Philosophy is Your Calling

At the very opening of the Bible, in Genesis 1, we see the foundation for philosophy. In verse 2, God speaks, saying "Let there be light." Through a rational articulation, he creates light. Thus, the creation is intelligible. He then separates the light from the darkness. He doesn't just cut the undifferentiated porridge of created stuff into blocks. He creates order, distinguishing discernible parts with an intelligible relation to one another. He then names the parts. The light he calls day, and the darkness he calls night. He proceeds this way for six days, and calls it "good," again speaking. Our world is ordered, intelligible, and good.

God then made Adam in his image. He brought animals before him so Adam could name them. In other words, he called Adam to understand the creation, to distinguished between the creatures and understand the specific difference of each one. Naming is an articulation of that understanding. Adam's first task after he was created was philosophy.

Philosophy is a uniquely human activity. Beasts can't do it. It fulfils what is uniquely human in us: our rational and moral faculties. It is the fulfillment of our divine calling as human beings. (Philosophy per se is rare among us, but everyone does it somewhat. We all distinguish between things, and seek the truth at some level or another, just not honestly and rigorously.)

Through philosophical investigation, you glorify God as youy see the order in what he has created. The awe you experience when you see order and meaning where before you had not is, for those who know the Lord, a form of worship. When you see a deeper beauty or intelligibility than you had previously understood and your thoughts fly to the Creator, you magnify him.

Secondly, you take dominion in obedience to the creation mandate when you understand the nature of things created. We are accustomed to thinking of dominion in terms of technology, making the world do what you want by understanding the way it works. But what a thing is is more than just the way it works.

Lastly, through philosophy, you affirm yourself as human rather than bestial. If you live your life merely eating and passing what you eat, you are obviously not living a fully human life. Human being are made for than that. We are made for friendship, for worship, and for the rational understanding of our world in all its dimensions, viz. for philosophy. Understanding the world philosophically affirms the order and goodness of God's creation.