How Philosophy Can Be Seen As a Way Of Life

“Its the not the Destination, It's the journey." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Introduction

Philosophy, essentially, is a quest for the truth. And the path to the truth does not have to be a single one. Sometimes, the same location, can be arrived from different paths. Think of a coffee shop you might like visiting. Think of the different ways you can reach it. You can reach it by foot, which might be more unconventional. You might use a car to get there, which is more conventional, or you might even use the bus.

Philosophy as Personal

Each philosopher is a philosopher because something happened to them in life. Something triggered their quest.

In Socrates' case, this can be attributed to his wife.

By all means marry: if you get a good wife or husband , you'll become happy; if you get a bad wife or husband, you'll become a philosopher.

From Socrates' case we can learn that philosophy can come from the attempt to understand reality after something bad happened. AKA, it can often be a misfortune that may set people on the course of philosophy.

In John Duran's case, a contemporary philosopher, his mother called him the devil when he was a child, setting him on a journey on understanding if he and society is truly good or bad, sane or insane.

I specifically philosophize because philosophizing helps me stay sane and stable. When I don't philosophize, reality may start appearing completely different. Philosophizing is how I put myself away from state of confusions, and set me back on track. And I do it every single time.

As a result, I cannot work and philosophy is how I mentally survive a world I, by default may perceive as absurd.

Philosophy is a tool. For some people philosophy is more important than it is for others for a reason. The reasoning is often deep and personal, and as a result it is often hard to relate to.

However, philosophy can also be defined as a way to make sense of reality. When you look at philosophy from this lens, you can see how important philosophy can really be for some people.

Philosophy and Catharsis

Our world revolves around an endless series of wars -- Zanetti (Beat Down)

You Either Die A Hero Or You Live Long Enough To See Yourself Become The Villain. - Two Face (The Dark Knight)

Humans are the fools of this world. Being a human, you are no different, and neither am I -- Graham Cray (Suikoden IV)

In fiction, it is often the villains who philosophize in monologues. The reasoning from that can be attributed from the fact that something bad had happened to them (thus making them the villains). Indeed, in contemporary culture, philosophy can be attributed to the villains. That is despite the fact a lot of philosophy has to do with virtue.

Monologing is a form of Catharsis. Catharsis, in Greek, is purification. Catharsis was invented by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who saw Catharsis as a form of purifying our emotions after a tragic or an unfortunate event had occurred. In return, we feel relieved from stress (AKA, energy that needs to be delivered out of the human body).

Catharsis if a form of purification. After something dark or traumatic has been done, people may resort to purify themselves of the cognitive and mental charge of the misfortune that had happened to them.

For me personally, saving my late grandmother at the young age of 10 was the trigger of my own respective philosophical journey.

According to Sigmund Freud, the father of psychodynamic theory, the most important phase of a human being is his childhood.

Every day I wake up, I am filled with the need to philosophize. Philosophizing is how I make sense of reality ever since that very day where I saved my late master.

Whenever I do not philosophize, I may build up stress within me, and then reality may appear different to me. Therefore, I am stricken with philosophy as a way to cope and mentally survive reality.

Philosophy is a form of art, and catharsis is most properly expressed in art.

In other words, given some people's rare origins, they cannot stop philosophizing. That goes for myself.

Then, philosophy becomes more than a mere academic tool; It becomes a way of life. It becomes something of a shadow that always accompanies you whenever you go. It becomes a coping and a survival mechanism; a way to deal with the trauma/s of life.

To quote J. K. Perloff

Catharsis provides a unique picture of the eclectic but interrelated origins of the medical profession and the pivotal role it plays between life and death.

Conclusions

• Philosophy, being the origin of all human research, may play a very psychological role in the mental lives of certain people.

• Philosophy is a form of Catharsis, a term crucial in art as well as the world of medicine.

• Some philosophers are innate, AKA, they may possess a special need to philosophize.

• The role of trauma cannot be ignored when it comes to philosophy as a form of Catharsis.