For to Doubt is to Exist - How Philosophy Can Affect Mindset

There so many philosophers that made me seek for wisdom. One of those philosopher is Socrates, a well-known Greek philosopher who is credited as one of the founders of western philosophy. Socrates philosophies were very well received by our modern philosophers. Socrates mentioned that human options is motivated by the desire of happiness. Socrates greatly influenced my way of thinking to life and to the human reason.

Socrates quoted that an unexamined life is not worth living. Reading that line made me think of my life. It made me examined my life in ways I never tried to look at. Looking at my life also made me wonder to things I never expected that I could wonder. I began questioning things. I began searching and thinking to things I could not comprehend. Socrates made me a being that questions things. Socrates made me hunger for wisdom. I did not expected myself to thirst for wisdom. I started exploring things to quench my hunger but no matter what I do I could not satisfy it enough. Then I stumble to Rene Descartes, He made me temporarily satisfy my thirst for wisdom. He enlighten me with his philosophy. Rene Descartes made me doubt my existence. He said that to doubt is to exist. He made me doubt things that I know. Doubting is an aspect of thinking. Therefore to doubt is to think. Humans are doubting being. Hence, we think therefore we exist. He also mentioned that everything we know is made possible because of our senses but our senses can be deceived and it can also deceive us. Rene Descartes made me doubt everything. As I was doubting everything. I began thinking about other people. Emmanuel Levinas, who is one of the philosophers that made me seek wisdom, said that there is someone that exist other than me and that is no other than the other – the other person. The other is different from me. I had to recognize his otherness. An otherness that is not me but what is me. Who is me? As I was trying to recognize the other, I began doubting myself. I began examining myself but I still didn’t arrived at the answer. I was still lacking of something. I was still thirsty for wisdom. And because I was thirsty for wisdom, I tried to understand the “other”. In order to understand him, I have to understand his views, opinions, beliefs, Intelligence and other things that is different from me. After seeing the other. I began wondering why I am not the same as him. I wondered why we don’t have the same intelligence despite being in the same species. Dr. Howard Gardner then implied that human beings have different intelligences. I was fascinated on knowing that humans have different intelligences.

Philosophy made me wonder about stuffs. Philosophy widen my wisdom. Socrates was the one who greatly drawn much of my reflections in life’s realities. He made me experienced a life that is worth living. Rene Descartes made me doubt things. Even though it was contradicting it still made me examine my life in a much deeper level. Emmanuel Levinas made me think about others. He made me acknowledge other. He made me think that life does not solely revolve around me but it also made me think that maybe the world didn’t revolve around but instead it revolve around the others. Even now, I am still questioning and doubting. For to doubt is to Exist.