What is Philosophy and why bother?
- Vonnie Ustrnul
- Aug 11, 2024
- 3 min read
When I was 17, I wanted to be a philosopher with a florist shop. While that didn’t end up happening and I’ve got a cozy job in Randwick as a nurse, my melancholic temperament means that I’ll always be an overthinker, and I’ve heard of worse ways of passing the time than flower foraging.
To many, philosophy probably seems like a pointless use of brainpower and logic because most of the questions it asks can’t be veritably answered. And while maybe it is, I think that there are lots of things people do for sheer enjoyment regardless of what it achieves.
Socrates once said that the unexamined life is one which is not worth living. While we could dispute the mega-genius, putting forward love and philanthropy, it seems that what he means to express is that one of the most beautiful joys in life arises from the simple and mindful contemplation of existence itself.
Philosophy has as many domains as there are questions beginning with “Why?” Some of the more general forms include that of Reality (Metaphysics), Ethics/Goodness (Axiology), Beauty (Aesthetics), as well as Knowledge (Epistemology), Politics and of course Logic :D Those who know me probably know my two favourites are beauty and goodness ahaha <3
‘Philosophy’ is derived from the Greek, meaning love (philía) of wisdom (sofía). I think that it’s a very human thing to search for deeper meaning amidst the occurrences of everyday life. While I’m definitely bias, I think people are special because we’re not like other mammals with a cerebral cortex structure which can only function to preserve basic survival. That extra bit of neural tissue lets us question, appreciate (and worry ahah). (N.b. Dogs may have smaller brains than ours, but they definitely have bigger hearts <3).
Whether we’re politically liberal or conservative, religious or agnostic, natural optimists or pessimists, we’re all united by one thing: having our own opinions 😂
Philosophising is tricky; by its nature empirical evidence can’t be applied, and even with the sharpest use of logical reasoning, conclusions drawn from its practice can’t be deemed as ‘absolutes.’ I believe that the discussion of ideas, for this reason, is truly an art, and lost tempers has never been seen to gain argumentative ground.
Each individual is born with a unique temperament, shaped by irreplicable experiences and has her own specific tastes, preferences and life goals. It is for this reason that we will all view the world and the events of it in slightly (and sometimes drastically) different ways.
At this point I’d like to add that while cultural relativism definitely has some strong arguments going for itself, I think the fact that some people (even those of even tempers) are willing to work up a rage (or even die) so as to make their points intelligible to others, demonstrates a belief in an objective truth which is comprehensible by all.
I mentioned before that humanity was unified by one thing, however I think there are actually two: autonomy of thought and a desire for the ultimate wellbeing and good of either themselves or of others. At the end of the day, we’re all looking for the same things in life, our personal experiences have simply shaped us to believe in different modes of attaining such. When we’re able to see that our personal goals are more in line with that of our ideological adversaries than once believed, we’ll attain the mental clarity and drive to develop creative compromises in pursuit of the good of all.
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Wonder will always be worthwhile for its own sake, nothing really needs to come out of it ☺️💕 The discussion of ideas, moreover is an skill requiring cultivation and refinement; its practice should be rewarding and not destructive. While strength in our views is both admirable and should be encouraged, I think the wisest people out there are the ones who also listen attentively with the knowledge that they have something to learn from everybody…they probably wouldn’t have their own blog site either 😂
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