"My essential interest in life IS exploring the many philosophy(s) by which people live and understanding why they think and act the way they do..."

*sigh*...that is called 'equivocating' on the word 'philosophy'. Yes, the word is commonly applied to the simple idea of 'how regular people think about stuff'--- but **Philosophy** IS a serious attempt to categorize and analyze what is involved in that 'thinking'.

"I've been digging deeper ever since I learned to read."

....sure...fine...and important & interesting to do... but it's a bit like saying you have planted and tended a garden, and then claiming you have "studied botany". There ARE details and distinctions to be made that NO amount of "digging deeper" will cope with. That doesn't mean "philosophers" lead better lives or are happier than "diggers", but they DO provide a systematic nomenclature for those who try to avoid equivocations and misunderstandings and 'homey aphorisms' masquerading as philosophy.

You have obviously found the path YOU walk best in....but you sure do denigrate those who climb obscure paths into remote areas 'because they are there'.