Philosophy Essay on Self

The concept of self identifies the essence of one’s very being. It implies continuous existence having no other exact equal, i.e. the one and only. Whether or not the specific characteristic(s) used to define self are objectively real, i.e. physical attributes, or purely subjective, i.e. imaginary traits, the concept makes distinct one entity from another. Rationalism is the theory that truth can be derived through use of reason alone. Empiricism, a rival theory, asserts that truth must be established by sensual experience: touch, taste, smell, et al. Rene Descartes, a philosopher and rationalist concluded that one self was merely a continuous awareness of one’s own existence; one’s substance was one’s ability to think. On the other

In every person, an ego which interacts with the world appears to exist; hence, languages use the basic pronouns, “I” and “you.” However, what can one truly classify as the self? Cognitive scientist Bruce Hood defines an illusion as, “[the] experience of something that is not what it seems.” By this definition, he classifies the self as illusory; humans naturally experience their self, but it does not actually exist. Similarly, in Pablo Neruda’s The Egoist, Neruda contrasts the ego with the natural world, deeming abandoning one’s self a necessary step to obtain lasting satisfaction with existence. Neruda conveys his idea as a physician would a diagnosis; first identifying the problem’s nature, then outlining its effects and solution.

In ‘The Divided Self’, Laing examines schizoid and schizophrenic people and attempts to make their situation more understandable in existential terms. In order to understand Laing’s work, a person must first understand the concept of existential phenomenology, in which a person is characterized by his way of being-in-the-world. It involves the way he reacts to his environment and himself as a part of his world. It must also be mentioned that a person can not interact with the world, without having relatedness to others in the world.

In “Meditations on First Philosophy,” Rene Descartes argues that your knowledge of yourself is quite different to your knowledge of any physical thing and that this shows that your mind is distinct from any physical thing. Perhaps the strongest justification that Descartes gives for these claims is his assertion that every act of distinct knowledge of bodily matter also provides even more certain evidence for our existence as thinking things. In this paper, I will argue that this argument is plausible as I believe that the mind and body operate independently of one another and that one is undoubtedly more knowledgeable about him or herself than any object outside the realm of his or her being.

Descartes’s conception of the self and how the self relates to the body started with how Descartes viewed the self in Meditations on First Philosophy. Descartes wanted to start a new foundation with philosophy and so he used reason to find truths that were unboubtful. Since sense data can deceive you, Descartes could not trust things he saw, heard, or felt. “I have noticed that the sense are sometimes deceptive; and it is a mark of prudence never to place our complete trust in those who have deceived us even once” (Descartes, 1993, p.14). However, he realized it was possible to overcome senses due to reason. A person can doubt what they see, since it could be a dream or an insane state, but person’s existence is undoubtful because it is self-evident.

In the philosophical area of dualism, the positions that mental phenomena are, in some respects, non-physical, or that the mind and body are not identical are investigated. In Descartes’ Meditations II and VI, he stated “I consider myself as having a face, hands, arms, and all that system of members composed on bones and flesh as seen in a corpse which I designated by the name body” (Descartes 1641, 9). Even with this information, he concluded that his “essence consists solely in the fact that (he) is a thinking thing” (Descartes 1641, 28). It is obvious that he assumes that his essence cannot be physical, even though he possesses physicality, but that there is more to his existence than just the ownership of a body. Throughout Meditation II and Meditation VI from Meditations on First Philosophy, he argues his conclusion by the use of various examples and thoughts of his own to highlight that he believes that we do exist, that people contain a deeper being in their soul (which, can be argued, is where essence is found), and how the mind and body works when it comes to gaining experience and feeling sensations.

In this essay, I will discuss how the mind and body are united based on Rene Descartes’ argumentations in The Meditations Of First Philosophy. First, I am going to introduce a few of Descartes’ arguments and his position on the matter. Then, I will pick the most questionable argument and put it up against logical reasoning with evidence. Finally, I am going to conclude how the 17th-century philosopher proposes a fallacious argument which interferes with his Cartesian dualism theory.

