I posted a Blog day before yesterday about the film 'Confucius'; which set me thinking on philosophy, a subject that enters my mind only very rarely. I am curious by nature, about a lot of things, too many, therefore it's hardy possible for me to get deep into it often. But the study of the principles of existence, ethics, behaviour and knowledge, of the nature of human thoughts and of the world, is indeed fascinating.
The statistics today point out that 400 people have presented themselves for the 18 available posts of professor of philosophy in Catalan institutes, stirs up my thoughts on this topic - philosophy. Sadly, thinking is not seen as a decent or proper job. A footballer once called Pep Guardiola (football manager and former player) 'philosopher' intended as , an insult.
To put it in a nutshell, a philosopher is one who thinks, and such a professor could be said as one who teaches people to think, or incite them, with reasoning, to do so. It sounds vague but it's far from it. The way I see it, philosophy is the love for knowledge, the passion for knowing more, even though knowing that you might never get to really know ... It's basically reflection, humility and criticism. Often we think we know everything, but there had been many people who had thought of many things before us.
In material sense, there's no defined usefulness in such practice. But to be constructively critical, setting yourself theories and questions and not conform with the immediate and obvious outcome is useful. In present days, everything is very visceral, a feeling, not rational nor logical. And this could lead to fateful or inauspicious consequences.
My stomach turned when I see so many young people in favour of the death penalty. Have they really thought about it? No. They have heard things and form a visceral reaction. Philosophy is useful to prove otherwise what we thought we were sure of. Perhaps you would never act like a character did, say in a novel or film, but you can understand his motive and that, to me, is vital empathy.
It's a good practice to put yourself occasionally in another person's shoes. To experience another way of thinking. I believe it's hard to be happy in a world where the rest of the people are not. Philosophy is also anti-manipulation, a weapon against dogmatism.
Tags: philosophy, dogmatism
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