{"id":2613,"date":"2022-03-29T18:49:11","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T18:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/introtophilosophy\/part\/introduction-the-love-of-wisdom-2\/"},"modified":"2024-03-13T18:15:27","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T18:15:27","slug":"introduction-the-love-of-wisdom-2","status":"publish","type":"part","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/introtophilosophy\/part\/introduction-the-love-of-wisdom-2\/","title":{"raw":"INTRODUCTION: The Love of Wisdom","rendered":"INTRODUCTION: The Love of Wisdom"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\r\n\r\n<strong>LEARNING OBJECTIVES<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\nBy the end of this section you will discover:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>What wisdom means and why it is valued.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How philosophy is largely about coming to better know yourself.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How philosophy will help you evaluate the claims and beliefs you and others hold.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How philosophy can make you a better thinker and defender of your beliefs.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How philosophy can broaden your mind by raising the larger questions about life.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<strong>Wisdom.\u00a0<\/strong> Think of someone you know who is wise.\u00a0 What characteristics of behavior, speech, or demeanor convey that person\u2019s wisdom?\u00a0 It might be the wise words she shares, her calm presence in the midst of chaos, her keen insights into the nature of problems, her compassion for those around her.\u00a0 Where does her wisdom come from?\u00a0 You might say from life experience, but not all of those with long life come to wisdom.\u00a0 You might say she was born wise, but then weren\u2019t we all?\u00a0 Why did she retain that innate wisdom while so many have apparently not?\u00a0 Is it not the case that wisdom comes through practice?\u00a0 By a thousand conscious decisions to cultivate an inner sense of truth and virtue.\u00a0 If you agree with this, then you have a strong insight into the nature of philosophy.\r\n\r\n<strong>Knowing Thyself<\/strong>.\u00a0 When Socrates\u2019 friend and disciple Chaerephon made his pilgrimage to the Oracle of Delphi he likely saw there inscribed on the <em>pronaos <\/em>(forecourt) of the Temple of Apollo the words \u03b3\u03bd\u1ff6\u03b8\u03b9 \u03c3\u03b5\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03cc\u03bd, \u201cknow thyself.\u201d The first and most important claim we can make about philosophy is that it is about <em>you<\/em>.\u00a0 Yes, philosophy explores many questions: What is the truth? What is real? What is the best way to live?\u00a0 How can I be certain? et.al., but in the end, the study of philosophy is about coming to a better understanding of how <em>you<\/em> think, how <em>you <\/em>understand <em>your<\/em> place in the world, how <em>you<\/em> can lead a good life.\u00a0\u00a0 Philosophy (from the Greek \u03c6\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03c3\u03bf\u03c6\u03af\u03b1, \u201clove of wisdom\u201d) originally meant the passionate pursuit of a kind of inner understanding about the relationship between one\u2019s true self and one\u2019s world.\u00a0\u00a0 It still offers that today.\u00a0 First and foremost, philosophy is about self-discovery.\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<h2 class=\"textbox__title\">Ponder if you will:<\/h2>\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n\r\nHave there been any moments in your life that have given you an \u201caha!\u201d experience?\u00a0 Moments when you suddenly realized something about yourself that had always been part of you but only now have you been able to put words to it?\r\n\r\nDid any of these moments alter the direction of your life?\u00a0 How so?\r\n\r\nDo you believe that ideas can lead you to become a better person, to have a better life?\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<strong>Assessing Claims<\/strong>.\u00a0 Yet philosophy offers other, more practical gifts as well.\u00a0 The study of philosophy can help you better assess the claims you encounter every day.\u00a0 We are being \u201cclaimed at\u201d constantly in this world.\u00a0 In fact, that sentence is itself a claim.\u00a0 Is it true or false?\u00a0 Is it biased in one direction or another?\u00a0 Is it self-evident or does it require more argumentation and evidence?\u00a0 These are the kinds of questions philosophers ask themselves when others are trying to persuade them one way or another.\u00a0 One branch of philosophy especially, Logic, can give us better thinking skills and aid us in determining which kinds of claims or arguments are strong and which are weak. You will find this an exceptionally useful tool for navigating this world of competing claims.\r\n\r\n<strong>Making Strong Arguments<\/strong>.\u00a0 In addition to helping you better evaluate the arguments of others, the study of philosophy can also make you a better arguer, a better thinker.