I took a three-month philosophy course for adults at a local university last autumn. Before enrolling, I wasn’t sure if my interest in philosophy was strong enough to be worth it. Although I had been captivated by anecdotes about philosophers — such as the death of Socrates, the meeting of Diogenes and Alexander the Great, and Kant’s more-accurate-than-a-clock walking habit — ever since I was a young child, I chose a different path. I became an engineering student, a more employable, practical, down-to-earth choice, but eventually dropped out.
Fast forward to the present: I’m in my late forties. Even though philosophy was always in the corner of my mind, I believed my interests had shifted toward theoretical physics, neuroscience, and political science in recent years (all at a hobby level, though). However, to my surprise, as I began reading books in these fields, familiar names of philosophers started popping up here and there. I couldn’t help but feel amazed by the foresight and influence of past philosophers and thought this might be a good time to give studying philosophy a proper go after all these years.
What did I make of the course? Well, it was great! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Its thematic approach was engaging, but more importantly, philosophy felt like my home, and philosophers, my people, my tribe.
There were times when I thought philosophy was detached from the real world and philosophers were just people who argue for the sake of argument in an ivory tower. Now I know I was wrong. Philosophers are like eagles (or owls, some might say) that get a comprehensive view of the forest from high up in the sky. They may not see the individual trees like the “down-to-earth” people, but what they see is a reality nonetheless — a reality from another perspective. I suspect none of us can see both the forest and the individual trees at the same time, and the fact is that our society needs both types of people to understand the true nature of the world. I guess which type one falls into is probably determined by each person’s neurological dispositions. And yes, I’m a fledgling eaglet.
Anyway, with my passion for philosophy rekindled, I’ve decided to keep a log of my philosophical journey here on Medium. I’ll probably write mainly about religion, time, and the mind.
To mark the beginning, I’d like to share a piece of writing. This is the essay I wrote back in January for the course-end assessment. Although my tutor kindly gave me a pass with a good grade, considering my essay’s lack of a clear introduction and insufficient evidence to support my claim, I suspect he did so as a gesture of encouragement. (And I’m grateful.)
You can read my essay [here].
Since I have no plans to go back to formal classes in the near future for financial reasons and have no philosophy friends in real life, any of your feedback, advice, or constructive criticism will be of great value to me.
Thank you for reading.
