How to treat philosophy?

For ordinary people, "philosophy" is an abstract and empty word. Some people laugh that the so-called philosopher is a person who looks for black cats in a dark room all day. In other words, everything he said depends on his personal imagination, but he can't prove whether there is such a cat: some people complain that philosophy is to complicate simple things and say that you don't understand what you originally knew. However, is this really the case? In the first chapter, it should be specially stated that this general concept is incorrect.

When you go to the library for information, you must refer to the bibliography number. At this time, you will find that the number "0" represents a general category. Namely dictionaries, encyclopedias and other reference books; The number "1" is philosophy. Why does philosophy rank first? This is because in the western academic tradition, the role of philosophy has long been defined, and philosophy is considered to be basic and integrated. It can not only lay the foundation for all knowledge, but also integrate all knowledge.

Human experience is diverse and scattered, especially for the need of in-depth understanding, which often can only be divided into labor but not cooperation. However, human life is complete, and we always want to have an overall understanding of everything, so as to make the right choice. The English word for "doctor's degree" is Ph.D, which means doctor of philosophy, that is, "doctor of philosophy", which means that the final state of any professional discipline is at the philosophical level.

To understand whether the above is reasonable, we should think further: "What is philosophy? How does learning philosophy help life? "

Definition: The original meaning of philosophy is "love of wisdom"

The English name of Philosophy is philosophy, which comes from Greek and is synthesized by the Greek Philia and Sophia, meaning "love wisdom"-love wisdom.

Love and Wisdom in Greek

Sophia means "wisdom". A few years ago, there was a bestseller called Sophie's World. The word Sophie comes from Sophia. Some girls like to take the English name Sophia, which means they are yearning for wisdom.

There are three different ways to write the word "love" in Greek, represented by Philia, Eros and Agape, which refer to three different feelings respectively. Eros should be familiar to most people. Its adjective is erotic, which is generally translated as ""in Chinese.

Eros refers to "love", representing an instinctive emotional impulse and romantic feelings, which is innate to human beings. It is normal for a person to have a desire for love, because without this ability, it is impossible for the two sexes to combine and reproduce. Philia is "friendship" and has the same roots as Philos. The third kind of love is Agape, which stands for "fraternity", that is, selfless love in religion.

In Chinese, the word "love" is often vague and needs to be labeled as friendship, love, fraternity, or parent-child love, husband-wife love, family love, and national love in order to distinguish it. In Greek, different words are used directly to avoid confusing the word "love", because there are many kinds of love, such as: some people can sacrifice their dedication for love; Some people are obsessed with killing or committing suicide for love; Some people realize themselves for love.

The focus of "love" in philosophy is "friendship". Friendship is gentle and rational, starting with mutual appreciation and respect, then honing each other and embarking on the road of life together. In other words, when a person loves wisdom, it is not sex, just like relationships-especially those established by men and women, he is too enthusiastic to stand still. Nor is it Agape's universal love that makes no difference, but Filja's gentle and rational friendship makes us adopt a more correct attitude towards wisdom.

Love and wisdom should keep an open mind.

So, what is "love of wisdom"? Here we should point out a principle, that is, "loving wisdom does not mean having wisdom."

In the Greek era, a school of scholars called themselves "sophists" and thought they were wise. Because an older person is knowledgeable and can teach others, it is easy for him to put on a knowledgeable look and provide answers to all questions. In fact, they are not necessarily true wise men, nor are they necessarily people who love wisdom. Because the love of wisdom represents a process of pursuit, and the characteristic of this process is to keep your mind open at all times.

Philosophy is called loving wisdom, and it emphasizes "process". It needs to be constantly questioned and asked, and it is always waiting to accept miracles.

There was a saying in Greek times: "Philosophy comes from surprise." The world is full of changes. However, these constantly changing things can still exist. Isn't it amazing? Change represents life and death, that is, it should be lacking in reality, but it can be persisted. This is a wonderful thing. Therefore, people should try to ask: "What is' existence'?"

True wisdom comes from the test of life.