\u00a0 Logic will teach you how to build a strong, coherent and convincing argument when seeking to persuade others. One skill that helps in persuasion is the ability to anticipate the counterarguments you might receive from others and to address them before they are raised.\u00a0 Philosophers learn to recognize both the \u2018arguments for\u2019 and the \u2018arguments against\u2019 any claim and in that way are better able to anticipate an opponent\u2019s next move and respond to it with skill.\u00a0 Attorneys, as you can imagine, especially benefit from this kind of thinking skill.\r\n\r\n<strong>Finding Nuance<\/strong>.\u00a0 Moreover, philosophy can give us a more nuanced approach to discussing difficult questions.\u00a0 Instead of looking always to find the right answer, or to \u201cwin\u201d an argument, the philosopher recognizes some truth in almost all arguments.\u00a0 Life is rarely black and white. Reading and writing and thinking philosophically can help you learn to be comfortable with the ambiguity that so often attains to life\u2019s hard questions.\u00a0 Instead of judging a position as \u2018right\u2019 or \u2018wrong\u2019, philosophers learn to discuss the arguments for and against a position as either \u2018strongly argued\u2019 or \u2018weakly argued\u2019. In philosophy we are not so much looking for right or wrong, true or false kinds of answers, but instead well-argued responses that can generate new and better questions.\r\n\r\n<strong>Asking Better Questions.<\/strong>\u00a0 Philosophers differ about whether we can ever get to certainty or absolute truth, yet most agree we ought to move toward it.\u00a0 Philosophy is sometimes called \u201cthe art of asking questions,\u201d and as we\u2019ll see in the following section, this was a major skill exemplified by Socrates of ancient Athens.\u00a0 Questions are powerful.\u00a0 Questions challenge sometimes dearly held assumptions.\u00a0 There are many in your world who do not want you to ask questions: some teachers, some bosses, some religious leaders.\u00a0 Questions challenge authority.\u00a0 Questions open new avenues to the truth.\u00a0 Philosophy teaches us that easy answers are not the goal here, but new and better questions.\u00a0 That is the road toward truth.\r\n\r\nIf these pursuits intrigue you, then you are already doing philosophy.\u00a0 Philosophers have explored nearly every dimension of human experience.","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\n<p><strong>LEARNING OBJECTIVES<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>By the end of this section you will discover:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What wisdom means and why it is valued.<\/li>\n<li>How philosophy is largely about coming to better know yourself.<\/li>\n<li>How philosophy will help you evaluate the claims and beliefs you and others hold.<\/li>\n<li>How philosophy can make you a better thinker and defender of your beliefs.<\/li>\n<li>How philosophy can broaden your mind by raising the larger questions about life.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Wisdom.\u00a0<\/strong> Think of someone you know who is wise.\u00a0 What characteristics of behavior, speech, or demeanor convey that person\u2019s wisdom?\u00a0 It might be the wise words she shares, her calm presence in the midst of chaos, her keen insights into the nature of problems, her compassion for those around her.\u00a0 Where does her wisdom come from?\u00a0 You might say from life experience, but not all of those with long life come to wisdom.\u00a0 You might say she was born wise, but then weren\u2019t we all?\u00a0 Why did she retain that innate wisdom while so many have apparently not?\u00a0 Is it not the case that wisdom comes through practice?\u00a0 By a thousand conscious decisions to cultivate an inner sense of truth and virtue.\u00a0 If you agree with this, then you have a strong insight into the nature of philosophy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Knowing Thyself<\/strong>.\u00a0 When Socrates\u2019 friend and disciple Chaerephon made his pilgrimage to the Oracle of Delphi he likely saw there inscribed on the <em>pronaos <\/em>(forecourt) of the Temple of Apollo the words \u03b3\u03bd\u1ff6\u03b8\u03b9 \u03c3\u03b5\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03cc\u03bd, \u201cknow thyself.\u201d The first and most important claim we can make about philosophy is that it is about <em>you<\/em>.\u00a0 Yes, philosophy explores many questions: What is the truth? What is real? What is the best way to live?\u00a0 How can I be certain? et.al., but in the end, the study of philosophy is about coming to a better understanding of how <em>you<\/em> think, how <em>you <\/em>understand <em>your<\/em> place in the world, how <em>you<\/em> can lead a good life.\u00a0\u00a0 Philosophy (from the Greek \u03c6\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03c3\u03bf\u03c6\u03af\u03b1, \u201clove of wisdom\u201d) originally meant the passionate pursuit of a kind of inner understanding about the relationship between one\u2019s true self and one\u2019s world.\u00a0\u00a0 It still offers that today.\u00a0 First and foremost, philosophy is about self-discovery.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<h2 class=\"textbox__title\">Ponder if you will:<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p>Have there been any moments in your life that have given you an \u201caha!