For The Love of Wisdom

Each of us in our own special way is a genuine philosopher. Philosophy by definition is the search for understanding of the basic truths and principles of the universe, of life, of morals, and of human perceptions.

The word philosophy comes from the Greek word philosophos: philo means love and sophia means wisdom. The “love of wisdom.”

Why do you need Philosophy, do you need it to earn a living, start a family, or even become wealthy?

No.

But many of you will work hard all your adult life, build up a retirement account, achieve certain professional distinctions, but inevitably you will ask if “this is all there is?” Or for some of you, when boredom hits, and you realize that there must be something deeper in life than merely acquiring things and padding the bank account —  life is feeling empty and meaningless, you start asking yourself “why”– where do you turn to for answers?

It is philosophy to which you turn to- for with philosophy you can start connecting your head to your heart.  Philosophy touches every dimension of every person, every hour of every day. Far from being exclusive to Augustine and the Kants of this world, philosophy is shared by all thinking human beings. Weariness comes to all, at the end of a mechanical life. And it creates a sudden urge to create consciousness, understanding and relevance.

For most of you, the questions do arise, and you come to ask yourself the deepest and widest questions. That is great—But most importantly to remember, philosophy is not about asking a question and pondering the answer. It’s about living the question, and becoming the answer.