Can you teach yourself?

[Excited Penguin]

You can do that with philosophy, certainly. I did it by constantly talking to a mate when I was just 13-14 years old and thinking deeply about things all day round. So it's still important to have external input. Later I discovered I was right about many things at their core. Of course one can never know for sure if he's right, especially when one can't pretend to be an expert at anything, but a certain probability of being right about things can be established through proper study and peer-review.

Science is a whole different beast though. But it can help to have that kind of inquiring mindset to begin with( I would think), if it interests you - which it should, of course. Philosophy is no match for science.