In his book Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes talks about the nature of the human mind, and how the mind relates to the human body. With his famous declaration, I am, I exist, Descartes claims that “I” am “a thinking thing”, and therefore “I” exist (17-18). He also argues that the mind is better known than the body. In the Sixth Meditation, he further argues that there must be a clear distinction between mind and body. However, there is surely some connection between these two. In The Treatise on Human Nature, Aquinas argues that the soul is united to the body as its form (18). Plato, however, believes that “the intellect is united to the body as its mover” (21). In this paper, I am trying to argue that in Descartes’ view, the soul is more probably united to the body as its mover, rather than as its form.

In preparing for the shadowing clinical experience I have read and reviewed from Garcia, Schager & Schoon (2014) chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, chapter six, chapter seven, and chapter thirteen. I also previously attended an orientation to Washington County Public Health on September 19, 2016. Also, I have read material for Washington County Public Health policies. After this material was completed I was assigned to a local public health nurse that was close to my community to shadow. I contacted the individuals and communicated what information I was looking for in this clinical experience, when and where to meet, and what the dress code would be for the experience.

Later in the sixth meditation, Descartes attempts to answer if material things can exist. In this, he explores the idea that body can in fact exist, and that body has an impact on how will view the self. He writes that he is not in his body as a “pilot in a vessel” but instead, is “very closely united to it, and so to speak, so intermingled with it that [he seems] to compose with it one whole” (29). This demonstrates that while the body is not necessary for personhood to exist, one’s body is very connected to the person. He uses the example of experiencing pain to further demonstrate the correlation between the two. When he experiences a pain that is not visible to his sense perceptions, or feels hungry or thirsty, it is his thinking faculties that present him with

The structure of this proposal, which will be consistent with the final paper excluding the empirical findings, proceeds as follows. Section 2 reviews selected literature based on the focus areas. Section 3

Internalization and self-consciousness seem to be at the root of Romantic poetry. The first generation of Romantic poets struggled to comprehend the complexity of mortality, the natural world and the imagination, thus challenging and inspiring them to express their personal understandings through poetry. Common solutions among the poets came through internalizing their beliefs or to try to escape the burden of self-consciousness. William Blake, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge are similar in this way, yet they each have different poetic styles.

In trying to define what is self or if there even is a self, Hume asserts personal identity is a mere illusion and instead the self is a classification of the process of our mutable parts. On the other hand, in Descartes’ dissertation he defines self as a “rational soul” (pg33) or an essence unique to humans, held constant in the container of the human body. Hume’s and Descartes’ definition of self therefore is an all or nothing assumption; either the self is nonexistent dependent on the presence of an infinite constant, or the self does exist but is immutable and “entirely independent of the body.” (pg33) None of these theses satisfy what the self is. By definition, self is the composition of our physical and mental parts that in turn creates a unique process that can be identified as our self or soul. Therefore it cannot be delineated as an inner immaterial substance like a soul nor can it be claimed simply to be an illusion, self is the cohesion between these two theories.

“Self- awareness doesn’t stop you from making mistakes, it allows you to learn from them”. Self-reflection is an important factor in improving oneself. In the past, the essays that I have written have mainly received positive feedback. Despite this, there is still much room for improvement in my writing. Earlier in the semester, I was assigned an essay for my chemistry lab class. We were instructed to watch a video about Dr. Stephen Hawking’s theory on the origin of the universe and then to summarize the video in a 500-word essay. In my opinion, the essay I wrote titled “Dr. Hawking’s Origin of the Universe” was merely average. Although there were some very strong points made throughout the essay, it can be improved on in many other areas. My strengths in this assignment were my use of accelerated vocabulary and the essay’s strong conclusion. The weaknesses of my essay were the vague nature of my explanations in addition to my lack of a works cited page.

Self-awareness is necessary for any individual working in the field of mental health. What we are motivated by and how we plan to get there become the driving force behind our education. The traits and skills we possess can become either assets or liabilities if not diligently cared for. Receiving feedback on these skills is necessary to continue developing. Consequently, there are the defense mechanisms we use to protect ourselves when receiving this feedback that we must be aware of. Each of these areas will be reflected upon and discussed within this paper in the hope of becoming more self-aware.