The Three Sages and "I Take a Philosophy Class"

(I was sitting all alone in the cobblestone square of Athens. Why do people worry? Why do we think? Then, an old man appeared.)

Socrates (frowning)
"Hmm... you seem to be deep in thought. Are you lost?"

"Huh? ...Yeah. I don't really understand what philosophy is for."

Socrates (grinning)
"Then that is a good start. The one who knows that they 'do not know' is the one who has taken the first step into philosophy."

"But philosophy is full of difficult books... where should I start?"

Socrates (raising a finger)
"Then, let's go on a 'time travel of philosophy' for your sake. Are you prepared to ask 'why?'"

■ 5th Century BC: The Beginning of Inquiry

Socrates
"In my time, there were many people in Athens who 'pretended to know.' I kept asking them, 'Do you really know that?' That was the beginning of philosophy."

"So philosophy is 'continuing to ask questions'?"

Socrates (nodding)
"Exactly. The 'awareness of ignorance' is the starting point of knowledge. From there, my student
Plato thought of 'Ideas,' and his student Aristotle emphasized 'this real world' and built logic."

■ The Middle Ages: The Marriage of God and Philosophy

Socrates
"As time passed and Christianity spread, philosophy joined hands with 'God.' People like Thomas Aquinas preached that 'faith and reason can coexist.'"

"Was philosophy absorbed into religion?"

Socrates
"Not absorbed. It was a 'dialogue.' Thinking about God was also one of the questions of philosophy."

■ The Modern Era: Humans Become the Center

Socrates (pointing to the sky)
"And then one day, a man named Descartes appeared and said—'I think, therefore I am.'"

"...I've heard that before!"

Socrates
"He doubted everything, and based his existence on the 'self that is thinking' which remained. This is where 'modern philosophy' begins."

"So, the center of philosophy shifted from 'God' to 'human'."

■ The Modern and Contemporary Era: The Explosion of Inquiry and Reinterpretation of the World

Socrates (whispering)
"After that, Kant asked 'How do humans perceive the world?', Nietzsche declared 'God is dead', and Heidegger re-examined 'What is human existence?'"

"It feels like it's getting deeper and deeper, doesn't it?"

Socrates
"Exactly. It wasn't the 'answers' that deepened, but the 'quality of the questions.' And philosophy would go on to take root in various fields—psychology, political science, AI ethics..."

Socrates
"I shall grant you one final question.——What is your own 'why'?"

"...Why do I worry every single day?"

Socrates (standing up with a laugh)
"A good question. That 'worry' of yours will become the beacon of your thinking.
You are already a philosopher."