The philosophies of the different philosophers have somewhat similarities. For example, Socrates’s and Plato’s perspectives on the self is almost identical given that Plato is the disciple of Socrates. They both put importance on a human’s soul. Just like what Socrates said the most important thing is the state of the soul and the act of taking care of it and Plato said that the soul is the most divine aspect of human being. St. Augustine which is also heavily influenced by Plato has similar philosophies which he says that self is an immaterial soul.
I can also point out Socrates’s and Kant’s philosophies where they divided the existence or the components of the self into two parts; In Socrates’s he named them the Visible which changes and the Invisible that remains constant. In his philosophies the visible refers to the physical body and the invisible is the soul which he also believes that is immortal. These two kinds is similar to Kant’s Inner and Outer Self where the inner self is that you’re aware of the alterations and the Outer self includes your senses in the Physical World.
Rene Descartes also mentioned the distinction of the soul and body. In the soul he stated that this is unaffected by time and the body changes through time which is like Socrates’s and Kant’s philosophies I also noticed John Locke’s and David Hume’s philosophies. John said that the person who cannot remember his behavior is the same as the person being ignorant. In which Hume said that your perceptions are only active for as long as you are conscious. This, for me is similar its like they’re both saying that you need to be aware (conscious) of what you are doing or feeling in order for you to claim that you have experienced something.
Although I’ve said that they have similarities I can’t help but noticed their differences in their views of the self.
First, notice how I heavily emphasize Socrates’s and Plato’s similarities, but only Plato made three parts of the soul. St. Augustine who also is heavily influenced by Plato have different views, where he claimed that the soul belonged to a perfect and eternal God. Though he has similarities, him being Christian is distinct to other philosophers because he often associate his views on a God. Like how he said that a person is similar to God as regards to the mind and its ability. The most noticeable differences is Descartes’s and Plato’s views because Descartes stated here that the soul is not made up of parts where Plato gave three parts of the soul: appetitive, rational, and spirited. Descartes is also the only one who said that doubt itself is a principal tool of disciplined inquiry.
John Locke also has a unique way of interpreting the self that is different from the others he stated that the self consists of memory which allows the person to identify their self as the same person yesterday since they remembered what they’ve felt or done from the past days. David Hume’s views are also different when he said that the Human intellect and experiences are limited.
Overall, some of these philosophers shared the same thoughts and we all know that all they ever think of is to create philosophies to help not just their selves but also other people to understand the self. We can’t deny that up to this day we are heavily influenced by their philosophies.
