When I started learning philosophy, I thought it was meant for thinking about abstract ideas. But I was wrong. The main reason for learning philosophy is so that you can live better.
In my teen years, I was fascinated with philosophy.
My dad studied it at university (or he claims to have) and every time I overheard him discuss topics with his friends, I thought it was the most interesting thing ever.
They would talk about religion, the mind, and commentate on society and politics.
They would talk about what is right and what is wrong, and what is true and what is false.
These discussions made me think critically, even though I wasn’t active in them. I would just listen to each person’s point and analyze it in my head.
It was fun and entertaining.
Thus, when I got into university, I had to take a couple of philosophy courses.
They were interesting and I learned a lot. But I didn’t really know what the point of learning that stuff was.
How was this abstract knowledge going to help me in the real world? How was it going to help me with my job or life?
I couldn’t figure out an answer, so I put my philosophical studies to the side. I stopped signing up for philosophy courses.
I did, however, read philosophy articles online and books every now and then when I felt like reading that stuff.
But I never really made anything of them -it was just something to think about leisurely.
My Introduction to Stoicism
But one day, I came across a blog post (or was it a YouTube video?) on Stoicism from Tim Ferriss.
He talked about how this philosophy helped him live a better life.
I read it (or watched it) and it was interesting to me. The article (or video) gave actionable advice that I could apply to my life.
But at that time, I felt that stoicism –or the guidance from that piece of content- was similar to Buddhism and the things I learned there.
It also felt like material that I could get from self-help books, which were easier to read.
So, I put Stoicism aside and never really thought anything of it.
But during the pandemic in 2020, Ryan Holiday’s Stillness is the Key went on sale for a buck or so on the Kindle. It sounded interesting based on the book description so I bought it (you can read my review here).
As I read it, I noticed that even though some of the stuff is similar to Buddhism, a lot isn’t, and there was a lot I can learn from it.
It was also a philosophy book that was easy to grasp.
So, after I finished this book, I started to watch his YouTube videos and signed up for his daily newsletter. I eventually bought more of his books as well.
I learned a lot from them. I learned how to live a good life and how to not let things get to me.
And this is what studying philosophy is meant to do.
It’s supposed to teach you how to live and how to be a good person –not about the existence of free will or how to argue (though that stuff is fun to think about).
As Seneca puts it in Moral Letters:
“Philosophy isn’t a parlor trick or made for show. It’s not concerned with words, but with facts. It’s not employed for some pleasure before the day is spent, or to relieve the uneasiness of our leisure. It shapes and builds up the soul, it gives order to life, guides action, shows what should and shouldn’t be done—it sits at the rudder steering our course as we vacillate in uncertainties. Without it, no one can live without fear or free from care. Countless things happen every hour that require advice, and such advice is to be sought out in philosophy.”
– Seneca, Moral Letters, 16.3
Seneca, if you don’t know, is a legendary Stoic philosopher with a fascinating story.
Final Thoughts
Philosophy is fun and entertaining.
But the fun and entertaining stuff aren’t what you should be focused on.
You should be using philosophy to be a better and happier person.
So, if you want to live a better life, start studying philosophy and applying the teachings to your daily life.