[lit-ideas] Re: Why Philosophy. (Was: On Nip Thievery)
- From: John Wager <john.wager1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:36:45 -0500
wokshevs@xxxxxx wrote:
. . .What is the role of philosophy in these postmodern, internetized,
globalized,
multicultural, post 9/11 days? Why do we continue to teach this discipline? Is
it for its relevance to contemporary problems and issues, or is there a
timeless, intrinsic worth to philosophy independent of any promotion of
interests and consequences for states-of-affairs in the world?
Both for its results and because it's a noble human quality to think
about life, regardless of the results.
(I went to a conference in Leeds, England a couple of years ago at which
a French philosophy teacher led a room full of British philosophy
teachers through some exercises in thought. The room got more and more
angry and argumentative--even combative--as the French session leader
just took the conversation as it progressed and continued to ask
philosophical questions about their reactions. Quite a few of the Brits
got up and left, complaining that the whole session was a waste of time;
the conversation didn't "get anywhere."
The French session leader left with a smile on his face; it had been an
enormously satisfying exploration of some interesting issues of the
nature and limits of different kinds of philosophical discourse.)
My personal history may be relevant: I started in pre-med, because I
thought that would be a good life, and it would do some good in the
world. I thought that people needed help being healthy. But in college I
saw lots of people suffering because they didn't stop and think much
about what was important to them, what obligations they had, what made
something important, or what kinds of things were real and what were
illusory. I saw philosophy as a kind of intellectual therapy. But the
more I got into it, the more it because an interesting pursuit
regardless of how far one got in answering fundamental questions; it
became important to raise the questions and try to answer them, as a
worthwhile activity in itself.
The first year I taught philosophy, a student committed suicide over
Christmas break, leaving behind a note saying that his reading of the
Phaedo (done in my intro philosophy class) had convinced him that a
"better place" awaited him. (As in most cases, there were other suicide
attempts, so I don't really blame my course as "the" cause.)
His death disturbed me greatly, but I saw that the consequences of
getting philosophy wrong, or not taking it seriously, could literally be
deadly. The opposite would also have to be true: Doing philosophy well
might "save" someone from various kinds of death.
The main problem with philosophy is that the results are almost always
too remote and too unpredictable to be calculated and appreciated.
Someone who is cancer-free for five years is often counted as a
successful outcome, but it's impossible to know how much influence
Kant's focus on dignity and respect of others has had on a student.
It probably takes more "faith" to teach philosophy in this spirit than
it does to preach the Gospel; at least preachers have some evidence of
the success or failure of their efforts.
All of us who work in the discipline have made significant sacrifices in order
to contribute to the philosophical literature and/or to help others develop
philosophical skills and dispositions - sacrifices similar to, if not identical
with, sharing living quarters with lizards. We all, surely, have our "lizard"
stories. But what is it that motivates you to pursue and promote this
discipline? ("Discipline" here not simply as a distinct scholarly form of
inquiry and analysis but also in the Greek sense of a way of life, an acquired
and educated attunement to the world, others, and oneself.)
--
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"Never attribute to malice that which can be
explained by incompetence and ignorance."
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John Wager john.wager1@xxxxxxxxxxx
Lisle, IL, USA
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