Philosophy....my small little journey

So what is this philosophy thingy?? Been always interested in this area from school days...dunno why. But my interest in it was encouraged by the late Rev Hwa Chien and Kim Guat. I used to help him out with some typing after my Form 6. The parsonage was a place filled with all kinds of books. Those days, we were a bit like 'katak di bawah tempurung' in the sense that if you want to know anything, you'd really have to look long and hard....as in really hard...cos we only had books to depend on. No touch of buttons and info appear thing like now.

Despite not having very much money, one of the things my dad spent on us was a set of Encyclopedia Britannica. It was a small fortune for a single income family like ours. But he went ahead and bought it anyway. That set of Encyclopedia gave me hours of pleasure during the hols for many, many years. I'm grateful to my dad for availing to me that opportunity to knowledge.

I would read through; from A to Z.... sometimes rereading the articles I liked. My general knowledge became quite extensive as a result. My first introduction to Philosophy was through those Encyclopedias. My mom passed me the whole set to keep since she said of all my siblings I had the greatest affinity for them. So, they sit in my house now.

Anyway, Hwa Chien and Kim Guat sparked my interest further by giving me a book called 'Philosophy' by Collin Brown. I still have it; has a sentimental value to me. It gave me a more detailed idea of what the study was about...and also to thinkers I was already slightly familiar with...Plato, Socrates, Dante, Kant, etc. etc... It explained to me terms such as agnostic in greater detail. And at university, I derived great pleasure from my first year work where I did European History.

So, what is this philosophy thingy...basically it's just a love for knowledge and wisdom; a reflection on the existence of man, truth, validity of issues and things, justice and language. It works from a logical and and critical approach, meaning there is sense and order...a basis for everything. Basically, in a nutshell it is a study about life. Hence, in days of old, philosophers or thinkers were looked upon as leaders. And rightly so too cos they made good leaders as they would have thought things through. Having a greater and right understanding of those mentioned above also meant that they strove for the best for the society

....but as power and wealth got into their heads, there were those who went sesat too. Hence, no single empire or government has been able to remain in power and wealth since the beginning of recorded history. That's my little journey...