There are three things that I care about that you should care about too. These are truth, happiness, and wisdom. Knowing the truth innately matters to me, and there are also practical reasons for wanting to know the truth. One is that your well-being often depends upon knowing the truth. From taking proper care of yourself to knowing what truly matters and how best to live your life, knowing the truth matters. There are also various religions, each claiming that I must follow it to avoid eternal suffering in Hell. If any one of these religions is true, it can’t be understated how important it is to know this. Since different religions make competing claims, and they can’t all be true, it is important, if any of them are true, to discern truth from falsehood, and the most reliable way to do this is through critical thinking. With that in mind, I have made several videos on logical argumentation. I have also investigated Christianity and other world religions in depth and have shared some of my conclusions and the reasons behind them in other videos.
Happiness matters to me, because as Aristotle put it, happiness is an intrinsic good. We seek happiness for its own sake, not for the sake of anything else. And everything we normally do is for the sake of happiness. From feeling pleasure to feeling good about ourselves, to wanting meaning in life, to wanting to know the truth about the world we live in it all comes down to happiness. Some people seek happiness through delusion or drugs, at the expense of others, or at the expense of longterm and ultimate happiness. This is foolish. It is best to seek happiness with intelligence and wisdom, so that we can find true, lasting, and meaningful happiness. With that in mind, I have looked into how to be happy, and I have reported some of what I’ve learned in videos here, including a still incomplete series on the chapters in Bertrand Russell’s Conquest of Happiness. Also, I agree with Aristotle that happiness is closely connected with ethics. The moral character you develop and the way you conduct your life aren’t just a concern for the people who have to deal with you. They directly bear on your own happiness, and with that in mind, I have made several videos on ethics.
Wisdom matters to me, because it is a means to truth and happiness. Wisdom is about knowing how to lead your life, knowing how to make the right decisions, and knowing how to best discern truth from falsehood. Going beyond cleverness, wisdom concerns itself with understanding what matters in life. In ancient Greece, a man named Socrates sought after wisdom, calling himself a lover of wisdom, which gave us the word philosopher. It was out of this same love of wisdom that I studied philosophy in college, eventually earning my Ph.D. in philosophy.
My purpose behind this channel is to share with you some of the benefits of studying philosophy. I hope to help you improve your critical thinking skills, seek after truth, and pursue happiness and meaning with wisdom. If you recognize the benefit of this, subscribe and watch my videos. If you know anyone who would appreciate these same benefits, spread the word and tell people about For the Love of Wisdom.