The Source of Philosophy

Wonder: The main source of philosophic questioning is the sense of wonder, a

childlike wonder just about everything. Philosophy starts with
bewilderment, astonishment, amazement about the world, life, and
ourselves. Philosophy arises from the workings of an inquisitive mind
which is bewildered by seemingly common things or by those that appear
to be entirely impractical. It emerges out of readiness to follow the call of
human intellectual curiosity beyond common sense acquaintanceship
with the world. The same idea is expressed in the old saying that the
business of philosophy is to deal with the things supposedly familiar, but
not really known and cognized. Philosophy reveals the illusion of
knowledge where none in reality exists. Indeed, everything touched by
philosophic bewilderment miraculously changes its character from a
known to an unknown. B. Russell resuscitates the same idea in claiming
that philosophy "keeps alive our sense of wonder by showing familiar
things in an unfamiliar aspect". As soon as we begin to philosophize, we
find that even the most everyday things lead to confusing problems while
those initially "impractical" issues often prove very significant even for
our mundane needs and certainly for our self-understanding.

The Aim of Philosophy

Insight:
Philosophy does not stay by pure bewilderment and amazement.
Philosophers articulate their initial amazement by formulating questions
(mostly what- and why-questions) that guide their curiosity toward
comprehension of the problem. This does not mean that they seek a simple
formula for all the puzzles of the world (the proverbial "philosophic
stone"). Philosophy aims at understanding and enlightenment rather than
shorthand answers. While striving to bring some light into the complexity
of human life and the universe it pursues the old longing for the truth
about the whole. Philosophy is absolutely committed to the truth, "the
whole truth and nothing but the truth". However, the truth of philosophy is
never given and complete as we cannot definitely close out the totality it
strives to capture (as Lacan says: I always speak the truth but only partail).
Therefore the search for truth is rather like perpetual striving for more
insight than for the final word on the matters of life and the world.
Whenever one is engaged in philosophizing the chances are that things
will become more complex and difficult than before.