Philosophy

phil•oso•phy noun
1 [U] the study of the nature and meaning of the universe and of human life: moral philosophy the philosophy of science a professor of philosophy a degree in philosophy
2 [C] a particular set or system of beliefs resulting from the search for knowledge about life and the universe: the philosophy of Jung the development of different philosophies
3 [C] a set of beliefs or an attitude to life that guides sb’s behaviour: Her philosophy of life is to take every opportunity that presents itself.

I studied philosophy when I was in university.

I have been having years of hard time formulating a sincere, yet snappy answer that can be spoken in 10 seconds, about what I did in university.

At times I gave examples. It's a study on "whether god exists", "what makes one thing true and real", "what is the meaning of life" etc. People seemed to be satisfied with the "god" example more, but I personally think that it's the worst one.

Another way of talking about it would be giving a brief introduction on the so called three major streams of philosophical study, namely, metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. For the first few times, I started with metaphysics and tried to end with ethics. But people's concentration usually couldn't make it to even the middle of epistemology.

I adjusted my strategy later, and started with ethics instead. It sounded better, but then reducing philosophy to a study of practical ethics is the last thing I feel like doing.

Studying philosophy in university is having a bunch of kidults talking about things in difficult terms. They pride themselves on having thought about things that common people wouldn't care, or don't have the intelligence to think about. But in reality, any normal adults think about those great things one time or another in their lives.

Thinking about things in a philosophical attitude is another thing.

You suspend all your prejudice, challenge the accepted grounds, and think independently for yourself. You ask a specific and peculiar question of why things are as such but not otherwise. And you do not accept what others offered as answer. You work it out on your own.

It is misleading to say that philosophy is about the meaning of life and the world, and that it teaches you how to lead a fulfilling and meaningful life, nor how to build a better society.

It makes people think that books on philosophy are user manuals of life and world.

There is no user manual for life and world, not even god can write one.

But answering problems of life and world requires a philosophical attitude. You find an answer for yourself, and not accepting the accepted.

When people ask me what philosophy is about nowadays, I still resort to the "god" example.