Teenage affinity for philosophy, perhaps like love, is an instinct. When they are in this stage of growth, their self-consciousness begins to awaken, they begin to cast skeptical and curious eyes on the world, and they begin to ask "who I am", "what is the difference in my existence", "what is the meaning of life"... As Aristotle once said, "Philosophy begins with curiosity about the world." For children who have light in their eyes, who are always curious about everything, who want to ask a "why" about anything, philosophy is a part of them.
Recently, "From Surprise: The First Lesson of Philosophy for Teenagers", co-compiled by eight scholars majoring in philosophy, was published, which conveys philosophy to every young person in an easy-to-understand way. Not only did the eight scholars have professional philosophical backgrounds, but they were either scholars who often participated in the popularization of philosophy, or parents, or former secondary school teachers. "Reflections on truth and falsehood, right and wrong, good and bad", "Life and death", "From robots and zombies"... Each theme in the book is based on the cognitive and psychological characteristics of adolescents, based on the current context, scholars use situational methods to turn abstract philosophical concepts into vivid narratives to respond to the confusion of adolescents.
On March 5th, liu qing, Cai Wenjing and Gao Song, three of the authors of the book, also came to the Shangju Art Bookstore to talk about philosophy and know themselves with readers on the spot.
The scene of the event
Why should teenagers study philosophy?
Liu Qing, a professor at the School of Politics and International Relations at East China Normal University, said that philosophy is not a kind of book knowledge, nor is it philosophy to read Aristotle, Plato, Hegel, and Kant, but to love wisdom. "It's a spiritual temperament and way of thinking that allows you to discern complex issues more clearly." While no one can grasp absolute wisdom, there are some questions that can be relatively clarified. The most fundamental temperament of philosophy is not to drown you in the torrent of life, but to think critically about the world, about yourself, and about your situation. ”
It is often said that after studying philosophy, the confusion is more complicated, and it is good not to think about it. For example, these seemingly insoluble questions: What is human consciousness? Is there any consciousness in people? Consciousness is physical? Or is it pure? Liu Qing responded: "People have high happiness and low happiness, I would rather be a painful Socrates than a happy piglet." I also don't believe that people can live like happy piggies, so if you want to live a life that is more spiritual and moral, it has to be philosophical. Moreover, in any case, we cannot do without philosophical sensitivity and temperament in real life. ”
What is the temperament of philosophy? Liu Qing believes that it is a sensitivity, and it is more important to have this sensitivity than to let the child go to a philosophy major. "Being a philosopher and having a philosophical temperament are two different things, the philosophy major requires you to be focused, able to explore and endure alone, its training and investment are not necessarily proportional to the return, and the cost performance is very low." Therefore, do not deliberately guide the child to go to the philosophy profession, which is anti-philosophical, but guide him to read, listen, express, and dialogue, and let him make his own choices. But in a broad sense, if a person has a philosophical temperament, he will definitely be a person with a rich life, and he will also be an interesting person. By inspiring, encouraging, and stimulating children's philosophical thinking, thinking, sensitivity, and spiritual temperament, it will indirectly help them in the future. ”
Philosophy is also an adventurous process that can question all the frameworks, premises, and dogmas on which you were originally dependent in your life. "So I think philosophy has two sides, one side makes you more accessible and rich, and the other side is an adventure." Liu Qing said.
