A 'true' philosopher (continuation)

"The voice you believe today determines the future you experience."

- Steven Furtick

As I have briefly elaborated what philosophy and being a philosopher is all about in my last post, I would now like to start off with what preeminently motivates the philosopher which are: the thirst for meaning, knowledge, and freedom.

When I inquired myself on a brief history of philosophy, I noticed that one common trait that the most famous philosophers share was the necessity to give meaning to what is existing. There were (and still are) so plenty of belief systems that each had to be properly classified into groups. From rationalism, to darwinism, to buddhism, and to idealism along with so much more that are too many to mention. Each are convinced of what they believe is 'rationally acceptable' but with the presence of all these ideologies and beliefs there must be, in the mix of all these, a certain and absolute truth which we could fully anchor our faith into. Besides, who would want to live a meaningless life or worse, a life full of lies anyway?

There are many views on life and some can even be considered positive and good in its sense. Although some of these world views are aimed towards the betterment of humanity, there's still no definitive correlation between 'what is good' and 'what is true'. Our morals cannot be subjective because it would be made possible for the inhumane acts of people to be justified. Just because Hitler believed that what he did was for the greater 'good' of humanity doesn't justify his actions to be morally correct. Truth is never subjective nor relative, no matter where you are.

For the record, science, logic, and reason are not entirely wrong. They are essential to us humans for we are thinking beings. But what most people often fail to see is that these three things can only go so far, they can only achieve 'certain knowledge' and that it takes as much faith to believe in God as it takes to believe in science and cognition alone. I personally believe that science and reason go hand in hand along with faith in the Lord. I refuse to believe that we human beings, who are able to perceive and appreciate beauty and emotion, just happened due to 'chance'.

Yes, the path of  'faith' is obscure and even at times illogical but why would you need to trust in something or someone if you already know why? That is the question really and the reality is that we want to shape our own destiny. But believe it or not, God already has a great destiny for you, my friend. You only have to believe it in order to claim it. 

All other religion and ideology will tell you to do this in order to save yourself and to do that so that your life will be meaningful but Jesus is the only person who will tell you that your future is secure, that you are made for a purpose, and that you are loved beyond comprehension.

Meaning, knowledge, and freedom can be obtained. Your meaning is fulfilled by the knowledge and understanding of what God has done for you on the Cross which therefore brings you freedom and liberates you of all pretense. This is the Gospel of Christ. God reaching out to man, not the other way around.

For a true philosopher, it is a mistake to jump into conclusions. But to see the fruit of change in society, in families, and in people through the Gospel provides hard evidence mostly unseen in all other religions and ideologies. It's easy to dismiss both as irrational but the person of Jesus and his claims are more than rational, they are alive and true.

In Him (Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

- John 1:4

A 'true' philospher

Who are you? 

Where does the world come from?

What is the most important thing in life?

- An excerpt from the book: Sophie's World

A philosopher is a person who is engaged in philosophy. A thinker, simply put. Philosophy is the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, in general. 

From the world's point of view, philosophers are often viewed, categorized, and sub-categorized into classes of people who are particularly interested with two main things: the meaning and origin of life (why is there life and where does it come from?) and the natural laws, processes, and society. (how does it all work?) On the other hand, some might not agree with this due to the fact that philosophy is so broad that no philosopher can concern himself with the whole of philosophy.

Lots of people have hobbies. Some people collect stuff, some enjoy photography, some do writing, and some spend most of their spare time on a particular sport. A lot of people have hobbies, but hobbies differ widely. Some are only into sports while others are only into reading. And if I happen to enjoy sports, I have to be accepting of the fact that others find sports boring. Is there nothing that interests us all? Is there nothing that concerns everyone - no matter who they are and where they live in the world?

But yes, there are questions that should certainly interest everyone. They are precisely the questions philosophy is all about. Again, what is the most important thing in life? Just like hobbies, it varies, it differs, but the origin is the same. If we ask someone who is dying from starvation, the answer is food. If we ask someone who is freezing to death, the answer is warmth. If we ask someone who feels lonely or isolated, the answer will probably be the company of other people.

But when the basic needs have been satisfied, will there still be something that everybody needs? 'True' philosophers think so. They believe that man cannot live on bread alone. Of course everyone needs food. And everyone needs love and care. But there is something else - apart from that - which everyone else needs, and that is to figure out who we are and why we are here.

Being interested in why we are here is not a "casual" interest like sports. People who ask such questions take part in a debate that has gone on as long as man has lived on this planet. How the universe, the earth, and life came into being is a bigger and more important question than who leaked the nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence.

Basically, there are not many philosophical questions to ask. We have already asked some of the most important ones. But history presents us with many different answers to each question. So it is easier to ask philosophical questions than to answer them.

Today as well, each individual has to discover his own answer to these same questions. You cannot find God's existence in an encyclopedia nor does it tell us how we ought to live. 

a 'true' philosopher's quest for truth really is like a detective's story. It's like watching a magic trick. We cannot understand how it is done but we feel that we are a part of something mysterious and we would like to know how it all works. Thus, the only thing we require to be good and true philosophers is the faculty of wonder,

Let's not take the world for granted. The world itself becomes a habit in no time at all. It seems as if in the process of growing up, we lose the ability to wonder about the world. To be more precise: Although philosophical questions concern us all, we do not all become philosophers. For various reasons, most people get so caught up in everyday affairs that their astonishment at the world gets pushed back into the background.

This is also similarly related to my fear of indifference. I always want to be in an inquiring state of being as I hope you do too.

To be continued...

Cited from: Gaarder, J. (1994). The garden of Eden, The top hat. In Sophie's world: A novel about the history of philosophy. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.