A Guide to Philosophy 101

When I took philosophy in college, it was just a waste of time. The professor taught what he taught we should learn and would cite some obscure philosopher like Sam Durant Oetiggent and make us write a 5-10 page literary “analysis” essay.

We would sit there and quietly listen to the professor ramble and wonder what we were doing with our lives. We would sit there and think most importantly about we were paying such a ridiculous amount of money to listen to this “expert”.

THIS WAS A FRUSTRATING EXPERIENCE AND ONE OF THE WORST WAYS TO RUIN ANY STUDENT’S AMBITION AND CURIOSITY.

To make up for all this, I will begin by giving you remedial philosophy. This world class lecture is what they should have given you.

Let me give it to me straight.

Let’s go old school.

The original Greek philosopher Socrates talks about our human desire for truth. In fact, when he was around with the Greeks, he would go around the marketplace and talk to the rich upper class members.

He would ask them question after question to help reveal to them their own ignorance. So overall, these questions could be:

“You say being fair means having an equal opportunity for everyone. However, how would you define justice and why do you believe that you deserve more taxpayer money than everyone else?”

This made the Greek upper class politicians very jealous and insecure when they realized how ignorant they were compared to Socrates’s wisdom.

Unfortunately, Socrates was forced to die because of his way of questioning. He truly lived an extraordinary life and is an incredible example to anyone who wants to seek the truth.

His method of discovering truth is still useful today. It’s called the Socratic method and is one of the best ways to learn.

Here is the Socratic Method.

• Ask a question.
• Gather data on this question by reading a book, watching a video or talking to friends.
• Try over and over and over again to attack your own ideas and see it if fits reality. Try to play the devil’s advocate on yourself. This forces you to think deeply about what you are saying.

A fun fact about Socrates is that when he was asked why he married his beautiful wife, he replied back “A horse trainer must practice on the most spirited of animals.”