Is There a Place for Philosophy in Contemporary Society?
People who ask questions often ask whether we need something which is perceived as outdated. Well, some questions are answered by just asking the question, or rather, we embark on a journey when asking a question. By refusing to give an answer, we have also given an answer. By answering it, it means that we have given it some thought and came to a conclusion.
Technology is what people rely most on. That begs one really important question, do we still need philosophy if people can learn almost anything from the internet? The answer, unlike in most cases, is a yes, and here is why.
Philosophy – The Origin of All Science
Before there were different sciences, there was philosophy. Ancient Greece saw almost everything come to be. Before Pythagoras, there were no mathematics, only natural philosophy. Physics came to life with Francis Bacon, and psychology, that is almost recent history. The first sociologist is most likely Karl Marx. Logic itself, which many people often use or quote, is a branch of philosophy.
Philosophy is not only necessary, but always here, reminding those who are paying attention that everything came from philosophy and that it is still moving the world. Philosophers had to make a lot of progress in various methodologies of sciences which we today recognize as sciences. Some forms which we today take for granted were once thoughts which only philosophers of the time could understand. Today, everyone understands and practices them, thanks to philosophy. On a global level, we definitely need it. But on a personal one? Probably even more.
Personal Journey – Wondering and Questioning
The unexamined life is not worth living, a philosopher once said. It was Socrates, of course. To ask a question about life is to embark on a philosophic journey. The answers you give, if you give any, the questions you ask, if you ask any more, will always give answers. Without questions, without thought-provoking quotes which keep you awake deep in the night, a life can be led in complete blindness with perfect vision, even.
Your journey can be helped by other thinkers. If there are none in your area, or none that you know at the moment, you can always consult the ancient ones, Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Kant, Diogenes, Laozi (Lao Tsu), Buddha, and many more. All of them can aid you in your time of need. They might not give you a concrete answer, but therein lies the answer.
Philosophy Isn’t All Knowing – It’s a Parent With Many Children
Philosophy paved the way for other sciences which do what philosophy only wondered about, in a better, often more practical way. And that is one of the points of being a parent science, or rather, the mother of all sciences. Philosophy, even this far into the future, is here to examine the concepts and the world around us, asking the really difficult questions, most likely paving way to new sciences along the way, all the while helping individuals find balance in an ever-turbulent world.
