When I think of philosophy, I picture a man in a chair in a library within his gigantic home in England, wondering about the existence of God.
Here is a fun post about the expectations of philosophy, versus the realities.
Expectation: Answers
Reality: more questions.
Often starting out in philosophy as an academic discipline, we expect to find answers to all the big questions about life.
Who am I? What is the meaning of life? These questions are already ambiguous, and philosophy cannot answer all our questions.
Instead, philosophy opens shows us different ideas of what the meaning of life is.
Philosophy shows us the various ways in which knowing yourself is the most important journey.
Knowing yourself is the meaning of life. L
Expectation: Know more things
Reality: Know less things… more confusion
This part comes once you’ve entered into a course on philosophy, or multiple courses.
The anticipation philosophy fills your body. Bracing yourself while flipping the pages of The Republic by Plato, you’re ready to take in all the wisdom. You can’t wait to read the allegory of the cave…until you do…and you’re more confused than you were before.
I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing
Socrates
How can the wisest man alive know nothing? Doesn’t wisdom mean there is knowledge? See, more questions!
Expectation: Self Discovery
Reality: Existential Crisis
A lot of philosophers say they can help you find who you really are. Modern philosophers are those who are helping you find yourself. Sometimes we think that reading philosophy and wondering about life can lead to knowing ourselves better. The reality is, it just leads to more questions about existence.
A friend of mine from philosophy class read a concept of self from a philosopher whose name escapes me. She struggled with the reality of what this concept meant for herself. It goes like this;
The version of me that existed one minute ago, one day ago, one year ago, is dead. There is only this version of me right now.
She could not handle the idea that she is constantly dying. I tried my best to remind her that the moments die, or pass.
She is not physically dying.
Her past self is turning into a memory, an experience that is held onto by the brain.
Expectation: Philosophy is not for everyone
Reality: Philosophy is for everyone, because everything is a form of philosophy
Philosophy is the love of knowledge. I see philosophy as the overarching theme of questioning what we know.
The socratic method teaches us to question the definitions of terms we take for granted. Philosophy gives us a way of thinking about those specific terms.
Veganism is a philosophy. It is a way of life that avoids harming living creatures by not participating in consumption of animal products in any way.
Businesses have philosophies. In this sense, philosophy is a way of doing things. A specific way of viewing the products/services provided by the business.
I hope you enjoyed reading about the expectations and realities of philosophy! Let me know what you think of this post by leaving a comment and giving a like!
With love and light, stay weird, stay true.
Kristi