For the past few days, I have been reading pages on Philosophy and Philosophers and Wikipedia makes it very easy. Every day , I start with Wikiquote reading the home page and pondering on the text of the current day quote.It started with an voluntary act and has become an habit, and I am quite happy about it. It provides a good mind set to start the day. Even during work - I switch to Wikipedia or Wikiquote to balance the right and left brain activities. I have experienced that it increases my energy-level and helps me concentrate more.
Wiki says that 'Philosophy' means 'love for wisdom' and that makes me feel proud and happy about it as I seemed to like it. In practical world - Philosophy is of no use, No one would ever give a penny if one says that "A friend is a single soul dwelling in two bodies" by [ Aristotle] or "The beginning is the most important part of the work" by [Plato] or "One has attained to mastery when one neither goes wrong nor hesitates in the performance." by [Friedrich Nietzsche]. Though these are truths(at least according to me), it doesn't matter to most of the world.In fact, one would get rather different answers, if asked, for all these above statements - like - "So Whats your problem?".
There must not have been a century, a decade, a period or a duration where the philosophers were not dominant. Starting from the "Before Christ" period to today.In fact , all of us are philosophers - because we think but the world calls only some as "Philosophers" because their only work was to think. Their day-job was just to think. They have been as advisors, teachers, writers, creators.They were always able to influence the society and its people with their thoughts.Sometimes they were praised and sometimes they were cursed.Reading about the philosophers tells me about the society they lived in and their significance to the people around. No Philosopher would have existed without willing to express his/her ideas. Most of them were skilled enough to write well and evolved as good writers and that tells me a "truth" that It is impossible for one to keep quiet if one knows a truth and thats the power of "truth" and thats why, it is said as "Truth only Triumphs" .
While reading about the Philosophy and Philosophers - More than their life and their thoughts,What surprised me was that, 'Philosophy' in itself has got various branches in it - like Metaphysics (study of the nature of being and the world) , Ethics(questions of how persons ought to act) , Logic (Logic is the study of valid argument forms) and so many others. The works of the Philosophers are always considered prestigious and worthy - because ,We,the people, are always in search of the truth.
I have asked myself - several times - Why I am after or Why am I so curious to know what is the ultimate truth ? - like "God is Love" - "Doubt is the origin of wisdom" - "A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving.A good artist lets his intuition lead him wherever it wants" [Lao Tzu ] - To me , Most of them seemed to be true and Whenever i know something that is true - It puts a smile on my face and also in my heart - I have seen my energy-levels rise and thats why, I think, Philosophers would have loved to be in search of Truth. In my opinion, All the Philosophers would have wanted to summarize their wisdom in just one sentence - the truths of all truths - and that must have been their ultimate goal of their life. I haven't known anyone who was able to do so, may be there is nothing as Ultimate Truth.
The significance of a work is measured in two ways - 1) in Contemporary money 2) number of lives it touches.The work of the philosophers are always measured in the second way for - even after more than 2000 years , Socrates, who said , "As for me, all I know is that I know nothing", is still touching my life and so are Harper lee, Ayn Rand, Gandhi, R W Emerson, Rene Descartes, Confucius, Mark Twain and ...
One truth, I found on the way is , that "Wisdom is the number of truths one knows" and the search continues.
Serenity & Harmony.
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