Everyday Philosophy

How philosophy helps everybody

Anyone that takes philosophy serious, as a career or academic program, has faced the question by others with less interest in the subject: what good is philosophy? There is a pragmatic concern here in two aspects. On the one hand, your job or study is supposed to fuel your future financial lifestyle. On the other hand, you’re supposed to have a job that does something. You know, work. Everybody knows that philosophy only prepares you to be a teacher or deliver pizzas. (See Google’s in-house philosopher.)

I have a unique academic history including various sciences, computers, mathematics, culinary training, fitness, and yes, philosophy. Nobody seriously thinks “what good is mathematics,” because we know mathematics makes everything possible from science and engineering to counting the change at the cash register. Yet people ask that question of mathematics, too. It is largely due to ignorance of the value of a mathematical education. Of course you’re not doing differential calculus everyday at work. I can’t remember the last time a limit helped me solve a problem. That wasn’t the point of spending years learning basic and advanced mathematics and logic. It was to help shape my thinking.

Philosophy offers the same sort of benefit. In fact, every academic subject offers a tweak in perspective, which is one of the arguments for basic science. Why do we publicly fund scientist to study duck genitalia? It certainly isn’t because anyone actually expects it to offer a breakthrough in technology or how to cure cancer. Its global benefit is opaque. Yet somebody studying cancer may come across a novel connection between some area of basic science—even duck penis—and more “valuable” scientific work.

Those ignorant of this subtle relationship within and throughout science or academia cannot understand the value, in part, because it is something inaccessible. Academics write for other academics. People studying something so specific, so deeply, cannot possibly communicate its value to every lay person because the prerequisites to comprehension are years of specialized education.

Philosophy is different.

I’m not saying “anybody can do philosophy.” There is quite a bit of studying in any area of philosophy to truly be “expert” at it, to write amongst each other, and to comprehend the technical use of common terms used in philosophical writing. This is true of any subject. Why philosophy is different is that its value is immediately accessible. Scientific training helps you understand good experimental design and documentation. Mathematical proof helps you build intuition into formal relationships amongst abstract entities. Both of these require that you spend a lot of time getting acquainted with proof and experiments. Philosophy only requires you be acquainted with life.

Julian Baggini, as discussed at the WSJ, uses the term microphilosophy to refer to a sort of lay philosophy or non-academic form of philosophy that is accessible as mentioned above. It’s philosophy for everybody, as I think of it. It isn’t novel, either. The blogosphere is full of novice and trained people from many walks of life—or academia. They engage amongst their readers, trolls, and each other to bring quite often technical content to the everyday person. They want their passions to be of interest to you.

So why not a philosophy about food? There is certainly a lot of good that can come from having a wide based discussion about the benefits, misconceptions, or fades amongst the diets everybody gets interested in. Aren’t you doing paleo yet? What happened to Atkins? Which supplements are actually worth taking?

To me, discussions like these are no different than discussing politics and economics. It is no different than having a debate with the educated stay-at-home mom that has an interest in how her taxes are being used to fund a failing education system. This isn’t philosophy for philosophy’s sake. Yet it is at the heart of what philosophy is about—life. For me, that is why I’m passionate about philosophy. It is involved in everything I do because it is apart how I think. How I think defines a large part of who I am. I think this is true of most people, even if it isn’t as forthcoming. Philosophy just helps you think better, generally. If I dare use the term ambiguously, it helps you think rationally.

Academic philosophy has failed to make the benefits of its subject apparent. Baggini’s exposure of microphilosophy, I believe, helps open philosophy—or philosophical thinking—to more people. However, academics should have an obligation to help, too. Massimo Pigliucci and Leonard Finkelman have written a recent paper that argue such a point about public philosophy. I think this dovetails nicely with Baggini’s efforts.

If you don’t understand why philosophy is important, consider the next time you’re sitting among friends having to explain for the 100th time why you believe what you believe, and that they are just so wrong for disagreeing with you. We’ve all been there. It’s usually on your Facebook page these days. That, to me, is where the value of philosophy is at. That is where life is happening. We are thinking critically, arguing to our beliefs, and critiquing alternatives—not necessarily opposites. Philosophy fosters a certain critical and inquisitive way of thinking, because it helps you think. As I said, how you think says a lot about you. Therefore, philosophy helps you be a better you. That is how philosophy helps everybody.