Those who claim they don’t have a philosophy, have a misunderstanding of what philosophy means. Philosophy is simply how you perceive reality and existence. As an advocate of constantly evaluating and changing your mindset, it follows to be conscious and evaluate your philosophy.

Plato, Aristotle’s teacher, is one of my favorite philosophers who has helped me develop my own philosophy.

His famous Allegory of the Cave has been incredibly impactful. The allegory is based on a group of people whose entire lives have been in captivity facing the wall of a cave.  They percieve reality through the shadows projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire behind them.

One day, a prisoner manages to break their bonds and discover another reality with the sun, trees, and flowers. He realizes that his reality was not what they thought it was. I often think of how similar to the prisoner who is freed from the cave, which could be a limited mindset, we should be constantly trying to break free from destructive views. 

However, when the escaped prisoner comes back to the remaining prisoners he explains his experience. And the remaining prisoners do not even desire to leave their prison, for they know no better life. Not just comfortable in their ignorance, but hostile to anyone who points it out.

This allegory serves as a constant reminder to me to challenge my views and to also be open to others perspectives.