Noah Kisiel is studying philosophy, political science, and Classics, and was a 2024-25 Hackworth Fellow with the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. Views are his own.
While discourse on ethics often prioritizes how people should treat other people, it also importantly involves how you ought to treat yourself. So, how can you treat yourself ethically? One commonly discussed answer is to pursue your passions, authentically express yourself, and become who you're supposed to be. But doing any of that requires first knowing who you actually are—that is, knowing what makes you, you. So how can you do all that? Unfortunately there's no one answer. And the answers often conflict: some say the self is discovery, other argue its made; some say you need to embrace community and togetherness, others argue you need to reject convention and tradition; some say you must fulfill your roles and expectations, while others posit rejecting those outright, and some even dispute that those roles and expectations are even real. Clearly there is no easy or straightforward path on the journey of self-discovery—but that should be expected! No two people are identical, after all, so everyone's journey to self-discovery will be as unique as people are different. This series will provide a range of perspectives on how to go about your self-discovery journey, but don't take any of these as the answer. Instead take them as starting-off points or stops along your path.
Knowing the Self: Series Introduction
Speaker: Noah Kisiel '26
2024-25 Hackworth Fellow, Noah Kisiel '26 introduces his fellowship project which intends to present various perspectives that can guide your journey towards discovering who you truly are.
Overview: What it Can Mean to Know and Live as Yourself: What does it mean to truly know yourself?
Speaker: Erick Ramirez, professor, philosophy, Santa Clara University College of Arts and Sciences
This video introduces what knowing the self can mean and what it can look like to live a life aligned with your true self while introducing the nature of the self-discovery process.
Discovering the Self Through Daoism
Speaker: Robert Shanklin, teaching professor, philosophy, Santa Clara University College of Arts and Sciences
Daoism looks to nature as a model for who we are—or, more specifically, encourages us to harmonize with the endless flux of transformation present within nature. Humans aren't distinct from the rest of the universe, we're part of it—so we should endlessly change and flow just like everything else. In doing so, we can escape rigid expectations and boxed-in identities by embracing something raw and spontaneous.
Discovering the Self Through Stoicism
Speaker: Noah Kisiel ’26, a 2024-25 Hackworth Fellow at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
Stoicism teaches that while we cannot control external events, we can govern our internal self through reason. By aligning our thoughts and actions with virtue, we cultivate prohairesis—the rational power of choice. This inner capacity, not external success or failure, defines our character. Thus, we are to be judged not by what externally happens to us, but by how we choose to meet it.
Discovering the Self Through Existentialism
Speaker: Noah Kisiel ’26, 2024-25 Hackworth Fellow with the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
Existentialism argues that the self isn’t something you find, but something you create. There’s no fixed essence, no prewritten purpose—only the radical freedom to shape who you are through your actions. Drawing on Sartre’s idea that “existence precedes essence,” we're tasked with the challenge—and power—of creating our own meaning and identity in a world without ready-made answers.
Discovering the Self Through Ikigai
Speaker: Bill Mains, faculty lecturer, Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University
Ikigai is the Japanese idea of discovering our “reason for being” by noticing where passions, mission, vocation, and profession intersect. Rooted in five core pillars—starting small, letting go of ego, living harmoniously, finding joy in the little things, and staying present—ikigai involves small, meaningful steps taken in everyday life. It’s about responding to what life asks of you by noticing what energizes you—one intentional moment at a time.
Discovering the Self Through Ignatian Spirituality
Speaker: Tony Cortese, director, Ingatian Spirituality, Ingatian Center, Santa Clara University
Ignatian spirituality teaches that the self is revealed through experience, reflection, and response. By paying attention to the movements of the heart—your desires, emotions, and inner stirrings—you begin to discern where you are being called. True self-knowledge is about listening deeply so you can live with clarity, integrity, and love.