As mentioned above, we need to bracket in abeyance or temporarily our biases, prejudgments of the self. This is done by elucidating some existing knowledge or theories of the self. In the history of philosophy, here are some important philosophers for consideration:(1) Plato, (2) Aristotle, (3) St Augustine, (4) St Thomas Aquinas, and (5) Rene Descartes.
Plato and Aristotle have a cosmocentric perspective. In cosmocentrism, the whole cosmos --including man is governed by logos. This is evident in the philosophical thought of Plato and Aristotle. For Plato (428/427 – 348/347 BC), man is his soul (the rational part of the soul). Soul is the essence of humanity and the source of all his activities (Calasanz cited in Dy, 2001). In Phaedrus, Plato gives this metaphor: the soul is a charioteer of two-winged horses. One is sensible and flies high to the heavens to reach the light of truth and goodness. The other comes from a bad breed and because of neglect and sinfulness, had lost its wings and fallen to earth to assume human form. With this metaphor, Plato gives us a clearer picture of the tripartite structure of the soul, namely: rational, spirited, and appetitive part. The rational part is the charioteer. The spirited part is the sensible one. The appetitive part comes from a bad breed. Each has its own proper function: rational has a natural attachment to knowledge and wisdom guiding the lower parts; spirited has a natural attachment to honor and, more generally, to recognition and esteem by others; and appetitive concerns with anything pleasurable like food, money, sex, etc. The rational part is identified with the mind; spirited with the heart, and appetitive with genitals or belly. Each part is also identified with the different classes of people in society: rational with philosophers/kings who have the natural affinity with wisdom and virtue of justice; spirited with soldiers/ auxiliaries who have the virtue of courage and the ally of reason; appetitive with merchants who value the virtue of temperance (Lorenz, 2009; Kerns, 2013; Pavo, 2012). In Phaedo, “surely the soul can best reflect when it is free of all distractions such as hearing or sight or pain or pleasure of any kind –that is, when it ignores the body and becomes as far as possible independent, avoiding all physical contacts and associations as much as it can, in its search for reality.” In this context, Plato implies that the rational part of the soul serves as the governing principle of the whole of human person. Read more on Plato's rational psychology [click].
For the discussion of Aristotle's view of man, click.
For the discussion of St Augustine's view of man, click.
For the discussion of St Thomas's view of man, click.
For the discussion of Descartes's view of man, click.
Plato and Aristotle have a cosmocentric perspective. In cosmocentrism, the whole cosmos --including man is governed by logos. This is evident in the philosophical thought of Plato and Aristotle. For Plato (428/427 – 348/347 BC), man is his soul (the rational part of the soul). Soul is the essence of humanity and the source of all his activities (Calasanz cited in Dy, 2001). In Phaedrus, Plato gives this metaphor: the soul is a charioteer of two-winged horses. One is sensible and flies high to the heavens to reach the light of truth and goodness. The other comes from a bad breed and because of neglect and sinfulness, had lost its wings and fallen to earth to assume human form. With this metaphor, Plato gives us a clearer picture of the tripartite structure of the soul, namely: rational, spirited, and appetitive part. The rational part is the charioteer. The spirited part is the sensible one. The appetitive part comes from a bad breed. Each has its own proper function: rational has a natural attachment to knowledge and wisdom guiding the lower parts; spirited has a natural attachment to honor and, more generally, to recognition and esteem by others; and appetitive concerns with anything pleasurable like food, money, sex, etc. The rational part is identified with the mind; spirited with the heart, and appetitive with genitals or belly. Each part is also identified with the different classes of people in society: rational with philosophers/kings who have the natural affinity with wisdom and virtue of justice; spirited with soldiers/ auxiliaries who have the virtue of courage and the ally of reason; appetitive with merchants who value the virtue of temperance (Lorenz, 2009; Kerns, 2013; Pavo, 2012). In Phaedo, “surely the soul can best reflect when it is free of all distractions such as hearing or sight or pain or pleasure of any kind –that is, when it ignores the body and becomes as far as possible independent, avoiding all physical contacts and associations as much as it can, in its search for reality.” In this context, Plato implies that the rational part of the soul serves as the governing principle of the whole of human person. Read more on Plato's rational psychology [click].
For the discussion of Aristotle's view of man, click.
For the discussion of St Augustine's view of man, click.
For the discussion of St Thomas's view of man, click.
For the discussion of Descartes's view of man, click.
