Self-honesty

Over the past few years, I have come to believe that there are two things that are of great importance for anyone who is honest to himself and wants to think better and better. Let me discuss the two things.

First, be prepared to give up what we believe. Every day, we (including me) spend a lot of time to think and speak in a way that shows euphoria of our self-image; this is not necessarily bad. But modesty is far more important than euphoria in many cases, especially when euphoria disallows us to think straight. As a philosophy student, I prefer to put my point in the following way: If you’re not prepared to end up becoming a philosophical anarchist, you can’t think very well.

Second, reflect constantly upon the way we are being critical, indignant, disappointed, euphoric, nonchalant, and so on. For example, we ask ourselves: why am I criticizing things in this way? Why was I angry in that way? Why did I seek people’s attention in that way? Sometimes—just sometimes, our answers are these: mostly because I envied; since I was too confident about my view; since I am not confident enough; because I am too lonely; etc. Reflection of this kind can be very useful, and should be done with a great deal of honesty. Honesty, however, does not require us to belittle ourselves either in the process of self-examination or after it. (First draft: January 13)