Gao Song, an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at Tongji University, reminds readers that in fact, everyone will be exposed to the experience of philosophy and is already thinking about these philosophical questions, but everyone may not know that it is philosophy. "For example, in my interactions with my own children, I observe that children have a lot of strange thoughts, because they are born with the ability to be surprised. Just like every child wonders how the world came to be when they are young. Unlike children, adults are too deeply affected by concepts and systems in the habitual thinking that is repeated every day, and it is difficult to question things, and they gradually lose the ability to be surprised. So people say that philosophy is human childhood because it begins with wonder, and that's the theme of the book. ”
When Takamatsu gave students the course "History of Western Philosophy" at Tongji University, he also stressed that this course is not necessary to remember what philosophers say, but hopes to cultivate students' spirit of questioning existing systems and concepts, because philosophy is questioning. Just as Aristotle questioned Plato, the people behind questioned Aristotle and questioned step by step. The history of philosophy is the history of the people in the back who cut off the heads of the people in front, so philosophy is difficult to enter, it is not like science, science can enter, because the foundation is laid and covered. Philosophy is not, philosophy is to see the foundation after lifting the bar with you, will ask you whether the foundation is firmly covered, not firm will be demolished and rebuilt, but go down. You may feel that philosophy has not improved, but it is precisely the most fundamental question, when you have this ability, maybe we are in our daily work, even if you are not doing philosophy, you also have a ability to jump out of the framework, I think it will bring the power of innovation. ”
Takamatsu also mentioned that having a philosophical spirit can provide some kind of supplement to the way of thinking in traditional Chinese education. "We have to acknowledge that the world is in a big sense the Western world, and that our way of life is shaped by them. So from this point of view, we understand philosophy, let the child be exposed to a little philosophy as soon as possible, let them know what philosophy is, how it affects the current Western society, so that the current pattern is also helpful for him to understand the world. ”
After learning philosophy, can you handle love better?
Some readers have asked, can philosophy help young people better face love? Takamatsu laughed and said that very few philosophers are married, so why talk about love? And the love they talk about is too little, and the history of love is very lacking, so there is no experience in this problem. But Takamatsu says that philosophy, while not like psychology, can teach you techniques, it can make you more proficient. For example, when you suffer a love setback, it can free you from the setback, and this is not only for love, but for all.
Liu Qing believes that love is of course worth yearning for, but love also leads to the reality of chai rice oil and salt, and the probability is not easy to last, but it will not be meaningless because it is not lasting. "Love is very meaningful for the relationship and personal growth of both sides of the relationship, and if you are a person with a philosophical temperament and sensitivity, there is a high probability that you will perform better in love, but it definitely does not mean that - first, you will make it successful; second, you will easily get a response from the person you love, which is not necessarily the case." 」 But you will definitely behave better than others, and this 'good' means that you are kinder, more decent, and more able to show humanity in the process. ”
Cai Wenjing, an associate professor of philosophy at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said directly that studying philosophy does not help us to get better love, "I thought that philosophy can cultivate us with a kind of humility, tolerance, and even silence us, rather than wanting to constantly argue." 」 In reality, in reality, my colleagues around me, or in the philosophical circles, I will see a lot of people who have read a lot of philosophy books but still haven't had a good life, and there are also many people who read a lot of philosophy books but don't have a good relationship. And people who study philosophy may more or less like to be reasonable, sometimes inevitable, more or less cause trouble. ”
But Cai Wenjing also proposed that at the philosophical level, on the one hand, philosophy will tell us what the ideal state is like; on the other hand, it can make us more independent people, which may help you find more suitable people, or it will be easier to say "no" when you encounter difficulties.
Liu Qing added that philosophy is not the success of love, it cannot guarantee the success of your love. "But in my personal experience, it may be precisely because of my philosophical temperament and sensitivity that it has helped me grow from my own experience, perhaps more than I have to have another one without it." It helps us to constantly reinvent ourselves, learn more, and in the process form a never-ending process of recasting, reconciling with ourselves. ”
Not only love, but also many other life problems and philosophical problems, which have remained inconclusive for thousands of years, so philosophy is futile? Liu Qing said: "Getting the final standard answer is not the whole meaning of philosophy, one of the important meanings of philosophy is to help us stimulate thinking and clarify thoughts: each of us relies on some ideas when we act, and behind all actions are ideas, and these ideas are premised, they are hidden there, you yourself are not aware of it." Philosophical discussions reveal them, examine the fallacies of logic, change the perspective or focus of your inquiry, and discern the key and difficulty of the problem. ”