The importance of philosophy
Introduction
Nowadays, our lives are being filled with social constructs, unoriginal thoughts and pretend ideologies. Such so that we go through the motions of life without stopping for a second to think. When was the last time you sat down to contemplate life? Not on a surface level, but actually reflect on the core meaning of the things you do and the world you live in, your own beliefs and values.
This post contains…
🤔 What is philosophy
đź—żPhilosophy for understanding life
đź’ Philosophy for critical thinking
🪢 Final thoughts
đź”— Sources to start with philosophy and their authors
What is philosophy
Philosophy origins in ancient Greek. In the 6th century BC, a group of thinkers, the presocratic philosophers, started questioning the mythical explanations, which recounted performances of gods and heroes in order to illustrate things from daily occurrences like rain to the origin of the universe. This group of thinkers started looking for more logical answers to their questions. And with their appearance, a new way of thinking emerged based on reasoning using coherence, logic, consistency, order and systematicity.
These first philosophers asked themselves about the origin of the cosmos, the universe. As time passed, new questions appeared such as: the immortality of the soul, the purpose of life, the ideal way of politics, what Good is, what is right, what is wrong, what is the nature of the mind, the existence of destiny opposed to free will...
The point of asking these questions and philosophy as a whole, is not to find an answer because most likely you won't find one, it is to question things and reflect, to think critically.
Science finds the data, philosophy finds the meaning
Philosophy for undestanding life
Philosophical reflection is the beginning point that lurches us out of living simply to please others, doing things the way they want us to, or according to social norms we've never truly thought about, much less accepted.
The search for the large ideas about truth, knowledge, beauty, justice is important. Reading philosophy supplies us with a wide range of skills for grappling with life's most important and profound issues. Instead of attempting to discover a clear meaning or answer to our questions, we should consider our current situation and the issues that our society creates so that we may determine how we might go forward. It's not about perfection and knowing it all, it's about improvement.
Philosophy for critical thinking
Philosophy encourages us to step back and examine our fundamental convictions and beliefs critically. It teaches us to make precise distinctions and solid arguments in the sense of logic and chain reasoning, where the constituent pieces make sense when taken as a whole.
Conclusion
Overall critical thinking skills are valuable in any profession but they also reward us with a new and deeper view of our finite life. By taking time to reflect on the world and our position in it, we can control our modern-society urges. How can we make the most of our time here on earth? What brings you joy? What motivates you?
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