I want to become a philosopher

[Someone here]

 @Leo Gura you talked about tapping into creativity in your last video..I really liked it and the video was awesome and it helped me get motivated to pursue my life purpose seriously.   

I want to become a philosopher. Just like you .

Bold statement. I know. That's just how I am. But on a serious note...

How does one become a philosopher? What books should I read and how should I conduct my life? I know that to some of you I'm being silly. But believe me when I say that I'm very serious with this whole thing. How can I become a renowned philosopher who gets recognized worldwide the same way people like Nietzsche and Socrates are recognized?

Is formal education necessary? Or can I get by, by reading books?

[flyingguitarist]

31 minutes ago, Someone here said:

How can I become a renowned philosopher who gets recognized worldwide the same way people like Nietzsche and Socrates are recognized?

It seems you are more inclined towards social recognition than for philosophy sake.

[Carl-Richard]

I think 99% of famous people never intended to become famous, certainly famous intellectuals.

[Ulax]

I'd say formal education is essential.

 

[Michael569]

There is an audience for everyone. Maybe you need to go to school, maybe you don't. If you can have interesting ideas and insights that will move people, you don't need to go to academia. It all depends on what you want to do with this.

Having a background education certainly helps because you will get exposed to that environment and make lots of contacts and get access to incredible resources. But you'll also have to comply with academic rules which may be a bummer. 

But just make sure you're not going into this to be famous. Wanting to be famous is a shallow value and not something you want to have as your core value in your pursuit of your ultimate passion because it will lead you down all sorts of funky alleys where people will promise you fame if they can sense you could be exploited.  Fame is something that happens (but for most people it doesn't)  as a byproduct of deliberate effort and work (and luck for some people) but most of those who got famous in the line of career you are thinking about, were hard workers and dedicated themselves to their craft fully. It was their deep insights about reality that got people attracted (and some marketing) not their desire to be famous per se.

Also, comparing yourself to Socrates is a bit odd. The man lived in ancient time during which most people were stage purple and stage red (maybe blue for more developed part of the Greek aristocracy ). In Ancient Athens it was rare for someone to be that sort of a thinker because everyone was just occupied with survival. I have never studied the man but I believe he was not a low-born so that already allowed him to dedicate himself to this and this gave him a massive advantage over the common mob.

Nowadays the competition is larger and people don't have to struggle to feed their children anymore so they can dedicate themselves to other matters, such as philosophy.  What I'm trying to say is "don't compare yourself to the early adopters, they had a completely different environment". Figure out what your passion is and do that, not for the money and fame and success but for the pure love and joy of it. And whatever happens as a side effects of that, is an added bonus. 

Desire for fame is amateur's game. Don't be that guy  Do it for the love of sharing and love of wisdom. 

 

[Leo Gura]

To be a serious philosopher you have to be super interested in contemplating the nature of everything. It's not about getting famous, it's about understanding reality. And if you happen to do that long enough maybe one day you will understand reality so deeply that you will generate some unique insights and that could make you a bit famous.

It's the same advice as if you asked how to become a world-famous weightlifter: go to the gym every day for many hours per day and lift those weights. If you do it seriously enough, long enough, one day you might become well-known. But don't do it for that reason. Do it only if you enjoy lifting and there's nothing else you'd rather be doing.

Philosophy isn't about reading books, it's about understanding reality accurately. Do you even care about understanding reality accurately? If not, philosophy isn't for you.

[Razard86]

You already are a philosopher. Everyone is a philosopher....they are either good at it or not. How is this the case? Easy, because when you talk to people they are always telling you how "their" life works. So must people THINK they have it all figured out. Sounds like a philosopher to me. A philosopher isn't some great occupation, or official title. It is just someone who contemplates EVERYTHING and I do mean everything. Philosophers also tend to draw parallels between things, write poetry, etc. 

If you study relationships, then you are philosophizing about relationships. If you study nutrition then you are philosophizing about nutrition. It is just the study of life and you can either do it on the meta level or the relative level. So if you pay attention...you'll notice everybody seems to have their own belief on how reality works. So there ya have it, you are already one.

It study any famous philosopher you will notice that the key component behind all the greats....is an insatiable curiosity. So if you are naturally curious about how everything works....you will naturally develop. But if you have a limited curiosity it will develop within that limitation. When we are born we are all naturally on that path as every kid is born asking a million questions. Because these questions help us map our reality. So retain your child-like wonder and you will be a great philosopher.

