PHILOSOPHY IN 40 IDEAS by The School of Life

“Philosophy is a deeply unpopular subject that almost no one knows anything much about. 
The average school doesn’t teach it, the average adult doesn’t understand it–and the whole subject can seem scary, strange and not very necessary.
All of this is a huge pity, because philosophy has a lot to say to everyone at any age. It might be the most important subject you’ll never be asked to study.”

<<ALL OUR UNHAPPINESS COMES FROM OUR INABILITY TO SIT ALONE IN OUR ROOM>>

“This assertion, by the 17th-century French philosopher Blaise Pascal, is obviously not literally true.

However, like all good philosophical aphorisms, it pointedly exaggerates an important idea in order to bring home a general insight.

We are tempted to leave ‘our room’ and crave excitements that too often turn out badly;
We meddle in the lives of others but fail to help them;
We seek fame and end up being misunderstood by large numbers of people we don’t know.

‘Sitting alone’ doesn’t mean literally perching on our bed but, rather, staying undistracted with ourselves–
– appreciating small pleasures;
– examining the contents of our own minds;
– allowing the quieter parts of our psyches to emerge;
– thinking before we act.

It is a poignant phrase because the louder voices in our culture constantly speak in the opposite direction. They goad us to get out more, to grow more agitated, to seek more drama and to spend less time in thoughtful reveries, gazing out of the window at the clouds passing high above.

With Pascal’s encouragement, we should learn to become better friends to ourselves.”

Publisher: The School of Life, 2020