INGENTE, Rachelle Alexis TAPAY, Neil Victor PHILO 104 (16-130)

MADAMBA, Ervic Joy ALVE, Katrina MWF 2:35-3:35PM

MADAJE, Christian BUSRAN, Prince

A GROUP CRITIQUE ON
What Is The Self By Michael D. Moga, S.J.

It is truly a challenge to grasp the idea of the self and to limit it to a singular definition,
for the self, as several and we ourselves had discussed it, is unfathomable. Then again, many
have attempted and created assumptions on what the self truly is. Fr. Moga has explained his
counter-argument against empiricists who claimed that the self does not exist because it cannot
be traced to a precise object of experience, those whose statements presume that only objects
exists. Fr. Moga said that subjects are also necessary to give meaning to the things surrounding us,
and though subjects have no body, they still in fact exist, to which we have agreed. Self is the
condition of identity that makes one subject of experience distinct from all others. Having the self
as a necessary avenue to cater experiences helps us determine and be aware that the self does
exist, since we all have distinct experiences. We have noted that these experiences and feelings are
merely minor parts of the self and not the embodiment, as a whole of the self.
Fr. Moga has presented us the two basic types of self the ego self and the person
self. *insert assessment for ego self please* We concurred with Fr. Moga's assessment of the
person self and its three forms, to which we have related and associated his ideas with our
personal experiences. He supposed that the self is made up of three dimensions, seeing the person
as historical. We are the way we are today because of the past that has left a permanent mark on
us and which influences us on, because of the future that we long for, our hopes and dreams that
we gravitate towards, and because of the things that we experience in the present. In the person as
relatedness, he said that the self exists because of the people that surrounds us, which is true to
us, for as persons, we rely on the people around us and we need to create bonds, to form
relationships. The self is built on our interactions and response towards other people. And lastly,
a concept of the person self that has struck us was self-image. A realistic view on the self is
through how we have created our self-image. A negative self-image might conjure a pessimistic
response on how a person handles a situation given to him, while a very idealistic self-image might
create a strain on a person who cannot achieve his ideal self. This is the most dominant idea of
the self that could consume a person and can cause either great happiness or extreme sadness.
 The self is truly mysterious and complex. It is a concept that many can theorize but cannot
give a singular meaning. Fr. Mogas points on the self, ego and person, presented us with
different ideas that are distinct, separate and of equal importance. They are notions that guides us
to a better understanding of the character of the human self.