In the eyes of Greeks, wisdom is "spiritual" and belongs to God. An Wei is the unity of body and spirit, while body is a matter with weight and inertia. For example, sometimes we wish we could get up early, but we can't get up anyway. At this time, we feel that our health is really our biggest enemy. The body is so heavy because it is a substance, so it is inert. Sometimes we are willing to help others, which represents spiritual beauty, but we may be too lazy to act because we need to spend time and energy. Therefore, the human body is weak, which will hinder human beings from possessing wisdom.

So how can we have wisdom? Plato (427 BC-347 BC) once said: "Philosophy is death in practice." Of course, this is not asking us to commit suicide. The so-called "practicing death" means practicing to reduce the degree of control of the body, that is, making the inertia of the body unable to affect the individual, just like death. Only in this way can the mind freely pursue wisdom.

It is true that the west emphasizes that "loving wisdom" is a spiritual pursuit. When people finally leave this world, they should examine themselves, whether they have completely reduced the influence of the body and let the mind soar in the eternal and real field completely freely. If you reach this state, it means that this person's life has passed all kinds of tests and reached the final perfection.

Everyone needs philosophy.

Some people say that life is like reading, you should practice hard and finally get rid of it, otherwise, what is the need for life's efforts? For example, why do people study? Is the purpose of reading more books? Of course not. The purpose of reading is to reduce unnecessary troubles in life.

In Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals, there is a man named Ning Yue who started working for others in his teens. He works very hard from morning till night every day, but his salary is only enough to maintain food and clothing. Seeing that his life was hopeless, he asked a friend what he could do to get rid of this painful life. This friend told him that if he was willing to study, he could avoid this kind of pain in 30 years. Ning Yue listened and learned day and night. Fifteen years later, she became very knowledgeable. A noble asked him to be a tutor, and his life changed.

Of course, this story is a special case, because as time goes by, most people forget the goals they set. But it also shows that if a person has a high degree of self-control, he can get rid of the inertia and weakness of his body and make his mind more free. The essence of man lies in his mind. Because the body will age, no matter how hard you work, it is inevitable. If you rely on your body, you will only go to the grave step by step, and there is no hope at all. On the contrary, if we understand that the essence of human beings lies in the spiritual world, then no matter how the body changes, the mind has another sky to soar.

In this way, philosophy is necessary for everyone, because there is a philosophical tendency in human nature-everyone wants to be free, to be himself, to get rid of all kinds of restrictions and pressures, and to feel the joy of being a man more and more. So how can we achieve this state? Love wisdom. To love wisdom is to engage in philosophical thinking, which is like the lamp of life, letting us know where to go.

The basic habit of learning philosophy: always be curious.

There is a Japanese movie called Hypnosis, which tells that several characters are hypnotized unconsciously and then instructed to do many usually incredible things under control. Many times we are hypnotized, and the role of advertising is a hypnotic process. There is a slogan "Are you looking at me? You can get closer! " In fact, watching TV for a long time, if you really watch it carefully, you will end up as if you were hypnotized. You feel as if you should learn to use the same goods as people on TV, otherwise you can't live, so you become a commodity circulation station and constantly consume and use these goods.

This hypnotic effect may form a collective subconscious in a society. For example, we have been unconsciously instilled with many ideas since childhood. We often think that these ideas are right and there is no problem, but we have never reflected on them carefully. In fact, if a person wants to learn philosophy, he must form the habit of being curious about everything, so that he can start again.

Philosophical thinking: rational reflection

Although the experience itself is like a rich treasure house, there are good and bad in it, and the good and the bad are intermingled. Just like the water of the Yellow River, it looks mighty, but it actually carries sediment. At this time, we need to rely on rationality to reflect on our experiences. When we reflect on our experiences with reason, we are truly awake. However, in the process of experience (such as driving, shopping, talking on the phone with others, etc. ), we may be involuntarily, because there are many external factors that will lead us back to action and live in a certain direction.

People will have all kinds of good and bad experiences, which is natural and has happened. Regret is useless. However, it is important to think rationally about these experiences. Being able to calm down and think is very important for a person's life, and it can also be said that it is the key to the beginning of life transformation. We often say "the place where life turns", and thinking can let a person find the opportunity of life turning.