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Sunday, March 10, 2019

Exploring the essence of self in the western context Essay

Statement of authorshipI certify that this literature re encounter is my own work and contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any degree or diploma in any institute, college or university. More everyplace, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by a nonher person, except where due reference is make in the text of the dissertation.NameSigned _________________________________________________Date ___________________________________________________The most cardinal of the questions man asks him egotism-importance in his lifetime ar, what/who am I ?and what is my purpose? The curio over this issue of the ego has spanned human thought for millennia rooting from societal notion that life cannot be just bricks and cement. Due to the integral record of these fundamental curiosities mankind has struggled from ancient times to uncover these mysteries. In the western-context, this brief essay will try to explo re the dimensions of the essence of ego ranging from chivalrous to the modern conception of ego.It will re bewitch the theories of self-importance starting line with Aristotelian science and Christian doctrines and their eventual marriage by St. doubting Thomas Acquinas moral theory. In effect, it past explores particular viewpoints and traces the development of Scientific Rationalization. Progressively, it debates Rene Descartes positivist viewsshaping his dualistic conception of the self. Furthermore, it poses the contrasting empiricist views of John Locke where he places malaise and memory as the variables to comprehend self. In addition, it contests David Humes proclamation of the self as fiction (Robinson, H., 2012).The theories of self and identity slowly developed over a historical timeline resulting in modern thought on the subject. In this regard, it is important to on a lower floorstand its development initiation from spectral conception in the west. Curiosity on these issues can be traced back to accounts of Aristotle, where he is of the view that everything in nature has a purpose and everything can be rationalized ground on its intent and the purpose it served (Greetham, B. 2006, p.213). This is referred to as the teleological view, which contributed to the formation of medieval world view formed by Christian dogma and the Catholic church (Cavalier, G.,1989).This Christian conception viewed the world as being perfections creation and expression of his will which was cosmologically meanful and structured. The purpose of things to a lower place this theology is God given and is a part of the grand throw (Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy). This categorises the medieval belief of self, where humans have a definite place and purpose and the self is understood in terms of the exercise it plays in the grand plan of things. The medieval Christian conception of self was greatly inspired by the work of 13th century theologian St. Thomas Acquinas. In his opus he bridged the gap between righteousness and reason by linking Christian dogma and Aristotelian thought (OCallaghan, R., 2010). In essence, he lived in a crucial juncture of western coating when the Latin translation of Aristotelian corpus was made available which in effect reignited the debate on relating faith and reason. His theories borrowed from Aristotle and Christian dogma and ethics which were consistently reaffirmed by the church over the centuries (auquinas from stanford).The said(prenominal) medieval religious conception of self forms the basis Acquinas ethical premise on how we ought to solve (Greetham, B., 2006). Right and wrong actions based on their compliance with human nature and its place God-given natural order, categorized as natural or unnatural. Hence, the self bounded and confined to serving a purpose. However, this religious world-view came under intense criticismwith the advent of scientific advancement and rationality in the 16th and 17th centuries. Scientific thinking developed under the likes of Descartes and Locke and was reasoned based on the accomplishments of Galileo and Newton(Zalta, E., 2011).They disregarded the place of divine-will in their conception of self, basing it on mere begin, experimental evidence and mathematical formulations. This shift of conception is termed demythologization, where everything works without a purpose and results from mechanical interaction of particles regulated by universal laws which can be mathematically formulated (Greetham, B., 2006). Consequently, began the search of the self by looking within for purpose and meaning.The modern view of self is articulated in the works of 17th century philosopher Rene Descartes. He pioneered the dualistic understanding of the human being, which is made up of the mental centre ( sagaciousness) and the corporal ticker (body) (Warburton, N., 1992). Here, the body has physical properties like having weight and using space, wh ereas the mind is a non-material substance, responsible for thought and experience and hence is the abode of cognizance. In his view, the self is a spiritual subject of experience which is fundamentally distinguishable from the body and nature, where the body inessential and the mind can dwell independently.His entire scepticism led to the formation of the Illusion argument, where the bodily senses are deemed unreliable and thus the existence of the external world and body is uncertain. The wholly thing one can be certain of is that I exist. This is categorized under his famous proclamation -Cogito ergo sum, meaning I think, at that placefore I am (Cavalier, G., 1989). In essence, the self is