Philosophy is an important part of how the world is shaped. You might not think it’s worth your time learning about, but here are five things philosophy is good for, and why they should matter to you.
When many people think of philosophy, they think of long-dead men pondering the meaning of life and the universe. It’s true that philosophy is filled with larger than life contemplation, but YouTube channel The School of Life points out five ways the wisdom of philosophy matters in your life:
- We don’t ask big questions: We may think about the big questions of life from time to time, but philosophers dedicate their lives to pursuing answers so that our lives in general can become safer, easier and more fulfilling.
- We often lack common sense: Philosophers try to find whether something is actually logical, as opposed to assuming something is right just because it’s popular and long-established.
- We tend to be mentally confused: We get emotional at things and we don’t always know why. Philosophers pursue self-knowledge and believe one of the first steps to a good life is knowing yourself well.
- We don’t know what makes us happy: We overrate things that we think will make us happy and we underestimate how simple things can contribute to our mental well-being. Philosophers try to be precise about the activities and attitudes that actually can make our lives better.
- We sometimes lose perspective: So many things in our world are much bigger than we are. We spend our days concerned with what we have and what we want, but philosophy helps us gain perspective and see the big picture.
If you’re looking for something to read, consider grabbing a book on philosophy. You’ll expand your mind, and you’ll be surprised at how well you can adapt big ideas to benefit your own life.
What is Philosophy for? [YouTube]
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.