the purpose of philosophy

Insomnia sucks, but at least I’m catching up on my podcast backlog. I just finished one that featured a debate on analytic philosophy vs. continental philosophy and it got me thinking about philosophy in general.

I think philosophy itself is multifaceted. On the one hand, it’s a methodology for approaching truth, and I think both analytical and continental philosophy have compatible characteristics that are unfortunately hampered by the politics of the institutions that dictate who gets jobs in those fields, which is primarily teaching at universities and getting published—thus, the biases of those institutions dictate what ideas and methods are promoted à la Marx: “The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, i.e. the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force” (The German Ideology).

But philosophy can also be radical, subversive, and revolutionary, making one think and question more deeply than before in their search for truth and meaning. Meaning is inherently subjective, and one can find meaning in many places and different ways, e.g., in relation to one’s work, family, political and social engagement, etc. But truth, I think, is an objective reality, unlike what vulgar postmodernism would have us believe.

I honestly think that the truth is something we’re working towards realizing from multiple angles, scientifically, philosophically, psychologically, etc. Nevertheless, real philosophy isn’t just some kind of intellectual, academic circle jerk of published papers and professors. Real philosophy is also a motivating force, and one of the potential side effects of real philosophy is that it causes you to live your life differently. My philosophical views rooted in Hasidic mysticism and Marxism, for instance, have led me to live a Jewish life and be politically engaged with a critical eye towards dominant power structures and ideologies.

If someone’s philosophy doesn’t discernibly influence the way they live their life, then it’s unlikely a real love of wisdom.