mathematics in the modern world, Assignments of Mathematics

Download mathematics in the modern world and more Assignments Mathematics in PDF only on Docsity! Topic 1 The Self from the Philosophical Perspective “An unexamined life is not worth living.” - Socrates SCHEDULE: Week 1 & 2 Note: The instructor must provide the course syllabus for the introduction of the course. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: a. Understand the different representations and conceptualizations of the self from various philosophical perspectives. b. The students should be able to compare and contrast these perspectives and see how it has affected their life principle. STUDENTS MUST BE ABLE TO: a. Comprehend the importance of the philosophical perspectives for deeper understanding of the nature of man. b. Assess these philosophical perspectives of the self through cross-referencing. c. Capable of answering questions “Who am I?” by aligning various thoughts. The Self is a person’s essential being that distinguishes him from others. The self is separate, self-contained, independent, consistent, unitary, and private (Stevens, 1996). Self may be as simple as it seem but it is a complex matter that touches disciplinal perspectives in understanding it (i.e. philosophical, sociological, anthropological or psychological) and the self has various aspects such as physical, sexual, material, political, spiritual and virtual. REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS  “What is your name” vs. “Who are you”?  What is your definition of self?  How did the self start?  What pattern have you created in your life? The self can be explained based on the components defined by Stevens (1996): SEPARATE – The self is distinct from other selves, as no two persons are exactly alike – biologically, psychologically and socially – not even identical twins. SELF-CONTAINED – It has its own unique thoughts, characteristics, and volition. Even when society dictates what should be done, a person has its own way of expressing their true self. INDEPENDENT – In itself, it can exist. CONSISTENT – It has personality that is enduring and is expected to persist for some time. Their personality has patterns but is not necessarily predictable in response to a stimuli. UNITARY – It is the center of all experiences and thoughts that run through a person. PRIVATE – Each person sorts out information, feelings, emotions, and thought processes within self. It has its own reservations for security purposes. People are often asked “Who are you?” especially when they just meet someone along the streets, or special occasions. But with all honesty, a person may be hard up of answering this simple question. So, they end up stating their name but is it truly who they are? Philosophy answers various life questions that are usually difficult to answer or requires time to reflect on such as, “Who am I?”. Etymological definition of Philosophy: Philosophy came from the Greek word “philein” which means love of wisdom/ friendship of wisdom, and “sophia” means wisdom. The Self as to Various Philosophers SOCRATES (470 BC - 399 BC)  He claimed that “an unexamined life is not worth living” ANALYSIS What is your deepest question in life? Illustration by: https://revisionworld.com/a2-level-level-revision/religious-studies/philosophy- religion/life-after-death/distinctions-between-body-and-soul ST. AUGUSTINE (354 - 430 BCE)  In consonance with the philosophy of Plato, he further advanced the theory that there exists two worlds – the real and the temporary. Human beings are only sojourning in the world as it is but a temporary home and is directed toward the world that is eternal, the world where God is.  Man, a creation of God in his unbounded love, is created in the imago Dei (image of God).  He believed that the existence of an immortal soul that finds its ultimate fulfilment in union with the eternal, transcendent realm.  Man is in pursuit of happiness which can only be found in God. Hence he worked on the City of God and Confession.  Through reason, man can distinguish between right and wrong. RENE DESCARTES (1596-1650)  With the famous ‘cogito ergo sum’, ‘I think, therefore I am’, Descartes highlights that the consciousness or the act of thinking is the evidence towards his existence as such consciousness cannot be subject to doubt. The essence of a human being lies in his capacity to think as thinking cannot be doubted. He believed that the essence of existing as a human identity is the possibility of being aware of ourselves, thus, having self-identity and being self-conscious are mutually dependent on one another.  While Descartes’ dualism is evident, he goes on to say that while they (body and soul) are distinct from one another, they are in a way intertwined or linked and intimately connected. JOHN LOCKE (1632-1704)  He introduced the ‘Memory Theory’ which forwards the idea that a person is the same person as he is in the past provided that he recalls the events in the past.  A person had somewhat existed, and this existence becomes evident when, while being able to remember the past, a human person can also be aware of the present.  The memory connects one’s self. The self then exists not in the present, but the present existence is basically connected with the past, so long as the self remembers. DAVID HUME (MAY 7, 1711-AUG.25, 1776)  Hume believed that human beings acquire knowledge through the sense perception. The contents of the mind are fundamentally product of one’s experience in the world.  The contents of the mind are divided into two: (a) impressions which are the things which the senses perceive and thus experience in the world; and (b) ideas which refer to the things that are created in the mind about the things experienced through the senses.  In connection to his philosophy of man, he cannot detect a particular impression of the self that endures and is thus permanent.  “The mind does not create ideas but derives them from impressions.”  He then concludes that the self is a ‘bundle of perception’ and is subject to change depending on the different experiences that shape the human person. IMMANUEL KANT (APR 22, 1724-FEB 12, 1804)  Kant grounds his philosophy of the human person on the contention that the self is free and has the capacity to make decision for himself.  Man is not only free, but also rational. Man possesses reason and free will.  The “self” is the product of reason because the self regulates experience.  This sense of freedom is tested by his choices in relation to his duties and the fulfilment of his duties.  One’s duty is a product of deliberation and not imposed by a particular authority outside of the self.  This capacity to act and deliberated through the guidance of reason and the capacity to refrain from heeding the dictates of emotion is what makes human a moral agent.  Having the capacity to rationally deliberate, man should be treated as an end and not as a means, thus should not be exploited.  He asserts that the self is composed of inner and outer self. This is a rationalistic point of view rather than empiricism.  Empiricism asserts that knowledge is only attained through the senses. In other words, seeing is believing.  Rationalism is the theory that reason, rather than experience, is the foundation of all knowledge.  The inner self is comprised of our psychological state and our rational intellect.  The outer self includes our sense and the physical world. SIGMUND FREUD (1856 TO 1939)  He developed a framework which analyzes man in relation to his biological make-up and the impact of his socio-cultural environment.  He proposes the three structures of personality – the id, the ego and the superego. While the Id embodies the impulses and desires, the Superego provides the moral standards by which the ego performs.  A clash of the Id and the Superego is inevitable, and the Ego displays which among the two (Id and Superego) was superior above the other.  Naked impulses are governed by the pleasure principle (id) and it has the dominant influence in our personalities.  He also asserts that the mind has three levels- the conscious, pre-conscious and unconscious.