Why Philosophy?

My Journey Into Philosophy

In recent years, I have been an avid student of philosophical literature (contemporary and historical). It all started in the Winter of 2015.--I had recently found the Lord (properly, the Lord found me). I had received the Holy Ghost, but for some odd reason I had dealt with doubts about my faith for approximately a month. It may be because I was "exposed" to existentialist thought in my high school English class when reading Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. I didn't know how to answer the challenges of 20th century Existentialism. I was spiritually equipped (I began praying more during this time), but I was intellectually defenseless. I would be able to pray for hours a day, but seemingly open-ended questions haunted my mind every one of those days.

The endless unanswered questions all reached their climax when I decided that if I had not done my research, then my conscience would no longer be comfortable with attending church, having social gatherings with Christians, and eventually marrying a Christian woman. I had to make up my mind. I went on Google and searched up a bunch of information from various scholars who already researched and argued on topics that had been bothering my intellect. Topics ranged from "Is it likely that God exists?", "Was biological life created or spontaneously generated?" to "Are the Five Books of Moses historically accurate?", "Did Jesus historically rise from the dead?", "Are the Gospels historically reliable?", and "What is truth?"

After a season of skepticism, I gained answers for essential questions I had about my Christian faith. Somehow, throughout my season of doubt, I still held onto Christianity because in my darkest and bitterest moments, I felt as if the Holy Ghost was still leading my path. There had to be reason to back up what was established revelation. If God's Word posits that believers have testimony to truth by the Holy Ghost (1 John 5:6), then what more shall urge us to find reasons for why that is so? From then on, I began to see philosophical tools as essential for a healthy Christian worldview as soon as I started my quest for truth.

That following junior year of high school, I enrolled in an elective college-prep Philosophy course. This course lasted for two years. Throughout those two years, I studied one full school year on Ethics and Platonic thought and another year on Metaphysics and Epistemology. This course introduced me to very influential philosophical topics that affect (in "small" and "large" ways) all people around the globe today.

A Petition

My petition for other believers of Christ who read this blog is this: "philosophy is compatible with faith." There should be no worry to venture off into the journey of philosophy. The main thing you need to know is what we mean by "philosophy." Am I speaking of a specific tradition that we must adhere to blindly? No. Am I talking about having a skeptical viewpoint where "truth" is impossible and is a futile task? Absolutely not.

When I tell you "philosophy" I am merely speaking about "the love of wisdom." "Doing philosophy" is the process whereby we ask questions that are then answered a priori (lit. means: "something known apart from experience") and a posteriori (lit. means: "something known based on experience"). Since we know what philosophy "is" and what it "does", then "why do philosophy?"

Two Purposes of Philosophy

There are two main historical lines of thought that seek to answer why persons should be studying philosophy. I will nomenclature both of these understandings as the mortality thesis and the nature thesis. Both of these theses have their origination in Plato's works Phaedo (mortality thesis) and Theaetetus (nature thesis). The mortality thesis suggests how finite and feeble human life is. Since our lives are finite and feeble, it is inevitable that we will die. Philosophy in this context is a pursuit that answers our life's questions before we die. For Plato, when we do philosophy, we prepare our souls to be united by that which we long for: wisdom and knowledge. We lose our fear of death and learn to live well.

The nature thesis suggests how naturally curious humans are. By nature, we have an innate curiosity for truth. Plato also describes this view in his work Theaetetus. Our innate curiosity leads us to inquire the "big questions" of life. Judging by the conclusions of these two theses, we can deduce that philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge in order to flourish as a human.

Faith & Understanding

Now that I gave a basic introduction to the purposes of philosophy, I hope you can see why philosophy as an intellectual activity is not hostile to faith in God. Indeed, we can observe that philosophy is a vehicle for worldviews, and if used correctly, it may mature the worldviews of those that believe in God. The bigger issue is this: how do we do philosophy?