For thousands of years, most people have
been searching for an answer to the question "who am I?" However,
there is no clear answer to this question. Could there be a reason why we could
not find an answer to this interesting question? Don’t we know ourselves and
inner thought well? Maybe, we just change and develop before answering that
amazing question…
In my opinion, the moment we ask ourselves
the question "who am I", we get to know our inner world better. While
we think -even for a few seconds- our perspective changes and we improve.
Therefore, the person who asked the question and the person who tries to find
an answer are not exactly the same. Actually, they are totally different from
each other. What I meant by calling them “different people”: the individual’s
mindset, perspective and attitude toward life have all changed.
To explain this issue better, we can have a
look at what "existence" is. If the notion “existence” means “the sum
of every moment a person has lived” -as Edmund Husserl said-, then the answer
to the question of “who am I” is everything we have lived until that moment.
Husserl called this concept “phenomenon”.
However, there is a fact that we
continuously confront with new events. Therefore, there will never be a fixed
“me”. Just as everything in the universe is changing non-stop, we are also
changing every second. In this respect, I agree with Heraclitus.
According to Heraclitus, the world exists
as a coherent system. The universe is in a constant stage of change, movement
and formation. You have probably heard the phrase “You cannot swim in the same
river twice.” Since there is a constant change, development, improvement and
progress, a person really cannot swim in the same river twice. Therefore, when
a person asks himself/herself the question “who am I”, he/she cannot give a
clear answer as that person has already changed.
While I agree with most of Heraclitus'
view, there is a point I disagree with. According to Heraclitus, there is a
constant change and innovation as there are contradictions in every aspect of
life. While these opposites complement each other, they also develop and change
each other. According to him, existence is based on these contrasts, which is
called “dialectics”.
However, I think Heraclitus missed a
detail. Our lives are not just full of contradictions and struggles. There are
some people who agree with us. Sometimes those people can add interesting ideas
and innovations to our way of thinking. Therefore, I do not think that
“existence” just occurs by contrasts. Likewise, the answer to the question
"who am I" cannot consist only of contrasts and changes.
Our existence does not only depend on
changes. Our thoughts and feelings are also who we are. Therefore, Plato’s
concept of the “world of ideas” is quite logical. Of course, I do not think
that the things we see around us are “reflections of their state in the world
of ideas”. In my opinion, the place we call "the world of ideas"
symbolizes our feelings, thoughts, experiences, choices and the changes in our
lives…
Our feelings and thoughts change according
to our point of view. Plato’s “allegory of the cave” explains this topic really
well. One can see that his/her that our thoughts change and constantly evolve
according to his/her education level, experience, stance, attitude and
perspective in life. If we have not seen new things except “our shadow in the
cave”, we can consider that we have not developed ourselves. Therefore, while
analyzing events and even the question of “who am I”, we should change our
perspective from time to time and expand the boundaries of our perspectives.
The most important outcome from the cave example
given by Plato is obvious: we must try to improve ourselves without sticking to
our dreams, our fears and a single point of view. This metaphoric symbol shows
us “people are not just made of change, development and material things. There
is a completely different world which includes thoughts, ideas and emotions.
That invisible but perceivable world affects people personalities.
In my opinion, the answer to the question
"who am I" is the combination of all these concepts. While we are the
sum of all the events we have experienced so far, we are also a combination of
our emotions, thoughts, and choices. Every moment there is another “us” because
we are constantly changing and developing.
As a result, although we are not consist of
a single “me” throughout our lives, we can reach the right answer when we think
about this question for a single moment. However, we should not forget that
philosophy has a "reflexive" feature. Even if we think that we have
found the answer to the question "who am I", we all should ask the
very same question again and again. By achieving new answers, we create the
"new us". In order to discover “the new us”, we must constantly try
to improve ourselves. Never stop questioning and try to learn new things from
every moment you live.
Suzan R. Hofstede, 2021
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