What is a philosopher?
Written by
Ryan Ventriloquist
It
has become commonplace in the field of philosophy to focus on an area of
specialization, honing in on one specific element of the vast philosophical
terrain, and accounting for that as the philosophical enterprise. In what way
do we understand philosophy upon reaching learned knowledge of epistemology and
ontology when we lack a high level of understanding in ethics? How could we
assert to be philosophically acute when we know ethics and science of mind, but
lack in depth of understanding of ontology and epistemology? To know
philosophy, one needs to have a profound grasp on how the whole hangs together.
Alfred North Whitehead maintains, “Philosophy is the endeavor to frame a
coherent, logical, necessary system of general ideas in terms of which every
element of our experience can be interpreted.” This is essential to do, because
all of our moments in experience fundamentally hinge on our self-constructed
philosophical viewpoints on life. Philosophy is a pressing matter indeed. As
Lewis Vaughn writes at the beginning of his book, Philosophy Here and Now:
Powerful Ideas in Everyday Life, “philosophy is, well, here and now—that
is, relevant and current.” Just imagine all the ways our
interpretive meanings of moments, events, relationships, religion, morality—the
broad spectrum of experience—affect every moment we are transacting with the
lifeworld—that is, always. In order to harness experience, to understand the
nuanced, integral, and in depth realm of human nature, one needs to see her way
around the broad spectrum of existence in a philosophical manner.
Consider: I could be reflecting on
the way a child laughs while I see him flying a kite along the beach and he
sees seagulls flying above the kite. In order to grasp this experience, I have
an understanding of what a human being is, comprehend human development to make
sense of the phase of development the child is in, am aware of the emotion of
humor to see what constitutes the laughter, reflect insightfully on how the
East impacts the West in order to base my understanding of the kite, go through
a profound background in Biblical knowledge to order my experience of the
beach, grasp fine biological categories and distinction to make sense of the
seagull—and with all this integrate it into an entire philosophical framework
for understanding existence which generally functions pre-cognitively in
ordering and refining experience. The background of my culture affects this
experience, the way I was raised, the religion I subscribe to, my social
network, etc., and—first and foremost—how I make sense of these things—all of this
goes into that integration toward ordering and refining experience. In order to
truly be called a philosopher, I must know my way around all these considerations.
This goes with all experience. The philosopher carries in her handbag a holistic approach to understanding and making sense of experience. Literally, each moment we are living, we have an entire history of ideas, thoughts, experiences, relationships, and each of these contributes to what it is with what we are confronted. The philosopher pins these all down and brackets them to a well-constructed, nuanced whole in order to properly make sense of what comes their way. To understand epistemology without understanding ethics is not to be a philosopher. It is to be an epistemologists. To understand metaphysics without understanding logic is not to be a philosopher, it is to be a metaphysician. So on. A philosopher understands all these things, puts them together, arranges experience, and dwells in enlightenment.
Mullsay dialogue—
Thank you for reading what I have shared with you here in this publication. I am sincerely grateful for your engagement in this democratic exchange of which I am presiding over. I ask you to take some concerted time to mull over this piece of writing and then to say your thoughts by responding to the following prompts (hence, Mullsay the Zine). And with as much earnestness and yearning, I ask you to read through carefully and consider the thoughts, ideas, affect, desires, concerns, and considerations of the various people who also put forth comments. If you have input you wish to offer that is not related to what I guide you through in prompts, I invite you to share it in the comments section that is located below the prompts. Please keep in mind, in democratic dialogue, it is of essential importance to be respectful and kind, thoughtful and peace-oriented.
What does it mean to be a philosopher?
What are some ways one can open up the world of philosophy?
How has philosophy impacted your day-to-day affairs?
by Ryan Ventriloquist
And I invite you to mull over additional thoughts related to this essay and offer your input in the comments section below.
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