Who Are You? A Reflection on Identity and Love

By reflecting on what and whom we love, and understanding why, we move beyond the institutional version of selfhood.

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One of the most fundamental philosophical questions is: “Who are you?” This phrase was famously inscribed at the entrance of the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece, and is often attributed to Socrates as:

To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.

Yet, answering this question is far from simple. How should we respond if someone asks, “Who are you?” Or if we ask ourselves the same?

The Conventional Answers

The most common answers are straightforward. You could state your name, but that feels tautological — your name alone does not truly define who you are. To provide more context, you might add details such as your occupation, place of residence, date of birth, or nationality. These are the kinds of details we fill out on official forms when applying for jobs, passports, visas, credit cards, marriage certificates, and even birth and death records. Such documentation is a key way modern society identifies individuals.