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Without philosophy human beings are little above animals

Human being, ( Ashrafal Makhlookaat as declared by Allah


SUbhana wa Taala) is the most complex entity and above ALL
other creations in the universe. The point to ponder is what
privilege has it got that has risen it above millions of other
creations. Some people might answer, Knowledge, affirmative.
But from where does knowledge come from, what is it exactly. In
my opinion, knowledge is a branch of tree , what we call brain,
and its main root and stem is thinking. Without thinking,
knowledge of any thing would not have been possible, and
without thinking, a brain is nothing but cluster of neurons. Such a
brain is even possessed by animals.
Now, let us move on to word thinking. Here I am certainly
not referring to simply the dictionary meaning, but the context in
which I am discussing it, goes way beyond that. There are few
aspects of thinking which I am going to discuss below.
In a dictionary it might be defined as ability to have an
opinion, to have a belief. Now, almost everyone has certain
beliefs, certain opinions which are not their own. They would
religiously follow their traditions because their ancestors have
done so, without bringing a why in their minds. As Einstein said

Few are those who can see with their own eyes and hear with
their own hearts. 2
These few are actually philosophers who delve into things. Their
inquisitive minds dont let them be contended with seemingly
obvious truths. The truth about the reality of things, about God,
about the traditions & beliefs, the life here after__ in short
everything that might not arise interest of a man whos primary
interest is making more and more money; i.e. the practical man.
Such a man would find the pursuit of truth and knowledge to be

trivial. Instead of probing into reality they would rather go on


passing their meaningless lives, growing only outwardly and
then dying. But these people actually remind me of an
experiment performed on monkeys. Here is how it goes:
In a cage with few monkeys, scientists placed a bunch of bananas
on the top of a ladder. But whenever a monkey tried to climb it up
freezing cold water was thrown on others. After this happened a
few times, if ever a monkey tried to climb the ladder up, others
started beating him. So everyone gave up trying. Then a new
monkey was made to enter the cage he also tried to climb but
others started beating him. So, in the end, it also gave up. Then
another monkey entered the cage and naturally, finding the
bunch of bananas tempting, it tried to get it, but it was again
beaten up and this time, the previous new monkey also joined
others. So, gradually, all the older monkeys were replaced by new
ones and even though, no water was thrown on them, they would
treat everyone the same way. Why? Because, they had seen the
older monkeys doing so.
Doesnt it sound familiar? We do this because our ancestors have
done so. Isnt this how traditions and beliefs are set? If THIS is
the answer then how are we different from those monkeys?
In my opinion, it isnt mathematics, but its philosophy that is
the mother of all sciences. For instance, in mathematics theorems
are proved by using seemingly obvious facts, which when
arranged logically, lead to more complex answers, revealing the
bigger truth. And all these truths ultimately lead to that one truth
that is somehow shrouded but at the same time revealing. In fact,
Newtons great work was called The mathematical principles of
natural philosophy.
Take physics, how Newton discovered law of gravity by
watching an apple falling from a tree. It is an everyday
observation, a very usual thing. But a philosophers inquisitive

mind would find a question in even such a trivial occurrence, and


then he would endeavor to find an answer to it. This is how a
mind develops and discovers its own depths. So basically, it is the
curiosity to find answers which is the blood of philosophy. This is
why, human beings have made this much development__ from
being an ape to the one discovering galaxies, for whom even
universe is not the limit.
According to Plato,
There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity
itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we
now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers,
and political power and philosophy thus come into the same
hands.(3)
The point behind it is that only a philosopher has the mental
ability to reach the root cause of problems, to analyze them
rationally and then finding a solution to it. Ultimately its for the
betterment of the people. Even greatest businessmen have been
philosophers. The biggest and profoundest philosophy is behind
the creation of this universe, which perhaps our minds dont have
the capacity to absorb.
So, with this thinking ability, we have traversed the journey
from being a human hunting with a spear to the one who can
even clone a human being. The only distinguishing factor
between the two is the ability of contemplating and pondering
which is what philosophy is all about.

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