“We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”
(Shakespeare)
Does this sentence make you think? What does it make you think about? Shakespeare was a dreamer, and some say he was a philosopher too. In this sentence he tells us that our lives are short but we can think up big and important ideas in that short time.
The two Greek words – “philo”, which means love and “sophia”, which means wisdom are the beginnings of the word we use today; Philosophy, the love of wisdom.
Most people have a philosophy on life. Everybody has an idea of what is right and what is wrong, and why things are the way they are, and who they are and who to trust. A lot of people believe somebody else’s philosophy. That person may be a religious or political leader, or anybody you look up to. Some people have their own philosophy on life which might be a mixture of theories. Others are philosophers; people who want to know the truth about life for themselves and spend their time studying, thinking and asking questions.
One of the earliest Eastern philosophies was Taoism, which came from China. We are all aware of the yin and yang halves of the universe – nothing can exist without its opposite. Another great eastern philosophy is Buddhism, which is a religion and also a system of beliefs which help us to understand ourselves and others better. One branch of western philosophy, Existentialism, is very similar to Buddhist ideas. Both ask questions about what really exists in life, and help us to decide what is important.
The first western philosophers lived in Greece. They encouraged people to find their own answers to questions about life instead of believing the Gods did everything. Socrates was the most famous of these. He is one of the most famous philosophers in the world, yet he said ‘one thing I know and that is that I know nothing.’ This is why he never wrote or lectured. He only discussed. He did not believe he could tell anybody anything, that it was better to encourage individual thinking.
Today philosophers are still encouraging people to think. Schools in some countries teach philosophy to children. Reading books written by old philosophers can be difficult because the language is from the past. So stories are used to help schoolchildren make their own decisions about what is right and wrong and think about the best way to solve problems.
Why do we need philosophy? There are plenty of people who think that killing animals is cruel, but eating animals is fine. If you are one of these people, you should ask yourself why. Why is killing animals cruel? Why is it okay to eat animals? You might find that the answer to each question is very different and you could have an argument by yourself using your own ideas! Go on and argue - you will understand more about what you believe. You will begin to understand the subject more deeply. And this helps you to feel comfortable with it. And you might change something or you might not. When we ask ourselves questions, we start to understand ourselves and our lives, and it’s up to us to make changes or not. If the ideas in your head agree, this means you have integrity. What you say and what you do are the same. Everyone respects someone who has integrity!
By thinking and questioning, we can understand more and maybe prevent problems caused by misunderstanding. But philosophy can also cause problems and conflict when people don’t agree. When one group of people choose one philosophy to believe and another group of people choose a different philosophy, when they need to think or make a decision together, they start trying to change each other instead of working together on bigger ideas about life.
So when you have some spare time, ask yourself the following philosophical questions:
Does the world own us or do we own the world?
Which is more important, humans or stars?
If a tree falls where nobody can hear it, does it make a sound?
And the Zen Buddist riddle: What is the sound of one hand clapping?
译文:
哲学
组成我们的料子也就是那梦幻的料子;我们的短暂的一生,前后都环绕在酣睡之中-- 莎士比亚
大多数人都有他们的生活哲学，每个人都能辨别是非，他们知道为什么事情是这样的，他们是谁以及他们能够信任谁。另外一些人相信他人的哲学。可能是宗教或政治领袖，或者你所景仰的任何人。有些人的生活哲学是把、一系列理论的综合。还有些哲人是想知道生活真相的人，他们穷其一生思考，讨论，并且提出问题。
最早的东方哲学之一是来自中国的道教，我们都意识到宇宙中阴阳对半的存在，凡事都是相对存在的。另一个伟大的东方哲学是佛教，它既是一种信仰，也是一个信仰体系，帮助我们更好的了解自身和他人。存在主义作为西方哲学的一个分支，和佛教的观念十分相似。他们都讨论了什么是真正存在于我们生命之中的，并帮助我们了解到什么对我们来说是重要的。
最初的西方哲学家来自希腊，他们让人们自己寻找人生问题的答案，而不是相信上帝创造了一切。苏格拉底是其中最有名的一位，也是世界著名的哲学家之一。但是他说：我唯一所知的就是我一无所知。这就是为什么他从不写作或讲座，他只与人们讨论。他不相信他能告诉人们任何事情，他认为鼓励人们思考来得更好。
如今，哲学依然启发人们思考。许多学校都开设了哲学课，先哲们的著作因为使用的语言古老而读起来有点困难，所以现在的哲学课用故事去告诉孩子们什么是好什么是坏，并让他们想出解决问题的最佳办法。
为什么我们需要哲学？有很多人认为将动物杀死是残忍的，但把动物吃进肚子却能够容忍。如果你也属于这类人，你要问问你自己为什么。为何杀害动物是残忍的，但吃动物就可以容忍呢？你也许发现每个问题的答案都不尽相同，然后你可以用你自己的观点和自己辩论一番！不断地辩论，你就会愈发明白你的信仰。你会对讨论的话题了解的更深入，这点会让你自己感到舒服。随后你也许会为之改变一些。当我们开始向自己发问时，我们便开始理解自己和自己的生活，但是否需要改变是取决于我们自己的。如果你脑中的思想互相认同，说明你已经拥有了完整性。你所说的与你所做的相一致。每个人都敬重这样言行一致的人！
通过思考和质疑，我们理解得更多，而且也许可以防止误解的产生。但在人们争论不休的时候，哲学思想也会产生问题。一群人信仰这一种哲学，另一群人信仰不同的一种哲学，当他们需要思考或一起做决定时，他们便试图改变对方，而不是一起合作去解决更多人生的问题。
所以当你空闲时，问问自己以下几个哲学问题吧：
是世界拥有我们还是我们拥有世界？
当一棵树在没有人能听见声音的地方倒下了，它会发出声音吗？
以及禅宗的谜语，一只手击掌会是什么声音？