Why study philosophy?

Many students have asked me: why should we study philosophy? Why should we bother with a science that can be extremely boring and, in some instances, has no benefit at all? Philosophy appears to be a never-ending set of questions. Who cares about Socrates, Hume or Camus anymore? For the society of the 21st century, to talk about premises and conclusions is to waste our time in a very ancient field of study. As one glances at the enrollment in the universities today, it is very evident that most people choose a major with some kind of technical tendencies. Computer science, business, or engineering, are some of the most popular subjects in our colleges as the new millennium takes off. Therefore, philosophy has been kept to a simple humanities credit one has to take as a freshman.

It is very important to understand the real meaning behind the art of creating philosophy. Our contemporary society does not have a sense of reflection. We live in America at a very fast pace, especially those of us who live in big cities. We never have time to stop and think. We have to work, to study and to raise a family all at the same time. In this context, we want everything fast, in a split of a second. A good example of these predispositions would be the "fast-food syndrome." Everything has to be done fast. Sometimes the fast food restaurants are not fast enough for us. For this reason we are always seeking new ways of saving time, "for time is money." We want our degree in the shortest period of time. Therefore, any analytical or reflective exercise that is suggested to us is immediately thrown aside, for we simply do not have the time to think. A common phrase I have heard my students speak is: "These guys had a lot of time in their hands."

The thinking process has been diluted through the complex mass media production we have in society today. With the help of computers, the Internet, the DVD, satellite systems etc., we have lost the capacity of reflection. Everything comes to us in a manufacture package that requires no critical thinking process. By this I do not mean that the advances of technology are evil. Quite the contrary, all the resources we have available to us should be used for the improvement of the human mind as Plato would put it. However, as one sees the young minds that have been raised with a culture of images and not letters, with Nintendo and easy access to almost every item available to human kind in a split of a second, no wonder we cannot see the critical thinking process taking place.

Definition of Philosophy
How can we define philosophy? Philosophy could be defined in many different ways. Sometimes one definition very easily overlaps another definition. In some instances, two different definitions create a new definition. Using Hegel's terminology, a "new synthesis." Furthermore, we can say that every definition of philosophy brings meaning and relevance into the human patrimony. However, we feel we need first of all to understand what is it we mean when we speak of the word "definition." In its most simplistic meaning, definition is view as the act of defining, a statement of meaning. Such meaning needs to have relevance to the person who is receiving the information. Such meaning could contain a set of different layers that would determine the real significance it's trying to convey. Things such as culture, language spoken or written, gender roles, prejudices, education, knowledge, personal interests, all of these items, are the ones that constitute the real meaning of the word definition. Therefore, as one attempts to define any term in contemporary language, one needs to comprehend the different coatings of meaning behind any word. At the same time, one needs to take into consideration the changes of language through time. Language is living phenomena, a phenomenon that is constantly changing. If we considered this element in the construction of our definition of philosophy, we will understand that a definition only attempts to bring the student closer to the ultimate meaning if indeed there is one.

Having this in mind, philosophy could be defined as one's own ideas, attitudes or beliefs about certain issues. This implies that the way we feel about life, death, sex, marriage, politics, and religion is philosophy, a philosophy that has gone from the personal belief towards the communal belief as a society. Any educational institution has a "philosophy of education." A political party has a specific philosophy dealing with the way a nation should be ruled, "political philosophy." Even when a young man or woman decides to take a step in relationship to his/her own sexuality, such an action is the implementation of an individual philosophy about sex; this in turn has created the American attitude towards sex. A good example would be to look at the attitude of the Baby Boomer. It is very inetersting to see the generation from the late 60's and early 70's. Their belief about sex was the foundation for our contemporary attitude towards it. All of these attitudes we see in common people today, is a direct result of the philosophy our society has created. Therefore, as we attempt to make an honest analysis of the condition of our culture, we must take into account the many different ways people "feel" about life.

