Before offering guidance, we must define what a philosopher is. Today, the word refers to at least two kinds of people: academic professors and lovers of wisdom.
Only recently have lovers of wisdom begun reclaiming the title. In academic settings, philosophy has often become abstract, technical, and detached from life. It was not always so. Philosophy once meant a lived pursuit, a disciplined search for wisdom and the good life.
Some institutions claim that becoming a philosopher requires formal degrees. But if that were true, Socrates, Confucius, and the Buddha would not qualify. Such credentials may be required for teaching, but not for philosophy itself.
The essential requirement is simpler: to pursue wisdom and the good life through reason, observation, and deep reflection.
You may call yourself a philosopher, though academia may not accept it. But philosophy is not about recognition. It is about learning how to live well.
Many academic philosophers study and teach the ideas of others. That has value, but it is not the same as the original pursuit.
The title is not the point. The pursuit is.
