Sincerely apologize if this is the wrong place for such a question(/rant).
The context of the question relates to “Self” and maybe about “Power” in general.
I’m assuming the following maxims hold true:
- Unexamined life not worth living…
- Philosophy is lived. Choices primarily determine your philosophy
Please to correct my assumptions or reasoning. Can elaborate on above if needed.
I tend to myself in circles regarding the importance of philosophizing and examining my life. Maybe it’s a symptom of some mental issue… With every new idea I learn, I now have to consider it and balance it with all I’ve learnt in the past. Each choice becomes a battle of value systems and ideas and perspectives and constraints. It’s tiring to the point where I try not to think and just “do”.
But then that path leads me to an autopilot where my choices fall to my default “human” state overridden by the philosophy modules installed at the time. Then it devolves into the unexamined life. Or then life throws a curveball. I have to snap out of it and need to reassess everything going into the philosophizing state above.
Philosophy feels like an indulgence.
I’m guessing this pendulum is not new. On a global scale, Academia are cutting philosophy department budgets as it’s easier to divert money to “actionable” disciplines. No point in “wasting” time in thinking about thinking about doing things. Who needs a meta-compass if we need to walk the distance anyway (even though it helps a tremendous deal if the compass is in the right hands (which hold the power)).
I know I’ve reduced the argument to 2 buckets. I’m currently trying to consume Zen literature trying to get rid of my buckets and/or/xor trying to bring harmony of various buckets in my life… (https://tinyurl.com/verse20)
My question is: how do you manage all this philosophizing in your life? How useful is this indulgence?
Happy to accept any books/articles on this. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing. I love the “philosophy will come back to me” line.
Forgive my analogies… it’s almost as if you’re using “Philosophy” as a map. Your initial studies helped you draw it up and kinda internalize it. Now you know roughly know where you are going and your community also help you not get lost. If you do lose way, you’ll peek at the map, tweak it as per your surroundings and keep walking. It feels like you’ve found a nice ratio and I pray you find your footing in each step.
My initial analogy of equating philosophy to a compass was a little lacking. It’s more relatable to Faith… Now I’m of the opinion I haven’t read enough!
I’m my case, I’m kinda sure what path I’m on but I end up constantly peeking/tweaking at my map and then end up getting lost as I’m not looking up. It seems a balance is possible but need to go over that initial hurdle of drawing the map first. And as you mentioned, it’s important to keep walking the uphill walk, even if simply on faith.