The Ten Commandments of Philosophy
Taken from Philosophy: The Quest for Truth by Louis P. Pojman
1. Allow the Spirit of wonder to flourish in your heart. Philosophy begins with deep wonder about the universe, who we are, where we come from, and where we are going. What is this life all about?
2 . Doubt every claim you encounter until the evidence convinces you of its Truth. Be reasonably cautious, a moderate skeptic, suspicious of those who claim to have the Truth. Do not fear intellectual inquiry. Don't be a hard-core skeptic nor dogmatic. Hard-core skeptics think they cannot know anything while dogmatics think they know it all. Neither leaves any room for growth.
3. Love the Truth. "Philosophy is the eternal search for truth, a search which inevitably fails and yet is never defeated; which continually eludes us, but which always guides us. This free, intellectual life fo the mind is the noblest inheritance of the Western World; it is also the hope of our future." (W. T. Jones)
4. Divide and Conquer. Divide each problem and theory into its smallest essential components in order to analyze each unit carefully. This is the analytic method.
5. Collect and Construct. Build a coherent argument or theory from component parts. One should move from the simple, secure foundations to the complex and comprehensive. Bertrand Russell once said that the aim of philosophical arguments is to move from simple propositions so obvious that no one would think of doubting them to conclusions so preposterous that one could help but doubt.
6. Conjecture and Refute. Make a complete survey of possible objections to your position, looking for counter-examples and subtle mistakes.
7. Revise and Rebuild. Be willing to revise, reject, and modify your beliefs and the degree with which your hold any belief. Acknowledge that you probably have many false beliefs and be grateful to those who correct you. This is the Principle of Fallibilism, the thesis that we are likely incorrect in many of our beliefs and have a tendency towards self-deception when considering objections to our possitions.
8. Seek Simplicity. Prefer the Simpler Explanation to the more complex, all things being equal. This is the Principle of Parsimony, also known as "Occam's Razor".
9. Live the Truth. Appropriate your ideas in a personal way, so that even as the Objective Truth is a correspondence of the thought to the world.
10. Live the Good. Let the practical conclusions of a philosophical reflection on the moral life inspire and motivate you to action.
What does it all mean?