Moments of Life

Moments of Life

How does it seem to be that a natural man who has devoted his life to philosophy should be cheerful in the face of death? It seems that he is confident of finding the greatest blessing in the next world when his life is finished. Philosophy and religion have many differences pertaining to how you live your life and what happens to your soul when you die. Their ideas are so different, yet so alike.

Living a philosophical life is to find the truth, to search for wisdom. The love and pursuit of wisdom is religious in a way. It is essential for the nurturing and growth of the soul as well as for the health and welfare of the state. "The unexamined life is not worth living" (Apology 38a). Socrates would rather die than give up philosophy.

Philosophy is the practice for death and dying because it is the performance for separation from the body, in which a philosopher is trying to achieve the whole time, trying to separate your soul from the worldly desires. There is not a point in partaking of these worldly desires because they are never perfect. No matter how beautiful something is, it is never perfect, there is always something that could be changed to make it better. The separation of the body and soul is a philosopher's wish being granted.

The art of practicing philosophy can be devoted into one group: the progression and knowledge of the soul. Socrates was put in Athens in order to push people, to have them challenge their own souls knowledge. Socrates says that philosophy is the only thing that should be practiced during your life because you are being righteous while doing so. If you practice anything else, it means that you have been wrongly involved and you will be as a wolf or some other uneducated creature in the next life. Your goal is to practice the arts in order to become an educated creature, such as an ant or a bee.

"Christ is not valued at all unless He is valued above all" (Augustine). Augustine thought of the religious life is looked at to be the most virtuous life style; therefore he strictly lived by it. Exuihilo is Greek for "God created the world out of nothing." That is what Augustine believes and stands by. Augustine answers that no one can live a good life, or even want to, without special help from God, which he does not always give. God's help is a "grace". It cannot be earned or deserved, but is given without cause, and only to "the elect", those to whom God has chosen from predestined to give it. We have the free choice of the will, which is physical and metaphysical freedom. In God, you have to believe in order to understand.

There are also many differences between philosophy and religion. For example, the proposal of courage. In the religious world, someone is brave in fear of something worse. Another example of courage in the religion would be that in effect of fear makes for ordinary bravery, which is illogical. The religious are not courageous because they don't understand courage, it just happens upon courageous acts in fleeing a greater evil. In the philosopher's world, bravery comes through preparation, knowledge, and, of course, the mastery of fear. Now in the aspect of temperance, the religious refrain from certain desires since some might cause them to lose objects of desire. In effect, desire makes restrain desire, which is illogical. They are also not temperate through understanding; their temperate actions are caused by further desire. In the motive of temperance, philosophers are masters of desire, and the