Philosophy and everyday life: how can it help us?

When we think about philosophy, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Perhaps we think that this is knowledge far from reality. Perhaps its criticality contributes to a part of society considering it little useful. In this article, we will go precisely against this idea, explaining in a simple and friendly way how philosophy can help us in everyday life.

The idea behind this is to bring readers closer to philosophy on the basis that it can be a practical discipline. In fact, many types of therapies are based on philosophical currents -behind them a whole vital perspective is articulated-.

Philosophy helps us think and thus see situations from various points of view.

Philosophy and extreme situations

Anyone who has not gone through an unmanageable situation or one that they could not deal with should cast the first stone. We have all gone through them, they are constituent parts of human life. Faced with the anguish or despair that can cause us, we seek to find meaning or some solution to the problem. It is here wherePhilosophy appears in the form of reflection, that is, through questions that lead us to think. It is always said that this discipline prioritizes questions and not so much answers.

One might think, why do I want more questions if what I’m looking for is a way out of the situation I find myself in? In response, we can say that philosophy with its questions opens up new perspectives from which to think about the problem. Eventually, with a change of point of view, I can come up with a possible solution. But, above all, it is important to highlight that, Although philosophical questions cannot give us an answer, they can be part of the solution.

Argumentation and knowledge

One of the main themes of philosophy is argumentation. This is understood as the issuance of judgments or opinions for or against certain issues, always based on logical arguments. What does this have to do with everyday life? All the time we are giving reasons for or against, whether in dialogues with other people, about preferences or beliefs and also when we want to convince someone of something.

Therefore, if argumentation is an everyday practice in our daily lives, it is advisable to exercise it in such a way that we are able to find contradictions in what they tell us or in what we think. In this way, we can reflect on ourselves and others about their opinions, reasons and beliefs.

The ancients said that exercise, understood as the putting into practice of philosophical teachings, was a very important part because it turns theory into habit. In this way, we can aspire to a way of life according to our thoughts, prioritizing action over saying. Which leads us to be more rational and sensible when speaking.

Traditionally, The greatest exponent (although not the only one) of this daily practice was Socrates. We know that refutation, that is, the method of finding contradictions in a set of arguments, was part of his daily life. Through dialogue, he generated knowledge in his interlocutor, since they could learn new things or change beliefs or opinions that were considered true.

Philosophy in everyday life

Many times we feel sadness, pain, anger, confusion or fears that can affect our daily lives. A possible solution or another point of view from which we can modify these emotions comes from the Stoics. Representatives of this school of thought postulate that there are realities that depend on us and others that do notand that, therefore, exceed us.

Some of the elements over which we do not have complete control are the following:

The body. The reputation we have. Our parents. Our friends. The past. The future. Death.

On the other hand, some of the elements over which we have the most control are thoughts, beliefs or convictions. This way, We usually get it right when we use our energy to work on our emotions, intervening on what we think, we think or we believe. With the rest, which is external, we can’t do anything. Once we understand this, the feelings that hindered our daily lives can stop doing so by concentrating on changing our interior.

Considering Cicero’s phrase, philosophy has its share of usefulness because it allows us to heal ourselves. By analyzing our thoughts and convictions, we can become conscious of what we did thoughtlessly in everyday life. In this way, we have the ability to change irrational beliefs and turn rational ones into a habit.

Philosophy is also a way to analyze ourselves and make changes in ourselves and in our lives.

The amazement in everyday life

The speed with which changes occur around us leaves us little room to think. Thus, one of the first motivations of philosophy is to encourage us to stop, giving us reinforcement, in the form of results, when we do.

Now, Why do we need to question ourselves or what surrounds us? A good answer is that, without questioning our daily thoughts, we would hardly be able to progress.

We are a product of the transformation that we ourselves make of humanity. Therefore, it is necessary that we take philosophy as a way to problematize reality, to dismantle those things that seem certain and closed, to transform them into things other than what they are.

As we see, Philosophy can no longer be considered as ancient and outdated knowledge. This view has been very far from reality considering what is stated in this article, don’t you think?

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