(CC) Andrew Becraft. Flickr.com
Can you feel at home in society while practicing philosophy? If we choose to practice our philosophy fully, will that inevitably lead to some degree of isolation or loneliness as we find ourselves less and less like mainstream society? Last Sunday, a club called Socrates Cafe met at Borders Books & Music on Kirby Drive here in Houston, and this was the question examined. Many participated, and their ideas and input I've tried to include here.
Philosophy has always had a tendency to illuminate where we are going wrong, as individuals and as a society. It pokes and prods at the assumptions of society and can have an undermining effect on its norms. As such, it shouldn't be surprising if, as we learn more and think philosophically more, we will eventually begin to see that the 'best way to live' is pretty different from the way most people in our society behave.
So then we face a quandary. How far do we go in living our philosophy and in the process, become ever more alien and incompatible with our friends, family, and colleagues? Socrates, a "trouble-maker" who got himself sentenced to death, didn't exactly 'fit in' after all. There are many other examples of philosophers being imprisoned, excommunicated, banished, or put to death - and, more relevant, many times that number who simply lived lives feeling disconnected from others and lonely. Subtle and less extreme examples include the difficulty of fitting in with others at gatherings when practicing vegetarian or vegan diets.
But if we decide to forgo some practices, or modify them, are we hypocrites who know one thing but practice another just to fit in? Are we refraining from being ourselves just to seek the approval of others? On the other hand, if we decide to go our own way and that makes us into a hermit, how do we know the difference between enlightenment and being a wacko, without the ability to check our ideas against the insight of others? Or, worse, such an attitude may be the seed that opens the doorway to extremism.
No, surely a continued exchange - a true dialog which is one of equals who listen and not a one-way sermon - is essential to philosophic practice. But in this exchange there must be proper discernment. We cannot make ourselves into the 'follower of the crowd' simply seeking approval and giving up who we are at our core. But at the same time, we must be open to the possibility that others are wiser than ourselves, or have some nuggets we have yet to fully comprehend. That requires a trust in ourselves - a trust that we can take in the opinions of others, digest them carefully and thoughtfully, and then properly discern between the wise and the foolish (and the as-yet-unknown). Having an open mind means all ideas are welcome to come in for an audition - but not necessarily to end up in the play.
Another important measure in exchanges with others is not to pigeonhole others - not to hear one thing about them or their position and think we know everything they think and believe immediately. Sometimes our terms, definitions, and labels can be very misleading. We may think of ourselves as a capitalist, for example. Then after meeting one person who calls himself capitalist and another communist, that we actually agree more with the latter, simply because of different understandings and uses of these terms. Without careful and subtle appreciation of our varying use of the language, we run the risk of letting semantics be a tool to alienate ourselves and others.
We should also understand that we have the ability to communicate the very same messages and maintain the integrity of our position and who we are - but phrase our position in ways and present it in ways which will not cause conflict, keeping lines of communication open and productive.
But lastly, we must understand that some people are simply not interested or ready to discuss things philosophically. Some go about life without introspection and will never be interested in it. Socrates said the unexamined life is not worth living, yet that is their right and if they are not willing, then it is best to accept that. Some may be open to introspection, but simply not at this time or on a certain topic. Use these times as a chance to engage them in other ways and learn something about yourself. We cannot control the actions of others; only ourselves. Eastern philosophies might use the analogy of cultivation: even with the best seed, we must wait for the right conditions to plant it.
If our philosophy takes us down a road of contrast to the prevailing culture, there seem to be different ways this can manifest. When we look at examples of people who have 'gone off on their own tangents' philosophically, we see two sides of one coin. On the one side, we have the hermit - sometimes respected but a mystery to others, sometimes hated, often unknown. On the other side, we have the beloved visionary - people like Martin Luther King, Mohandas Gandhi, and so on. What is the fundamental distinction between these two paths?
The hermit's philosophy is for himself. He hordes it and focuses on his own enlightenment and progress. To others, he might say they are a lost cause and society will never learn. Or, he might say that they too should focus on themselves, because we can only control what we do and should not be concerned with telling others what they ought to do. I have recently taken to heart the notion that if we want change, we must focus on the 'man in the mirror' (as the Michael Jackson song declares). It is not philosophy that heals, but the practice of it. That is something that is up to the individual.
But isolationism and extreme individualism cannot be the answer either. This denies that others are wiser than ourselves. It also shows a lack of concern for others. Surely, we don't want to be the 'preachy' holier-than-thou type. But unless we share with one another, not only can we not grow - but we cannot carry on the wisdom which we ourselves enjoy. I've read recently that one possible reason for the decline of Stoicism was that Epictetus held a high regard for practice and a lower regard for commentary and writing. Thus, it only took a few generations with that extreme focus to put a damper on the continued spread of Stoic thought. It behooves us not to focus exclusively on practice to the point of disregarding others or society, becoming self-made outcasts.
