Not everyone can learn philosophy. People without philosophical genius are not worthy to learn philosophy; If he wants to study reluctantly, he will study all his life, with no result. Philosophy is a right that only a few people can enjoy. Like art, success depends on genius, which is completely different from science. People who study science can always learn roughly the same things as long as they are willing to study hard and spend more time.
Different from science, learning philosophy requires not only genius, but also hard work to have the hope of success.
The problem of philosophical research is close at hand and far away. It is common to meet everywhere, and it is far-reaching and difficult to know.
So all kinds of sciences have made progress, but independent philosophy has not made progress since ancient times.
In fact, the philosophical problem is not that there is no progress, but that progress cannot be shared with others. The solution of scientific problems can be seen by outsiders, while the solution of philosophical problems is subjective and cannot be seen by people. The ancients solved it long ago, and later people can only ask questions from the beginning.
The progress of philosophy is not positive, but negative, which indicates that "this road is blocked."
Not only have I never thought of studying philosophy, but I have never thought of studying philosophy at all. I took this road only because I like to ask questions. I have had questions in my mind since I was about fourteen years old, and I have been trying to answer them from one question to another. I couldn't stop trying to answer them, so I walked all the way down. Putting forward a problem and then trying to solve it is probably the starting point of learning.
Why do you always have questions? This is because I can easily feel the contradiction between things, or it is easy to feel unreasonable, or I can see more than two reasons. When I realized that there were two reasons, I lost my mind and didn't know what to do. When there are two or more truths in front of us, there is no truth in my heart, and I am very uneasy, but I can't get rid of it, so it occupies my heart. Perhaps learning mostly begins with this feeling.
The so-called learning is to clarify the problem and have your own ideas. Everyone seems to have ideas, but they don't. Because most people's thinking is chaotic, everyone follows the trend and agrees with different opinions, which shows that he has no idea.
The first realm: forming an opinion
If you think about a problem with your heart, you will have an opinion on it and form your own judgment.
Call it opinion or prejudice. Our opinion may be shallow, but even if it is shallow, it is your own opinion after all.
What is the truth of philosophy? Is prejudice! If you see something, you take it as a universal truth. Because you are obsessed with what you see, you extremely reject other people's views and don't admit that there are two or more truths. It doesn't matter if it's opinionated, and it doesn't matter if it's biased. What is learning? Being independent is learning! Learning is not learning, not how many books you read.
Don't be intimidated by philosophers of the past. Our views may be shallow, but shallowness is also good. You know, it's still mine. Many philosophers' philosophy is very shallow, because it is shallow, so it is good. Mr Hu Shizhi's philosophy is very shallow and good. Because it is his own, even if it is not profound, it is also a result, kind and tasteful. So it will be very touching to say it! He can form his own school, but others can't, just because others don't even have shallow philosophy.
The second level: looking for things that cannot be explained.
A man without learning is not without reason in his stomach and theory in his mind, but without problems in his heart. I have studied philosophy at all times and all over the world, and there are a lot of truths, but there is no problem and it has become a unique thing.
If you have an opinion, you have yourself; Only when you have yourself can you find others and find that people around you have different views from me.
At this time, you feel all kinds of conflicts, contradictions, irrationalities and reasons. So the second step is to use my brain.
Faced with all kinds of problems, I can't tell the truth, I don't want to follow others casually, and I dare not be confident easily. At this time, you are on the right path of learning and asking questions.
The third level: mastery through a comprehensive study
From then on, you will never let go of the views of your predecessors and those of today. If you are slightly different from yourself, you will know to pay attention.
You feel kind when you see the same idea as yourself; I feel alienated when I see something different from my own thoughts. If there are differences, they must be resolved. If there is a gap, we must seek understanding. As a result, the ideas used by the ancients and the present gradually merged into themselves. Your initial views have become the seeds of future college problems. From this germination point, you can absorb nutrients, and then you can grow branches and leaves and take root underground. When the branches and leaves above are sparse and the roots below are deep, learning will become.
