This semester I have learned that philosophy is many things to many people. From a means of influencing thought and behavior, to a looking glass into the soul, philosophy is a discipline of critical thinking, human interaction, and speculation. Philosophers attempt to answer age old human questions such as, "Where did we come from?" and "Where are we going?" However, a thinking mankind yearns for more than just history explained and reliable predictions of future, we want to know what makes a "good" life, what is beauty, what is justice, and how might we live our lives in a most satisfying way. And since the answers to such questions are based in perspective, one must be willing to examine the foundations of perspective in order to reach an unbiased, true answer. .
This is where the field of philosophy comes in to its own. Most would agree that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what differentiates one eye from another? Simply put, we see things as we know them to be, whether we just think we know them innately, as the young man Socrates met outside the courthouse knew piety, or we have devoted considerable thought to, such as Descartes" "I think, therefore I am." philosophy helps us to legitimize the knowing of all things, and by knowing all things we know the one thing we have true power over, our way of life. Our way of life always seems to come down to the decisions we make, and the decisions we make always seem to come down to our perspective. Where do we get our perspectives? Our perspectives are our philosophy, we have learned experiences that shape our outlook, and in turn how we look at and deal with life itself. The eyes we behold with can only see things we focus on, how and why we focus on things is the fodder for the !.
philosopher's cannon.
This semester we have studied many different philosophers, with as many different philosophies, but one common thread seems to weave its way through all their teachings, the fact that they all attempt to explain the life of mankind.