How to Become a Philosopher -- Philosophy as Art and Science

(You might be interested in this article, as well)

(For more meta-philosophy material, here are some articles:

https://www.philosocom.com/post/a-short-guide-to-philosophy

https://www.philosocom.com/post/philosophers-and-relevancy)

***********************

Philosophy is a unique branch in the arts and humanities not only because it originally started as a science but also because nowadays it can be considered both a science and an art. As a science, it is a method for finding truth via logical reasoning, and as an art, it is a skill that can be mastered; a skill called philosophizing.

What I find great about philosophy is that anyone can become a philosopher as long as they are willing to devote much of their time to thinking about and contemplating the deeper aspects of existence. Unlike other fields, you don't need a degree or any kind of certificate in order to become a philosopher.

You don't even have to attend university in order to be good at philosophy. All you need is your mind, your time, and your rationality. From this perspective, anyone who is capable of deep thinking can become a philosopher, as philosophy is simply this: deep thinking about deep stuff in order to find or reveal the hidden truths of this existence.

That is where philosophy is split into two parts: the study of others' work, and the development of your own work as a philosopher. When the first is applied, you simply increase your education about something that isn't yours, but when it comes to the second half, it is something that you must develop either on your own or through discussions with others.

Philosophy isn't necessarily about what is objective and what is subjective; it is only about the truth, regardless of its nature. Truths don't have to be universal in order to exist as truths, and "subjective truths" are nonetheless still things that could be applied to more than one person, thus making it not completely a work of "fiction", or of something that has no relevance to its existence.

Besides, due to how many philosophers reach different conclusions, it is already hard to objectively define what is true and what is not, even though that is the very purpose of philosophy. Regardless of how much the truths you find touch others and reality, not all philosophers will agree with you, and that's okay.

In fact, that's how philosophy is expressed as a science. Like science, philosophy isn't perfect or "ultimate". It is ever-growing, ever-developing, and in order for this process to continue, there must be controversy, and skepticism, simply because these values encourage further thinking and, thus, further development of the material at hand, as layered down by other philosophers.

What philosophy isn't, is a religion. Religion can be described as theistic philosophy, as I mentioned in an article about religion, but as a science, philosophy isn't about axioms or accepting principles that are beyond our understanding. Ideologies or opinions are just theories, if we regard philosophy to be a science. Their subjectivity does not matter. What matters is their potential to better understand reality.

If you happen to believe in God and you are told that "God works in mysterious ways", if you are a true philosopher, that answer will not satisfy you. Theoretically, religion is about embracing what one doesn't know, while the philosopher is discontent, with the fact that they do not know. Because there is uncertainty in religion, there is the word "faith" as a substitute for not knowing for sure. The philosopher is not faithful, for he seeks knowledge and truth, not faith and confidence about things that are not known to them for certain. They seek to see beyond the belief, the opinion, as they can blind. Again, these are just theories.

All you need to be a philosopher is a rational human being who is aware of logical fallacies, is an inquisitive person, is willing to publicly criticize, and be an original thinker. What does it mean to be an "original thinker"? After all, we're all "thinkers" because we all think.

When you are a philosopher, however, you do not just think; you think deeply, and by deeply, I mean that you actually sit (or stand) and consciously ask yourself questions about subjects you wouldn't otherwise ask yourself. Philosophy is, pretty much, the art of being deep and the science of reaching truth by being a very deep thinker.

You need to come up with ideas, mention problems in existing systems, point out logical fallacies, and so on. If there's something I recommend for you to study as a philosopher, it's at least some fallacies in logic that allegedly grant legitimacy for things to be widely accepted. When you are a philosopher, you become aware that logic is something to be taught and that different people have different capacities for logic.

Since logic is the main force of philosophy, you must strive to become the most logical person you can be and detect fallacies on the go as you study reality.

I myself took a course online on logical fallacies. If we are to use an analogy, a philosopher's logical thinking is like a wizard's mana, or magic. It is the lifeforce you use to create arguments, theories, and ideas about this existence, and the less of it you have, the more unstable those arguments, theories, and ideas will be in terms of being easily brought into falsehood by other philosophers.

I will (soon) end this article by saying this: a philosopher is not a higher being. Socrates, the father of Western philosophy, was a stonemason, and Diogenes, one of the Greek philosophers, was a homeless eccentric who laughed at Alexander the Great's desire for conquest as the condition of his happiness. If we are to use the analogy I used in the previous paragraph, a philosopher is a "wizard", but not the kind that can necessarily bend the world to his or her will; they are an intellectually oriented person who uses logic for their "spells", with these "spells" being philosophizing.

I hope I made it clear, because there isn't necessarily any divinity in being a philosopher, especially if you choose the physicalist path and believe that everything that truly exists must be material. When some people think of a philosopher, they think of someone who is otherworldly, while philosophy is all about knowing more about THIS world, not other "worlds" necessarily. People choose to become philosophers, therefore, to extend their knowledge of existence and be one step away from ignorance.

Another note, if you will: There is no guarantee that you'll be a good or successful philosopher. Just as there is no justification for you to be a good and popular musician. That's where the art comes in -- the art of being a more rational person, as a way to better understand existence, using your mind as the primary source of information, criticism, and intellectual innovation (thinking about new insights and possibilities).

Who is a philosopher? They are deep thinkers, and depth is something that requires skill. Once that skill has been attained and honed, one can use their deep thinking as a method to understand things better than other people, without necessarily making them better or "holier" than other people.

This is the scientific part of philosophy -- the part when you use your brain as a method for attaining and seeking truth. Beyond that, I'm afraid, contemporary philosophy has been stripped of the scientific nature it once had, and thus is largely a topic of the humanities.