At this level philosophy implies that people have and will have a personal perspective about life in general. The way I feel about the death penalty is my own philosophy about it. If I support the death penalty, it would mean my philosophy about life would be determine by my attitude towards this issue. If I opposed the death penalty, my attitude towards life will be determine or influence by my personal decision. In the same manner, the way I behave sexually will be determined by my personal philosophy on the subject. This can be illustrated with any issue in contemporary society. If I support abortion rights this means that my personal philosophy is pro-abortion. Likewise, if I support anti-abortion rights, my personal philosophy would be anti-abortion. Therefore, philosophy means the way I see, perceive and understand life.

One of the challenges for the new millennium will be the ability to give "space" to every different philosophy we have today. Ideologically speaking, religiously, ethically a so forth. Contemporary life needs to recognize the fact that we cannot continue to ignore each other anymore. The world has become smaller with the advances of technology. I have the ability to communicate across the globe with the help of the computer. Critics speak of a new era, a time after post-modernism, and although a name has not been created yet to identify such an age, we know there are many different ways to view life, and everyone claims they are right, and everyone wants the dignity of "space." Therefore, Pluralism has a great challenge. Some people feel one needs to draw the line at some point, for if we do not, no system of "values" would remain alive. On the other hand, some feel we need to open out more in order to give space to the circles that have been in a category of "sub-divided/hegemonic division" within the main stream of American society. We are taking about homosexuals, woman, minorities and anything that does not quite fit with the official discourse of America.

Let us look at the semantics of philosophy. Philosophy in a literal sense means reflection. It comes from two Greek words: (philos) which means friendship and (sofia) which means wisdom. Therefore, philosophy means the friendship of wisdom. Since we live in such a fast pace society, we rarely stop and reflect upon the trivialities of life. Every day, life continues to go by inertia, it is just a movement for the sake of movement alone. We cannot see the wisdom philosophy claims to offer. It is extremely difficult sometimes to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Such a contemplation is view by contemporary American culture as a waste of time. We have more important things to do that to reflect honestly about the conditions of life. Perhaps we have created such a fast movement in order to avoid the painful reality of looking with all honestly at the society we have created. For example, when a member of society gets to be old, we don't claim this person has found wisdom, quite the contrary, elders are view as an inconvenience, and a bother society needs to deal with. If they have gain any wisdom through the years, who cares? They are a hindrance to the free flow of society. This is precisely, one of the reasons philosophy is so important. Socrates spoke about the importance of being honest with oneself. Honest reflection in any given group is an important element in the construction of society. Therefore, if we attempt to define philosophy and to answer the question: why should we study philosophy? We have to say, because it is an extremely important aspect of human life.

Since humanity has been creating ideas and thoughts, philosophy has been a part of human life. Without it, we have no governments, no institutions, no traditions, and no infrastructure. It is philosophy that has created humanity's ideologies, interpretations, and viewpoints. Philosophy is at the heart of every issue, at the center of every change within society, and within every radical movement human beings have created. Philosophy seeks to understand the human experience a little bit better. Any tradition, any ideology, any religion has behind them a philosophy of life. The problem perhaps is that common people in today's society do not like complicated thoughts, the moment they see an obstacle, they scream in rage, they want the simplistic philosophy of a society that consumes and moves and moves and never stops.

Without philosophy, without questioning, we would be condemning ourselves to spend the rest of eternity in the limbo of conformity. Where would we be without Galileo claiming the earth was round? How far could Christianity have gotten without the revolutionary mind of Martin Luther? How many individuals could still be considered demon possessed without Pasteur? Where would the world be without the minds of Nietzsche, Sartre, Kierkegaard or Marx?

Philosophy, therefore, should be studied for the sake of discovering how we arrived at our present way of thinking. We need to study philosophy if we are serious about understanding the human condition. Today's world is so diverse; one can get lost in it. However, as we approach the issues of the world with a clear understanding about where those ideas came from, we can have a clearer picture of the world we live in today. And, we might also discover what directions we might seek in the future.