Enjoy philosophy

Author: Jian Jun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: As a leisure reader, discussing philosophy instead of trivial matters is a tiresome yet unproductive endeavor. Can this causal relationship be altered? Someone must try, right? Perhaps we can discover how to enjoy philosophy? Of course, when facing rationalism, what can we feel? That would be the dream of rationalism. Thus, I divide the entire history of philosophy into two parts: "Enjoying Philosophy" and "The Dream of Rationalism." The former spans three chapters from ancient philosophy, medieval philosophy, and the Renaissance to modern philosophy; the latter covers two chapters from German classical philosophy to Western modern philosophy. The two volumes are interconnected yet relatively contrasting, forming sister books. The former requires a light-hearted enjoyment, while the latter demands serious study because the dream ultimately leads to deconstruction, which is truly perplexing.
Some say philosophy is extremely difficult to understand, while others say it is very easy; some say philosophy is the pinnacle of human wisdom, while others say philosophy is nothing at all. Kant said: "The stars in the sky and the moral law in the heart are the themes of his theoretical and practical philosophy." Camus said: "To live silently in a meaningless reality is indeed a skill." Socrates said: "Virtue is knowledge." Foucault said: "Life is a play."