Why Study Philosophy?
Why Study Philosophy?
There are many reasons to study philosophy, from moral, to practical, to hedonistic/Epicurean (the philosophy of pleasure associated with 3rd century B.C. garden philosopher, Epicurus), to scientific, to even religious.
Once we recognize that we don't know the ultimate answers to the most ultimate questions about how we should live, and the nature of the Divine and reality in general, the remaining desire to live a morally good life, a pious life, a happy life, of even simply an honest life, seems to compel us, as the great philosopher, Socrates, (who said 'All I know is I know nothing') famously maintained, to devote ourselves to this quest. In fact, as Plato famously argued, our ordinary, pre-philosophic beliefs are similar to living in a dark cave never having once glimpsed the light; we simply grow up acquiring beliefs much like an uncleaned shelf acquires dust over the years, never inquiring into the their ultimate basis. We are like a tree already with a trunk and branches but poorly formed roots. Thus often our self-value and sense of meaning in life is very precarious, because we are literally living a lie. This is the ultimate source of much of the rage and despair we see in people today. Even if the quest for an ultimate basis of our beliefs may turn out to be partly elusive, it seems that human beings, or at least some of them, have a great longing for such a basis that compels us to make this quest for the satisfaction of our own conscience, a quest that can be enormously therapeutic and by which we can come to know what Leo Strauss called 'the true human community', which due to the inherently separate and private nature of the body, can only ever be a community of thought, of ideas, or of the mind.
Science today, just like religion in the past, claims to be an authoritative source of knowledge. It claims to be unlike religion in being based on a rigorous method of experiment and observation which all but guarantees its validity. However, until we have thoroughly investigated such claims in the light of ultimate questions about what knowledge is and how it can ever be securely obtained, it cannot or should not have any binding force over us. In matter of fact, there is widespread dispute and controvery even within the scientific community itself about the reliability of much of the research published even in its most eminent journals, especially regarding the social sciences. And stories of corruption abound. Therefore, while certainly an important part of our culture that has led to many technological and material advances, it does not seem that 'Science' is a very sure foundation of knowledge. And this is even more true in the domain of values, of which science itself generally admits to being an incapable arbiter and in which the biases of Power and Custom still heavily distort things.
Yet the notion that Facts and Values are totally incommunicable with/ irreducible to one another is a highly dubious, if not outright fallacious modern notion that we must be sure does not go unchallenged. in order to create or discover values that are in accord with our ultimate happiness, to realize our true will, to be effective in the world, we have to understand the nature of the machine we are dealing with as best we can. And that includes, most crucially of all, the machine that we ourselves are. One wouldn't try getting into the cockpit and flying a plane if one had never studied it, so why do we think we can operate the most complex machine in the known universe, the human brain, without similarly studying and coming to understand human nature? And the nature of society which has shaped us, and provides much of the domain for meaningful action? That is why these are questions which have long dominated philosophy as well as more recent modern day 'Science', and we shall be paying particular attention to them in our own inquiries.
Thus, philosophy is not merely a moral or scientific imperative (though it certainly is that), but essential to our own happiness and sense of mental and physical well-being. It is not really some specialized 'discipline', as it is often distorted as today, (or merely a collective endeavour in the manner of 'Science'), but actually a crucial stage in all of our individual and collective development. That is also why it has often been described as 'a way of life', since the questions it raises are deep waters which one can easily devote a whole life time to trying to unravel; and thereby doing, one will undoubtedly perform a most invaluable social function, an 'archetype' (to quote C. G. Jung) of acting as a guide to truth and the best manner of life for others - for according to many, the function of a philosopher, as he who views 'the Truth' as it really is, is almost inseparable from spiritual leader or law-giver for a whole society, or even, nowadays, the whole of humankind. However, we seek to have as many 'leaders' as we can! Particularly for the young (although potentially at almost any age), it marks their coming into their own and discovering themselves anew, after a life time of socially inculcated programming, permitting a form of direct and intimate connection with the truth, with reality that can be hugely inspiring and empowering, rather than the extremely mediated manner, via institutions of power, which we are used to. This is one of the reasons why philosophy or the life of free thought is often put forward as the good or happy life, since it allows for an almost 'god-like' sense of self-sufficiency and spiritual independence on the part of its practicioners that makes them a blessing to both themselves and to those around them. That is why I do not urge people to simply become 'readers of philosophy' deferring to tradition or popular currents but active philosophers in their own right relying as much as possible on their own steam; in other words, since the nature of reality is individual, the quest for meaning itself is not an abstract, bloodless quest that others can do for you, but fundamentally the most vital and potentially life-changing question of all: 'what is MY meaning?', which though some may find challenging and can certainly be informed by the thoughts of others, (as we will do very much in this course by studying the Great Works), the beauty of it is that it is also essentially a matter of harking to responses of one's own heart, which many of us have suppressed for far too long to the detriment of our own sense of self-worth and happiness. Lastly, the love and facility for questioning and multiple perspectives and answers it opens up acts as a tremendous vaccine against censorious fanaticism, to which we as a society today are becoming increasingly once again prey, as we have so many times before. This is just one more reason why it is so crucial that all young people today be taught philosophy, which in a supposedly 'free society' represents the basis of true, (rather than merely ideologically stated), freedom and sense of all-around well-being.
