To know oneself Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

To know one egotism - Essay ExampleThe know thy ego phrase by Socrates is engraved in the entrance of the Apollo temple at Delphi in order to illustrate the importance of well-read ones egotism (qtd. in Hergenhahn 44-45). Socrates believes that the pump of something is necessary in order to understand an individuals self. Essence for Socrates is a definition or a concept that is prevalently accepted and acknowledged. In relation to this, Rene Descartes believes that a mortal exist because he or she is thinking (qtd. in E. Paul, Miller, and J. Paul 76-79). Therefore, the cleverness for a person to think is the greatest manifestation of self and existence. Descartes strongly believes that the only manifestation of the self is the capacity to think. The universe that he believes in may be just a creative hallucination, moreover the fact that he thinks of hallucinating is a proof of his self and existence. Self, the ability to think, is not relatively connect to the parts of a p ersons body. Descartes believes that self, so long as the brain functions, is present nonetheless without legs. Therefore, Descartess argument can be put into simpler sense that a self, which is considered as the personal identity, is the same headland and body. This argument is the same with John Locke he considers that consciousness, which is the ability to sense and perceive, is the ability of a person to think. He also suggests that no matter what type of body a person has, his or her self ordain always be the same all throughout his or her existence. The identity willing always be the same no matter he or she changes a body. In this manner, a persons understanding is formed through thinking. As latter stated, self exists because a person thinks, and when this happens, he or she perceives and is able to use his or her senses. Therefore, if a person thinks that he or she exists, then he or she is conscious and can understand. In the light of understanding, David Hume (qtd. in Traiger) and John Locke assume that it is consistent from the past to the present. taste through the persons sense and perception is constant similar to ones self. Immanuel Kant (qtd. in Kitcher) suggests that a person is rational and free if he or she is conscious of his or her self. This consciousness will allow an individual to identify the presence of things in the universe. A person can trust what he or she knows because he or she can identify the objects presented to him or her. The presence of self also opens the room access of a person to be fully aw be of the presence of things or the knowledge surrounds him or her. Therefore, self manifest knowledge and the presence of knowledge manifest the consistency of things that are known. It can then be inferred that the universal knowledge, truth, or facts that a person know can be trusted to be the universal knowledge, truth, or facts for others. Therefore, knowing and trusting ones self and knowledge encompass the persons abili ty to have a constant self. In summation, according to Descartes, a persons essence is his or her ability to think. As the argument goes back to Socrates, knowing a persons self is the ability to know the essence of him or her. Therefore, it can be concluded that once a person thinks, self is present. As a person thinks, the act of sensing his or her surrounding and the act of perceiving are also done. Thinking is simultaneous to the latter acts, which will bear knowledge to the self. For this reason, the knowledge