The importance of Philosophy or the invitation to Philosophy

Philosophy has taken on a new destiny, that of not assuming as a fact what does not go through questioning...

There certainly was philosophy before the Greeks. However, it is in the Greeks that it has its beginnings, that is, it is in Ancient Greece that philosophy assumes a consistent form: that its maximum method, style, figures, personalities come into play; at least, in short, that's what Nietzsche and Xavier Zubiri say.

Thus, philosophy begins even with the pre-Socratics, whose fundamental characteristic was the break with mythical thought.

But what is mythical thinking?

Now! It is that way of considering reality from the point of view of the religious narrative in which the world is inhabited by angels, demons, gods, or is it the world in which rational thought is not taken for figure – or by default – (our current way of thinking). think); that is, our own way of thinking has everything to do with the Greek philosophical revolution, which asks for more than belief... It asks for logical principles.

Therefore, we must no longer understand reality from the allegory, the narrative, the priesthood, the myth, but through the search for what there is in reality that organizes it and makes it comprehensible to the intelligence. Thus, pre-Socratic thought – mainly based on Thales, Heraclitus and Parmenides – opened up the possibility [which took effect] of turning the page of History. No longer Mythus, but Logos.

However, today's world still contains within itself the possibility of thinking and feeling based on myth. Or, to put it another way, there was not a complete rupture between Logos and Mythos, or between Reason and Fable. Our daily life is still pregnant with imagination, beliefs, superstition. In this sense, after the pre-Socratics, Socrates appears: the watershed. This, in addition to seeking to appeal to the bias of Logos, makes a profound turn in philosophy: it seeks to think not of Arkhe — the original principle of everything — but to criticize common sense.

Question Socrates:

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“Athenians, who among you really knows what he claims to know?”. (PLATÃO, 399 AEC).

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What Socrates wants is to show that what we sometimes take to be true — facts — are not; not when they are put to the test. This attitude of asking what something is and asking for reasons and then refuting them, when there are no reasons, is Socratic irony [that is, irony consists of inverting the logic of something; so when Socrates asked, for example, what justice was, he supposed he did not know; and asking an authority, for example, he assumes that he knows, but his dialogue leads the interlocutor to refutation, in order to show the opposite of what the interlocutor thought as a fact].

Therefore, what is meant is: in Socrates, philosophy assumed a new destiny, that of being a critic of common sense; or that of not assuming as a fact what does not pass for questioning.

Thus, not only philosophical subjects are born, but philosophical methods and problems. The subjects of the pre-Socratics were the attempt to think about reality by seeking in it what is original, what is consistent, what is transitory, or even trying to think about the Cosmos, that is, organized Nature [physis] — what was accessible to man.

In Socrates, however, instead of Nature, customs are thought of, in order to question problems such as “What is truth?”, or “What is justice?”, or “Does God exist?”, or “How does man acquire knowledge?” These are, in fact, philosophical questions.

We, however, are not aware of this today. Today, it is customary to think that philosophy is not important, only science. However, its value will be shown, since, in addition to what will be said here, in summary, philosophy expresses the desires of the soul: its questions and answers are attempts by the human spirit (of our character) to understand reality rationally.

In this line of thought, there are other problems, but what is meant is: philosophy is a living organism to the extent that it is part of human history or, even, to the extent that it reflects and opens space for the fundamental questions of the human spirit. . Issues, not infrequently, hidden from consciousness [that is, issues that we generally have, but do not express or verbalize]. However, its definition, usefulness and development do not end there. To the extent that philosophy is problematization of common sense and a method of ascertaining the validity of reasoning, it is also correction of errors or sedimented preconceptions [that is, cultural heritages that are assumed as true without our examination, or uncritically, taken as “truths” because of the tradition of a society, community, religion or political system].

Despite being ignored by modern man, it is present today in cinema, literature, university, in memes, as it is increasingly present in the daily lives of simple people [like you and me — workers of a great industry called the world]; it has expanded, despite the significant dislike of modern man for formal or spiritual knowledge, which means that there is a space for it, because, it seems to me [!], man is not an entity managed only by physical-chemical demands , biochemical, neurophysiological, etc., but for greater aspirations: aspirations to Logos, to Sense, to Sofia, to Theos, even if such entities are just a by-product of neuronal activity [— it doesn't matter!... Because they are real while they last and build meaning for our life]. That is, as man is not just a material entity, but an entity that needs to build a meaning for his life, who loves, who forgives, who lives, whose character or personality is directly linked to culture, that is, values, language, space geographic, time, tradition, local knowledge, etc., is why philosophy has space, as it highlights issues of the soul [assuming it exists.

Now! It is precisely because the human “soul” is more than its material existence — and precisely because man wants meaning — that there is still room, in the present world, say, for computing, drones, the financial market, robotics, etc. of automation, etc., that there is room for something like reflection.

Now! Having said that, we can say that it is not enough to have what to eat, where to sleep, money and possessions, in short, but rather guidance on how to deal with such things that philosophy has — even without wanting to, because philosophy is under no obligation to do anything. — its usefulness: it can give meaning, or guide us in the world. This question, by the way, is fundamental, as we know that the way we orient ourselves, the way we see ourselves, see the other, see the world, determines the degree of well-being. This becomes evident when studying psychopathology. Yes, most personality disorders consist of a dysfunctional, inadequate and poor way of orienting or seeing yourself, others and the world.

Thus, in order to briefly describe the course of philosophy in order to characterize it, define it, which is the purpose of this text, we know that, in addition to being the search for what is true in reality, in addition to seeking correct reasoning and, therefore, to indicate the error (incorrect reasoning), in addition to being a critique of customs (common sense), in addition to being the search for the meaning of being, it is also the search, as Deleuze said, for "denouncing the stupidity".

Now! But what could be stupidity?

Nothing but error, prejudice [what is prior to the concept or criticism], lies, injustice, ignorance, violence without order (purpose or principles), etc. How about we — yes, you and I, we — try to problematize common sense, try to issue correct judgments, fight errors, oppose prejudice, orient ourselves in view of our “soul” or existential questions, or even to denounce stupidity?

We can try. See, this job could be your destiny! Yes, you may have found your direction right away: your north.

Thiago Carvalho.

Psychologist and graduate student in neuropsychology.