The Philosophize Or Perish Series: A Prescription Of Philosophical Thought
Philosophy can be the most simple, potent and unbiased thinking and the most perverted, complex, biased and controlling thinking imaginable.
Two Words That Divide Harmony And Discord
- interpretation (n.) (1) the act of interpreting; elucidation; explication, (2) an explanation of the meaning of another’s artistic or creative work, (3) a conception of another’s behavior, and (4) oral translation.
- understanding (n.) (1) mental process of a person who comprehends; comprehension; personal interpretation, (2) intellectual faculties; intelligence; mind, (3) superior power of discernment; enlightened intelligence, (4) knowledge of or familiarity with a particular thing; skill in dealing with or handling something, and (5) a state of cooperative or mutually tolerant relations between people. (Dictionary.com)
Think about how we learn, process and understand information, determine what is “good vs. bad” in life and interact with others socially. Is that not determined by how we interpret and understand what is going on around us?
When someone voices a strong opinion we either like it or dislike. Maybe we have no response but secretly, deep inside we have formed an opinion about their opinion. That opinion is formed by our philosophy on life.
Another key to this puzzle is emotional attachment to ideas, philosophies, beliefs and even emotions. This is what causes collective movements of people like the Epicureans devoted to the philosophy of the Roman philosopher Epicurus or Christians devoted to Jesus Christ. While the leaders were passionate, devoted and committed to these ideals I highly doubt everyone was as devoted but rather went along with the crowd to belong and feel accepted.
Socrates was a great proponent of questioning the status quo especially if one was going against the majority. He promoted asking lots questions refusing to back down from accepting the majority viewpoint. This kind of courageous thinking keeps us spiritually, psychologically and intellectually fit.
Unfortunately we’ve gotten away from this commanding reality in meaningful ways. One problem is that people take information in too deeply and grow emotional and psychological attachments cause damage to the person attached if uprooted too violently. Resentment, anger and unprocessed emotional junk plague those who can’t get past these problems-ultimately hindering spiritual progression in life.
We have become apathetic, jaded and timid when it comes to really discussing what we TRULY think, believe and desire. This is why I am prescribing some deep philosophical thought for myself and the masses.
To Be Continued…
The Philosophize Or Perish Series was designed to promote reason, inquiry, and spiritual progress through communicating our personal Love of wisdom with others in courageous, open, receptive and enjoyable ways.
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April 5th, 2010 at 6:22 pm
Hurrah for philosophy! Someone has said that philosophy is just “thinking hard.” In that respect, we are all philosophers. May we think hard and systematically and logically so as to understand facets of the reality in which we live. Hurrah!
Andrew
April 5th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Yes! I have always been amazed by the fact that philosophy is not a required course of study in American high schools. My children will learn it from pre-school. Perception, understanding, communication… how do we hone these abilities without philosophical training? It is a must.