): Does a philosophical search for wisdom enhance life Does it needlessly cause worry and distress - Essay Example

How Philosophical Search for Wisdom affects Human Life Introduction Philosophy is a study that tries to give an understandingon reality and mysteries of existence. It tries to give a discovery on nature of knowledge and truth and finds what is of importance and basic value of life. It also tries to examine the relationships between nature and humanity and between an individual and a society. Basically, philosophy arises out of curiosity, wonder, and the desire understand and know more. Philosophy is therefore a form of inquiry; that is, a process of criticism, analysis, speculation, and interpretation.

Philosophy does not have a precise definition since the subject is so controversial and complex. Essentially, philosophy originates from a Greek term philosophia, to mean love for wisdom. Therefore, wisdom involves active use of intelligence and not something passive that someone simply possesses. The scope of this essay will therefore be on how philosophical search for wisdom affects human life.Importance of philosophy A philosophic thought is an important part of human existence. In real life, almost everybody is puzzled by philosophical questions such as “is there life after death?

” “What does life mean?” among many more questions. People have some sense of philosophy in their personal outlook on life. Even those who claim considering philosophic questions as a waste of time are expressing what is important, valuable, or worthwhile. Even rejecting the whole of philosophy is considered as philosophy (Lebovic 57). Through studying philosophy, people are put in a better position to seek clarification on what they believe. Therefore, they can be motivated to think about the ultimate questions.

It is equally important to study philosophers of the old days to find out why they thought as they did and the value of their thoughts on today’s humanity. Some people find it enjoyable to read about the past great philosophers, particularly those who were also great philosophy writers. Philosophy has had lots of influence on human’s everyday lives. The classifications of the very language that people speak are derived from philosophy. For instance, classifications of noun and verb involve philosophic idea that states that there is a difference between things and actions.

Starting to ask the difference between the two is starting a philosophic inquiry. Ideally, almost all institutions in the society are based on philosophic ideas. Institutions such as government, religion, law, industry, marriage, education, or family are all based on philosophic ideas. Differences in philosophic ideas have led to drastic changes in laws, overthrow of governments, and transformation of economic systems (Russell 32). Such changes have resulted from people involved holding some beliefs about what is true, real, and important about how life needs to be ordered.

Impact of philosophy Philosophy basically pursues questions and not answers. Its responsibility is not to answer questions in life; instead, it questions answers that humans give. It starts with astonishment, bewilderment, and amazement about life, the world, and humans. Therefore, trying to seek wisdom through philosophy leads to a lot of distress and worries to humans as they try to find answers to questions that arise from philosophy (Mikkonen 73). Works citedLebovic, Nitzan. The Philosophy of Life and Death: Ludwig Klages and the Rise of a Nazi Biopolitics.

Oxford: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Print Mikkonen, Jukka. Cognitive Value of Philosophical Fiction. Chicago: A&C Black, 2013. Print Russell, Bertrand. The Problems of Philosophy. London: Indo-European Publishing, 2010. Print