Also avoid getting "educated." That kills your creativity. You can read some material or other works...but instead of accepting them.....question them. A philosopher questions everything, s philosopher pays attention, a philosopher is open-minded, a philosopher experiments, and lastly....the ones we know about share their perspective. 

[Carl-Richard]

@Razard86 You have a thing for deconstructing concepts ?

[Someone here]

6 hours ago, Michael569 said:

There is an audience for everyone. Maybe you need to go to school, maybe you don't. If you can have interesting ideas and insights that will move people, you don't need to go to academia. It all depends on what you want to do with this.

Having a background education certainly helps because you will get exposed to that environment and make lots of contacts and get access to incredible resources. But you'll also have to comply with academic rules which may be a bummer. 

But just make sure you're not going into this to be famous. Wanting to be famous is a shallow value and not something you want to have as your core value in your pursuit of your ultimate passion because it will lead you down all sorts of funky alleys where people will promise you fame if they can sense you could be exploited.  Fame is something that happens (but for most people it doesn't)  as a byproduct of deliberate effort and work (and luck for some people) but most of those who got famous in the line of career you are thinking about, were hard workers and dedicated themselves to their craft fully. It was their deep insights about reality that got people attracted (and some marketing) not their desire to be famous per se.

Also, comparing yourself to Socrates is a bit odd. The man lived in ancient time during which most people were stage purple and stage red (maybe blue for more developed part of the Greek aristocracy ). In Ancient Athens it was rare for someone to be that sort of a thinker because everyone was just occupied with survival. I have never studied the man but I believe he was not a low-born so that already allowed him to dedicate himself to this and this gave him a massive advantage over the common mob.

Nowadays the competition is larger and people don't have to struggle to feed their children anymore so they can dedicate themselves to other matters, such as philosophy.  What I'm trying to say is "don't compare yourself to the early adopters, they had a completely different environment". Figure out what your passion is and do that, not for the money and fame and success but for the pure love and joy of it. And whatever happens as a side effects of that, is an added bonus. 

Desire for fame is amateur's game. Don't be that guy  Do it for the love of sharing and love of wisdom. 

 

 

6 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

To be a serious philosopher you have to be super interested in contemplating the nature of everything. It's not about getting famous, it's about understanding reality. And if you happen to do that long enough maybe one day you will understand reality so deeply that you will generate some unique insights and that could make you a bit famous.

It's the same advice as if you asked how to become a world-famous weightlifter: go to the gym every day for many hours per day and lift those weights. If you do it seriously enough, long enough, one day you might become well-known. But don't do it for that reason. Do it only if you enjoy lifting and there's nothing else you'd rather be doing.

Philosophy isn't about reading books, it's about understanding reality accurately. Do you even care about understanding reality accurately? If not, philosophy isn't for you.

 

@Michael569 @Leo Gura

Of course I'm serious and I care about understanding reality accurately.  That's why I follow your work and that's why I post in this forum.   I use this forum  as a  good outlet to my philosophical inquiries. 

But even though I follow your work..I want to be an independent thinker rather than a reader of philosophers.that’s exactly what i SHOULDN’T do. The people who recommend me to read as much philosophers as i can clearly do not know what philosophy is about. I'm young, i will have plenty of time to read about what other philosophers have to say about life and everything that goes with it. Reading them will stunt my growth in terms of independent thinking (i will just quote what others have said instead of critically thinking on my own).

In case i don't make it to a philosophy degree..I'm also interestedI in the following fields  : anthropology(all of them, especially physical and cultural), Science or similar(biology/chemistry/math/computer sci, physics, etc), psychology, and even art. I like to study the world and the people and the laws we are governed by (man created and natural). When I'm  filled with all this knowledge, then i can start discussing topics that are controversial (i should start with simple things at first) and see how i can criticize or back it up. 

So yes..I'm totally passionate about philosophical fields. The only question is I don't know how to Make a career out of it .as I study business in university. I don't know should I start a blog or a website or a YouTube channel and start publishing my insights ? Should I write a book ?like what are all the practicalities of becoming a true philosopher .?

I think by asking that question, i have started. Philosophy is about questioning what we think we know, and how important it may be. I don't believe that will lead me down a paying career, though.

Edited June 8, 2022 by Someone here

[Someone here]

3 hours ago, Razard86 said:

You already are a philosopher. Everyone is a philosopher....they are either good at it or not. How is this the case? Easy, because when you talk to people they are always telling you how "their" life works. So must people THINK they have it all figured out. Sounds like a philosopher to me. A philosopher isn't some great occupation, or official title. It is just someone who contemplates EVERYTHING and I do mean everything. Philosophers also tend to draw parallels between things, write poetry, etc. 

