Seeds of Philosophy

When I was a boy, my father never listened to music on the radio (or ever that I know of). Instead, he always listened to talk radio. It could be about gardening, politics, medicine, or just about anything. It didn't really matter what the topic was; as long as it was engaging and informative.

I was very much into music but when my dad was driving, we always listened to what he wanted. I'm not going to lie, sometimes the discussions were very interesting but usually I would just sulk and wish he would change the station to something I liked. Thinking back on it now, I suppose it was delusional to think that he would have listened to my music or that I would have enjoyed his music selections any better than the talking.

Thirty years later, I find myself listening to podcasts all the time (in fact, right now I am listening to Grammar Girl's latest episode) and my son's complain that all that talking is BORING. Unlike my father, I will listen to music with my sons and often forgo the intellectual stimulation. I still really liked music and have raised my boys with a healthy appreciation of many genres.

But podcasts overpower my iPod (especially as work). It's an easy way to drowned out the world and gain knowledge or insight (and sometimes entertainment). In my audio quest for knowledge, I have sampled many different areas of interest; religion, science, fitness, technology, literature, history, and philosophy (to name a few).

It is philosophy that has surprised me the most. The concept of philosophy always seemed boring to me. I never took a philosophy class in high school or college and I never read any philosophy books. Now that I have just barely scratched the surface of philosophy, I fin myself rethinking my original position.

Ultimately, I don't think that philosophy provides any more answers because everything seems to be theoretical and speculative. However, from a societal perspective, the study of philosophy is not only fascinating but practically required (if you even care about diversity and the freedom of thought).

I suppose, I am posting this first because I have become a habitual over-thinker and my new-found interest in philosophical inquiry best illustrates by obsession with deeper thinking. Of course, I am also very much interested in religion. My son often jests that as an atheist, I spend more time studying religion and theology than most theists. He's probably correct but it astounds me that so many people are so sure about something of which there are so many divergent answers; each viewpoint equally assuring its proponents that it is the one and only ultimate truth.