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Essay / Because to doubt is to exist - How philosophy can affect the state of mind
There are so many philosophers who have inspired me to seek wisdom. One of these philosophers is Socrates, a well-known Greek philosopher who is considered one of the founders of Western philosophy. The philosophies of Socrates have been very well received by our modern philosophers. Socrates mentioned that human choices are motivated by the desire for happiness. Socrates greatly influenced the way I think about life and human reason. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Socrates quoted that an unexamined life is not worth living. Reading this line made me think about my life. It made me examine my life in a way I had never tried to look. Looking at my life has also made me wonder about things I never imagined I could ask myself. I started to question things. I started searching and thinking about things I couldn't understand. Socrates made me a being who questions things. Socrates gave me a thirst for wisdom. I didn't expect to crave wisdom. I started exploring things to satisfy my hunger, but no matter what I did, I couldn't satisfy it enough. Then I came across René Descartes, He made me temporarily satisfy my thirst for wisdom. He enlightens me with his philosophy. René Descartes made me doubt my existence. He said that to doubt is to exist. He made me doubt things I know. Doubt is an aspect of thinking. So to doubt is to think. Humans doubt their existence. Therefore, we think therefore we exist. He also mentioned that everything we know is made possible through our senses, but our senses can be deceived and they can also deceive us. René Descartes made me doubt everything. How I doubted everything. I started thinking about others. Emmanuel Levinas, who is one of the philosophers who made me seek wisdom, said that there is someone who exists other than me and who is none other than the other – the other person. The other is different from me. I had to recognize his otherness. An otherness which is not me but which is me. Who is me? While trying to recognize the other, I began to doubt myself. I started to examine myself but still didn't find an answer. I was still missing something. I always thirsted for wisdom. And because I was thirsty for wisdom, I tried to understand “the other”. In order to understand him, I must understand his views, opinions, beliefs, intelligence, and other things that are different from mine. After seeing the other. I started to wonder why I'm not like him. I wondered why we didn't have the same intelligence even though we belonged to the same species. Dr. Howard Gardner later suggested that human beings possess different intelligences. I was fascinated to know that humans have different intelligences. Philosophy made me question things. Philosophy broadens my wisdom. Socrates is the one who greatly inspired much of my thoughts on the realities of life. He made me live a life worth living. René Descartes made me doubt. Even though it was contradictory, it still made me examine my life on a much deeper level. Emmanuel Levinas made me think of others. He made me recognize the others. He made me think that life doesn't just revolve around me, but he also made me think that maybe the world doesn't revolve around it but rather around others. Even now, I still wonder and doubt. Because to doubt is.