Philosophy is for Everyone
Reclaiming Philosophy from the Ivory Tower of Academia
When I mention the word ‘philosophy’ what comes to your mind? You probably think of fancy words (likely from Latin), crazy ideas, debates over seemingly meaningless things, or, as someone I know once put it:
“Philosophy is just the musings of dead white men.”
Even those who see philosophy in a positive light do not take it lightly. Philosophy is seen as a rigorous enterprise that requires an immense amount of time and effort in order to even scratch the surface; something far out of reach for the regular person.
But how did we get here?
Philosophy, believe it or not, was once the talk of the town. It was done in front parlors, cafes, and restaurants. It was even a popular topic at royal events.
I believe that the main problem with our modern view of philosophy is that it has been locked away in the ivory tower of academia; an unnatural place given its origin (at least in the Western world) of the town marketplace.
In order to return philosophy to the people, just like in sports, I think we need to draw an important distinction between “professional” philosophy and philosophy. Borrowing terminology from Dr. Thomas Jackson, I will call this big ‘P’ philosophy and little ‘P’ philosophy respectively.
If philosophy is to live up to its namesake (i.e. the love of wisdom) then it must be reclaimed from the ivory tower of academia.
The Academic Discipline
What most of us think about when we think about philosophy is professional or big ‘P’ philosophy. Names like Immanuel Kant, Aristotle, and Confucius as well as their respective theories and arguments are what you read about when you pick up an introduction to philosophy textbook or watch a YouTube video on the subject.
The reason for this is most philosophy today is designed for a singular purpose, a career in academia. With this being the goal, ‘Big P’ philosophy is limited to an established canon of books, ideas, and figures that must be mastered in order to get — and keep — a job in academia.
Think of it like woodworking. Just about anyone, given enough time and help, can build a chair. It won’t be perfect, but it will function as a chair. However, this doesn’t mean that such a person will get a job making furniture or as a professional carpenter. To get a job, there are certifications to get, skills to learn, and safety regulations to follow; all of which require special training.
A job in academic philosophy is usually as a professor of philosophy in a university whose main purpose is to, you guessed it, turn out more academic job candidates. Thus, in order to train future would be professors, you yourself have to learn what a professor of philosophy is expected to know. Thus, the cycle feeds itself.
However, it should be rather evident from this description that this is a very limited way to practice philosophy.
Leaving the Ivory Tower
What, then, might we label as ‘amateur’ or ‘little p’ philosophy?
Perhaps it helps to think about sports this time. My favorite sport is soccer. In soccer, there are highly paid professional athletes who train their whole lives. Their games are on tv and watched by millions. However, no one would say that they are the only ones playing soccer.
Kids play soccer in the dirt with a flat ball and no shoes in Mexico. Teens in Germany play soccer in small concrete and chain link cages. ‘Little p’ is then the equivalent to play pick-up soccer in the park on a Saturday afternoon.
Rather than getting buried in historical arguments and formalized writing, ‘little p’ philosophy simply concerns itself with thinking about the big questions of life. It uses what is at hand as its examples and does not worry if things are properly cited. Returning to the earliest people to be called philosophers might help as well.
In Plato’s dialogue Theaetetus, Socrates tells us that it is the “sense of wonder that is the mark of the philosopher.” Thus, when we go around wondering about the world around us, we are engaging in ‘little p’ philosophy. In fact, we don’t even need to wonder about the same topics as academic philosophers. You can wonder about the weather, fashion, or why dogs have a tail, but people do not; it doesn’t matter.
Thomas Jackson puts it like this:
The aim of “little p” philosophy is to nourish this incipient thinking and direct its development […] philosophy moves from the published and/or established ideas of others, to our own thoughts, questions, experiences, and reflections.
Thus, ‘little p’ philosophy is more about a journey than a destination. It is about enjoying the act of exploring the world rather than worrying about if you have the correct answer.
Thinking ‘p’hilosophically
An immediate benefit of ‘little p’ philosophy can already be seen. As little ‘p’ philosophy focuses on our thoughts and problems, the relevance and importance of philosophical inquiry becomes self-evident. I seek to solve my philosophical problems, not the ones of long dead white European men which are often of little concern to me.
But how is ‘little p’ philosophy different from ordinary, regular thinking?
To answer this question, let us modify Socrates’ definition of philosophy. Instead of philosophy as wondering about the world, let us say that philosophy is relentlessly wondering about the world. That is, we do not become satisfied with simply surface-level answers to our questions.
Taking inspiration from young children, we keep asking ‘why’ over and over again; seeing if there is just one more layer deeper we can go.
To help with this relentless pursuit of wonder, Jackson provides a list of 7 basic ‘little p’ philosophy questions that you can ask, which he calls “The Good Thinker’s Toolkit.”
What do you mean by that?
What are the reasons?
What is assumed? / What can I assume?
Can I infer ____ from ____? / Where are there inferences being made?
Is what is being said true and what does it imply if it is true?
Are there any examples to prove what is being said?
Are there any counterexamples to disprove what is being said?
So, for example, If I am wondering if Santa Claus is real, I might come up with the answer that no, he is not real. I then can ask one of the above seven questions about my answer, repeating this process repeatedly with any answer that I give. Here is an example of a chain of thoughts that you might go through.
What are my reasons? -> I have never actually seen Santa. -> What is assumed? -> I have to see something for it to be real -> Are there any counterexamples? -> I have never seen Africa, but Africa is real -> …
Conclusion
With tools like the “Good Thinker’s Toolkit” and the concept of little ‘p’ philosophy, I believe we start to see a way of reclaiming philosophy from the ivory tower of academics. This kind of approach does not require fancy Latin terms, advanced degrees, or knowledge of an accepted canon.
All we need to be able to think philosophically about the world around us are some basic guiding principles and a desire to understand the world around us more. So, the next time you wonder about something or notice something strange, practice some ‘little p’ philosophy.
Let’s take philosophy back to its roots and enjoy thinking about the world around us.
References:
Jackson, T. (2001). The art and craft of gently socratic inquiry. In A. L. Costa (Ed.). Developing minds: A resource for teaching thinking, 459-465.
Jackson, T. (2004). Philosophy for children Hawaiian style. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 17 (1&2), 3-7.
Lukey, B. (2012). Philosophy beyond boundaries: a new model of philosophy in high schools. In J.M. Lone & R. Israeloff (Eds.), Philosophy and education. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 27-38.
Toyoda M. (2012). Practicing philosophy for children in the search for a better society. Educational Perspectives, 44 (1&2), 20-21.
Excellent article. I often struggle with the relevance of philosophy. Now, I can separate the big P and little p. I can enjoy the little p more.