Philosophy and Notes on Life
A reflection on why philosophy matters in today’s world
I often describe this era as the “age of information overload,” where being philosophical can feel too slow, unnecessary, or even pointless. We are constantly pushed to pick sides and to be reactionary.
Yet as we swim in an ocean of words, opinions, images, and endless commentary, scrolling past persuasive headlines, short-form videos, edited viral clips, algorithms that track our interests, and millions of posts each day—I can’t think of a better time to step back and study human nature, and how we might improve.
The problems we face today can feel overwhelming, yet I am certain every age has felt that way. When I read passages written thousands of years ago, I find a strange comfort in realizing that the same fears, struggles, and questions moved through their world as well. War and peace, cruelty and compassion, riches and poverty, creation and destruction have always unfolded side by side. The earth itself reflects this as well: times of storms and calm, growth and decay, birth and extinction. This is one reason I write so often about duality. While knowing these patterns are ancient does not make them easier to bear, it does help us understand the conditions and patterns in which human life unfolds.
Have we ever known life in recorded history to be any different? Have humans ever lived without knowing war, murder, and injustice? And have we ever been without love, care, and the search for happiness? The pendulum always swings both ways.
Even the systems we build to guide society, such as: religion, government, and law—have always produced both good and harm. They bring order and meaning, yet they also carry the potential for corruption, control, and conflict.
Accepting this reality is difficult. We want to believe that if we could just find the right system, the right leader, or the right ideology, we might finally eliminate the side of the coin we don't like. Yet what we see in the world is often the harvest of seeds planted long before we noticed them growing.
For all our technological advancement, it sometimes feels as though we have drifted away from individual responsibility. Many people move through life anchored in group identity, as if belonging to a side absolves them from examining who they themselves are becoming.
But despite the many challenges of our time, one thing I genuinely appreciate is that we have access to more recorded knowledge than any generation before us. We can study and compare thousands of years of beliefs, moral systems, and human development, reading philosophers, teachers, poets, and religious traditions from cultures across the world. Understanding humanity, and ourselves—does not have to be just more noise. It can guide us toward living more thoughtfully and to the best of our ability.
There has never been a more important time to watch what we ourselves are becoming. I believe that if personal responsibility and reflection were more widely encouraged, we would see deeper and more lasting change in humanity than any system or movement of blame could produce on its own.