#17 Why can we Think but not Learn Philosophy?

In my History of Psychology class we read a book titled Sophie's World  and had to write a series of one-page responses of our opinions of learning philosophy and were asked if it's true that we can think philosophically easier than learning it.

Why can we Think but not Learn Philosophy?

            In Sophie’s World we find that she believes that you can’t learn philosophy but you can think philosophically. I agree with her; however, I do believe that you can still have philosophy taught to you. Having a teacher of philosophy can do a great deal of good in guiding a student’s journey in philosophy. According to Dictionary.com philosophy’s definition is: the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct (Dictionary.com). In this definition philosophy is described as an investigation which makes it seem to me as a more personal pursuit. Gaining that rational perspective of the meanings of life that can be hard to figure out on our own so I do believe that we can be taught philosophy, but after we are taught it is up to us to either accept or deny what we were taught.

One thing we have learned during this course is that philosophy evolved and thoughts changed; that happened because the students of the great philosophers listened to what their thoughts and reasoning for things were and then decided if they agreed or disagreed with them. If we still fully went with the philosophies of the past then how would we grow or progress? That evolution is vital to understanding and relating to what is happening in the world today. To be able to think philosophically rather than just trust and ride the bandwagon of someone else’s theory by learning or being taught philosophy opens so many more doors to the growth of one’s understanding of their environment and surroundings in their daily lives. We need to think philosophically to reach a better understanding, we live in a time where there are difference in opinions so we need to do our part and gain our own opinion and hopefully that opinion is educated.