According to a Greek philosopher who lived over two thousand years ago, philosophy arose from the ability of men to be surprised. The man finds it ...

According to a Greek philosopher who lived over two thousand years ago, philosophy arose from the ability of men to be surprised. The man finds it so strange to live that philosophical questions arise on their own. (...) The ability to be surprised is the only thing we need to become good philosophers. All children have this ability, that is obvious. With a few months of life, they begin to perceive a completely new reality. But as they grow up, this ability seems to diminish. (...) Long before the child learns to speak correctly (...) the world has become something habitual for them. It's a shame. (...) We lose during our childhood the ability to be surprised by the world. But with that, we lose something essential - something that philosophers want to revive. Because something in us tells us that life is a great mystery. We had that feeling long before we learned to think about it. (...) Although all philosophical questions concern all men, not all men become philosophers. For various reasons, most are so caught up in everyday life that astonishment at life is very scarce. (...) For children, the world - and everything in it - is something new, something that causes astonishment. Adults don't see it that way. Most adults see the world as something completely normal. Philosophers are a remarkable exception. A philosopher never completely gets used to the world. For a philosopher, the world is still incomprehensible, even enigmatic and mysterious. Philosophers and young children have an important quality in common. "You can say that a philosopher remains as capable of being surprised throughout his life as a young child."