You know you're a philosopher when...

1. You are incapable of making a decision or forming an opinion without first undergoing an existential crisis.

3. Your last resort when losing a debate is to point out your opponent's fallacies.

4. Nothing, no not even a chair, can be given a simple definition. 

5. You frequently catch yourself saying, "I could argue for either side. It's not that one is more or less right than the other but there has to be a balance."

6. You can talk yourself so much into disbelief that you end up believing all over again.

7. You find it ironic when people refer to you as smart because you feel as though you have never known less in your life.

"To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadow of the images."

Philosophy, broken down in Latin, means "love of wisdom", but it is so much more than that, it is the love of the search, the struggle, the hunt, if you will, for ultimate truths. Philosophy in its very essence, tears back the curtains to reveal the puppet master- think, Wizard of Oz, where the man behind the curtain is not as intimidating as you originally thought. Philosophy will never accept anything for what it appears to be. It must analyze and dissect every idea down to its core until we are left sitting in a classroom slamming fists on the table, crying, "Why is Chalk?!", only to return to our dorms, reading Plato until our eyes strain, and all that's left at the end of the week is an unraveled definition of justice and the conclusion that we know and understand less now, yet more than we did before, at the same time. 

The point of philosophy is not to chase yourself in circles, but to unveil real truth behind the shadows, while accepting that these truths may not always be as concrete as we would have hoped.  Life is full of shadows, puppets, puppet masters, and curtains. It is the philosopher's job to to shed light into the cave, disturbing the shadows until they are no longer recognizable.