I was in a meeting the other day and the term “maintenance philosophy” was used. That got me to thinking about philosophy in general. I remember taking a philosophy course in school and I remember it didn’t make much sense to me. I also remember taking a course on the history of science and it seems that there often wasn’t a clear cut line between the early philosophers and scientists — maybe there still isn’t. Seems like all the great minds, both scientists and philosophers, have always grappled with questions like, Who am I? Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where am I going?
Actually, these questions are all part of a bigger question — how is the best way to live? All sorts of people have pondered the best way to live just about forever, but recently the amount of information available to us has made it difficult to even think about it, much less philosophize about it.
Whether we realize it or not, we all have our own personal philosophy or our own “rules of life.” These rules, and we all have them, are based on our environment, our upbringing, and our own personal beliefs. Every day we make decisions based on our own set of rules. We decide what to wear, what to eat, what jobs to do, whether to take an umbrella when we go out — all sorts of things. These decisions are are determined by your rules of life — your personal philosophy.
Your personal philosophy, whether you can articulate it or not, is what it is. Your beliefs have been formed and some of them can and do change and co-exist with all your other beliefs within that philosophy. A philosophy is a way of life. I noted earlier that the amount of information readily available to us has changed the way we approach things. Today, it’s so much easier to just google it than to think about it. Maybe should all do a little less googling and a little more thinking….
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