Philosophy Personal Statement
A simple analogy. Philosophy is like a squeegee; used to clear the windows of thought from the stubborn smudges of logical confusion. Where the scientist brings new knowledge, the philosopher creates new meaning; bringing the fly out of the fly bottle as a particular Viennese thinker may suggest. Challenging and frustrating, philosophy is the very foundation of human understanding, yet also the pinnacle of intellectual pursuit that has inspired, guided and haunted me for as long as I can remember.
I was always curious child. At 6, nothing could bring more pleasure than “potion-concocting” with various bathroom products. At 9, it was meteorology and the formation of clouds. But it was at the age of 11 that the conflict between my atheist upbringing and the forced prayers at primary school became the source of my interest. I began to rebel; refusing to bow my head or utter the monotonous drone of ‘The Lord’s Prayer’. The turning point was the day I noticed another do the same. The realisation that I was not alone had as much power as any religious experience; an outsider no longer, I was now a member of a group; a group with the courage to question what “must not be questioned”. Logical argument has since become a very valuable ally.
It was while reading Wittgenstein’s ‘Philosophical Investigations’ that my perception of language, and its relationship to understanding, was stripped bare, turned upside-down and rewritten; much, I suppose, like his own philosophical outlook. Despite his beautifully logical approach to the analysis of language, remark 464, “my aim is: to teach you to pass from a piece of disguised nonsense to something that is patent nonsense,” summarises why I am drawn to him as a thinker; any man that can write “milk me some sugar” in a major philosophical work is certainly the man for me! Without a doubt, the ‘Investigations’ has developed my interests in the mind, language and logic, subjects I greatly look forward to studying in greater depth next year. However, since also having read works by Plato and Nietzsche, I now recognise how broad a study Philosophy truly is. Never before had I realised that as well as a study of religion and existence, Philosophy embraces art, history, science, maths; vast and engaging on so many levels.
My love for the subject has affected my extracurricular life as well. I have been a member of the Philosophical Society of England for several years, ‘Bertrand Russell on Pornography’ being my favourite article to date. As Head of P.R. on my school’s prestigious Student Leadership Team, I chaired our annual Philosophy Conference. Moreover, the success of the A2 Wittgenstein lesson that I was asked to teach led to the resurrection of our school Philosophy Society: the Dead Thinkers. I do admit to enjoying a few non-philosophy related activities too. Performing in plays and musicals has been a huge part of my school life, Reno Sweeney in Cole Porter’s ‘Anything Goes’ and Sir Andrew Aguecheek of ‘Twelfth Night’ being my two favourite roles to date. Cult cinema and alternative rock music keep me entertained at weekends, I also love to cook, and have a self-taught knack for cutting hair.
As Socrates so aptly said “the more I learn, the more I realise that I know nothing.” It is therefore my ultimate aim that, after all of the work and effort that I put into my studies, I may, by the end, know something.
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This is great, truly great. I'd personally write a bit more about personal qualities, but with this kind of statement, they wont be missed! Best statement I've ever read - clear, concise, humorous, written sophisticatedly, but not over-the-top-thesaurus-nazi. Well done!
