[PHILOSOPHY] We Are All Philosophers

We all have questions that are not easily answered. But the vast majority of us put them aside and go on with our daily activities. It's sad for the philosopher within us, that was so curious in our childhood, and that is pushed aside more and more the older we get. There are exceptions of course and you might belong to them. In this case, I think that your life is considerably richer than those who falsely and ignorantly believe that philosophy is 'difficult', 'flimsy' and 'incomprehensible'. Where do these prejudices come from?

A common reason I often hear is that texts or thoughts that require some thoughtfulness are 'too much' to be bothered with. We move within a world where our senses are fed with concrete and simple images and impressions that are easy to interpret without any mental effort. This gives rise to a simple reality that is easy to read, practical and clear.

Philosophy wants to go beyond this simplification and see, to quote German historian Leopold von Ranke, "wie es eigentlich gewesen" (how it really is). But then again, historians are still in the relatively accessible reality, while philosophers wonder why reality is the way it is.

Most people don't care about why things are the way they are, or why they are perceived the way they are. Most people are busy interpreting their concrete conceptions, not because they would be foolish in any way, but rather because it's what most interests them.

Anti philosophers, if we may call them that, believe that the reality, the world and knowledge without a doubt is just as we humans perceive it. What kind of godly insights and properties must you possess with such a conviction?

If there's something we can be absolutely certain of, it's that our view of reality isn't reflecting the absolute or 'real' world by any means. Philosophy always questions traditional knowledge, reality and morality to show that many of our accepted thought patterns are fictitious, and that they depend on the shortcoming of our intellect.

From a more practical point of view a philosophical approach can be applied to resolve mental deadlocks and rigid thought patterns. It's so easy for us to get caught up in memes, habits, knowledge and behaviors that we copy from parents, teachers and the society we live in, without critically examine, question and reflect on why we should do it, and why it should be done in a certain way.

Philosophy allows us to put the foot down before all the norms and all of the knowledge that we are programmed with in our childhood and throughout life. Nothing is really set in stone. Everything can be questioned, discussed and critically examined. It is precisely this that makes philosophy so fascinating and a possible healing power we need when our everyday perception and our own way of thinking has reached an impasse and when our incomprehension and our stereotypical thinking lies like a wet blanket over our lives.