To Become A Philosopher
If I wanted to become a Philosopher, what would I need to do?
This is the oddest question I have ever encountered on this forum to date. But I found a nifty site that might shed some light on it. In a nutshell here is how to become a philosopher according to this site.
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Becoming a philosopher is simple. The following suggestions should help anyone become a leading philosopher. We also provide tips on how to succeed as a philosopher in academic settings versus success in general society. 1. Believe your life represents all experiences. 2. Decide what human nature is. 3. Select a purpose of life. |
In my search to answer this question better, I think I have found something to help people learn to be a philosopher, that is to say, a better definition of philosophy in general.
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The term philosophy comes from the Greek for "love of wisdom," giving us two important starting points: love (or passion) and wisdom (knowledge, understanding). |
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One way to describe philosophy is "disciplined inquiry." Despite the need for passion, that passion still needs to be disciplined, lest it get out of hand and lead us astray. The fact that philosophy is a type of inquiry, however, emphasizes the fact that it is about asking questions - questions which, in fact, may never actually get final answers. |
Kon, what about when someone goes to college to study Philosophy, don't they become Philosophers once they graduate?
What an interesting question. I would say that every one has their own philosophies and it is hard to say exactly what you do to become a bonified philosopher. Some countrys remember without a real recognized education system in the past have yielded some great philosophers .I think that we all have our own philosophical journey and that the active involvement we take in this determines our level of philosophical thought. With age we naturally learn some things that are very hard taught I am sure.
A person who is consistent in their thought, values, and actions - Is that not philosopher enough, that they can describe their logic and patterns of reasoning? (Unless you're more chaos theory-esque, but then again, your unpredictability would be predictable by then...Would it not?)
(Has anybody else noticed the type-o for "intellect" on the subtitle for the Philosophy link on the homepage?)
One route is college, I personally am taking that route however that is not to say that college is the only way. I will say this however, having talked and held conversations with those who dabble in philosophy on their own time, that is they have read many of the works on their own but have no formal training at a university, and also having talked to students within the program and proffesors, there is a vast difference. The person with no training may have the knowledge but lacks the training in logic and it does show. My advice to becomming a philosopher is to take a class in critical reasoning, and at least one in ethics and then just read many books. Most of philosophy is just training in logic and learning what ideas have already been tossed out there.
I read the answers to this post with interest.
To begin, studying philosophy does not make one a philosopher. Graduating from philosophy studies does not make one a philosopher. Asking questions does not make one a philosopher.
Anyone can be a philosopher, just as anyone with a political point of view can be a politician, or anyone who can strum a chord can be a musician.
So, what makes a philosopher?
A philosopher is a person who asks questions of importance outside him/herself, then goes on to explore the ramifications of that question. He/she might change an accepted train of thought that could lead to a change.
This begins with such simple things as asking "why"? More importantly, this is followed by the question, "what if"?
Anyone can be a philosopher.