The Meaning of Philosophy and Learning Philosophy

The word philosophy often causes a feeling of anxiety in the average person and more so in the average student.  It is believed that it deals with secretive matters far beyond everyday life and traffics in ideas which only the brilliant few are capable of understanding.  These anxieties cause the average person to close their mind against philosophy.

The word philosophy comes from the Greek noun philosophia, meaning love of wisdom.  The word wisdom is somewhat old-fashioned in these days, and the term love of wisdom, causes little less anxiety than the word philosophy.  It suggests theoretical and even out of the world ideas, and that strange area of philosophical investigation, that we call metaphysics.  The word metaphysics comes from the Greek phrase ta meta physica, meaning things beyond the physical realm, hence, the mysterious associations that suggest that philosophy is beyond us.

If we look at the writings of one of the most articulate advocate of philosophy, Bertrand Russell, and read his definition of the word philosophy, we become more certain that our fears about its difficulty were well founded. 

Russell writes; Philosophy as I shall try to understand the word is something intermediate between theology and science.  Like theology, it consists of speculations on matters as to which definite knowledge has, so far, been unascertainable; but like science, it appeals to human reason rather than to authority, whether that of tradition or that of revelation.  All definite knowledge, so I should contend, belongs to science; all dogma as to what surpasses definite knowledge belongs to theology.  But between theology and science there is a no man’s land exposed to attack by both sides; this no man’s land is philosophy.

Our overall impression is that philosophy deals with vague matters, which is what was suspected before going to Russell’s writings.  It is suggested that not only the average person shies away from philosophy and believes that it is very little help to everyday living. It was said that in the past and to some extent in the present professional philosophers and professional educators came together as relative strangers in an academic landscape.  The professional educator cannot see how the general philosopher can shed any light on educational problems.

In the first place, nothing is ever achieved in life by running away from problems and situations which intimidate us.  Similarly, people who visit psychiatrists are often there for no other reason than to face up to problems, which they initially fail to do and consequently become afraid of all problems.  They try to push the fear out of their conscious minds, but that does not prevent the fear continuing to work its destruction.  When they can no longer endure the mental agony, then they resort to the psychiatrist, who brings them face to face with their fears and prevents their running away.  Only in this way can their fears be destroyed.