September 2nd, 2022
“So I was looking at the long term / Three quarters and I quit school / Now I break hearts as a learning tool.”
– The Next Step, “Honesty & Happiness”
As that lyric accurately describes, I did not go to college for long. Even calling it “college” doesn’t feel right.
But because of my lack of formal education, I’ve spent long periods of my life focusing on subjects that I feel are important.
I’ve spent time on science, and time with religion, and writing and music and nature and animals, and right now I am in it deep with philosophy.
I often tell new people that there are no stupid questions.
A lot of philosophy is stupid. Like, very, very stupid, and I mean that objectively. But reading a paragraph of a bad idea that a person spent their entire life obsessed upon will give you perspective on humility, openness, and how to live your own.
In an era where we’re really focused on the meaning of privilege, it is no surprise to find that most of these philosophers had means; it’s been said an animal needs not to understand nature to survive it, and someone who isn’t fighting for survival generally has a lot of time to wonder about the nature of things.
Philosophy itself is often just a man: loud, narcissistic, bragging about knowing it all while actively knowing so little.
But I do have to give it something.
Religion and science are two distinct colors; they live in different spaces. Philosophy is a blending tool between them.
And the history of philosophy, the characters that populate this timeline of asking all the questions, even the stupid ones, is fascinating.
It’s good that they asked them, because I would have been too embarrassed to myself.
I’d love to hear about your favorite philosophers, philosophies, and stupid ideas in the comments.
The Den 