Why You are a Philosopher

​Since you are reading, listening or viewing this
Why Team Weekly,
​I submit that you are a Philosopher.
Why?

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Why Pursue Wisdom?


We pursue wisdom to live a more optimal life, a life built on enhanced values and understanding that helps shape the beliefs passed on to us by our parents and through experience, to help us leave the world a better place for having been born, a life empowering us to work all things that were given to us into something that will serve us and others.
 
So how might we gain more wisdom?
It doesn’t take an Einstein to know that how we currently think is our greatest impediment to thinking differently. In fact, it was Einstein who said, “We can’t solve our problems with the same thinking that created them.” In my research on this topic, I came across an awesome quote:
“The best mind-altering drug is truth”
How cool is that? Philosophy could also be defined as pursuing truth.
But unfortunately, most of us can’t handle the truth, as Jack Nicholson so powerfully said in the movie
A Few Good Men.
 
Why can’t we handle the truth?
I think it’s because the truth can often end our life as we know it. Well, if the truth can end your life as you know it, isn’t that a life you want to end?
Just in case you answered no, I dare say, you answered no out of the fear of change, the loss of comfort; but sooner or later, you’ll have to face most if not all the truth. I absolutely believe the truth sets us free, and some must fight hard for freedom but, a life built on anything else must be guarded and defended which doesn’t feel like freedom to me. If only the ideas that aren’t true can die, why not expose them all the more to the light. It might mean a shift in your world view, but how can it not be better if based on what is true?
 
Notice how open or closed you may be to new information, potential wisdom that would further inform you and form your decisions. If you notice you have become hyper reactive, it is likely coming from a place of fear - fear that you’re wrong. Take solace that the truth is always true no matter what someone might think. The wise rarely become defensive and often have more influence as a result.
The truth does not need defending.
Never be afraid to learn, what is true does not need defense. Only what is not true needs defense to keep it alive. As the old saying goes, just because all the dogs are barking up a tree, doesn’t mean it’s the right tree.
 
So, let’s consider the definition of wisdom versus knowledge:
The dictionary defines wisdom as “the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting.” Knowledge, on the other hand, is “information gained through experience, reasoning, or acquaintance.”
Thus, Philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom that best utilizes knowledge.
Why are you a Philosopher?
Because you desire to put to best use what you have learned throughout your life. Otherwise you wouldn’t be a Why Team Member. This entire effort is built on the belief that
Together We Are Better; for both ourselves and for others.
 
It may be helpful to read the synonyms for wisdom from

Merriam-Webster:
Synonyms for wisdom:

Discernment, insight, perception, perceptiveness, perceptivity, sagaciousness, sagacity, sageness, sapience Thus, if you are a pursuer of wisdom, you are a Philosopher!
 
This week and beyond, consider being all the more open to learning new information, and how your wisdom will inform and integrate the new insights into your life. Stand tall and secure in your values knowing truth wins because all else has come to pass. The one who shouts the loudest is rarely the wisest.
 
Thank you for being a philosopher, in pursuit of wisdom, the world needs you now more than ever.
 
Make it a great week!

Steve Luckenbach