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Why I Love Philosophy

 You love something when that something gives meaning to your life. And if I may say so philosophy is the most meaningful activity of life. Without philosophy who are we? We get a job to survive in the world, have kids, make money that we would never really get to use and the same routine in and out of office goes on for years until we grow weak and our infirmity prevents further activity. That is when we stop and start thinking what was the meaning of all this. Only when we realize we are mortal and things may end soon for us that we begin to take stock of life to see how our life has been.

The problem is all our life we have done something for the sake of gaining something else. But we have not done anything for the sake of itself. When we turn back we realize that our most happiest period has been our childhood where we have no achievements to show for yet we were happy.

Philosophy is meaningful because it breaks us from a mechanical pattern - it allows you to be more than just a machine. It gives you independence - you can think for yourself independently of what others say; not yielding to existing fashions if your considered belief is that they are wrong and neither you need to be bothered by their impractical sense of practicality. It gives you an intellectual and emotional discipline to think correctly and rationally even when your emotions tend to distort your perception - allowing you to keep your head even when others are losing theirs.

Philosophy is an attempt to understand the meaning and significance of life - why things are the way they are. You may fall short of the ideal of truth - but in philosophy the means are as important - if not more than - the end. It is no use to end up with the right position if you do not do so for the right reasons. It is not always about the destination it is also about the journey.

Philosophy also gives me the feeling of being in conversation with the best minds of the world. It is an ongoing dialogue which probably began with the beginning of mankind itself - to understand and comprehend the significance of our world - to which you get the chance of contributing. Being smitten with the love of philosophy is probably the best thing that can happen to someone. Philosophy is concern about a good life - a life of reason and proportion; a life where we can truly be happy.

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