Connection: Philosophy to Daily Life

Each day seems to morph into the next. Our lives all swirl together. We eat the same food, do the same activities, and talk about the same things. The world is almost on autopilot; our culture succumbs us. As depressing and boring as it sounds, this pretty much sums up how most of us live our lives. Is this the philosophy we want to be living by? After all of what we have learned in school about thinking about our lives, none of us ever really do it except when we are forced to by our teachers.

As we read Sophie's World, there was one thing I was unsure of.

Everything.

All of the philosophy we learned got me thinking about if my life matters. Well, does it? Honestly, I don't know. How can I apply the philosophy we learned in class if I don't even know how it applies to my life. This seems to be the case with most of what we learn in school. Will I really need to know how many isotopes Carbon has, or who conquered the Aztecs? The application of things seems to be what matters in life. We learn things in school so we can use them in "The Real World." But is school right on this one? As much as I think about it, I still don't know the answers. I can formulate opinions, the school can formulate opinions, the world can formulate opinions, but what are they worth?

So, why do we learn about philosophy in class? What use is it to us? I think it's better to accept that you don't know anything. Once we realize that fact, we can move on and enjoy life. But that also gets us back to the one question, why does it matter? Life is a huge, big, round circle that no one fully understands. Personally, this is completely frustrating. What does it matter if I clean my room? If I get a ticket for speeding? Sure, I will face consequences, and maybe my life will not be as great as it could. As Linkin Park would say, "In the end, it doesn't even matter." But in reality, we have no idea if it does or not.