On Philosophy
Originally written on April 30, 2012, with the title, “What is Philosophy?”. The author is migrating her works to Medium from other platforms.
I stumbled upon a book yesterday entitled, “A Brief History of Thought: A Philosophical Guide to Living” by Luc Ferry. As always, it was the cover of the book that attracted me. So I scanned it and found the content interesting. It is like an introduction to philosophy for laypeople. I have always been interested in Eastern philosophies such as that of the Buddha, Confucius, and Lao Tzu, but rarely did I consider reading more about the Western philosophies of Epictetus, Aristotle, and others.
The first time I encountered a discussion on religion vs. (Western) philosophy was during our PI 100 class with Ma’am Albina Peczon-Fernandez. I really enjoyed her class because she would always throw in thought-provoking statements (e.g. “Man created God”). And although it was very challenging to follow her discussions about dialectical idealism, Kant, Marx, and other technical philosophy stuff, I believe that it was then that my interest in Western philosophy started (unconsciously).
Below are my notes on the first chapter, followed by a short reflection.
Chapter 1: What is Philosophy?
* Conventional (textbook) definition/description:
– formation of a critical and independent spirit
– method of rigorous thought
– the art of reflection
– rooted in an attitude of “astonishment” and “inquiry”
* The author believes that the above descriptions of philosophy have nothing to do with the question, “What is philosophy?” because they are non-specific, i.e. there are a lot of other fields where the above descriptions apply. People tend to narrow down philosophy to reflection and argument, but these are merely tools used in philosophy.
* Philosophers view humans as ‘finite beings’– mortal beings- and we are the only creatures who know our limits, i.e. we know we are going to die. Thus, people turn to religion for salvation. The Catholics go to Heaven, the Buddhists go to the Western Pureland, and so on for other religions. What about non-believers? This is where philosophy comes in.
* Philosophy says that death is more than just a biological ending. Instead, anything that is irreversible can be classified as having died already. This includes everything that happened in the past, things that we can no longer change. Thus, it is this fear of the irreversible that we need to conquer in order to live a joyful life.
*Religion generally addresses this fear through faith and humility at the expense of freedom of thought. Generally speaking, you cannot reason with what the Bible or other Scriptures say. People take it as it is because of faith. In contrast, philosophy also promises salvation, but through careful study of our environment, ourselves, and others.
“To philosophise is to learn how to die.” ~Montaigne
* Philosophy urges us to live in the present. The passage below (from the book) clearly shows this point:
Greek philosophers looked upon the past and the future as the primary evils weighing upon human life, and as the source of all anxieties which blight the present.
* Philosophy refuses to believe in a god because it is simply too good to be true and, again, the price we have to pay for having faith is freedom of thought. It is essential to point out though that philosophy respects other people’s beliefs. It does not strive to prove the non-existence of God (for how can someone actually accomplish such a thing?). Instead, philosophers are people who are not convinced with the idea of faith and thus have to turn to something else for salvation.
* Three dimensions of philosophy (sometimes also called the three stages of thought): theoretical stage, ethical or moral stage, and the final stage where one attains salvation or wisdom.
- Theoretical stage: involves the process of understanding the world we live in and understanding how we gain such knowledge.
- Ethical stage: involves the process of understanding other people and how we coexist in this world and time
- Final stage: overcoming fear of the irreversible by attaining wisdom
After reading the first chapter of Ferry’s book, I was surprised to find many parallelisms between the Western philosophical ideas with that of Buddhism such as the importance of living in the present, coexistence, and the belief that salvation can be found inside every individual and not through a higher Being (take note that Buddha is not a god).
I believe that the goal of every religion is to make each of us a better person. As my father once told me, “Religion has different flavors to suit the taste of different people.” Therefore, the important thing is to respect other people’s beliefs or better yet, have an open mind and get the good stuff out of different religions and philosophies.
I’ll stop here because I am terribly sleepy (it was such a long, but thankfully productive day — traveled from Antipolo to Calamba to UP Los Banos and back to Antipolo again). Thoughts of why I exist and what I should do came barging into my brain again. But then I guess a lot of people think of that too. Anyway, enough for now. Good night!