basically mental and the search for purpose and meaning should be searched within ourselves alternatively of classifying it under totality of nature.In his endeavours, Descartes used the rationalist approach to knowledge, which only relies on logic and scepticism . In contrast, his cont emporary, English philosopher John Locke relies on the empiricist approach, where knowledge is acquired by the means of watchfulness and experience. His theology of self underlines the role of reason, consciousness and self-consciousness. As for Locke, he sees self-consciousness as ainseparable element in the conduct of any conscious action, like thinking and observing.The perception of the world by the senses, awareness of personal identity, actions performed and its computer storage (memory) over time is what constitutes self-consciousness (Robinson, H., 2012). Personal identity here is quintessentially the self, in which memory is decisive variable as the consciousness of past actions is critical to being the same person and selfhood is reliant on the consciousness and not the body. For instance, if a person has memories from a past life as Salvador Dali, thence he is the same person in the current life with a take issueent body.These arguments however appear ambiguous upon cor relation with Descartes accounts. However, Lockes accounts differ where cites that it is not necessary that thinking, observation etc. to be the products of a non-material substance and leaves a prospect open that they could be of material note. The self, Locke argues, is resultant from tenaciousness of consciousness and not a substance as proposed by Descartes (Greetham, B., 2006). because again, there is a fallacy in these arguments if the self is continuity of consciousness and memory retention then without the memory of past actions accountability for the actions is cannot be held (Cavalier, g., 1989). For instance, it could be hypothesized in Lockes view, that a person who committed collide with as a child, who grew up to become a doctor and then as an old man he cannot remember his crime as a child, hence in effect, he cannot be held responsible for the murder. ordinal century philosopher David Hume continued in the empirical approach, maintaining that authentic knowledge is alone acquired on the basis of direct experience (Robinson H., 2012). He borrows from Locke, however, he reaches drastic conception where he conceives the self as fiction. Thereafter, he entirely disregards the substance view of the mind. He bases his conception strictly on experience or perception and maintains that the existential claim for the inner substance should be discoverable by experience (Greetham, B., 2006).Through his experience, Hume, found no such(prenominal) substance but instead only a variety of perceptions where there is no identity or self binding them. Academics refer to this view as the bundle theory of substance, where different perceptions are in eternal flux (Robinson H., 2012). However, Hume fails to identify a unifyingfactor and puts aside a vague understanding of the mind just being a bundle of perceptions. Consequently, the Cartesian theory of self gained an upper hand as it offers the unifying substance of mind in the conception of the self (Greeth am, B., 2006).The aforementioned theories of self significantly influence the post-modern conception of the self, as the subject has a tendency to develop over time (Cahoone, L., 2003). These western theories have borrowed from easterly conceptions of self, which indicates ancient interaction between the west and the east. (Cavalier, G., 1989). In the contemporary world, the twentieth century has been the fore-bringer of brisk industrialization in the western world, begetting fast-paced consumer societies, where the wad have little or no time for personal extremity (Cahoone, L. 2003). This along with advent of cultural pluralism, scientific rationalization and secularization of notions of religion has led to burgeoning interest in the conception of self (Olsen and Timothy, 2006, p.139).On a personal basis, the theories of self explored here provided a clearer picture on the gradual development of understanding of self with a historical context and an acuteness into how these theo ries have shaped post-modern notions on the same (Collinson, P. et al, 2000). Descartes accounts and his emphasis on the psyche substance worked as a bride between my eastern thought origin and modern western conception on the subject. However, Lockes and Humes empirical approach and their emphasis on discovering self through experience is also profound to my conception of self. Their conclusions however appeared radical and absurd especially in the case of Hume where proclaims the self as being fictional.ReferencesCahoone, L. (2003). From Modernism to Postmodernism An Anthology. Carlton Blackwell. Cavalier, G. &. (1989). Ethics in the History of Western Philosophy. New York St. Martins Press. Collinson, P. &. (2000). Fifty Eastern Tihnkers. capital of the United Kingdom Routledge. Greetham, B. (2006). Philosophy. Norwich Palgrave Macmillan. Jamal, T. a. (2009). The Sage Handbook of Tourism Studies. London Sage. OCallaghan, R. et al. (2010, December 21). deification Thomas doubtin g Thomas. Retrieved May 1, 2012, from http//plato.stanford.edu/ Olsen, D.H. and Timothy, D.J. (2006). Tourism, Religion and Spiritual Journeys. Oxford Routledge. Robinson, H. (2012, Demember 21). Dualism. Retrieved May 1, 2012, from http//plato.stanford.edu/ Warburton, N. (1992). Philosophy. Abingdon Routledge.Zalta, E. (2011, September 21). Aquinas Moral, Political, and Legal Philosophy. Retrieved May 1, 2011, from www.http//plato.stanford.edu/

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