Personal Identity (True Self) Category

Topics: Change Consistency Death Eternity Happiness Independence/Dependence Injustice Loss Normality Parenting Personal Identity (True Self) Questions Sacrifice Selfishness Strangeness Suffering Virtue

Philosophers: Emily Dickinson Fyodor Dostoevsky Ralph Waldo Emerson Alexander Hamilton Heraclitus Homer Franz Kafka Friedrich Nietzsche Plato Rainer Maria Rilke William Shakespeare Socrates Henry David Thoreau Ludwig Wittgenstein

The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change
Text: Heraclitus, fragment

The change that occurs in a river is vivid and unmistakable. By claiming that the change we see in a river is true of our world in general, Heraclitus challenges the idea that some things simply stay the same: we may not see the change so clearly, but change is occurring nonetheless. Full essay.

Awaken Thyself!
Text: Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Thoreau would have us give up our morning coffee for a different kind of pick-me-up:  a practice of spiritual awakening.  For one may be physically awake, even alert, while the soul still slumbers...one may be leading an active life, while missing some of the deepest experiences of life. Full essay.

Would You Want To Live Forever?
Text: Homer, The Odyssey

Through this tale of Odysseus’s plight, Homer prods us to consider our wish for immortality more carefully. Exactly what is it that we want when we want to live forever? Full essay.

The Most Important Philosophy Is Your Own
Text: Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

No matter how wise Zarathustra or any teacher may be, and no matter how much we may benefit from their guidance, Nietzsche reminds us that ultimately we must each find our own way. Thus his hero, Zarathustra, a spiritual teacher of mankind, removes himself from his students lest they remain his pupils and disciples forever. Full essay.