2. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
Learning outcome:
Discuss the different representations and
conceptualizations of the self from the Oriental
and Western philosophical perspectives.
3. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
OUTLINE
A. The Essentialist View
1. The Judaic & Christian Traditions
2. The Greek Rationalist Tradition
- Plato and Aristotle
3. The Theocentric Tradition
- St. Augustine
4. Self in the Modern Period
- Rene Descartes
- John Locke
- Karl Marx
4. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
OUTLINE
B. The Protean View
1 Oriental Philosophy
- Hinduism and atman
- Buddhism and anatman
- Taoism
2. The Self-Created Self
- Jean Paul Sartre
3. Postmodernism
- The Protean Self
- Neuro-science and the Self
5.
6. If we are indeed unique, the task of
proving it seems to be getting difficult.
PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The questions now lie before us:
Who at what are we?
Are we a little lower than angels,
Or are we a little higher than apes?
7. Among the choices in each slide, you are
to identify which picture is an Avocado?
You may have more than 1 answer.
One point deduction for every incorrect answer.
8. A B C
Which one is the Avocado?
You may have more than 1 answer.
9. A B C
Which one is the Avocado?
You may have more than 1 answer.
10. A B C
Which one is the Avocado?
You may have more than 1 answer.
11. A B C
Which one is the Avocado?
You may have more than 1 answer.
12. A B C
Which one is the Avocado?
You may have more than 1 answer.
13. A B C
Which one is the Avocado?
You may have more than 1 answer.
14. Now, identify which among the choices
is the Cabbage?
You may have more than 1 answer.
15. A B C
Which one is a Cabbage?
You may have more than 1 answer.
16. A B C
Which one is a Cabbage?
You may have more than 1 answer.
17. A B C
Which one is a Cabbage?
You may have more than 1 answer.
18. A B C
Which one is a Cabbage?
You may have more than 1 answer.
19. A B C
Which one is a Cabbage?
You may have more than 1 answer.
20. A B C
Which one is a Cabbage?
You may have more than 1 answer.
21. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The Essentialist Model/Avocado View
•An avocado-
• pear-shaped tropical fruit
• yellowish flesh
• a single large seed at the center
The seed at the center contains all
the essential information about what
makes an avocado an avocado.
22. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The Avocado View
1. The Judaic and Christian Traditions
• Humans are made in the image and
likeness of God
• Animals may have instincts and intelligence
but they are not made in God’s likeness
• We are self-conscious
• We have the capacity to love
• We have fleshy outward appearance but
inside we share the divine nature
23. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The Avocado View
2. The Greek Rationalist Tradition
• Reason is at the core our being
• Our reasoning ability sets us apart from
other terrestrial beings
• Reason controls emotions & appetites
• We may act like animals at times, but only
because we are not using reason to control
the other parts of our being
• Humans alone are capable of living
according to reason
24. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The Avocado View
2. The Greek Rationalist Tradition
The Soul’s Origin and Home
-Socrates
• “. . . the soul is in the very likeness of the
divine, and immortal, and intellectual, and
uniform, and indissoluble, and
unchangeable” (Phaedo)
-Plato
• The other world of Forms
25. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The Avocado View
2. The Greek Rationalist Tradition
The Soul’s Origin and Home
- Aristotle
• Denied the world of Forms
• Said the form exists within the object
• The soul exists only in the body
• When the body dies, the soul dies with it
.
26. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The Avocado View
2. The Greek Rationalist Tradition
Greek – Western Tradition
• A life dominated by reason is the ideal
• Reason is like a charioteer (Plato)
• It’s been this way since Plato in the Western world
• It may seem like a good idea, but when culture
identifies rationality with men and emotionality
with women problems arise
27. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The Avocado View
3. The Theocentric Tradition
- St. Augustine of Hippo
• Nature (behind which, of course, stands God)
gives us a general sense of our duties. Social
institutions shape these to promote "socially
useful" habits such as justice. But these efforts do
not truly suffice to make us good.
• The most important part of a person is the inner
person, i.e., the mind.
28. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The Avocado View
3. The Theocentric Tradition
- St. Augustine of Hippo
• Ethically, the most important part of the mind is
not the intellect (or reason) but the will.
• The orientation of the will determines whether we
love lower goods (such as bodily goods, wealth,
and reputation) or higher goods (virtue and,
above all, God).
29. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The Avocado View
3. The Theocentric Tradition
- St. Augustine of Hippo
• Although originally neither good nor bad, the
human will became corrupted so that it is in most
cases inclined to love lower rather than higher
goods.
30. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The Avocado View
3. The Theocentric Tradition
- St. Augustine of Hippo
• Although originally neither good nor bad, the
human will became corrupted so that it is in most
cases inclined to love lower rather than higher
goods.
• Good persons are those whose will and reason are
subordinated to faith in God and devotion to
God's will (i.e., that we should live righteously).
31. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The Avocado View
3. The Theocentric Tradition
- St. Augustine of Hippo
• Faith is a gift of grace that we cannot command
but only receive when it comes.
• Yet the wicked actions of persons lacking faith
who violate basic principles of justice come from
within them and so they merit proportionate
punishment by human authorities.
32. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The Avocado View
3. The Theocentric Tradition
- St. Augustine of Hippo
• God's grace may work on us when we are
studying Scripture, but much study of Scripture is
no guarantee of receiving it.
33. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The Avocado View
4. The Self in the Modern Period
• Our culture is still basically a male dominated
society.
• Mitchell indicated that in the 70’s women tried to
be more manlike in business – didn’t work too well
(some still try – because of expectations, . . .)
• Women (or anyone) who accept the value of
emotions run the risk of being viewed as second
class citizens
34. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The Avocado View
4. The Self in the Modern Period
• We are learning, however, that suppressing
emotions can be unhealthy
• Rationalism may be important, but emotions
are an important aspect of life as well
• Feminism – “the theory that women should
have political, economic, and social rights equal
to those of men and should define their own
roles”
35. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
The Avocado View
4. The Self in the Modern Period
• Mitchell suggests:
• “If we define our humanity in terms of our
rationality, the superior computational skills of
a computer program may threaten us.”
• She also asks – Are androids candidates for
human status, according to the Greek
rationalist tradition stressing that life
dominated by reason is the ideal?
Notas do Editor
-Imagine that you have been having an Internet relationship with John for the past 6 months and you tell your friends about your relationship. You always look forward to your evening meetings in the Net... But every time you suggest to have a face-to-face meeting, he puts you off… As you become insistent, John finally admits that it is impossible because “he” is a computer program. How would you feel? Betrayed? Embarrassed?
-In the movie Splash, Tom Hanks fell in love to a beautiful woman for the first time. She seemed to return his affection and readily agreed to move with him but she turned out to be a mermaid. If you were Hanks, how would you feel?
-Several studies in the wild and in laboratories show that apes seem to display human-like qualities to survive.
-New developments in Artificial Intelligence would show that computer programs and robots mimic human-like skills.
Like an avocado, we have a fleshy outward appearance, which makes us appear similar to other animals… but at our core we share the divine nature and that makes us unique.
The essence of an avocado is not in the flesh but in its seed which contains the “avocadoness” that can produce another whole avocado plant.
The Judaic and Christian traditions affirm that what makes you a person, rather than a chimp, a computer, or a robot, is your special creation in the image of God.