There are many reasons to study philosophy, from moral, to practical, to hedonistic/Epicurean (the philosophy of pleasure associated with 3rd century B.C. garden philosopher, Epicurus), to scientific, to even religious.
Once we recognize that we don't know the ultimate answers to the most ultimate questions about how we should live, and the nature of the Divine and reality in general, the remaining desire to live a morally good life, a pious life, a happy life, of even simply an honest life, seems to compel us, as the great philosopher, Socrates, (who said 'All I know is I know nothing') famously maintained, to devote ourselves to this quest. In fact, as Plato famously argued, our ordinary, pre-philosophic beliefs are similar to living in a dark cave never having once glimpsed the light; we simply grow up acquiring beliefs much like an uncleaned shelf acquires dust over the years, never inquiring into the their ultimate basis. We are like a tree already with a trunk and branches but poorly formed roots. Thus often our self-value and sense of meaning in life is very precarious, because we are literally living a lie. This is the ultimate source of much of the rage and despair we see in people today. Even if the quest for an ultimate basis of our beliefs may turn out to be partly elusive, it seems that human beings, or at least some of them, have a great longing for such a basis that compels us to make this quest for the satisfaction of our own conscience, a quest that can be enormously therapeutic and by which we can come to know what Leo Strauss called 'the true human community', which due to the inherently separate and private nature of the body, can only ever be a community of thought, of ideas, or of the mind.
Science today, just like religion in the past, claims to be an authoritative source of knowledge. It claims to be unlike religion in being based on a rigorous method of experiment and observation which all but guarantees its validity. However, until we have thoroughly investigated such claims in the light of ultimate questions about what knowledge is and how it can ever be securely obtained, it cannot or should not have any binding force over us. In matter of fact, there is widespread dispute and controvery even within the scientific community itself about the reliability of much of the research published even in its most eminent journals, especially regarding the social sciences. And stories of corruption abound. Therefore, while certainly an important part of our culture that has led to many technological and material advances, it does not seem that 'Science' is a very sure foundation of knowledge. And this is even more true in the domain of values, of which science itself generally admits to being an incapable arbiter and in which the biases of Power and Custom still heavily distort things.
Yet the notion that Facts and Values are totally incommunicable with/ irreducible to one another is a highly dubious, if not outright fallacious modern notion that we must be sure does not go unchallenged. in order to create or discover values that are in accord with our ultimate happiness, to realize our true will, to be effective in the world, we have to understand the nature of the machine we are dealing with as best we can. And that includes, most crucially of all, the machine that we ourselves are. One wouldn't try getting into the cockpit and flying a plane if one had never studied it, so why do we think we can operate the most complex machine in the known universe, the human brain, without similarly studying and coming to understand human nature? And the nature of society which has shaped us, and provides much of the domain for meaningful action? That is why these are questions which have long dominated philosophy as well as more recent modern day 'Science', and we shall be paying particular attention to them in our own inquiries.
Thus, philosophy is not merely a moral or scientific imperative (though it certainly is that), but essential to our own happiness and sense of mental and physical well-being. It is not really some specialized 'discipline', as it is often distorted as today, (or merely a collective endeavour in the manner of 'Science'), but actually a crucial stage in all of our individual and collective development. That is also why it has often been described as 'a way of life', since the questions it raises are deep waters which one can easily devote a whole life time to trying to unravel; and thereby doing, one will undoubtedly perform a most invaluable social function, an 'archetype' (to quote C. G. Jung) of acting as a guide to truth and the best manner of life for others - for according to many, the function of a philosopher, as he who views 'the Truth' as it really is, is almost inseparable from spiritual leader or law-giver for a whole society, or even, nowadays, the whole of humankind. However, we seek to have as many 'leaders' as we can! Particularly for the young (although potentially at almost any age), it marks their coming into their own and discovering themselves anew, after a life time of socially inculcated programming, permitting a form of direct and intimate connection with the truth, with reality that can be hugely inspiring and empowering, rather than the extremely mediated manner, via institutions of power, which we are used to. This is one of the reasons why philosophy or the life of free thought is often put forward as the good or happy life, since it allows for an almost 'god-like' sense of self-sufficiency and spiritual independence on the part of its practicioners that makes them a blessing to both themselves and to those around them. That is why I do not urge people to simply become 'readers of philosophy' deferring to tradition or popular currents but active philosophers in their own right relying as much as possible on their own steam; in other words, since the nature of reality is individual, the quest for meaning itself is not an abstract, bloodless quest that others can do for you, but fundamentally the most vital and potentially life-changing question of all: 'what is MY meaning?', which though some may find challenging and can certainly be informed by the thoughts of others, (as we will do very much in this course by studying the Great Works), the beauty of it is that it is also essentially a matter of harking to responses of one's own heart, which many of us have suppressed for far too long to the detriment of our own sense of self-worth and happiness. Lastly, the love and facility for questioning and multiple perspectives and answers it opens up acts as a tremendous vaccine against censorious fanaticism, to which we as a society today are becoming increasingly once again prey, as we have so many times before. This is just one more reason why it is so crucial that all young people today be taught philosophy, which in a supposedly 'free society' represents the basis of true, (rather than merely ideologically stated), freedom and sense of all-around well-being.
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