philosophy

How can philosophy make your life better? And what relevance does philosophy have to life? My view is that by engaging in the questions and situations we are confronted with in ordinary life, philosophy may give us a higher quality of life. Philosophy is relevant to life in the sense that it discusses the basic questions of human existence, and because philosophy is a creative activity carried out by individuals constructing meaning, philosophy is constitutive, i.e. it gives us meaning to life and gives reality a new dimension.

"Philosophy" comes from the Greek word "philosophia" which means love for wisdom. A classical definition says that philosophy is love for truth and wisdom. Today we find philosophy as an academic discipline, conducted by professionals at the universities. Among academic philosophers there is much disagreement over what philosophy is and should be.

Some think that philosophy is and should continue to be an academic discipline, marked by a distinctive technical vocabulary and like any other academic area connected to a professional career. In addition, some of the philosophers who claim this, will emphasize that philosophy is to deal with abstract questions, often internal to the philosophy department. These philosophers will not be embarrassed if the solutions to these questions are without relevance for society in general.

The problem with such a view is that philosophy cannot be applied, and becomes a kind of game, like for instance chess. It is highly intellectual challenging, but the serious impact of chess on society is not that great. Thus some people would claim that philosophy should relate to society, and that philosophy as an academic discipline should educate people who may have an influence on society in general. As my Canadian friend Kai Frithjof Brand-Jacobsen says: "Philosophy and Life!" One shouldn't have only the former or the latter but both! (Kai lives what he teaches, he is working within peace research and gives training programs for instance for the UN).

Philosophy should deal with important questions like: Is there a God? What is truth? But also: What is religion? What is the meaning of life? What is right and wrong? How should we understand the evil that has happened in Nazi-Germany or Bosnia? If philosophy deals with these questions, it can relate to the world. Philosophical texts would then be relevant to society in general.

Some philosophers have been engaged in public matters in their society. Examples may be Jean-Paul Sartre in France and Bertrand Russell in England. Sartre founded a magazine (Les Temps Modernes), a newspaper, and was active protesting against the Vietnam war, the war against Algerie, and certain of the political actions of the Soviet Union. Before he died in 1980, he was a public figure in Paris, and if you go there on holiday, you may find one of his favourite cafes. Russell in England showed some of the same courage as Sartre. In a addition to being a leading thinker within philosophy of mathematics and logic, he demonstrated against nuclear weapon started the Pugwash movement and communicated many of his opinions on issues relating to society in general.

The key point in my understanding of philosophy, is that philosophy should relate to the world and to life, and anyone engaged in thinking and writing could learn something from people like Russell and Sartre. A philosopher is someone who loves truth and wisdom, and tries actively to seek truth and wisdom, and such persons are always needed in public debates and civilized discourse.