This is the only correct way to read, otherwise reading is useless. People who are literate speak their own words, without piling up nouns or quoting; On the contrary, the more books are cited, the fewer people can read them.
The fourth realm: lack of knowledge
The ancients said that "learning is not enough" is correct. I'm afraid you're not careful. When you put your heart into it, you will know to be open-minded. I didn't have a superficial view at the beginning, which was not enough to solve the problem.
The progress of learning is not only the improvement of opinions, but also the refinement of mind and thought and the humility of attitude. A guilty conscience and a secret heart are necessary conditions for reading.
The worst problem is that you know everything at home. Let me ask you something. Does Plato understand? I see. Do Buddhists understand? I see. Do you know anything about Confucianism? I see. Laozi and Yangming also understand; Kant, Russell, Bergson ... all understand They all sound like acquaintances.
Never say that you know everything your predecessors have learned. Because you feel that you don't understand, you can put aside all superficial views and ask for it with complete humility.
A common fault is that your mind is simple, but you say others are simple; I am shallow, but I see others are shallow. Take it for granted to criticize and attack others. It can be said that it was planted intentionally or unintentionally.
On the contrary, when I meet different opinions and ideas, I always doubt that the other person is better than me, and I doubt that he must have something I haven't seen. Why else didn't he make the same judgment as me? I doubt that he must have more ideas than I do, otherwise why do I look at this and he looks at that?
I hope everyone will always remember two words. First, "I am worried that he will surpass me"; Second, "I am worried that I will surpass him."
When I was twenty years old, I first entered Buddhism, and then Confucianism. Because I am worried, I pay attention to people's criticism of Buddhism and Confucianism and try to understand the truth in the West.
The fifth level of the realm: simple and complex.
The closer we get to the investigation, the more in-depth we investigate, and the fragmentary knowledge and opinions will be gone; My heart is full of consistent system, the whole organization. In this way, it can be considered a success. At this time, we can simplify the complex, learn more and feel less.
All systematic ideas are very simple in my mind, as if there were only one or two sentences. All great philosophers have few words, only one or two. The complex and heavy universe is extremely easy in his hands-the so-called ease of lifting weights.
Scholars say it is wrong to have so much knowledge on your shoulders; You're right. I thought there was something at first, but now I know there is nothing. The more I see the truth clearly, the more I feel speechless. It's best not to say anything. I know, but I can't say.
On the other hand, the more people with little knowledge say, the more nouns people with unclear thoughts have. Really scare an uneducated person to see it! In fact, the truth is clear, nouns can be used, but not necessarily, you can also pick them up at will.
The sixth realm: using it freely
Learning depends on whether you can solve the problem. For example, you have learned 18 kinds of martial arts, and your performances are varied. Wait until the war against the enemy, told him to wield a knife into battle, only to find that a set of martial arts have been learned in vain.
If you can't solve the problem, then study is not home. If you learn it, you can solve the problem. A truly learned person can fully use his knowledge. A person who pretends to study doesn't need to study at all.
The seventh realm: all the other mountains are short under the sky. ..
We have tasted the ups and downs of learning, and we can see the gains and losses by looking at other people's views and opinions. This shallow, that home, what is this score, what is that degree, all know very clearly; Because I used to be like this, and all the depth and fineness have passed.
The eighth area: transparency
When you think about it carefully, there is nothing impenetrable in your heart. Everything you say is very incisive and penetrating.
If you do kung fu according to my method, do it according to my method, don't be anxious and persistent, then you will be free from vulgarity, and you will make progress step by step.
As for me personally, I have nothing to say about studying. The above eight floors, the first four floors are really the path for me to study hard; The last four floors are only a few visible ears at best-they are just visible and can't be true. When I was young, I wanted to make contributions, but I was ignorant. Twenty or thirty years old is a little thoughtful, but also very hasty; In recent years, the problem has shifted to practical and specific national and social problems. The purpose of the mind is different.
Finally, I want to make a solemn statement to you: I have never been a learned person or an accomplished person. I thought about it for a long time. Who am I? I may be the one with the problem!