Many of my friends are allergic to the word: philosophy. They are allergic to something they don't know yet. Philosophy is a word that is difficult to understand. Every philosopher has his definition of what philosophy is. Etymologically, philosophy is taken from two Greek words, Phylo which means love and Sophie which means wisdom. For me, philosophy is a way to attain wisdom. Yes, very subjective.
However, philosophy is talking about something subjective. Either intra-subjective or inter-subjective. This is because if philosophy enters the objective realm, then it must bend its knees before science, armed with facts. Philosophy only talks about subjective reality, something that only exists in imagination, dreams and delusions. Sounds complicated and creepy, but humans can never avoid it.
After all, aren't we living to make dreams come true? Making something that doesn't exist yet into existence. So, why avoid dreaming dreams?
Have you ever questioned something that seemed taken for granted? Such as the question: Why was I born in the world? What made this self-aware? Who ordered the brain to think? What is God's purpose for humans? Is that true religion? What is a truly fair system? But, what kind of justice? Or even more extreme; Does God exist? There are many more lists of strange questions like this. I call these strange questions philosophical questions.
Somehow I am sure that humans have asked such questions, at least when they were young. This is a logical consequence of the human brain as the only being capable of abstract thinking. If you have never had such a philosophical question in your head, then you need to question the health of your brain.
Now, asking puzzling philosophical questions like the one above is a philosophical process! If it is possible to define something, I define philosophy as the science of asking questions. Questioning everything that looks rational and i-rational, not a-rational.
Irrational means irrational but still in the same corridor. Put simply, cold and hot are opposites. Cold is the absence of heat, it is not something different from heat. Heat is positive, cold is negative. Cold and heat can be measured using the same measuring instrument, for example, a thermometer. You could say, cold is i-hot.
If a-rational is something that is not related to rational. An easy example is an imagination. Imagination is a-rational because it does not require causality or causation. As Einstein said, logic will take you from A to B, whereas imagination can take you anywhere. Logic is the biological child of rationality. Anything rational must relate from A to B to C to D and so on. There must be a cause and effect. No jumping around.
So, to question something that is i-rational is an attempt to look for patterns of causality. Making something that had seemed disorganized into continuity. Always try to find the line of causality so that it can be understood by reason. This is the realm of philosophy.
Ocean of Restlessness
Philosophical questions are always troubling. My friend once said, "You can go crazy if you keep asking questions like that," he said with a look of astonishment in his eyes. "What's the point in thinking that? Better to think about how to make money, start a business, and so on. Why do you think that is useless? " he continued nagging without stopping.
Trust me, friends, I also tried hard to ignore those puzzling philosophical questions. It's just that, the questions keep popping heads. Avoiding philosophical questions is like shunning yourself. No, I don't want to be like that. I want to make a little effort to get to know myself, at least honestly face it.
I also frequently question the usefulness of the philosophical process. Then, when you get answers to philosophical questions, what do you want to do? The process of philosophizing is also not easy. It takes a lot of energy to think hard. Time is also not a little wasted from the philosophical process. Instead of wasting energy and time on pointless things, think of useful things. Pragmatic.
This pragmatism is what makes many people allergic to philosophy. Please understand. Not everyone has the extra energy and time. Many of them spend it all to support their loved ones. This is not wrong. Perhaps far nobler than people like me who often dwell on their thoughts doing nothing.
Instead of continuing to sink into a sea of puzzling philosophical questions, I chose to learn to swim so as not to drown in the ocean. We often see friends who often think deeply, until they subconsciously drown in it. They are busy thinking without producing anything. As a result, not a few also became crazy because of it. Bobbing in a sea of philosophical restlessness. Sounds creepy enough?
For me, anxiety is born of unfulfilled desires. Philosophy is one way to channel curiosity or desire to find patterns. In this sea of desire, there are still many other desires such as the desire to have power, to have, to be recognized, to be seen, and so on.
Beyond Desire
I recommend it to anyone who likes to think deeply or anyone who knows people who think deeply about doing something, which is learning to swim in that ocean of anxiety. This ability to swim enables us to transcend philosophy. Because it's futile to think deeply when there are still people who are trampled on by their humanity? I am sure that those who are used to deep thought consider social anxiety to be a trivial matter, not attracting attention to their high rationality.
We must realize that curiosity is a human desire to find patterns. Intellect is constructed in such a way as to find patterns. When we realize that all we question is our desires, there is no more anxiety. Desire only breeds anxiety. The pursuit of passion is futile. Because, once the thing that fulfils desire is gone, we will try harder to get it again.
Now, when we understand that curiosity is an attempt to fulfil "super-subtle" desires, we can easily grasp other desires that are not so subtle. Like the desire to have, the desire to be recognized, and other desires. Moreover, just a desire to fulfil practical needs.
I think, if we know the desires in ourselves, then we can get to know this self better. A wise man says "who knows himself, then he will know his God". Let us learn to know ourselves by first learning to swim in the sea of passion. The person who delights in deep thought is just one step away from going beyond desire. And become a truly free human being. Free from your passions! True freedom, right?
