I remember my first experience with philosophy. I thought it was a load of pompous people discussing a load of pompous topics. It’s true that it is essentially thinking hard about life’s big questions, which can often scare people away from the topic. However, what if I said philosophy is the foundation we have built our lives on – why we are where we are, how we know anything about the world, and what are lives could be for. Note I use the word could here, because everyone’s lives are different and are in different situations, and there isn’t a cure-all for all of life’s hardships.
A Break from the Busy
Our world has gone digital. That’s nothing new. The relentless torrent of information we are bombarded with means many of us suffer from not being able to fully stop and consider various aspects of life. No judgement from me, I do this all the time! I’ve recently stopped watching bite-sized 60 second videos as soon as I wake up, now choosing to spend my early hours of the morning doing yoga to try to encourage my mind to quieten and ponder some of life’s questions that are hard to answer. How can I best spend my life on earth? What makes me happy? What gives me purpose? These questions alone are enough to evoke anxiety and uncertainty, but it is these questions that make up some of the root philosophical problems. Philosophers have confronted these hard-to-swallow realities and have had hugely insightful, and occasionally barmy, things to say about these problems for thousands of years.
Socrates
Sentenced to death in 399 BCE Athens for ‘corrupting the minds of the youth’, Socrates is often seen as a philosophical martyr. He never wrote anything down, spent most of his time in conversation (a polite way to say arguing) with influential Athenians, and was seemingly ruthless in his hunt for certainty. We know of his thinking patterns from the writings of his contemporaries, notably Plato, his student.
In Plato’s Socratic Dialogues, we learn that Socrates was essentially that one kid who says, “yes, and then what?”. He questioned everything his conversation partner said to get them to think and stop them assuming they immediately know the answers. This often resulted in the other person being shown as entirely lacking in whatever knowledge they claimed to have at the beginning of the conversation. Essentially, he asked, “what do you know about this?” and then immediately saying “you’re wrong”. Socrates is infamously known for declaring that the only certain knowledge is that we know nothing. His entire existence was questioning every aspect of life, which, in essence, is the very thing that ended his life. The influential Athenians who were made to be a fool by Socrates seemingly decided that encouraging a mindset that no-one knew anything was poorly influencing that youth, and that had to stop.
Pointing out that Socrates was executed due to his interest in philosophy might be counterintuitive to my discussion. However, if we take what he was saying about questioning life, perhaps not to the extent that everything we think we know isn’t true, we might just find ways to improve our lives. Contemplating if our current life is where we want it might just help jolt us out of going through life as if we’re going through the motions. As I have said, everyone is in a different situation, so it’s not always easy to stop and think. But, living only according to other people’s expectations, living by the norm, or even accepting the norm, might not be the only way to live.
Conclusion
Philosophy can open our eyes to another way of living. It might help us be more patient for those whose practices differ from our own and allow us to have a bit of childlike wonder and gratitude for life’s numerous mysteries. A simple evaluation of our happiness might mean you start to pursue a career change. Or perhaps you might do something new and discover you enjoy it far more than you expected. Philosophy is essentially a personal study and exploration that can help you answer the questions you’ve been avoiding because life is hard and busy. I know mine can be.
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