Philosophy

The life of a human being receives its worth, its importance, from the way in which unrealised ideals shape its purposes and tinge its actions.  The distinction between man and animal is in one sense only a difference in degree, but the extent of the degree is what makes all the difference.  Becoming men did not make us philosophers, scientists, or theologians, debating about the possibility to find the truth of the universe and God.  It primordially made us poets, that would catch the gleam of sunlight on foliage and wonder, rather than stick to the business of mere survival, be it biological, social, or academic.  Men are children of the universe with foolish enterprise and unrealised hopes. The search for responsibility is a particular case of a foolish enterprise, a witness to the importance we assign to unrealised ideals.  The same is philosophy, which embodies the adventure of hope, with the ultimate aim of experiencing disclosure.  - Isabelle Stenger