Essay “What is Philosophy?”
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “Philosophy is the critical examination of the grounds for fundamental beliefs and analysis of the basic concepts employed in the expression of such beliefs. Britannica also defines philosophy as reflection on the varieties of human experience, or as the rational, methodical, and systematic consideration of the topics that are of greatest concern to mankind.” Or as the Greeks would call it: “love of wisdom”. Philosophy probes and asks probing questions, but can every question be reasoned? And even more important, who defines what the most important question is? I think that when it comes to your every day Joe, or Joanne, we decide for ourselves what the most important question is because philosophy is subjective; it is also cultural and exceedingly personal.
Philosophy, I’ve learned, touches every aspect of our lives and is very much reflective of who we are as human beings. The great philosophers throughout history deserve enormous credit for coming up with their philosophical theories within the differing fields and styles of philosophy. Be it Plato’s theory of the Forms or William Ockham’s principle known as Ockham’s Razor, it’s these philosophers who have paved the way for us “normal” folk to learn and apply their theories, working them into our introspective thought processes and deciding whether or not they work for us. Philosophy is subjective in just this way , as it opens, or closes, intellectual doors and gives to who we are for having studied those philosophers differing viewpoints. We’re all better people for having learned about Plato’s “Form Land” even if some of us may not agree with the idea of a transcendent world where realities called Forms exist beyond space and time and independently from our minds and wills. Ockham’s Razor gave us the tool to cut away all of those unnecessary principles and realities (like Form Land) and get right to the simplest explanation for life’s important questions.
Philosophy is cultural especially when applied to religion. All of the world’s great religions have produced significant philosophical and theological thought, such as the most important philosophical question to me, the argument for the existence of God. While Christianity, Buddhism or Islam employ it’s own unique twist on their respective religions beliefs, the underlying opinion remains. This basic faith assertion is that each person should treat others in a decent manner. It is often expressed as “Do unto others as you would wish them do unto you.” This is the human commonality that links our religions all together across culture, space and time.
Finally, philosophy, to the normal, every day Joe, or Joanne, is exceptionally personal. At some point in every person’s life, I believe there comes a time when we take a good hard look at who we are inside and ask ourselves those difficult questions: “Who am I?” “What do I stand for?” and “How can I make a difference?” Many of us spend our entire adult lives in search of those answers and more in a never-ending quest to be the best person we can be, particularly in relationships. Be it with a lover, a child, a friend, a co-worker or even God, we constantly have to ask ourselves, “What can I do to make this relationship better?” It can open the floodgate to self-actualization, our own personal philosophical take on life.
Philosophy in the most fundamental way is weaved throughout humanity, in religion, politics, mathematics, science etc. It takes on the most difficult questions of mankind, or the average Joe, it crosses geographical plains and attempts to make sense of this world that we live in.
