negative consequences will not
result while super-ego houses the
conscience now the conscious as to
define as the moral compass of artists
personality
and is the source of moral and sienten
so let's try to look bomb to his
structure figure of this multi layer
here we see that conscience is contact
with the outside world the consciousness
awareness time of being mindful well ego
takes a balancing and realistic role as
the voice of reason
between the stringent demands and the
social standards and the dominant
influence of our baser instincts
preconscious which is the material that
is just beneath now just beneath the
surface of our own awareness super-ego
that provides us with the social
standards of values and behavior again
this is the conscience
the idea of self which is part of the
super-ego that produces deal depending
on how acceptable the behavior is you
can also punish the ego through feelings
of guilt
well that conscious here the bottom it
is too difficult to retrieve this is
really difficult know for the first time
because it's not again below the surface
of awareness the unconscious while the
it contains the hidden forgotten
memories which is the instincts and our
own urges so this is how Sigmund Freud
structure how the self is multi-layered
this time it is drive the egos for evil
and then end
as animatedly mention that here is three
characters and also the three elements
of a personality involving the
personality which is then again the if
ego and super-ego so let's try to
identify among the three here is the in
the pleasure seeker
there is the super-ego that is where the
moral compass of our own personality the
reminder of our own conscience and then
the ego at the nyan rational and very
logical that works in the reality of
that principle
these three elements are very important
in Sigmund Freud's principle knowing and
views on the self and really the nature
of the self so if you have questions
drop by a field of all time which is
best medieval a pop key and a form of
our ear and please do not forget and I
also believe there in questions
regarding yourself and that you really
have to answer a specific brief as you
can thank you
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