One of the first things that I did when the pandemic hit was to binge watch Netflix. Naturally, I started with my queue of shows like Altered Carbon and Money Heist. Then, I tackled some of the mainstream hits like Ozark and Stranger Things. After a few months, I took a brief hiatus from Netflix…with Amazon Prime. Jack Ryan carries the torch for me on that platform. Sprinkled throughout these shows, I added in a touch of movie flair with films like 6 Underground and Extraction. But, now, after a few months of working from home and social distancing, the defining question of how to tackle our leisure time emerges: what do we do when we’ve watched all of Netflix?
Why not try a bit of philosophy? Many people think that philosophy is overly abstract and intimidatingly academic. Yes, by and large, that is true. Many people do think this. But, in actuality, philosophy is quite accessible and practical. Fundamentally, philosophy is about asking the hard questions about the hard topics. What is existence? What does it meant to exist? Why do we exist? If you have ever thought about any of these topics, or ones related to them (e.g., why am I here?), you have engaged in the practice of philosophy.
What is Philosophy?
“Philosophy” is a Greek word meaning a love of wisdom. And in order to pursue wisdom, we must embrace our curiosities and ask questions of the world and of ourselves. Traditionally speaking, the discipline is broken up into various branches like epistemology (the study of knowledge), ethics (the study of right and wrong), metaphysics (the study of time, space, and existence), and aesthetics (the study of beauty). But you don’t need to deep dive into the writings of Aristotle, Plato, Immanuel Kant, René Descartes, David Hume, John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Bertrand Russel, or Albert Einstein (relatively speaking, of course). You just need to start by questioning your surroundings. Why are things the way they are and could they be different? Should they be different?
When you begin this process, you will naturally gravitate towards your curiosities. If you are interested in the arts, you might start by asking what the meaning of beauty is and what, if anything, that represents. Is beauty universal? Or is it specific? After pondering this for some time and developing your own frameworks to make sense of it all, you might find yourself researching aesthetics online. You might even find yourself reading Kant, the father of modern aesthetic theory. Or, if you are interested in science fiction, you might start thinking about what consciousness is or about the distinction between the mind and brain, if there is one. As you start researching this topic, you might find yourself immersing yourself in the dualism of Descartes. Or, if you are interested in computer science, you might ask yourself how ethics is accounted for in artificial intelligence. You would undoubtedly encounter the famous Trolley Problem.
Having Fun With Philosophy
You can also have some fun with philosophy without running into any sort of existential crisis (though don’t hold me to it!). If you are at your desk, you may be reading this in your chair. Take a moment, and think about the following question: what is a chair? Is it something you sit on? Well, you can sit on the floor, on the bed, on a table, or on a rock. Is it something with four legs? Well, there are many chairs with fewer. Or are those stools? But what about a rocking chair? A beanbag? Perhaps, then, a chair derives its meaning based on its functionality. But we run back into the problem of the floor, bed, table, and rock example. Do these things become chairs by virtue of us sitting on them? Do we temporarily cause things to exist? Or maybe a chair is based on our understanding of a particular prototype. Most people think of a standard four-legged structure with a back, like a kitchen or desk chair. But when does a chair cease being a chair to become something else? What about the chair of your department? Just kidding. We aren’t talking about those kinds of chairs…right?
(A brief sidebar. This isn’t just wordplay or conceptual jiu jitsu. These implications have critical, real-world implications that cause massive divisiveness: is a hotdog a sandwich? Seriously, though, if we apply this mode of thinking to topics like healthcare, education, and leadership, we can see why reaching consensus on the appropriate action items within these topics is so difficult — we all have a different view of what each of these topics fundamentally mean!)
And philosophy isn’t just something that can be enjoyed in your headspace or over virtual happy hours, it can also be enjoyed in the mainstream. Have you ever seen the Matrix? In addition to the religious allegories, the philosophy of mind and metaphysics are underlying tropes. Philosophers for generations have been inquiring about whether we are living in a simulation, questioning the nature of our existence and consciousness, and breaking down the variable nature of our perception. I recently re-watched the Matrix Trilogy and all that I can say is that it may have subconsciously influenced my decision to leave the business school to study philosophy in academia. Did I even have a choice? Or was that pre-determined? Two questions also explored deeply in the Matrix Trilogy.
Philosophy appears in other movies as well. Did you enjoy Inception? Philosophy of mind. Did you enjoy The Dark Knight? Social philosophy. How was Avengers? Metaphysics. What about Avatar? Ethics. Have you heard about Elon Musk’s thoughts on how we may all exist in a simulation? Philosophy of mind and metaphysics.
Next Steps
If philosophy is starting to pique your interest, what should you do?
1. Start questioning why things are the way they are and whether they could be different.
2. Grab a friend or two and start discussing your observations (virtually or at a social distance of course).
3. Research your interest areas online — the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a great place to start and is easily accessible.
4. Play with your own frameworks. Philosophers have developed their own frameworks as a way of making sense of the complexities in our world. Many of these complexities cannot be measured easily if at all (e.g., moral theories) or we do not yet possess the scientific capability to measure them (e.g., metaphysical theories like time travel). Thus, we can build on them to create our own frameworks of understanding.
5. Apply it. We started this conversation about finding something to captivate our interest once we’ve finished watching all of Netflix. But philosophy is more than just entertainment and conversations, there is an immense universe of applicable principles that we can learn from the discipline. When was the last time you challenged the status quo at work? Just because a particular practice has been in place doesn’t mean it’s the best practice to maintain. Recall that questioning why things are the way they are is a staple of philosophy. The global health pandemic has jumpstarted this process already. Is going into the office necessary for every worker? Might teams be more efficient working remotely? Might businesses and employees reduce overhead capital and transportation costs? But what are the tradeoffs? In-person collaboration and innovation are difficult to achieve virtually. Cohesion and team morale are hard to maintain. So, there must be some sort of balance as we contemplate the future of work. What framework will you use to analyze this?
If you’ve reached the point of Netflix or digital fatigue, take a walk (with a mask!) and start thinking about the world around you. Begin to embrace the power of philosophy.
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Think well my friends,
Adam
This article is the third in a series of discussions focused on expanding your thinking. If you would like to learn more, feel free to connect with me on social media or subscribe to my “Weekend Thoughts” newsletter: https://www.atphilosophy.com/subscribe.
Adam advises businesses and individuals on business strategy, develops thought leadership content, and keynotes. As a business philosopher, he draws on his experiences in corporate law, sales, nonprofits, and philosophy to develop practical frameworks to shift business and individual mindsets and skillsets. He is the founder of At Philosophy and the president of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association Educational Fund. See www.adamtsao.com.
