A work in progress and something I've been thinking about doing for a long time. A little over a year ago I posted this in my online journal:
"As a 'lover of wisdom' I suppose I am a philosopher in many ways. I think everyone should be and I think, to some extent, everyone is now and then. It's pleasant to think that everyone would constantly try to love wisdom and put it into practice but, sadly, this isn't the case as we have witnessed each day of our lives. The reason this topic comes up today is that I've been reading The Victorians by A.N. Wilson...
The book deals primarily with dissecting the people, politics, and philosophies of the Victorian Era and demonstrating where we in the 21st century have glamorized and misunderstood those in the 19th century. I mean, just say 'Victorian' and most people think of gorgeous dresses a la My Fair Lady and stiff upper lips and stiff morals washed down with a brisk cup of tea! But the Victorians were very much like we are today and faced many of the same social issues that threaten to upset our culture even now. I won't go into all of them but in it's own way it's kind of relieving to know that all the nonsense, especially on the political and social fronts, has happened before. Our ancestors survived their own cultural upheavals and we will too.
What struck me as I read the most recent chapter were the books on philosophy that were written at the time. Some of those philosophers are still cited today. Many of them were not formally educated men. They simply had some ideas, the motivation to write them down, and the means to get them published for public consumption. They were then hailed or reviled by the public and their words passed into history. This has inspired me to begin writing my own book of philosophy... I'd like to take specific topics and write short essays on them, collect them together, and call it a book. This actually sounds fun to me! Society has turned on a dime in many cases because of the writing of men with no education who fancy themselves 'philosophers', why not on the writing of a middle-aged housewife with some education who is also a 'lover of wisdom'? :D"
I would only add to those seminal thoughts that I'm not really looking to become the next great philosopher but rather I look forward to the challenge of articulating my own philosophical ideas for myself first and then for my children. If my thoughts resonate with others, very good. If not, that's okay too, but I believe it's important to know "why" I think the way I do. I think it's important for everyone, actually, because so many folks go through life blown by the winds of pop culture, never knowing "why" they think or do anything, and perhaps that will be one of the first philosophical ideas I tackle, but not now.
So, my ego is certainly engaged in that I think my thoughts are important -- important to me. It's always pleasant to find others who agree with me but that is not the goal here. The goal is simply to articulate and explore the "why" of life, and this is one place I'm choosing to do that.