\u201d experience?\u00a0 Moments when you suddenly realized something about yourself that had always been part of you but only now have you been able to put words to it?<\/p>\n<p>Did any of these moments alter the direction of your life?\u00a0 How so?<\/p>\n<p>Do you believe that ideas can lead you to become a better person, to have a better life?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Assessing Claims<\/strong>.\u00a0 Yet philosophy offers other, more practical gifts as well.\u00a0 The study of philosophy can help you better assess the claims you encounter every day.\u00a0 We are being \u201cclaimed at\u201d constantly in this world.\u00a0 In fact, that sentence is itself a claim.\u00a0 Is it true or false?\u00a0 Is it biased in one direction or another?\u00a0 Is it self-evident or does it require more argumentation and evidence?\u00a0 These are the kinds of questions philosophers ask themselves when others are trying to persuade them one way or another.\u00a0 One branch of philosophy especially, Logic, can give us better thinking skills and aid us in determining which kinds of claims or arguments are strong and which are weak. You will find this an exceptionally useful tool for navigating this world of competing claims.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Making Strong Arguments<\/strong>.\u00a0 In addition to helping you better evaluate the arguments of others, the study of philosophy can also make you a better arguer, a better thinker.\u00a0 Logic will teach you how to build a strong, coherent and convincing argument when seeking to persuade others. One skill that helps in persuasion is the ability to anticipate the counterarguments you might receive from others and to address them before they are raised.\u00a0 Philosophers learn to recognize both the \u2018arguments for\u2019 and the \u2018arguments against\u2019 any claim and in that way are better able to anticipate an opponent\u2019s next move and respond to it with skill.\u00a0 Attorneys, as you can imagine, especially benefit from this kind of thinking skill.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Finding Nuance<\/strong>.\u00a0 Moreover, philosophy can give us a more nuanced approach to discussing difficult questions.\u00a0 Instead of looking always to find the right answer, or to \u201cwin\u201d an argument, the philosopher recognizes some truth in almost all arguments.\u00a0 Life is rarely black and white. Reading and writing and thinking philosophically can help you learn to be comfortable with the ambiguity that so often attains to life\u2019s hard questions.\u00a0 Instead of judging a position as \u2018right\u2019 or \u2018wrong\u2019, philosophers learn to discuss the arguments for and against a position as either \u2018strongly argued\u2019 or \u2018weakly argued\u2019. In philosophy we are not so much looking for right or wrong, true or false kinds of answers, but instead well-argued responses that can generate new and better questions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Asking Better Questions.<\/strong>\u00a0 Philosophers differ about whether we can ever get to certainty or absolute truth, yet most agree we ought to move toward it.\u00a0 Philosophy is sometimes called \u201cthe art of asking questions,\u201d and as we\u2019ll see in the following section, this was a major skill exemplified by Socrates of ancient Athens.\u00a0 Questions are powerful.\u00a0 Questions challenge sometimes dearly held assumptions.\u00a0 There are many in your world who do not want you to ask questions: some teachers, some bosses, some religious leaders.\u00a0 Questions challenge authority.\u00a0 Questions open new avenues to the truth.\u00a0 Philosophy teaches us that easy answers are not the goal here, but new and better questions.\u00a0 That is the road toward truth.<\/p>\n<p>If these pursuits intrigue you, then you are already doing philosophy.\u00a0 Philosophers have explored nearly every dimension of human experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"template":"","meta":{"pb_part_invisible":false,"pb_part_invisible_string":""},"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-2613","part","type-part","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/introtophilosophy\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/2613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/introtophilosophy\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/introtophilosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/part"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/introtophilosophy\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/2613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2880,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/introtophilosophy\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/2613\/revisions\/2880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/introtophilosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/introtophilosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=2613"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/introtophilosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=2613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}