The New Philosophy: Friends of Knowledge or Knowledge about Friends?

Philosophy, from the Greek philos (friend, lover) and sophia (knowledge, wisdom), etymologically means "the love of wisdom." In the collective imagination, philosophy tries to answer the questions, "who are we? where are we going?" but time, history, sciences, the various philosophical schools have not been able to provide an answer, perhaps because a definite answer cannot be given.

Two great painters have tried to depict these concepts: Raphael with The School of Athens and Gauguin with Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? Raphael places at the centre of the fresco Plato and Aristotle who, respectively, point to heaven and earth, spirituality and reality, while Gauguin depicts the path of humanity from birth to old age, considering death. And today? The problem of philosophy today could be "what is today's philosophy?" Are we still eager to ask ourselves questions, to look for answers?

Looking at the various social media and television programs, we are able to see how much interest is being directed on... the lives of others. Reality shows like the "Big Brother," "The Island of the Famous" have high ratings, fragmented personal stories are posted pending to be "liked" and filling the lives of so many people.

The Angelas, father and son, are also around as well as the various Focus programs and sites that lead to other sectors. Social media as a mirror of life? How much do television and social media influence what we like and how much does what we like influence social media? The early philosophers questioned themselves about great problems, about the origin of the world, about life and death, and many philosophers still do, but actor Shelley Berman also said: "If you've never met a philosopher, I'll describe him to you. If you give him a glass of water, he says, 'This is a glass of water. But is it a glass of water? And if it is a glass of water, why is it a glass of water?” And eventually he dies of thirst. But let's take things philosophically and try to get to know ourselves better.

TEST

1) Which punctuation mark do you prefer

a) the period
b) the question mark
c) the exclamation mark

2) A person is honest when
a) he or she respects the law
b) he or she follows his or her own conscience
c) he or she wants to assert his or her own rights

3) You want to give a gift to your colleagues; you choose something
a) useful
b) personal
c) funny

4) Family means
a) understanding
b) limitations
c) safety

5) Some acquaintances speak ill of you
a) as long as people talk about you, you let it go
b) you ask them for explanations
c) in turn, you speak badly of them

6) At school we study
a) too much
b) too little
c) just right

7) You choose to make your declaration of love
a) in a romantic place
b) in front of everyone
c) wherever

8) To say vulgar words is a sign of
a) novelty
b) bad education
c) creativity

9) They reprimanded you; you think
a) they're a bit right
b) they didn't understand me
c) I'll get back at them

10) A friend has left his letter on a table; you
a) immediately read it
b) have no interest in the matter
c) are curious but you don't read it

11) You have a doubt; you
a) speak about it with friends
b) talk to your partner
c) consult books or Internet on the matter

12) They tell you that a new colleague is not seeing anyone
a) you're not interested
b) you think: he is very reserved
c) you think: what a suspicious person

13) For a trip to go well it's important
a) to have information on the place you’re going
b) to be in good company
c) that it be not too tiring

14) Best friends are
a) those you are useful
b) girlfriends or boyfriends
c) the more the merrier

15) Money is made to be
a) spent
b) saved
c) invested

SCORE

EXPLANATIONS

FROM 45 TO 36 POINTS:

FRIEND OF KNOWLEDGE
You like to understand what is happening and you like to try to understand why it's happening. You have many interests and you want to experiment with new things. All of this is positive; the important thing is not to forget to combine theoretical knowledge with practical knowledge.

FROM 35 TO 26 POINTS:
VARIOUS FRIENDSHIPS
You are someone who loves curiosity and commitment. You also like entertainment and relaxing evenings, talking about everything and anything because you believe that even trivial topics can sometimes be entertaining and fun, as long as it's on occasion.

FROM 25 TO 15 POINTS:
KNOWING YOUR FRIEND
You like to be informed, and in particular about what's going on with your friends or popular people especially in the entertainment world. You don't mind being the centre of attention, in fact, you look for opportunities to draw attention. Just a thought: sometimes it may be useful to ask yourself, "What am I known for and who knows me?"

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