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FOR THE LOVE OF KNOWLEDGE 8/20/2006 1:56:17 AM
Why Study philosophy? “Let no one when young delay to study philosophy, or when he is old grow weary of his study. For no one can come too early or too late to secure the health of his soul.” – Epicurus.
Philosophy is generally regarded as perhaps the most abstruse and abstract of all subjects, far removed from the affairs of ordinary life. But although many people think of it as being remote from normal interests and beyond comprehension, nearly all of us have some philosophical views, whether we are aware of them or not. It is curious that although most people are vague about philosophy is the term nevertheless appears frequently in their conversation.
The word ‘philosophy’ is derived from the Greek term meaning ‘love of wisdom’; but the current popular usage many different ideas are involved in the ways we employ the term. Sometimes we mean by ‘philosophy’ an attitude towards certain activities, as when one says, ‘I disapprove of your philosophy of doing business’, or ‘I am voting for him because I favour his philosophy of government’.
Again, we talk about being ‘philosophical’ when we mean taking long-range, detached view of certain immediate problems. When one is disappointed, we suggest to him that he ought to be more ‘philosophical’, as when one misses a train. Here we mean to say that he should not be over-concerned with the events of the moment, but should try instead to place these in perspective.
In still another sense we think of philosophy as an evaluation or interpretation of what is important in life. This usage may be indicated by the story of two men who were drinking beer together. One of them held his glass to the light, scrutinised it thoughtfully, and then observed, ‘Live is like a glass of beer.’
His companion looked up at the glass, turned to his friend, and asked, ‘Why is life like a glass of beer?’
‘How should I know’, he retorted, ‘I’m not a philosopher.’
What is philosophy then? There are many definitions!
Socrates, the ancient Athenian philosopher, once said, “… no god is a philosopher or seeker after wisdom for he is wise already. Neither do the ignorant seek after wisdom; for herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself.”
According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica (2004 CD), philosophy is ‘…the critical examination of the grounds for fundamental beliefs and an analysis of the basic concepts employed in the expression of such beliefs.’
However, for our purposes philosophy is the love, the study, or pursuit of wisdom or of knowledge of things and their causes, the understanding of the nature of the universe, man, ethics, art, love, purpose, whether theoretical or practical, the study of all Wisdom at the Source and of all Principle as Creation. What philosophy is, or should be, is itself a philosophical question that philosophers have understood and treated differently through the ages.
How we eventually create our maps of reality will be a direct consequence of our personal philosophies on life. Everybody alive has a philosophy (a map) of one kind or another. However realistic or not, we live according to our own inner philosophy. If you understand somebody’s personal philosophy (map of reality), you start to understand the person itself.
The more complex a person is the more complex the person’s philosophy (map of reality) will ultimately be.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates.
