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How often, as children, did we hear the parental retort, “because I say so?” How frustrating for a young inquisitive mind to be told something that demands acceptance just because our superiors tell us. I would imagine also, that this acceptance by our parents is from a regressing line of truths from predecessors. So does this mean that nothing should be accepted unless we subject it to rigorous testing? How happy are we to trust that another is the purveyor of truth? Am I vegetarian now because I was raised on a vegetarian diet and was taught the benefits of such a way of life for myself and the planet? The answer is a definite no. I spent my teenage years and early twenties being surrounded by peers who not only ate meat but also advocated it’s nutritional benefits. Did this convince me to continue eating meat into my early thirties? Again, the answer is a definite no.

I had to decide for myself.

The argument from authority is a fallacy that has no place in philosophical thought. It is an error in reasoning because it requires no reasoning of our own, only, acceptance of something as truth because someone who is in perceived authority tells us. Discovering our own truth is decision making at it’s very best, even though reasoning in this way may result in discovering that the concept that was doubted in the first place, may turn out to be true. I may now accept that my parents were right but, it is so much more satisfying that I came to that decision independently.

What is a philosopher? Perhaps this is impossible to define. However, if we must indulge the mind’s love for categorisation, I will attempt an answer.

To be a philosopher is to study the very fundamentals of knowledge, nature and existence. It is no mistake that many philosphers of old were also scientists and mathematicians. The scientific method is the same method by which a philosophical question is tested. This process peels away at layers of analysis to arrive at the very core of possible knowledge and often that knowledge leads to more questions than are answered.

The essence of the philosopher’s method is the non-acceptance of that which they cannot find logical justification for and this may seem like a never ending task but within the process itself lies revelation. The process or journey can be essentially liberating as the philosopher consistently finds new ways to think. Having an enquiring mind and an ability to view things objectively, is perhaps the foundational view of what it means to be a philosopher, even if the end result is, ‘we cannot know.’

The philosopher’s journey may not give an answer and for me, this is one of the most revealing factors of the process. We learn more about ourselves and the concept in question from the actual journey through the philosophical method. Even if the philosopher makes no discovery at the end of their quest, the path allows a thorough investigation that is in itself the whole point of the process.

If, like the dictionary says, being philosophical means ‘to bear misfortune calmly,’ for some, this could give the impression of apathy, of lack of concern for the situation. However, thinking further, it shows that fundamentally there is another way to look at the circumstance. The fact that you offer your mind alternative solutions, gives your world a less blinkered outlook and it gives a more helpful way to think. A philosophical mindset does not display a laziness or lack of concern, on the contrary, it creates an analysis of  a seemingly difficult state and opens other doors.

“Often we look so regretfully upon the closed door that we fail to see the one that has opened for us.” (Alexander Bell)

Focus on the misfortune and that is all the senses and perception will realise. Finding another way to think, accessing another thought creates other paths in what initially may seem like a hopeless situation and allows the mind a more constructive view of things. There is, after all, more than one way to bake a cake and, was there ever any good came of bearing misfortune with panic?

There is an old Chinese proverb which says, ‘Philosophy developed because the apes got bored’ and an equally old saying by Lao Tzu, ‘the sage empties his mind and fills his belly.’ Whether you view critical thought as a help or a hindrance, there is no dispute that it is a step further in thinking, it is analysis and evaluation of the simple and the complex with everything in between.

I discovered the benefits of philosophical thought at a very young age. As children we are natural philosophers, constantly asking questions because we never get any satisfactory answers! For me, it was Zen Koans that provided me with the distraction from the monster in the wardrobe and allowed me a beautiful minimalistic passage to slumber!

My early musings with Zen philosophy began a life long adoration with critical thinking, through my teenage and university life until eventually having the tremendous fortune of teaching philosophy and religion in high school for 14 years. My aim in this instance was to allow students a platform of critical thought which would, I had hoped, dispel ignorance and encourage tolerance. For so long, philosophy had been within the domain of the university only, throughout most of the world. I was lucky to be one of the first in the UK to be involved in this change and to bring this opportunity to younger students. Throughout this time, I was able to have more insight into Western philosophy, from the ancient Greeks to the philosophers of the 21st century.

What amazes me most however, is the ability that critical thinking has in challenging the most unhelpful forms of thought. The action of  challenge and to see things from another point of view can be incredibly liberating. The ‘love of wisdom’ and the search for truth has been the basis of philosophical thought since the dawn of time. It continues to do so, it is never ending, as long as there are thinkers.