By Harnet Msukwa
Philosophy is generally regarded as perhaps the most abstruse and abstract of all subjects, far removed from the affairs of ordinary life. But although many people think of it as being remote from normal interests and beyond comprehension, nearly all of us have some philosophical views, whether we are aware of them or not. It is interesting that although most people are vague about what philosophy is, the term appears frequently in their conversation.
Popular usages
According to Richard Popkin and Avrum Stroll, the word “philosophy” is derived from the Greek term “love of wisdom” but, in current popular usage, many different ideas are involved in the ways we employ the term. Sometimes we mean by” philosophy” an attitude towards certain activities, as when one says “I disprove of your philosophy of doing business” or “I am voting for him because I favour his philosophy of government”.
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Again, we talk about being “philosophical” when we mean taking a long-range detached view of certain immediate problems. When one is disappointed, we suggest to him or her that he or she ought to be more “philosophical”, as when one misses a plane. Here we mean to say the person should not be over-concerned with events of the moment but, instead, try to place these in perspective.
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In still another sense, we think of philosophy as an evaluation or interpretation of what is important or meaningful in life. This usage may be indicated by the story of two men who were drinking coke together. One of them held his glass to the light, scrutinised it thoughtfully and, then, observed: “Life is like a glass of coke”. His companion looked up and at the glass, turned to his friend and asked: “Why is life like a glass of coke?”. “How should I know?” the other answered, “I`m not a philosopher”.
By and large, in spite of the many different ways we may use the words “philosophy” and “philosophical” in ordinary speech, we tend to think of philosophy as some extremely complex intellectual activity. We often imagine the philosopher as one who sits pondering questions of the ultimate significance of human life while the rest of us have only the time or the energy to live it. Occasionally, when our newspapers or magazines publish a story about important philosophers of the past, such as Bertrand Russell or Aristotle, the impression is given that they devoted themselves to contemplation of the problems of the world in a most abstract manner and arrived at views or theories that may sound splendid but can hardly be of much practical value.
While this picture has been created of a philosopher and what he or she is trying to do, there is also another image. This is that the philosopher is one who is ultimately responsible for the general outlook and ideals of certain societies and cultures. Thinkers such as Karl Mark and Friedrich Engels, we are told, were the ones who created the point of view of the Communist party while others such as Thomas Jefferson, John Locke and John Stuart Mill developed the theories that prevail in democratic societies.
Philosophical benefits
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Regardless of these various conceptions of the role of philosophers, and regardless of how remote we may think his or her activities are from our immediate concerns, the philosopher has been engaged in considering problems that are of importance to all of us, either directly or indirectly. Through careful critical examination, he or she has tried to evaluate the information and beliefs we have about the universe at large and the world of human affairs. From this investigation, the philosopher has attempted to work out some general, systematic, coherent and consistent picture of all that we know and think.
As we gain more information about the world through the sciences, new interpretations of accepted pictures need to be considered. This sort of understanding has provided an outlook or framework in which the ordinary person can place his or her own— possibly more limited— conception of the world and human affairs.
From the very beginnings of philosophy in ancient Greece, over two and half millennia ago, it has been the conviction of serious thinkers—who have engaged in this pursuit— that it is necessary to scrutinise views that we accept about our world and ourselves to see if they are rationally defensible. But few of us have ever considered whether these are reliable or important. We are usually willing to accept without questioning reported scientific discoveries, certain traditional beliefs and various views based upon our personal experiences.
The philosopher, however, insists upon subjecting all this to intensive critical examination in order to discover if the views and beliefs are based upon adequate evidence and if a reasonable person may be justified in adhering to them.
Conclusion
Socrates, at his trial in 399 B.C., maintained that the reason he philosophised was that “the unexamined life was not worth living”. He found that nearly all of his contemporaries spent their lives pursuing various goals, such as fame, riches, pleasure, without ever asking themselves whether these were important. The best way to discover what philosophy is is by studying it and by philosophising.
*Harnet Msukwa is a broadcaster and communication specialist but is writing in his own capacity.
