It is only a man's own fundamental thoughts that have truth and

"It is only a man's own fundamental thoughts that have truth and life in them. For it is these that he really and completely understands. To read the thoughts of others is like taking the remains of someone else's meal, like putting on the discarded clothes of a stranger." These words by Arthur Schopenhauer challenge us to reconsider the way we approach knowledge and understanding. Schopenhauer speaks not merely of the intellect, but of the deep personal connection to one’s own thoughts and ideas. He argues that truth and life are birthed from within—a person’s own fundamental beliefs, not borrowed or inherited from others. To understand one’s own thoughts is to truly grasp the nature of truth, while relying on the ideas of others is akin to living in someone else’s shadow, adopting their beliefs without ever truly knowing them for oneself.

In the ancient world, this idea echoes the wisdom of the great philosophers, who placed a premium on self-reflection and self-understanding. Socrates famously declared, "Know thyself," urging others to look within, to examine their own mind and soul. Socrates believed that true wisdom could only be attained through personal inquiry, through the questioning of one’s own thoughts and beliefs. To live a life based on the ideas of others was to live inauthentically. This is the same insight that Schopenhauer offers: truth is not something that can be inherited or borrowed, but must come from a personal engagement with one’s own mind and the deepest thoughts within.

Consider the life of Plato, whose ideas were undoubtedly shaped by Socrates, but who also sought to develop his own philosophical system. Plato’s Theory of Forms was not merely an interpretation of Socratic thought; it was an extension and refinement of Socrates’ teachings, a personal evolution of his fundamental thoughts. Plato did not simply accept the beliefs of others; he thought deeply about the nature of reality, the ideal forms that transcend our physical world. His work was not a repetition of ideas passed down, but a journey toward uncovering truth through the lens of his own unique perspective. Schopenhauer’s critique of blindly adopting the thoughts of others resonates here—Plato sought to form his own ideas, to create a personal connection with truth that was lived and understood in his own terms.

Schopenhauer’s metaphor of taking the remains of another’s meal or wearing discarded clothes is particularly striking. When we read or borrow the thoughts of others without engaging them in our own minds, we are essentially taking what is leftover—a stale, second-hand version of truth. To truly understand something, we must engage with it at a personal level, digesting it, shaping it to fit the contours of our own mind, our own experience. Much like food, ideas need to be nourishing, not simply consumed. To eat someone else’s meal is to eat what has already been digested, stripped of its original life. Truth, Schopenhauer reminds us, requires a living and active participation.

Consider Isaac Newton, who revolutionized our understanding of the physical world. Newton did not simply accept the beliefs of those who came before him; he took the ideas of Kepler, Galileo, and others, and transformed them, deeply engaging with them through his own observations, experiments, and personal insight. His genius lay not in merely studying the works of others, but in making those ideas his own, in discovering the laws of motion and universal gravitation not through imitation, but through original thought. Newton’s work reminds us that true innovation arises when we bring our own fundamental thoughts to bear on the world, rather than merely rehashing the ideas of others. Truth is not static, it is a living force that grows and evolves as we engage with it deeply and personally.

The lesson in Schopenhauer’s words is profound. In an age where information is readily available, we can easily fall into the trap of borrowing others’ ideas without questioning or internalizing them. The truth is, however, that genuine understanding and wisdom arise not from the acceptance of second-hand ideas, but from deep personal engagement. We must take the time to reflect on our own thoughts, to question and challenge the ideas we encounter, and to forge our own path toward truth. Just as Socrates and Plato emphasized the importance of self-examination, we too must engage with the world around us not as passive recipients of information, but as active seekers of understanding.

As we move forward, let us take this wisdom to heart. In our daily lives, we must create space for our own thoughts, for our own experiences and insights. We must not simply accept the ideas of others, but seek to understand them on a deeper level, to make them our own. Truth is not something that can be imposed from the outside, it is something that arises from within, from the honest and courageous engagement with our own minds. Let us strive to live in a way that is true to our own fundamental thoughts, for it is only then that we can come to know the world and ourselves in the fullest sense. The truth lies not in the ideas of others, but in the living, breathing essence of our own minds.