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What are the personal benefits and personal risks associated with studying philosophy?

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    Been through this at a young age - Formed a somewhat consistent world view that guides my actions and thought process all the time. It's like once you understand Newtons laws of motion, everything that moves is suddenly something you can figure out, if you try. There is no going back to a naive state. It is like discovering that stage magicians are tricksters and that magic doesn't exist. You cannot undo this knowledge and this way of thinking. In some ways it is like being intensely religious, except that instead of looking for answers in a book, you tend to keep questioning every possible thing and expect an answer only from your rational mind. It makes you a bit cynical, because the naive explanations that society and culture give you for many things are not adequate for an inquiring mind. It makes you always feel that something is missing, an itch that can never be scratched. You will often be accused of "thinking too much" and "complicating things unnecessarily" and your response to these will probably be, rather than bashing their heads, to start philosophizing in your head about why you wanted to bash their heads in response to those words. If you are lucky, you will find friends and loved ones who are OK with talking about the continuity of consciousness or the existence of free will at 3 AM, but for the most part you will lose touch with the art of "small talk" and this may be a social barrier. You will tend to be very objective and stop worrying about the small picture - things like celebrating birthdays will seem like childish pastimes, and you will need to learn to fake it. I mean, an arbitrary angular position on the earths orbit is somehow supposed to be significant? OK! If it makes you happy, sure! Don't be flippant about anniversaries though - Even philosophers need significant others (oft times they are not so philosophical - look at poor Socrates). You will feel alone at times but not lonely, and never bored, because even without any other external phenomena, your mind alone is enough to travel down myriad paths of conception - There are millions of "What if" questions you can play with if you become a true philosopher. Say goodbye to an idle mind. On the whole it is a better state to be in, and if you combine it with a good understanding of scientific principles and some math, it feels great. The unexamined life is one not worth living - thus spake some wise philosopher and philosophy is nothing but examination, of life and everything else.

Vivek Nagarajan at Quora Visit the source

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Having studied political and some classical philosophy in college, I see no risks at all, only benefits. Philosophy forces examination and consideration of an issue. It builds critical thinking skills, adds to one's worldview, and quite often makes the individual a better communicator. These are great skills/abilities for anyone to have. They're useful every single day of your life. Beyond this, Philosophy gives one a broader view of different ideas, approaches to solving problems, etc.. While it may not definitively answer anything at times, it continues the conversation on so many issues. If you disagree with a certain philosophical view, studying it often makes one develop a better point of view against it.

Martin Molloy

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading different philosophies and their philosophers, but I have a feeling anyone who answers this question is going to talk about the positives, so I'll share my own insight. Philosophy has no answers. That's the point. Philosophy is to question everything around you, for many reasons, one being to gain a greater appreciation of the things around you, that sometimes there really aren't answers and it makes us feel insignificant and overwhelmed by our own existence. The main issue I've found with this is that when people question one thing, they will begin to question everything- their own abilities, feelings or what have you. Soon there is no truth and no faith in anything. To keep questioning the basics, you can never understand the deeper aspects of life. The best example I can think of is if someone kept questioning the existence of gravity, wondering if it really was there at all, or if anything that we know about gravity were correct. If you keep questioning the basics, like gravity, you are never going to understand anything higher than it. The deeper concepts elude you, and you are lost in a sea of unanswerable questions. Understanding comes from finding answers, not more and more questions. For that reason I feel studying philosophy tends to give a sense of futility and can pose a real threat to learning.

Chloe Nicole DuBois

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