When we ask what philosophy is, we will get a wide range of answers. The Cambridge Dictionary gives a couple of definitions of philosophy. One is: “the use of reason in understanding such things as the nature of the real world and existence, the use and limits of knowledge, and the principles of moral judgment.”[1] Another is: “a particular system of beliefs, values, and principles.” These are what Cambridge calls more formal definitions. Informal definitions are even more widespread, to the point that it becomes obscure to even speak about philosophy. Yet, these two definitions show us that philosophy is a system that has to be in some way or form rational and is about the world, ourselves, and our beliefs. In this sense, philosophy is a conceptual analysis that investigates what something is. Thinking about what a chair is, is philosophy. Thinking about what life is, is philosophy. Thinking about what rationality is, is philosophy.
The study of what philosophy itself is, is called metaphilosophy, which is basically to philosophize about what philosophy is. It is in this subdivision of philosophy that theories about philosophy are made. I think this is highly valuable nowadays, as it isn’t as clear why we should need philosophy anymore. Isn’t science already answering all those conceptual questions that we have about rationality, life, or a chair? Should we not believe Stephen Hawking when he claims that ‘philosophy is dead’?[2]
It seems, however, that philosophy is coming back. In a science-led era, people are returning to philosophy and religion to ‘find meaning’. There has been, I believe, more and more disbelief in the supremacy of science. Science doesn’t have the answers to all the questions that we have. Even though philosophy is dead according to Stephen Hawking, we return to it. I think the popularity of self-help books and self-help gurus offers clear proof for this hypothesis. This is the case because a long-forgotten claim about philosophy has recently found a resurgence. Philosophy is not a fridge for the questions that science doesn’t yet have the answers to, and it isn’t just the analysis of concepts. Philosophy is a way of justifying our lives. Philosophy itself is a way of life.
This resurrection in contemporary philosophy began with the writings of Pierre Hadot and Michel Foucault . When Foucault started investigating sexuality, he quickly realized that he needed to return to Antiquity. In The History of Sexuality, he explained that morality was always connected to a ‘practice of the self’[3], which means that to be ‘good’, you had to act a certain way. Foucault analyzed this concerning sexuality and concluded that when certain pleasures were problematized, there were certain practices you had to perform so that those pleasures would not interfere with your growth as a person. These practices were justified by a theoretical framework, arguing the need for those practices so we can live the ‘good life’. One of those practices was living by a healthy diet and cultivating your own body.
It was Pierre Hadot, however, who reestablished this concept of philosophy. Hadot generalized the claims Foucault made on sexuality. Hadot stresses that in ancient philosophy theory implies practice and practice implies theory. In What is Ancient Philosophy? Hadot claims that true knowledge is a skill, and a true skill is doing something well.[4] An example might clear things up. When I want to learn how to play the guitar, I have to learn the theoretical basis in order to perform the practice of playing the guitar. If I don’t know the chords to Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, there is no way I will be able to play the song. And, if I don’t practice playing the guitar and putting in the hours, then I will also fail to play the song.
When in several Platonic dialogues Socrates claims that one can only do evil out of ignorance, it is because theory and practice are fundamentally connected. One does not exist without the other. Even metaphysics, the most abstract of subdisciplines in philosophy, which is by itself already rather abstract, has practical implications. When the stoics believe that the world is predetermined by the Logos, they will have practical applications because of it. Their concept of apatheia, the need to not be affected by external factors, exists because of their metaphysical beliefs. Hadot tries to show in his book that all of the ancient schools in philosophy start from this concept of philosophy as a way of life.
Important in philosophy is the idea of the ‘Wise’. The prime example of this is Socrates, but also Buddha, Confucius, and Jesus are great examples.[5] The wise is the person that we all strive to be. It is also the person that educates us to become good people. Socrates was an exemplary figure for all future philosophers. It was in his wake that most of the philosophical schools were founded. Socrates’ project was to educate the citizens of Athens, to show them that they actually know nothing, improving their practical lives in the process. When Socrates debated someone, it wasn’t in a combative sense, but rather in a mutual (even though the opponent never saw it that way) conversation to reach the truth of the matter. This conversation would not necessarily result in having the answer to the problem, but it results in bettering our ways because we realize what our theoretical potholes are. Realizing our shortcomings, we can strive to find better answers to the questions before us and so improving the way we act in the world.
The most recent considerable contribution to this debate arises from Matthew Sharpe and Michael Ure with their book Philosophy as a Way of Life.[6] They have recently shown that this conception is not something that has died down in modern philosophy but was rather always (although most of the time implicitly) present. From de Montaigne to Descartes and Schopenhauer to Nietzsche, philosophers can be thought of as philosophers who advocate the art of living. Sharpe and Ure have developed a framework of Hadot’s book. With that framework, contemporary academics can tick off any philosopher who has lived and show that they too were a philosopher who cultivated an art of living. The potential is endless.
The question remains as to why philosophy is needed. I would claim that philosophy is the justification we give for the existential answers that we give to the existential questions that impose themselves on us. The discipline of philosophy is the investigation into those justifications. The fundamental question of life is not ‘what?’, or ‘how?’, but ‘why?’. The practice of a diet always asks of us: why do the diet? Learning how to play the guitar always asks: why play the guitar? Those questions need answering if they are to make our lives meaningful. Trying to answer existential questions like this is what not only philosophers but religions and even scientists have tried to do since the beginning of humankind. There seems to be no one-sided answer. In the many millennia that we have tried answering existential questions, there has been no answer that is universal (although many claim so). But that is the whole point that Socrates tries to convey. We will not know the answer, for we know nothing. Yet, the importance is not in knowing the answer, but in continuously asking the question.
[1] https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/philosophy
[2] https://evolutionnews.org/2015/08/stephen_hawking_3/
[3] Foucault, M. The History of Sexuality: The Use of Pleasure
[4] Hadot, P. What is Ancient Philosophy?
[5] See Jaspers, K. Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus.
[6] Sharpe, M., Ure, M. Philosophy as a way of life: history, dimensions, directions
[JG1]Verwijs naar het artikel van Foucault dat je hebt geschreven.
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