Why Am I Here: A Reflective Approach to Philosophy as a Way of Life
WHY AM I HERE?:
A REFLECTIVE APPROACH TO PHILOSOPHY AS A WAY OF LIFE
IN THE ECLECTIC LIGHT OF
ANCIENT WESTERN THOUGHT AND
VIKTOR E. FRANKL’S MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING
CHAPTER 1
This world is an unfinished story. Everything tells more than it can listen to; and the unheard remains in silence which listens patiently and responds silently. The rise of this age of technology and information has broadened our horizons of experience in and encounter with the world. Dating millions of years ago, archeological discoveries are not new to children born five years ago. Friendship is now a world-wide circle; one gets acquainted with another from the other side of the world in just few clicks. Different political ideals and strategies are adapted to cater to the political needs of people, never mind the traditional corruption. The boom in tourism industry manifests a macrocosmic culture-sharing. What appears to be a local event becomes a part of the global scene and thus, an already world-wide phenomenon through the seemingly pervasive mass media. Indeed, this world has been cultivated drastically for a comparison of the past and the now is available to us; with this, we have a panoramic view of the world’s development. This change is so inevitable that we can say with tradition: “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Developments are because they are needed; we invent things because this is a way we respond to our present situations; and we cannot escape from such realities because reality is a necessity. But we must not forget that necessity is not a once-and-for-all birthday celebration for all inventions. If that were so, Socrates and Confucius would have had philosophical dialogues via Skype. But no. That is not the reality we used to know; it is some sort of the wildest hypothetical hallucinations we can ever imagine. Rather, inventions are gradually developed as responses to different situations. Who then is held responsible? I suggest it is man. We are
A REFLECTIVE APPROACH TO PHILOSOPHY AS A WAY OF LIFE
IN THE ECLECTIC LIGHT OF
ANCIENT WESTERN THOUGHT AND
VIKTOR E. FRANKL’S MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING
CHAPTER 1
This world is an unfinished story. Everything tells more than it can listen to; and the unheard remains in silence which listens patiently and responds silently. The rise of this age of technology and information has broadened our horizons of experience in and encounter with the world. Dating millions of years ago, archeological discoveries are not new to children born five years ago. Friendship is now a world-wide circle; one gets acquainted with another from the other side of the world in just few clicks. Different political ideals and strategies are adapted to cater to the political needs of people, never mind the traditional corruption. The boom in tourism industry manifests a macrocosmic culture-sharing. What appears to be a local event becomes a part of the global scene and thus, an already world-wide phenomenon through the seemingly pervasive mass media. Indeed, this world has been cultivated drastically for a comparison of the past and the now is available to us; with this, we have a panoramic view of the world’s development. This change is so inevitable that we can say with tradition: “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Developments are because they are needed; we invent things because this is a way we respond to our present situations; and we cannot escape from such realities because reality is a necessity. But we must not forget that necessity is not a once-and-for-all birthday celebration for all inventions. If that were so, Socrates and Confucius would have had philosophical dialogues via Skype. But no. That is not the reality we used to know; it is some sort of the wildest hypothetical hallucinations we can ever imagine. Rather, inventions are gradually developed as responses to different situations. Who then is held responsible? I suggest it is man. We are