My Sunday mornings in India as a medical student contained many special moments of discourse with a dear friend of mine, Sanjay (currently an interventional cardiologist in the United States). While most students would either be sleeping in or be recovering from hangovers, my friend and I would meet up early for breakfast and discuss philosophical topics ranging from God’s existence and the problem of evil to Eastern Philosophy and Quantum Physics. Sanjay, an American, had formally studied Philosophy in his undergraduate university years and our conversations were instrumental in nurturing my appreciation for the religions of the East and their philosophies, especially Vedanta philosophy. Those conversations would nudge me to study the Eastern Religious Scriptures and read several works of philosophy many years later, although I had not studied Philosophy formally. Just as Mitch Albom had his ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’ (a highly recommended book by the way), I shall forever cherish my Sundays with Sanjay.
Philosophy, as a word, is derived from the Greek words Philo (meaning love) and Sophia (meaning wisdom). Philosophy, therefore, is the love of knowledge and wisdom. As a subject and discipline, it is divided into several core branches which include metaphysics (exploring the nature of reality and existence), epistemology (which focuses on what is truth and how we acquire knowledge), ethics (deals with morals, values and conduct and the notions of goodness and morality), and beauty and art (what is the good, the true and the beautiful?). These branches are not exhaustive and philosophy branches into various other areas, such as Judeo-Christian-Islamic philosophies as well as Eastern philosophies of Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism and many other religions of the East. Science and Mathematics have been categorised as Natural Philosophy.
Universities in Western countries offer degrees and courses in various subjects of Philosophy and there is such a thing as a professional philosopher. Whether one studies degrees in Philosophy or reads writings from the ocean of philosophical works from the great philosophers of the past as a matter of personal interest, as an educator, I believe it is a very important subject that allows students to grow mentally and sharpen their critical thinking skills. If you’re the kind of person who likes to think about things deeply and is okay with having more questions than answers, do consider taking a dip into the world of the love of Sophia!
