Do You Know Yourself?
Do You Really Know Yourself?
Throughout time great philosophers have pondered the question of what knowing your self is. Philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Alcibiades have somewhat of a similarity when it comes to identifying one’s self. However, there are the differences that lead up to the explanation and what individuals believe the self is. Socrates focused on the ‘good life’ and stresses the fact that to know how to live we need to know who we are. Under Socrates, the founder of philosophy, is the student Plato. He adapted many of Socrates’s ideas, but interpreted them differently. He says, “And I thought that I had better have recourse to the world of mind and seek there the truth of existence” (Phaedo). Alcibiades elaborates with what life is, and how to achieve a full life. He believes that you cannot be the only one to tell yourself who you are, but by the opinions and knowledge of others you can ultimately know yourself, which was argued by Socrates later on. There are multiple aspects that could make up the self. To establish what makes you who you are, we must know what the self is: mind, body, soul, or a combination of them all. I feel that all of those make up the self. Nonetheless, it can be harmful if you know yourself too well. Your mind gives you thoughts, the soul, has a moral foundation, and the body performs tasks. All parts of us are needed to shape who we are.
Before one can figure out who they are, there must be a common identity known. But how one identifies themselves depends on who they want to be. People have souls; a soul that is just theirs and unlike no one else. From that soul, comes personality, feelings, morals, and actions. Easily said, a person’s identity is who they are and what they do play a role in a persons identity. As mentioned earlier Socrates stresses the fact that if we want to live the ‘good life’ then we should know who we are. In Phaedo, Plato mentions how Socrates escapes being killed and in return he
Throughout time great philosophers have pondered the question of what knowing your self is. Philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Alcibiades have somewhat of a similarity when it comes to identifying one’s self. However, there are the differences that lead up to the explanation and what individuals believe the self is. Socrates focused on the ‘good life’ and stresses the fact that to know how to live we need to know who we are. Under Socrates, the founder of philosophy, is the student Plato. He adapted many of Socrates’s ideas, but interpreted them differently. He says, “And I thought that I had better have recourse to the world of mind and seek there the truth of existence” (Phaedo). Alcibiades elaborates with what life is, and how to achieve a full life. He believes that you cannot be the only one to tell yourself who you are, but by the opinions and knowledge of others you can ultimately know yourself, which was argued by Socrates later on. There are multiple aspects that could make up the self. To establish what makes you who you are, we must know what the self is: mind, body, soul, or a combination of them all. I feel that all of those make up the self. Nonetheless, it can be harmful if you know yourself too well. Your mind gives you thoughts, the soul, has a moral foundation, and the body performs tasks. All parts of us are needed to shape who we are.
Before one can figure out who they are, there must be a common identity known. But how one identifies themselves depends on who they want to be. People have souls; a soul that is just theirs and unlike no one else. From that soul, comes personality, feelings, morals, and actions. Easily said, a person’s identity is who they are and what they do play a role in a persons identity. As mentioned earlier Socrates stresses the fact that if we want to live the ‘good life’ then we should know who we are. In Phaedo, Plato mentions how Socrates escapes being killed and in return he
Cited: Plato, and Benjamin Jowett. "ALCIBIADES I." September 27, 2012. Web. Plato, and Benjamin Jowett. "PHAEDO." September 27, 2012. Web.