Socrates: Wisdom vs. Knowledge
“I know that I know nothing” — Socrates
Philosophy isn’t a body of knowledge, it’s an activity.
To philosophise isn’t about spinning theories or explanations for things, it’s to reflect on the very structure of our knowledge – our own knowledge, and the collective knowledge.
It’s a way of keeping a discipline of thought: to not be gullible, to not be lazy or indulgent in our thoughts and actions.
In the modern world, philosophy is a practice that has largely retreated into academia. It’s associated with dense jargon and horrible writing. But that’s not to say there’s anything wrong with academic philosophers per se.
In many ways academic philosophers are like haute couture designers: their ideas, while seeming far out when debuting on the runway, will make it to the street in due course.
The bureaucracy of academia, which rewards original research, means that talented philosophers are forced to write jargon-filled articles and books to increase their citation counts.
It’s an industry of knowledge, with industrial levels of output. Most academic philosophers never come up with anything truly original at all, but the fundamental ideas still arise. Academic philosophy is productive, it’s just inefficient. You’ll find…
