“Life is the gift of the immortal God; living well is the gift of philosophy.” – Seneca.
The next logical question is why worry about philosophy? After all most people never study the field and live out their lives in relative satisfaction. I have two responses to this. First it is unlikely any but the most simple-minded can really live a normal life span without questioning the nature of the world and the meaning of their life. More likely, they choose a casual or superficial approach to such questions. The danger here is confusion and missteps, mainly in the form of erroneous thinking. That approach forces one to develop effective reasoning through trial and error and to repeat the long process of developing philosophy from scratch including reformulating arguments that have been thoroughly vetted throughout history. That legacy belongs to all of us and should not be cast aside or ignored.
Second one of the most certain things in life is that we all want to be happy and make a good life for ourselves, but that is unlikely to happen without some reflection. Any reflection will or should lead one to questions on the nature of the world, of happiness, of the purpose of life, and probably about the existence of God. A life without reflection is likely to lead to avoidable regrets, discontentment, and perhaps feelings of failure.
Philosophy, especially practical philosophy, can provide a pathway to optimizing life’s opportunities and potential while reducing the likelihood of flawed choices. Its demand for discipline in thinking improves the ability to think clearly about other matters such as work, relationships, and current events. It also adds another layer to your understanding of the world we live in.
(to be continued next post)
