Philosophy has been defined by different people in different ways. It is not an easy task to provide a precise definition of Philosophy because it covers a wide range and complex studies about disciplines.

Etymologically speaking, Philosophy comes from two Greek words, “philo” and “sophia” whereas, philo means “to love” and sophia means “wisdom”. Meaning to say, Philosophy is the “love of wisdom”. A philosopher is someone who loves wisdom and wisdom is known to be the goal of Philosophy. Wisdom is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight (Dictionary.com).

Furthermore, Philosophy is the science that by the natural light of reason studies the first causes or highest principles. It is science because it follows a systematic process of investigating things. A philosopher does not need to use different laboratory equipment and apparatus in investigating and studying things because it uses the natural light of reason or the common sense which is the ability of a person to use his or her mind to discover and to obtain information. In studying Philosophy, you need to consider and base our judgments to the first causes or the highest principles.

But why is it important to have the philosophy of the self?

“Know thyself. “- Socrates

Different Philosophers have different perspective of the self. I have my own perspective of the self as well but it can be correlated to some perspectives of the Philosophers. As what Socrates said, a person must know thyself and the question “Who am I?” always follows.  As of now, there are some things that I did not know about myself. Most of the times, I want something but when I reflect, I did not know why I want it. Is it because it is the latest? Is it because I want to conform with the norm of the society? Is that will make me genuinely happy? I have a lot of questions about myself like “Is this really my purpose in life?” or sometimes “What is the purpose of my life?” and many more.

In my opinion, it is important to have the philosophy of the self because as what Socrates said, “An unexamined life is not worth living”. Just as how difficult it is to walk around in the dark without any light source during brownout. It is difficult to continue living without knowing the path that you are going and what your strengths and weaknesses are.  As human beings, we must know our purpose and value in life. Without knowing these things, we are like walking around a dark big messy room without light. Everyone wants to live a happy and harmonious life but some of us cannot. This is because they do not know their selves. They just conform with the society and the latest trends and fashions but they do not really know their self. Thus, they did not know what to improve, what they are good at, what they can do and not do and many more. In addition to that, everyone seeks love. Love from a friend, a family, special someone and from other people but they did not love their selves. I believe we must first love ourselves because how are we going to share and let love grow with our relationships if you do not love yourself first. How can we share and commit ourselves if we do not fully know our own.

In conclusion, if we want to live happily and to enjoy the rest of  our lives, we must know thyself.

Describe who you are, the meaning of your life, the purpose of your existence, and how to achieve a happy and successful life.

As an 18 year old student, I believe that I am not yet done and I an unfinished work of God. I have a lot of growing to do— physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. As of now, I am a little girl who have a lot of dreams in life. I love my family so much that I can do anything and everything for them. I am a simple person who loves to talk and to eat. I am adventurous. I love to explore things and learn from it. I love pets. I honor and glory God. I love to be successful doctor someday and many more. But to be honest, being asked to describe myself is one of the hardest thing to do because I barely know myself. I just know some things and I do not know everything.

On a positive side, Life, in my personal opinion, is God’s gift and fulfilling the purpose of my existence is my gift to God. I asked God to help me know, understand and value my purpose and it may seem weird but I received God’s answer to my prayers. I just realized that my purpose in life is to live my life according to God’s will which is to go to the medical path and serve and save people. He wants me to be his instrument of love, wisdom, mercy and justice. As of now, I am doing all my best to live according to His will even though it is hard and I face a lot of challenges and struggles. I believe I can live a happy and successful life because God is with me and with His grace, nothing is impossible.

What are your characteristics that can contribute to your happiness and success?

I believe that my positive outlook in life and faith in God can contribute to my happiness and success. As time passes by, I will face more challenges and struggles but I am positive that I can overcome those with the help of God. To be honest, in 18 years of my existence, I already faced several challenges that tested my faith, patience, love, and more and I am happy that I encountered those challenges because those are the things that shaped me to who I am today. In addition, that is God’s way of shaping me from a coal which is dull, breaks easily, amorphous meaning formless or and shapeless  into a diamond which is sparkling, organized, difficult to break and beautiful.

References:

Go-Monilla, M., & Ramirez, N. (2018) (pp. 5-21). Quezon City, Philippines: C & E Publishing, Inc.

Ramos, C. (2016). Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person (1st ed., pp. 2-3). Quezon City, Philippines: Rex Book Store.