Philosophy for Dummies

Most people get scared at the idea of philosophy and consider it a form of academia pushing itself into our everyday lives. Philosophy, despite popular belief, does not require you to be smart in order to understand or discuss it. In fact people discuss philosophy everyday; if you gossip, if you’re religious, if you discuss everyday phenomenon, you have actively involved yourself in philosophy.

Philosophy itself is essentially the study of life. As science tries to explain how we are alive and the little idiosyncrasies that are involved in life, philosophy attempts to answer not the how but the why we are here and what is our purpose.

Now we can dive straight into the alternative universes, matrixes, and fight clubs, but the simplest form of philosophy is just an ethical code. Ethics is simply how we grade the morality of an action. Is killing someone a moral action, is stealing bad, and just whether or not you can do certain things.

A steady check on my ethical code is a good way for me to make sure I haven’t completely lost my humanity and that I’m not all that evil. Understanding other ethical codes can give a different perspective on why people make decisions that may differ from your own reasoning.

Philosophy in itself is just a driving conversation that revolves around a point. Discussion can bring out many innate things in life that can show you new point of views and ideas. Philosophy can facilitate knowledge and contribute to society, if you simply ask yourself questions about why something is, you can better understand anything that comes across your life.