What does Philosophy FEEL like? How vague can I possibly be?
I know its a strange, but after hours and hours of inquiry today, I came up with a fitting analogy of what the process of inquiry feel like for me. Its a unique feeling for a unique activity.
Thought begins to consolidate, new inquiries spring off to other ideas, the order is altered, the arguments vary – the process is genuinely moving in its own way.
For me, developing inquiry is like the formation of clouds. Ideas start to combine and something that was mist begins to take shape from the ether. Blurry and vague, but visable high in the air – beginning as a mist ant getting more and more opaque.
New shapes begin to form, mostly expanding, some contracting, a storm is developing. A poignant perspective is being realized, and idea is being refined and expanded.
Some clouds break away and fade off into the mist while others begin new turbulent storm clouds. Thoughts are discarded, thoughts are put aside, and new ideas and concepts build off at their own inquiry, or as a major contributer to the flourishing of the first inquiry.
When the conditions are just right, the storm comes together and it finally happens – lightning. A breakthrough, with the formulating of ideas comes a blast of
The clouds shimmer and boom and the rain begins to fall. Usually it begins with a trickle but sometimes it starts off in torrents. That which previously was so high above finally returns and brings its effects below.
The storm will keep expanding, the rain will cease and persist, the shapes will toil, spin, and grow. The ideas will continue to build indeffinitely, more and more poignant realizations or ways of thinking are being produced. Sometimes there are dry spells, but the base ideas in general will keep evolving and storming.
It is at this point that I usually have to bring myself to stop the inquiry, at least for the moment. There are always too many storms, too many ideas and processes – and it is impossible to find an end.
The benefit is, there is always new lightning – new excitement and realization, and there is always the rain – the tangible application of these ideas, where they come down from high above affect the world below.
Inquiry is like this for me… thats what Philosophy feels like to me.
Its a beautiful thing, I’m actually going to write more as soon as I am awake tomorrow. Time to brave the storms!
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