What is interesting about such a phenomenon as the statement of a philosopher? Man is probably the only creature on planet Earth who longs to comprehend his own life and himself. Philosophy is a kind of cognition and worldview that can be put on the shelves and rationally identify all these complex phenomena. But that is not all. Philosophy is not reduced to rationalism. It is on the same plane as faith, feelings, beliefs. Just saying a philosopher knows how to justify all this.
In addition, each thinker was always convinced of his own correctness and the mistakes of others, but in fact it turned out that his opinion carries both truth and error. But be that as it may, this is a special kind of description and definition. Let's try to consider it.
Statement of the philosopher as a worldview
Speeches, aphorisms and statements of thinkers are not always a system of views on the world around them, but rather a manifestation of the active self-determination of a person who is looking for his own path. Moreover, this search is often a goal as such. Andre Gide advises trusting people who are looking for the truth, but be very careful about those who claim to have discovered it. Is it not true that there is a certain echo of Buddha’s speeches (which is also often perceived as a philosopher, and not just as a religious figure) that happiness itself is a way. There are no roads to this paradise.
Statement of the philosopher as understanding
Quite often, quotes from ancient thinkers provide advice to other people on how to relate to the surrounding reality. It happens that they look like the instructions of people who have already seen everything in their lifetime for those who can’t put up with the turmoil. This is especially true for philosophers of antiquity. “None of us encounters anything that we couldn’t bear,” Marcus Aurelius is convinced . It seems to him that Pythagoras echoes in his, this time distant from mathematics words that any need is also an opportunity for something. On the other hand, philosophers of the modern era often reproached the ancients for their humility before despair, preferring rebellion and sacrifice, such as Camus.
Statements by philosophers about life
Many thinkers believed that man was always interested in the meaning of his existence in this world. To drink, eat, and have fun, forgetting that tomorrow we will die, is, from the point of view of philosophers, just a desire to put one's head in the sand. The meaning of life is a very complicated thing. This is not knowledge. No wonder the philosopher Mamardashvili said that sooner or later a person reaches a certain point where knowledge is powerless. And then he goes to look for meaning. There are many quotes from which it is clear that philosophers believed: man himself creates the content of his life, he creates it. For example, Erich Fromm wrote that personality, its creation, is the main thing in our biography. Everyone has a certain potential. And life is given to him in order to realize it.
Statements by philosophers about man
Humans are strange creatures, and at the same time worthy of veneration. So thought the philosophers of the Renaissance. “A man can fall below the demons, fly above the angels,” assured Pico della Mirandola. On the other hand, why are there evil people, fools, scum? Socrates was sure that a bad person does bad things not at all out of the question. He does so without any profit, for some kind of inner impulse. People who do not shine with the mind, according to Wilson Mizner, always like to repeat that they are not fools. A rather interesting statement on this subject is the conclusion, though not of a professional philosopher, but of a writer, that a person is like the moon. He always has a dark side. However, for the time being it is not visible to anyone.