A short podcast mini-chapter (from Brian Johnson's A Philosopher's Notes) in which Brian Johnson explains why he calls himself a philosopher. He defines the Greek roots (philo + sophia) to show a philosopher is a "lover of wisdom," where wisdom is framed as knowledge of life, and briefly invites listeners to engage with his newsletter and book.
You're listening to Optimize with Bryan Johnson. More Wisdom in Less Time this is a mini chapter from Brian's book A Philosopher's Notes. You can find it on Amazon.
A Lover of Wisdom. Alright, my hunch is you might be wondering who I think I am calling myself a philosopher. So let's address that real quick like, shall we? First, a little language lesson. The classic Greeks had three words for Eros, for sexual love, agape for selfless love, and philo for a brotherly sort of love. Philo shows up in Philanthropist, which is a lover of people. And in one of my favorite words, philosopher. Philo plus Sophia equals lover of wisdom, where wisdom is knowledge of life. Therefore, a philosopher is quite simply someone in love with understanding how to create an authentically awesome life. Isn't that hot. I thought so too. So that's why I call myself a philosopher. I'm super passionate about understanding how to live an extraordinary life as I make my little dent in the universe. How about you?
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