ON Philosophy

“Wisdom is the most important thing, so acquire wisdom, And with all you acquire, acquire understanding.” - Proverbs 4:7.

I’ve been reading philosophy this past summer and listening to philosophy podcasts lately. One philosophy that I’ve long been attracted to is Stoicism. I am currently reading The Discourses by Epictetus and will probably go into reading something from Marcus Aurelius after finishing that. I’m also reading Jung as well, though technically he is psychology. I have a large tomb from Freud that is still on my TBR pile. Much of these ideas can help any writer become a better one.

Not all philosophy is appealing to me. The Old Ones I plan to read - Augustine, Plato, Socrates, Zeno (if I can even find anything from him) I plan to read. Also, I am currently listening to a lecture series on Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy by Dr. Corey Oleson. There are some philosophies that I have thought of as poisonous to Western society (Nietzche, Kant, Voltaire, Foucault) which I am in no hurry to read. I’m not saying that I will never read them but I wouldn’t regard it as a great loss if I never get around to them.

This is a series I plan to write about from time to time as I come to some revelation or if I want to work through my thoughts on what I read on this blog. Of course, there is also Biblical philosophy, though technically, that would more about theology. But there is a kind of philosophy in the Bible as well. After all, philosophy is a kind of wisdom about the world and the heavens. Wordly wisdom, or human wisdom is often in conflict with Godly wisdom in some way or another. But that doesn’t mean something can’t be learnt from such wisdom. I have found Stoicism to be quite appealing, especially in these turbulent and anxiety-riddled times. So far, from what I am learning from it, at its most basic sense, the Stoic does not worry about the forces and things beyond his control. He is concerned with living a life of Virtue and the things he can control and one of those things is getting his emotions and feelings under the dominion of his rational mind. Strict self-control and discipline, unto the point where he no longer fears Death. I think there is wisdom in thinking about Life in these terms.

And my favorite idea about the definition of wisdom comes from the Bible - “The Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.” - Proverbs 9:10. Happy Reading.