Hello, a wee introduction to my weekly blog and what it's all about. It's quite simple really, as most blogs are, it's just me saying stuff which I think might interest a few people and generate some healthy conversation or debate. At the very least I hope it makes us think about things with a bit more depth and clarity. I'll be sharing ideas which have a philosophical leaning; topics around things like identity(who/what are we?), happiness( what is it and how can we get more of it?), existence( what is it like for us to be in the world, and could it be better?) and reality( what are we, others and this world really like under the surface off appearances?).
Although I've explored these topics in some depth academically my aim is to share about them really simply with anyone who has an interest in them. It's not about being right or winning arguments, and definitely not about becoming lost in the mind, words or concepts. For me, the purpose of philosophy or conversation is to work out together how we can gradually move towards the best version of our lives possible. Philosophy and talk are not ends in themselves but are always means to some other end. The Greek philosopher Aristotle suggested that the end of all human actions is a type of happiness( in greek. Eudaimonia). He argued that the most harmonious and beneficial state for our 'soul', which we may think of as the total sum of our experience (consciousness, body, mind and emotion) is to be happy. I'll say some more about this in my next blog but I think he was onto something. Everything we do is some attempt to find a sense of satisfaction, contentment, peace, fulfilment and even joy in the world. Whether it's the acquisition of some external object, like money or 'the one', or some idea of success, like approval, popularity or status, I think we are usually pursuing these things because of some idea or 'programme' running in the mind which has told us this is the means to our happiness. It's an interesting topic and something we can all review from time to time. After all, as another Greek philosopher, Socrates suggested, 'The unexamined life is not worth living.'
Yorumlar