Will Philosophy Help Us?

There was a time when I turned to books on philosophy when I was faced with problems which seemed too hard to handle. They did make me feel better, though the problems did not get solved that way. I don't think even books on psychology would have helped me. The solution to most of our problems lie with people, with the way we relate to them and they with us.

There was a friend who told me once that even after imbibing Marx, Freud and Sartre, he felt sadness for his uncle who had passed away. "I think their words have not sunk in", he told me, as if they were the cutting edge of a bore machine that would drill to the rocky core of our heart and open the pool of wisdom.

I still read books on philosophy and religion, but I read them for the pleasure of words and ideas, for intimations of a well-ordered world.

I am saying all this by way of bringing to your notice an interesting article in http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/sep/02/healthandwellbeing.philosophy, which I happened to read.

It raises the question as to how useful a knowledge of philosophy is to the conduct of our lives. Whether, if we are sufficiently versed in the fundamentals of philosophical thought- the fruits of serious intellectual theorizing-  is it possible for us to live our lives so that we are happy, contented and find fulfillment in our endeavours?  And if we don’t know any philosophy, are we losing anything?

Julian Baggini, who is the author of the article, is in no doubt. To him, ‘philosophy is a rich resource among many, one that contributes to our understanding of the good life’; it would be a mistake to assume that it is an unique wisdom, and see in it prescriptions for the conduct of life. Philosophy is something like poetry, musir and paintings. They are to be enjoyed for what they are, but it would be a mistake to carry them any further.

Ultimately, questions of philosophy concern themselves with the value of our goals, and philosophy does not serve well when it is used as a means to attain the goal, be it freedom, happiness or contentment. Philosophy addresses the assumptions of our activities. It is best appreciated for its integrity, but to seek in philosophy a solace for the wounds of civilization is to ask too much of it.

Like much of common sense, this is something that we know intuitively. But Baggini is knowledgeable as well as sensible, and he illustrates his argument with pertinent examples.