Philosophy of David Hume

Philosophy in itself is an unidentifiable subject matter because of the lack of specificity in the fields it touches upon. It is “defined” as a way for humans to strive for ourselves in this reality in which we live in. No one person has the answers as to who we are and why we are living. The value of philosophy changes in character as history changes, thus the meaning of philosophy is what we as individuals perceive it to be. Though subjective, there are core ideals that unite the beliefs of all philosophy, such as the idea of the self.

Philosophers arise not to answer questions, but to question the questions in order to find enlightenment. The search for self is a difficult journey as it is a heavily debated subject matter with no definite clarification. Ultimately, the most important question of philosophy is: “What makes you, you?” The studies of self relates to the fundamental assumptions of human nature. Every discussion about “life or death [in philosophy] talks about the physical body and the human consciousness” with relations to rationality or irrationality” (Velasquez, 51). Human nature prompts most philosophers to believe that all human beings have a self within them. Philosophy defines the self as “the ego or “I” that exists in a physical body and that it is conscious and rational” (Velasquez, 52). This complex belief states that as humans, the self prompts us to think in order to derive achievable goals. The ability for the self to think, reason, and perceive believed by many philosophers is to relate ourselves to our bodies and bring ourselves to achieve a destiny. The philosophers who believe in the idea of self believe that the self is essentially independent of the physical body. It is a nonphysical element of...

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...ery topic discussed in this paper, it can be concluded that the idea of individuality explains the existence of life. Time, morals, and opinions all can be debated based on individual perception and thoughts through the self, enduring self. Reality is a difficult element to explain but through the ability of ourselves to shape the world around us based on our skepticism and knowledge; we are able to exist independently. Like philosophy, there are no answers but only the journey to seek after the answer. Through life, living, and existing, one will reach self-discovery. As stated previously, the value of philosophy changes in character as history changes, thus the meaning of philosophy is what we as individuals perceive it to be.

Works Cited

Velasquez, Manuel. Philosophy: A Text with Readings. Belmont, California: Cengage Learning; 10th edition. 2005, 2008. Print.