PHILOSOPHY – A WALK IN THE PARK!

Practical Thoughts,  

Aargh…. Philosophy and her practitioners ! The dense, almost undecipherable prose of Georg Hegel is a difficult text to read!

Do we need a more of practical philosophy?

He supposed, philosophy is all about thinking and this would be right, He is sure you will agree.

Thoughtfulness will guide us well and peacefully through life. Thoughtlessness will always bring trouble and conflict.

Much of the trouble in our world originates in thoughtlessness.   Not malice, not nastiness, not because we are bad – but, because, we do not think!  

Much of our trouble in this world originates in thoughtlessness.   Think before you act.

On these pages he will present some of the thoughts of others, thoughts of those who laboured heavily in the field of philosophy.  

You can pick and choose. It is a little bit like a beliefs in a religion or science, for there is no way one can check the veracity of existence of God, nor can one query the effects of Quantum Physics.  But, one can choose in whom one believes.

So, go on … pick and choose !

Beware of anachronism ! Let it not trip you as you rush along.

Philosophy can help you !

Analyse and challenge your own beliefs  

Most of us go through life without questioning our beliefs, at least, not until we get into trouble.

Maybe, it is a time to start questioning ! Well, philosophy is a science of asking questions. It is a science of reasoning.

Through philosophy we can take a closer look at our lives and our beliefs. No other discipline is as preoccupied with big questions as philosophy.

Since ancient times, philosophers have laboured hard in exploring the thought processes, analysing their methods of thinking, and their mindsets every step of the way. No question is too big or too small for philosophy.

Exploring the questions of human rights, solving problems of “the meaning of life”, or imagining the best model of government, philosophy has always guided us forward. Over several millennia philosophers have pondered all these problems. Much of the large canon of thought is still extant today. We can read, learn about their times and analyse their thoughts. We will find that some of their beliefs are not held by many today. Yet some beliefs, and particularly, those in ethics have stood a test of time.

Yet, many of philosophers, wise as they were, had many failings. For an example take Emmanuel Kant: whilst a great moral philosopher, he was a racist. He lived in the grand old colonial times; his thoughts were coloured by his time. Beware of anachronism.

On these pages we will present some thoughts of the Wise. Reading them may prompt you to examine your own thoughts and your own mindset.

We tend to judge the times past harshly. Slavery, we condemn it, immoral, we say. Medieval feudal cruelty, we condemn it, immoral, we say. Colonial cruelty, slave trading not so long ago, we condemn it, immoral, we say. Removing children from unmarried mothers, not so long ago, we condemn it, immoral, we say. Today, we should be rightly ashamed that our parents or our ancestors committed such cruelties.

These people followed the mindset and the spirit of the times into which they were born. It is difficult for us to understand. Such is the nature of anachronism.

Hey, hey … notwithstanding Old Man’s forgiving nature, he has a challenge for you! Never mind what the bishop did 40 years ago … but, look at yourselves and ask yourselves: “What am I doing today that I will be ashamed in decades to come?” So go ahead, read the pages. Read, look and reason. What has stood the test of times and how could you apply it to your life?

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