I knew there had to be a reason that I kept notes

In addition to writing in two blogs I keep a personal journal to track the evolution of my thoughts. While reading an entry from a year ago, I came across a quote from a short blog post from James Garvey at Talking Philosophy Magazine. The theme of this post has dominated my thought lately, having been fueled by a discussion with my roommate about whether developing a personal philosophy as a goal is selfish.

I think Garvey's anecdotal lesson is something of a warning to thinkers. A solution is only valuable if it solves a problem, and problems are of relative importance to people. Therefore, it may just be foolish to presume I'm pursuing a noble and universal truth.

Coming to grips with this fact may clear up a lot of questions about the pursuit of happiness that I've been pondering about as well. However, the caffeine is wearing off now and I'm afraid my intellectual energies need to be put on hold so I can finish off the pile of Netflix movies at our house.

The quote from Garvey:

It pushes me again to the thought that the headlines are all wrong.  Philosophy isn’t the love of wisdom or the pursuit of truth; it’s nearer an effort to think through your own conception of things, make things clearer for yourself, render coherent your own outlook.  In stockpiling all your premises and conclusions, the only person you will ever convince is yourself.  And that’s if you’re lucky.