If you study relationships, then you are philosophizing about relationships. If you study nutrition then you are philosophizing about nutrition. It is just the study of life and you can either do it on the meta level or the relative level. So if you pay attention...you'll notice everybody seems to have their own belief on how reality works. So there ya have it, you are already one.

It study any famous philosopher you will notice that the key component behind all the greats....is an insatiable curiosity. So if you are naturally curious about how everything works....you will naturally develop. But if you have a limited curiosity it will develop within that limitation. When we are born we are all naturally on that path as every kid is born asking a million questions. Because these questions help us map our reality. So retain your child-like wonder and you will be a great philosopher.

Also avoid getting "educated." That kills your creativity. You can read some material or other works...but instead of accepting them.....question them. A philosopher questions everything, s philosopher pays attention, a philosopher is open-minded, a philosopher experiments, and lastly....the ones we know about share their perspective. 

That's nice but this isn't a handy or practical advice.  I want to be a professional philosopher.  Like it has to be my "job ". It has to be what I do for a living . How exactly to do that? I still haven't figured it out yet. 

Maybe I should start read the Greek classics: Plato, Aristotle, etc. The entire Western culture has been brought up on these classics, they were required reading for anyone who could read for 2,000 years and so have shaped Western culture and thinking. Almost all of modern Western thought derives from the Greek classical philosophers as its foundation.

[Ulax]

1 hour ago, Someone here said:

 

 

@Michael569 @Leo Gura

Of course I'm serious and I care about understanding reality accurately.  That's why I follow your work and that's why I post in this forum.   I use this forum  as a  good outlet to my philosophical inquiries. 

But even though I follow your work..I want to be an independent thinker rather than a reader of philosophers.that’s exactly what i SHOULDN’T do. The people who recommend me to read as much philosophers as i can clearly do not know what philosophy is about. I'm young, i will have plenty of time to read about what other philosophers have to say about life and everything that goes with it. Reading them will stunt my growth in terms of independent thinking (i will just quote what others have said instead of critically thinking on my own).

In case i don't make it to a philosophy degree..I'm also interestedI in the following fields  : anthropology(all of them, especially physical and cultural), Science or similar(biology/chemistry/math/computer sci, physics, etc), psychology, and even art. I like to study the world and the people and the laws we are governed by (man created and natural). When I'm  filled with all this knowledge, then i can start discussing topics that are controversial (i should start with simple things at first) and see how i can criticize or back it up. 

So yes..I'm totally passionate about philosophical fields. The only question is I don't know how to Make a career out of it .as I study business in university. I don't know should I start a blog or a website or a YouTube channel and start publishing my insights ? Should I write a book ?like what are all the practicalities of becoming a true philosopher .?

I think by asking that question, i have started. Philosophy is about questioning what we think we know, and how important it may be. I don't believe that will lead me down a paying career, though.

Have you considered sociology?

Especially if you're a determinist.

Also, what perhaps think about what tradition of philosophy you'd like to engage with? I.e. Analytic, continental, pragmatist

Edited June 8, 2022 by Ulax

[Nilsi]

15 hours ago, Someone here said:

 @Leo Gura How can I become a renowned philosopher who gets recognized worldwide the same way people like Nietzsche and Socrates are recognized?

Be careful what you're asking for. Nietzsche had a life full of suffering and isolation and Socrates was burned at the stake.

Philosophy is probably the most hardcore and isolating thing you can pursue. If you want to live a happy life Philosophy is probably not what you want to do. But it's also very rewarding and beautiful of course.

I suggest you look at Ken Wilber or Daniel Schmachtenberger for a healthy version of Philosophy.

Edited June 8, 2022 by Nilsi

[Razard86]

5 hours ago, Carl-Richard said:

@Razard86 You have a thing for deconstructing concepts ?

Lol I'm glad you noticed....I appreciate your intelligent insight. I think you are starting to see how my wacky brain works huh?

[Someone here]

1 hour ago, Ulax said:

Have you considered sociology?

Especially if you're a determinist.

Also, what perhaps think about what tradition of philosophy you'd like to engage with? I.e. Analytic, continental, pragmatist

I like to think that the most important philosophy,in the sense that it touches on every other facet of philosophy is the type that cannot be classified. The broadest branches of philosophy are often said to be ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology.

