This answer the question on what I have learnt throughout my philosophical study, I will begin by defining philosophy. To begin with philosophy is the science that deals with the general principles and causes of things. Now with a clear understanding of philosophy, I will break down what I have learnt looking at philosophical principles of Plato’s Dialogues, Augustine confessions and Plato’s Allegory of the cave. We live in an age and time where every human being is focusing of scientific investigations, data and numerical procedures and most times we overlook the basic principles of life or rather called the philosophies of life. The impacts of philosophy as a result of decision making and the various directions we get from professional careers and life associations is equally neglected. I believe that the concepts within philosophy and philosophy itself impact numerous avenues in life such like my education, my professional career and life. St. Augustine and Plato have love for wisdom and they reveal to us how philosophy goes beyond scientific investigation, measurements and facts and how philosophy fully depends on intuition, judgment and reflection.

St. Augustine confession

With reference to the direction of my professional career, philosophy has played a significant role in determining what I want to do in my career. With philosophy, I have learnt that one has the ability to use many different philosophies and that philosophy should not be prejudged. I have also learnt that most times in people’s minds, they are right. In St. Augustine’s confession, it is very easy for one to understand confession from the aspect of admitting one’s sins. The understanding of admitting one’s sins is discussed by St. Augustine but through his works, I have also been able to learn how confession has several senses. Through the works of St. Augustine, I have learnt that confession can also mean a statement of belief and this is evident in St. Augustine’s detailed account of how he managed to arrive at the knowledge of God and other Christian beliefs. In St. Augustine’s development, confession I have learnt could also mean a statement of praise. In the process of confessing, Augustine continuously gives praises to God for mercifully directing his path and bringing him out of error and misery. Focusing on the reality of life, philosophy particularly the study of confession has helped me focus on the nature of mankind and how we owe our lives to God and therefore confession should be part of our day to day life.

Plato’s Dialogues

The relationship between mind and body is a significant lesson gained through the study of philosophy and understanding the overall quality of life. Plato is his dialogue provides us with the actual essence the connection between the mind and the body that places the soul at a better place. Throughout his dialogues, he brings us to an understanding of what he means through the meaning of words and the use of words. The purpose of these dialogues is to reveal consistent, productive and thoughtful beliefs, characteristics and behaviors that humans establish when they become aware of how the body and mind work together. In his dialogues, Plato manages to philosophize where other people have indoctrinated, he manages to life his audience’s spirit to a sense of purity especially where they have degraded and confined themselves to the negative life experiences. In the mind and body development by Plato, I have learnt that there are lots of activities that one can engage in to place the mind at stability. I have also learnt that the body becomes stable once the mind is fed with positive things. For instance, obese people will fail to lose weight because they have failed to condition their mind to think they are in a position to shed off the weight. As a philosopher, I have realized that exceptional performance requires us to find the link between body and mind so that we can have the best benefits and overall performance.

Plato Allegory of the cave

Analyzing the Allegory of the cave by Plato, I was able to have an explanation of how education is necessary for enlightenment of the soul. Plato maintains his discussion from the view of how one can be educated to the state of being a philosopher. He contends that the chains that bind those in prison lie in their senses and the allegory is some form of attack that occurs to people who depend on their sense or are slaves to their sense. In simple terms, the cave of our world is our senses, our world of sight, how we recognize images and finally how we form ideas of all things. Education according to Plato enables us to have an unbounded view of the general view of reality and have our own realization of a mirrored world tied to our level of thinking. With this knowledge, I have learnt that everything and anything we do has an impact on the decisions we make later in life. As an undergraduate student, I would really want to have a higher level of connection between different subjects. For instance, in the past I thought that mathematics was all about number and music was all about singing but when I understood Plato’s discussion on the Allegory of the cave, everyday decision become complex and away from music being full time singing and mathematics being numbers.