UNDERSTANDING ONE'S OWN SELF

The True Value of Understanding One's own Self

Andrew Daywalt
Senior Seminar LAS 401 - OA
Siena Heights University
September 26, 2015

UNDERSTANDING ONE'S OWN SELF

The True Value of Understanding One's own Self

As a student who studies the interactions and relationships between individuals and
groups of people, there rarely seems to be a moment to think internally about the individual. I've
taken numerous classes about philosophy, including a course specifically focused on the self,
but I still feel disconnected from both the self that I exude and the self that guides my internal
reason. To use Plato's chariot of the self as an example, I feel connected to reason, but often blind
to the direction that each steed is trying to take. Of the three philosophers studied in the class so
far, the one life-quality that would be invaluable to be as an individual is Socrates' selfunderstanding.
When thinking back on the various philosophers from this semester, and the messages
that they have shared with the world, it's clear that they are all valuable in their own right.
Epicurus' teachings, at least from my own perspective, break down the idea of what happiness is
and can be and sort of extracts a core essence. This essence of happiness, when understood, can
then be experienced through the world, the simplest often being the best. Epicurus generally
stuck to the idea of less is more through his teachings, reveled in the simplicity of things, and
extracted as much joy as possible from everyday living (de Botton, 2000). While I'm not
necessarily sold on the authentic Epicurus lifestyle, the outlook on life that he provides certainly
alters the way one looks at happiness and how it's achieved. This is something that I would like
to incorporate into my way of thinking, yet it's not quite the eternal life-quality that I'm after.
This is an outlook on life that can be attained, trained and made everlasting.
Seneca's perspective on philosophy is all about peace of mind. The stoic stance on life is
to never hold expectations above what actually happens, and never allow what could have

UNDERSTANDING ONE'S OWN SELF

been cloud what really is. Seneca insists that actively thinking about and even expecting bad
things to happen in the future is the best way to assure that one's hopes are not crushed, but also
better prepare for worst-case scenarios. Seneca's method for inner peace and freedom allows us
to be happy about the good parts of life, while also passively accepting the bad (de Botton,
2000). Peace of mind is something that I think a lot of people find attractive as an insured lifelong quality. Anxieties are often kept at bay, the worst in life is generally prepared for, and even
if it isn't, a stoic is better at letting the rain run off of their back. That being said, and perhaps I'm
being young and nave, but permanent peace of mind seems like it has some level of finality to it.
There's something enticing about the ebb and flow of hopes, disappointments and that eventual
moment when something goes perfectly. The knowledge that Seneca has to offer is not useless
because of this preference of mine, and in fact I believe that the idea of avoiding being
overwhelmed by an outcome by being prepared for the worst in an intelligent way to live. Again,
this is something that can be practiced and incorporated into a lifestyle. The rewards offered by
one's journey to seek peace of mind are fruitful, and that isn't something I would be willing to
give up on.
This finally leaves Socrates. Wisdom would be an interesting wish, but I don't believe
that true wisdom is something you attain, and I don't think one can simply know that they are a
wise person without losing value in their own wisdom as a result. If I was given the choice to
live with one life-quality for the rest of my days, wisdom would serve me the least. It would be
as if I hadn't wished for anything at all because wisdom is not something that I believe I can
capture and hold onto.
Wisdom aside, Socrates is known for another life-quality that I would like to subscribe to

UNDERSTANDING ONE'S OWN SELF

as an individual. This is a life-quality that has been expressed by countless other philosophers
with the many perspectives that come with them. Going back to my dilemma of the self, I often
feel disconnected from a true self, and many of my morals are adrift between seemingly concrete
concepts of right and wrong. Self-understanding is a quality that I seek not because it's difficult
or impossible to attain, and not because it's more important than any of the others. I seek selfunderstanding as a life-long quality because it isn't something that can be worked toward, and
permanently incorporate into a lifestyle, like many of the other qualities we have discussed in
class. Self-understanding is something that changes and evolves consistently throughout a
person's life and it's generally the upper echelon of human needs that we are always chasing. It's
a continual process of seeking and understanding ourselves through self actualization and moral
consistency. Perhaps self-understanding is meant to be a never-ending journey, and perhaps it is
part of the ups and downs that we are continually facing. For all that I know, self-understanding
isn't created through an answer, but through the deliberate exploration into the self and constantly
questioning any point where we think we might have found the one true answer. This idea of
never really settling on a destination reflects Socrates' approach in that no matter how satisfied a
person felt in their place in the world, he felt compelled to question them and make them think
just a little bit deeper (de Botton, 2000). Maybe we aren't ever meant to achieve complete selfunderstanding, but if there is one life-quality that I wish to hold with me for the rest of my life,
that would certainly be my choice, even if that only means just knowing that there is as much
value in our questions are there are in our answers. For me, the value of a life-quality that is
difficult to attain, and even more difficult to maintain, far exceeds the value of life-qualities that
can be incorporated into core of one's own lifestyle.

UNDERSTANDING ONE'S OWN SELF

5
Reference

de Botton, A. (2000). The consolation of philosophy. Vintage International: New York.