All of us have placed a way of living over our values, beliefs and choices in life. Whether or not we are conscious of this way, that mode of living is our personal philosophy. We therefore all have a philosophy of our own, often a blurred image assembled from things we have learned without thinking them through; to be a philosopher is to think consciously about the way we have chosen to live.

The ultimate purpose of learning philosophy is not to accumulate philosophical knowledge or become learned in philosophy, but to create and cultivate an independent and conscious mode of thought through which we can realise our higher self.

Aydin Areta