What do you see as the ultimate goal of philosophy? Do you think that this goal is in line with biblical goals? Why or why not? Use Scripture to defend your point.
Do you think Socrates demonstrated a biblical way of thinking to some degree? Why or why not?
Miller notes that philosophers agree that reason has its limits. What is something that cannot be reasoned? Why not?
How can philosophy help us in a practical way?
The curiosity of the human race to know the reality of objects, utilizing multiple tools to solve various problems, and pondering the real goal of life goes back to her creation era. The divine guidance in the form of multiple religions aroused from time to time to fulfill humanity’s needs. The cherishing of this curiosity with solutions led to various disciplines of knowledge, and philosophy is leading one in this regard. Dealing with the nature of knowledge, the reality of objects and the existence of life has covered multiple evolutionary eras to find its ultimate goal (Orensanz, 2020). The ultimate goal of philosophy hit the wall with the love of wisdom, and by utilizing it as a tool, it ends to learn the art of living the best purposeful life on earth (Petrovic, 2020).
However, to find a good purposeful life, philosophy has to solve multiple problems through wisdom as an ultimate goal. Critical thinking, logical reasoning, clear dissemination of information, and logical analysis are some vital parameters. The probing of a solution to any problem starts with a question and leads to possible perfect truth as an ultimate goal of philosophy. The ultimate goal of philosophy and its way is Biblical. As a Bible verse states: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). Similarly, the Bible declares to lead a good, contented, and silent (peaceful) life by hard work (mental and physical) as a great purpose, and philosophy also bears the same ultimate goal in her real essence. So, a Scripture of the Bible states, “…make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you” (1 Thessalonians 4:11).
Besides that, various scholars and philosophers had thinking patterns to solve multiple life problems in their respective eras in the past. For example, Socrates has left ineffaceable imprints in the history of humanity. Socrates has demonstrated a biblical way of thinking to some degree. Like Bible, he challenged conventional beliefs based on questions and reasoning by utilizing the wisdom and vigorous thinking. His main emphasis was on cultivating an inquiring environment decorated with question, reason, and logical analysis (Van et al., 2017). The technique to emphasize self-truth is still in use in today’s life. He used to examine life problems on a thinking and reasoning basis to know the truth. His thinking approach was biblical as a scripture of the Bible goes as “the unexamined life is not worth living” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
Moreover, the central entity in philosophy is the reason. And various philosophers and scholars have given their niche in this regard. For example, a nineteenth-century Irish poet and novelist, Thomas Miller, noticed that philosophers agree about the limits of reason. It is a unanimously proven fact by philosophers that reason has its limitations (Caitano & Serva, 2020). The reason is a comprehensive activity involving multiple steps like evidence selection, hypothesis, testing, and logical analysis. There is something that cannot be reasoned because the unique capacity of the reason for anything varies from person to person, i.e., cause of happiness and grief. Another shortcoming of the reason is to lead to unreasonable conclusions. It is because the limitation of the wisdom of humanity is not finalized and perfect. Human knowledge cannot hold the complete understanding of divine power and the Almighty. So it cannot be reasoned and can’t be proved in all His attributes (Hewitt, 2020). So reason cannot be given to something which is beyond the full capacity of human wisdom and cannot be measured through time and space attributes.
Contrary to the limitations of reason, philosophy can help humanity in so many practical ways, especially in solving our daily life’s general problems. It can enhance the compatibility of social life by strengthening the communication and interpersonal skills of humans. Philosophy demonstrates a purposeful life by empowering persuasive skills and enlightening minds to ponder. It can provide several new destinations to those paths, which are usually considered blocked ones. Philosophy can cherish humans by giving them the ultimate goal of life and also guiding them on the possible ways to tread on the tool of wisdom and thinking. Finally, it can bestow a sense of responsibility and self-accountability (Kumagai & Black, 2018).
Finally, it can be concluded that the human generation has been confronting multiple problems since its creation on this planet. Alongside divine guidance, human wisdom and logical thinking helped him to get rid of hurdles in the form of philosophy. It has a Biblical pattern, and various philosophers served humanity on the same notion. Having limitations of reason, Philosophy has helped us in numerous practical ways. The need for the hour is to implement them in our daily lives to make this world a prosperous one.
References
Caitano, D. O., & Serva, M. (2020). The limits of reason: deliberation and phronesis of correctional officers. Cadernos EBAPE. BR, 18(SPE), 821-835.
Hewitt, S. (2020). God Beyond Words. In Negative Theology and Philosophical Analysis (pp. 1-18). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Kumagai, K., & Black, L. J. (2018). Teaching philosophy in practice: Developing compatibility through personal practical knowledge. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 8(2), 464-472.
Orensanz, M. (2020). Strange Forms of Argumentation: On Meillassoux’s Definition of Philosophy. Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy, 16(1), 271-297.
Petrovic, R. (2020). PHILOSOPHY AS A PRACTICE OF A WISE LIFE. Educația Plus, 26(1), 35-43.
Van Seggelen–Damen, I. C., Van Hezewijk, R., Helsdingen, A. S., & Wopereis, I. G. (2017). Reflection: A socratic approach. Theory & psychology, 27(6), 793-814.
