Philosophical Perspectives of the Self (UTS Course)

Summary

This 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

00:00

🤔 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.

05:00

🧐 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.

10:04

📚 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.

15:04

🕵️‍♂️ 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.

20:06

🧐 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.

25:08

💭 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.

Keywords

💡Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. In the video, it is presented as a means to explore life's most challenging issues and to understand the self. It is described as a process of making wisdom, akin to carpentry, and is central to the video's theme of self-exploration and understanding.

💡Self

The 'self' refers to the individual essence of a person, encompassing their identity, beliefs, and character. The video discusses the philosophical inquiry into the nature of the self, including questions like 'Who am I?' and 'What does it all mean?' It is integral to the video's exploration of personal identity and the philosophical quest for understanding one's place in the world.

💡Socrates

Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher, is considered the father of Western philosophy. The script mentions him for his focus on the human self, emphasizing the importance of self-examination and the pursuit of truth and virtue. His ideas about the immortal soul and the dualistic nature of reality are central to the video's discussion on the philosophical perspective of the self.

💡Plato

Plato, a student of Socrates, is known for his metaphysical ideas and theories on the immortal soul and the realm of forms. The video references Plato's influence on St. Augustine, showing how his concepts were integrated with Christian beliefs to form a philosophical understanding of the self's relationship with the divine.

💡St. Augustine

St. Augustine of Hippo was an early Christian philosopher whose ideas combined Platonic thought with Christian doctrine. The video highlights his belief in the restless human soul finding peace in God, illustrating the integration of philosophical and religious perspectives on the self.

💡Descartes

René Descartes, a French philosopher, is known for his famous statement 'Cogito, ergo sum' ('I think, therefore I am'). The video discusses his emphasis on the thinking process and the mind as the essence of the self, which is pivotal to understanding personal identity and existence.

💡Locke

John Locke, an English philosopher, is mentioned for his theory of 'tabula rasa,' suggesting that the mind is a blank slate that gets filled through experience. His views on the self as a product of experience and memory are relevant to the video's theme of self-understanding.

💡Hume

David Hume, a Scottish philosopher, is discussed in the video for his empiricist view that the self is a bundle of perceptions and does not have an independent existence. His skepticism about the continuity of the self challenges traditional notions of personal identity.

💡Kant

Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, is mentioned for his constructivist view of the self. The video refers to his belief that the self is a mental construct, not directly experienced but inferred from the organization of our experiences in space and time.

💡Freud

Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, is not strictly a philosopher but his ideas about the self have influenced philosophical thought. The video discusses his structural model of the mind, including the id, ego, and super-ego, and how these components interact to form our sense of self.

💡Empiricism

Empiricism is a philosophical theory that knowledge arises from experience and observation. The video mentions David Hume as an empiricist, suggesting that our knowledge of the self is derived from sensory experiences and that the self is a construct based on these perceptions.

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