I am a philosopher and I think and write about various philosophical issues, both timely and timeless. Officially, I am a philosopher because I occasionally publish the results of these efforts, and also because I am a member of an academic community that recognizes me as such.
Being a philosopher, I presumably do philosophy, in the same way that carpenters do carpentry or dancers do dancing. If we want to know about the experience of doing carpentry, we need to look closely at what exactly carpenters do when they engage in carpentry. Carpentry seems to consist of a series of ideas about wooden constructions, and of actions that manipulate pieces of wood to create desired objects. But what exactly is the nature of philosophical activity? In other words, what does doing philosophy mean, exactly? Am I doing philosophy right now, while writing this article, for example? Or was it something I did last night when I first figured out how to answer the question in the title of this article?
Reflections & Judgments
Philosophy is an old discipline, and there is such a mountain of published philosophical work that no single human could manage to read it all in his or her lifetime. However, becoming a philosopher must involve getting acquainted with at least some parts of this written tradition. Indeed, the path to philosophy leads to a fair amount of reading: we have to read how others did philosophy before we can hope of doing it well ourselves. But merely learning philosophy does not make one a philosopher. You could have an immense knowledge of philosophical literature without actually doing philosophy, or being a philosopher.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October/November 2023-Ausgabe von Philosophy Now.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October/November 2023-Ausgabe von Philosophy Now.
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The Two Dennises
Hannah Mortimer observes a close encounter of the same kind.
Heraclitus (c.500 BC)
Harry Keith lets flow a stream of ideas about permanence and change.
Does the Cosmos Have a Purpose?
Raymond Tallis argues intently against universal intention.
Is Driving Fossil-Fuelled Cars Immoral?
Rufus Duits asks when we can justify driving our carbon contributors.
Abelard & Carneades Yes & No
Frank Breslin says 'yes and no' to presenting both sides of an argument.
Frankl & Sartre in Search of Meaning
Georgia Arkell compares logotherapy and atheistic existentialism.
Luce Irigaray
Luce Irigaray, now ninety-two years old, was, among many other things, one of the most impactful feminists of the 1970s liberation movements - before she was marginalised, then ostracised, from the francophone intellectual sphere.
Significance
Ruben David Azevedo tells us why, in a limitless universe, we’re not insignificant.
The Present Is Not All There Is To Happiness
Rob Glacier says don’t just live in the now.
Philosophers Exploring The Good Life
Jim Mepham quests with philosophers to discover what makes a life good.