Ask HN: Learning about philosophy

> The point of philosophy is to teach you how to think so you can formulate your own answer.

This canard has been raised several times in this thread. Yes, who will teach the physicists how to think? Who will teach the engineers how to put two and two together?

> Apparently you expect everything to be 1+1=2, which really is kind of sad.

If by this you mean I reject irrational thought, then yes, guilty as charged. This has nothing to do with my views on philosophy, though. Philosophy is a type of rational inquiry.

> Science seems to have ruined you.

Or perhaps math has ruined me, expecting everything to be 1+1=2? But isn't math an extension of logic, and logic a part of philosophy? Maybe philosophy has ruined me.

The best way to learn about philosophy is to take a good introductory course?

Here's Socrates answers:

> "what should I do with my life?"

Try to improve body and spirit. Shape and obey the rules of he society you live in, be thankful and respectful of the liberties society has produced. Obey the laws of the city above everything else. Live by them, die by them.

> "what is the purpose of my life or of the world?"

The meaning of life is to reach happiness. To do, one most attain knowledge. Knowledge is virtue.

> - "should I help someone in need or help myself?"

You should help someone in need of help, because this way you help your spirit and the society (in Socrates parlance, you help the "city/neighbourhood/etc".) Acting in a selfish way will hurt your soul.

> - "what subject (including mathematical or scientific subject) should I study or work on?"

You should study them all, do your best to gain knowledge because knowledge is virtue. Know thyself, realise you know nothing.

> - "how should we structure our society?"

See Plato's "Republic", it's pretty detailed. Of course is utopian yet many ideas could be adopted easily.

> - "how should we as a society or as individuals spend our money?"

Wisely :-)

I could make another such list for Aristotle, Spinoza or Nietzsche and they'll most likely collide. So my take is that what you're looking for is a "rulebook" to tell you that Nietzsche (or Gorgias in Plato's dialogues) is right and Socrates is wrong.

If that's what you're looking then you're out of luck, not only in philosophy which is the highest form of education IMO but in science too, as science is equally ambiguous. There's literally NOTHING out there that can definitely prove that 2+2=4.

IMO philosophy guides someone from the land of certainty to the land of uncertainty where he can make his own choices and decide what kind of person one wants/needs to be.

While we are shaped by our culture to a long extend, philosophy can help us choose the answers to these questions. Then we are able to accept the good and the bad part of our choices and live a life without remorse, second thoughts and regrets.

I suggest not wasting your time reading surveys of general philosophy or taking some sort of 'intro' course in comparative philosophy. That's an academic route, and probably won't lead you anywhere. Unfortunately, it's likely the most common response you'll get here.

I'd start by asking yourself a simple question: who do you admire most? Look at what values and 'philosophy' they have. Learn more about what's behind them. Dig deeper. There is no particular path here; you're asking an age-old question that doesn't have a clear answer. Your values are the root of any 'philosophy' you might have. Get clear about your values, then look around.

_Orthodoxy_ is his account for how he came to Christianity by constructing his own philosophy because it turned out that his philosophy was an ad hoc, informally-specified implementation of half of Christianity's philosophy ... so, "yes"?