Philosophizing: More than just a fun word to say

Philosophy has been a part of every civilization, but it became a huge part of society starting in Greece in 585 B.C with Thales of Miletus. For the next several hundred years, thinkers and schools of thought would pop up every now and then. But then Socrates came and made philosophy a huge part of the culture. The word means "love of knowledge, wisdom," and comes from the Greek words philo- "loving" + sophia "knowledge, wisdom"

Socrates got started on a quest for truth after he visited an oracle who said he was the wisest man in Athens. Socrates realized how ignorant he was and couldn't believe he could be the wisest. So he went about questioning every authority during the day to prove the oracle wrong! Maybe instead of wise, she just meant smart? As in smart aleck?

These authorities eventually got fed up and put Socrates on trial, and this would eventually lead to his death. He was put on trial for corrupting the youth.

Socrates corrupted the youth like violent media was said to have been corrupting the youth in the late 90's and the early part of this decade. Or an even better comparison would be Socrates corrupted the youth like Rock N Roll corrupted the youth. Back in those days, philosophers were like rock stars, and Socrates was like Elvis . Not too long after he came onto the scene, other philosophers and other schools started popping up like fast food restaurants. Thanks Elvis!

In fact, if philosophizing were as big a part of society now as it was back then, you would probably see people competing on reality shows to become the next great philosopher. Instead of singing to become the next American Idol, people would probably be thinking. But eating disgusting things, like on Fear Factor is far more entertaining!

Aaron's Thoughts: If a blog is written and no one is there to read it, is it still a blog? Personally, I wouldn't mind it if more people thought things through nowadays. And I think two seeing two philosophers pound each other on TV because their theories conflicted would be even better than boxing!

Daniel's Thoughts: I think, therefore I am! I would love to see a return to smart people being rock stars! Perhaps the last great rock star of our age was Albert Einstein. Or maybe Tom! He did make myspace, afterall!

Bottom Line: Like it or not, stupid is the new knowledge! To which we say, "That's hot!" We, as a society, idolize idiots! How else do you explain the vast array of news paper tabloids that assault us when we walk down the aisles of a grocery store? Stupid is probably here to stay, so if you wanted smart, I guess you had to be there!