But would you say that Kant was an ethicist, metaphysician, or epistemologist? He was all of these. And it was not merely that he worked in all three fields, but rather his philosophical system based on transcendental idealism inevitably touched on them all. Similar things can be said for Wittgenstein, Socrates, Heidegger…

[Someone here]

41 minutes ago, Nilsi said:

Be careful what you're asking for. Nietzsche had a life full of suffering and isolation and Socrates was burned at the stake.

Philosophy is probably the most hardcore and isolating thing you can pursue. If you want to live a happy life Philosophy is probably not what you want to do. But it's also very rewarding and beautiful of course.

I suggest you look at Ken Wilber or Daniel Schmachtenberger for a healthy version of Philosophy.

That doesn't Rob me from my motivation to become a philosopher.  We are no longer living in the dark ages where people get burned on the stake for their thoughts.  And Nietzsche actually did lose his goddam mind at the end of his career.  So what?  Doesn't mean I will end up like him .

[Razard86]

2 hours ago, Someone here said:

That's nice but this isn't a handy or practical advice.  I want to be a professional philosopher.  Like it has to be my "job ". It has to be what I do for a living . How exactly to do that? I still haven't figured it out yet. 

Maybe I should start read the Greek classics: Plato, Aristotle, etc. The entire Western culture has been brought up on these classics, they were required reading for anyone who could read for 2,000 years and so have shaped Western culture and thinking. Almost all of modern Western thought derives from the Greek classical philosophers as its foundation.

 

I actually gave you a ton of practical advice...if you want to be a philosopher the first thing you need to do....is stop looking for a specific answer. At the highest level a philosopher is OPEN. Right now your gaze is focused....so because of that....you interpret things very narrowly. There were a lot of things in my post that actually gave a lot of suggestions....but if you are not open....you will not see.

But I'll give you what you want since you want people to give you advice. But understand...with each advice we give you....you are downloading OUR way of thinking within you....a philosopher's greatest contribution is THEIR perspective. So your ability to maintain your own unique perspective will be the key to that. 

But the answer is VERY simple. Make social media accounts and post insights. If you want to get paid you need eye balls. So every week at least post something profound or interesting on your social media. It doesn't even have to be original thoughts of your own. Just the ability to bring forth a unique perspective of an EXISTING concept can work wonders!!! Philosophy is just a mirror game. You are getting paid to show people different ways of looking at things.

Think of a philosopher as a map drawer. You are drawing maps of reality for people to integrate into their own personal realities.

After you post every week and gain a decent following. Then you can do live videos, start writing ebooks, make a website, publish a book, maybe do a book tour, arrange meetups and potentially tour as a lecturer. 

There I game you some ideas.....now...no more complaining...more CONTEMPLATING.

[Carl-Richard]

38 minutes ago, Razard86 said:

Lol I'm glad you noticed....I appreciate your intelligent insight. I think you are starting to see how my wacky brain works huh?

I think that was in fact the main thing that triggered me that time you used sex as a metaphor (more so than the emotional dissonance). It was a kind of deconstruction or hyper-generalization of the concept, which seems to be your preferred style of communication (which is perfectly valid). I guess I prefer to work more within a standard linguistic framework and leaving the concepts as they are, although that certainly also has its flaws.

[Ulax]

1 hour ago, Someone here said:

That doesn't Rob me from my motivation to become a philosopher.  We are no longer living in the dark ages where people get burned on the stake for their thoughts.  And Nietzsche actually did lose his goddam mind at the end of his career.  So what?  Doesn't mean I will end up like him .

Derrida's an example of someone who enjoyed life too

[Ulax]

1 hour ago, Someone here said:

I like to think that the most important philosophy,in the sense that it touches on every other facet of philosophy is the type that cannot be classified. The broadest branches of philosophy are often said to be ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology.

But would you say that Kant was an ethicist, metaphysician, or epistemologist? He was all of these. And it was not merely that he worked in all three fields, but rather his philosophical system based on transcendental idealism inevitably touched on them all. Similar things can be said for Wittgenstein, Socrates, Heidegger…

By tradition, I don't mean ethics, metaphysics etc. its like in the continental tradition you're likely to have more poststructuralism, critical theory, where as in the analytical philosophy departments you'll not really study things like that.

[Danioover9000]

@Someone here    I hate to say it, but you sound too desperate to copy and emulate Leo, that I question if you're really genuinely want to be a philosopher. You risk doing this and making what you really want more murkier than before.

   I'd start to question and keep questioning daily, about what you really want. Put Leo aside, and Actualized.org aside, what would you do with your life and who would you become, if you haven't consumed Actualized.org content?