The Self‐as‐Philosopher: A Schema‐Informed Reading of Philosophy as a Way of Life

Abstract This article offers an original reading of the process and outcomes of training in philosophy as a way of life. By drawing on research and theory from the fields of cognitive psychology and adult learning, it argues that the transformative effects frequently ascribed to the practice of philosophy as a way of life can helpfully be conceptualised in terms of schema change, and the development of a new philosophical self or identity in the student of philosophy. While the shifts in personality and worldview believed to follow from practising philosophy as a way of life have been described both in the ancient texts and in contemporary scholarship, the article suggests that this schema‐informed reading helps answer important questions regarding the transformative effects of philosophy, and also offers great promise to contemporary practitioners and researchers in the field of philosophy as a way of life.