Different Concepts About the Philosophy of the Self

The philosophical framework for understanding the self was first introduced by the ancient great Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle - their concepts of self are reviewed in this philosophy of the self essay In addition, more philosophers introduced specific characteristics and meanings of the self, which over time, transformed from pure abstractions to explanations that hold scientific proofs.

Socrates: Know Yourself

Socrates believed that the self is synonymous with the soul. He believes that every human possesses an immortal soul that survives the physical body. Socrates suggest that reality is composed of two realms; the Physical Realm (imperfect) and the Ideal Realm (immortal). The physical realm is changeable, transient, and imperfect. The ideal realm is unchanging, eternal, and immortal. The body belongs to the physical realm and the soul belongs to the ideal realm.

Socrates explains that the essence of the self-the soul-is the immortal entity, but if the soul is attached to the body, perfection cannot be achieved because of the imperfection inhabited in the physical realm. He further suggests that man must examine himself to live with a life full of purpose and value. Once the purpose is fulfilled, perfection can be attained. Therefore, one must know oneself because an unexamined life is not worth living. An individual can have a meaningful and happy life only if he knows the value of himself and this can be done through introspection; a method of carefully examining one's thoughts and emotions to gain self-knowledge.

Plato: The Self is an Immortal Soul

Plato supports the concept of Socrates of the soul. He agrees that the self is synonymous with the soul separate from the body. However, Plato elaborated that the self is a three-part soul; reason, appetite, and spirit.

Reason or the rational thought is the divine essence that enables us to think deeply and make wise decisions. Appetite includes the basic biological need of the self like hunger, thirst, sexual desires and other bodily pleasures. The spirit oversees the basic emotions such as anger, love, ambition and empathy. These three elements of the soul are in a dynamic relationship with each other. Plato believes that genuine happiness can be achieved if there is a harmonious relationship among the three.

Aristotle: The Soul is the Essence of the Self

Aristotle believes that the body(matter) and the soul(form) cannot be separated. The soul is the essence as it provides meaning and purpose to the matter. On the other hand, matter provides substance and solidity to essence. For example, the “eyes” is the matter and “seeing” is the essence, without the ability to see the eyes loses its soul or essence. Therefore, the body and soul cannot be separated.

Aristotle also holds the idea that anything with life has a soul, and that the soul is the essence of self. However, humans differ from other living things. Aristotle then introduced the hierarchy of souls present among living things. Vegetative soul which includes the body that grows (plants). The sentient soul that includes sensual desires, feelings and emotions (plants and animals) and the rational soul which includes intellect and free will (man).

St. Augustine: The Self has an Immortal Soul

St. Augustine integrates the ideas of Plato and the teachings of Christianity. He believes that the physical body is different from and inferior to its inhabitant, the immortal soul. He relates our existence to God being modelled in His likeness. The body is bound to die on earth and the soul is to anticipate living eternally in a realm of spiritual bliss in communion with God. Therefore, the teaching of the church and establishing our sense of self with God identifies the essence of our existence.

Rene Descartes: The Self is the Thinking Thing

French philosopher Rene Descartes is the father of modern philosophy and has brought a new perspective to philosophy and the self. He wants to penetrate the nature of reasoning process and understand its relationship to the human self. The Latin phrase “Cogito ergo sum” which means “I think therefore I am”, is the main point of Descartes’ concept of the self. He believes that the self is a thinking entity distinct from the body, a thing that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, refuses, imagines and perceives.

John Locke: The Self is Consciousness

According to the English philosopher John Locke, the mind at birth is tabula rasa or a blank slate. He feels that the self or personal identity is constructed primarily from our experiences. For him, conscious awareness and memory of previous experiences are the keys to understanding the self. He also believes that the essence of the self is its conscious awareness and memory of itself and that consciousness accompanies thinking and makes possible the concept people have of a self.

David Hume: Bundle Theory of the Self

The Scottish philosopher David Hume suggests that what people experience is just a bundle or collection of different perceptions. He posits that man has no clear and intelligible idea of self. There no single impression of the self exists. He argues that it cannot be from any of these impressions that the idea of the self is derived and consequently, there is no self. What one thinks of unified self is simply a combination of all experiences; a bundle of perceptions like links in a chain. A person can never observe oneself without some other perceptions; thus, self is just a bundle or collection of different perceptions.

Paul Churchland: The Self is the Brain

The Canadian Philosopher Paul Churchland advocates the idea of eliminative materialism or the idea that the self is inseparable from the brain and the physiology of the body. Each of us has a brain, and so if the brain is gone, there is no self. For him, the physical brain and not the imaginary mind gives the people the sense of self. The mind does not really exist because it cannot be experienced by the senses.

Conclusion

Philosophy ignites the inquisitive mind to discover the ultimate causes, reasons, and principles of the things around us. It also goes beyond the scientific investigation by exploring all areas of knowledge like politics, religion, psychology, physics and many more. The word philosophy means “love of wisdom” which refers to the desire for truth by incorporating never ending inquiries to provide answers to the questions about the nature of human existence. Ancient philosophers attempted to explain social and natural phenomena coming up with their own definitions of how the world works and which factors contribute to such phenomena. Thus, it was inevitable to come up with various conceptions of what it means to be human. The nature about the self is one of the most interesting topics among the philosophers.