The examples of visionaries I've mentioned were not 'preachy', but were respected for their distinction from the norms of society. One way they accomplished this was by doing over saying. Showing in our life deeds over words will always be more respected, and something many of us (this author included) need to work at more. Another way they took a different path without isolationism was that they had a compassionate nature. They had ideas that stood in contrast to the prevailing winds, but they shared them with others out of love. They understood that, as they focused on their own actions and personal practice, it was important to exchange with others in respect (both sharing and learning) and with a caring purpose. Their philosophy was not only for themselves, but to be shared for the benefit of all - even while understanding that it is up to each person to decide for themselves to accept or act on that.
When our discussion began I was unclear about these questions. While there is still much more to think about here, I was fortunate to gain some clarity on some of this. The above are not solely my thoughts, but an amalgamation of ideas shared by all of the participants of the gathering. I thank everyone who attended with me for this. I'm sorry I don't have all of their names, but invite them to comment below, tell us who you are, and what thoughts you contributed!
Socrates Cafe in Houston takes place on the first Sunday of each month at Borders Books & Music, 3025 Kirby Drive, Houston, TX 77092 (Houston Socrates Cafe website). The Socrates Cafe concept is a global one (main Socrates Cafe website).
Until next time :)
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Comments
Good blog. Anyone who seriously believes in and practices any type of non-mainstream spiritual or philosophical beliefs and makes it a part of themselves will eventually find themselves separated from the crowd. This is a fact. It generally gets to a point where we don't really relate to the mainstream general people anymore on anything other than a superficial level, because the workings of our brains and hearts are just too different. What motivates us, what makes us tick, the underlying assumptions of our lives have changed to the point that we can't relate and can't mesh. I think it is a sort of 'goes with the territory' type thing. I reached that point myself some years ago... I simply can't have any kind of meaningful relationship (friendship or otherwise) with people who are not open-minded towards more than just what they see in front of their faces and what society programs them to be.
So I think when we reach the separation point and loneliness sets in, it is up to us to find like-minded souls, people who can be on the same wavelength as we are. The people don't have to practice or believe exactly the same way as we do, but a certain level of open-mindedness is necessary. So I think it is up to us to seek out groups or individuals to make up our social structure, who are more in line with what we believe and the way we want to live. Also, the word "outcast"... I think it is really based on the perspective you're looking at the situation from. "Outcast" implies different (in a bad way) from the norm and exiled from society. So it sounds like it's the opinion of the masses, not the opinion of those with the non-mainstream beliefs.I think if you think of yourself as an outcast... you are raising the opinion of the masses above your own and making it more important.
To walk this road, we have to be able to cast aside the opinions of others and live the way that we want to live, without worrying overmuch about what others will think. I don't think of myself as an "outcast"... I think of myself as a person undergoing spiritual evolution.
Well said. I think the importing thing is to LIVE our philosophy and be seen living it (and living UP to it). The first sign of hypocrisy will ruin our reputation. Both we and our philosophy will be ignored. Philosophers may not care what others think of themselves, but they should care what others think of their philosophy. And yes, don't be "preachy". No one likes preachy, often not even those who agree with you. What we can say, when appropriate, is something like "This is what I believe and why" and then explain it without passion, as if we don't care whether they pay any heed or not. If our philosophy is good, honest, practical and better than the alternatives (or better than no philosophy at all), it should sell itself, without us having to 'talk it up.' If our philosophy is good and wise, then good and wise people will adopt it, in whole or in part. If they don't, well, you can lead a horse to water. If it won't drink, leave it to its thirst and seek out wiser horses.
The traditional branches of philosophy are metaphysics (including cosmology and ontology), epistemology, ethics, natural philosophy, theodicy, logic, aesthetics, and politics. I think it's common to mistake the part for the whole, but it's still not wise to do so. 'The best way to live', a subset of ethics is a small part of philosophy. If there's a guiding light in philosophy (as opposed to religion) it is the application of logic (both deduction and induction) to the data of sensory inputs and to categories and classifications ordering our perceptions. For better or worse, logic is just one form of thinking... and ethics also encompass a variety of different systems. (Tapeworms live parasitic lives in our intestines, insects eat their own kind, and humans do neither.....) Much as Euclidean geometry, based on certain axioms, yields certain logically conclusions, so to does Riemannian geometry yield others. Likewise, 'ethics'....
Philosophy is 'love of wisdom', so the proper object is to examine the nature of love and the nature of wisdom, right? And since both of these are abstractions, wouldn't it seem appropriate to use the rational faculties to investigate each of these? (If you like cheese, that's great, but not a philosophical issue... Why do you like cheese is a philosophical question, and the answers can be, though are not necessarily, philosophical ...). I maintain that philosophy is the collection of data, and the application of induction to create general statements of varying validity (hypotheses, theories, and laws). And from our theories and laws we can then derive (implicit) conclusions via deduction. All this thinking doesn't have a lot to do with one's 'spirituality'... and it only has a bit to do with the formal study of ethics... Again, the part and the whole....
tbrucia,
To a Stoic, 'the best way to live' is the over-arching issue. All other concerns, (metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, natural philosophy, theodicy, logic, aesthetics, and politics - and more such as physics, economics, space travel) fall under that umbrella. Everything we do conforms to, and springs from that place (or should). And, there are no issues which are not ethical issues - no choices which do not pertain to virtue. Virtue and wisdom are one in the same - there are only 'appropriate actions' and 'inappropriate'. Rather, all is one inter-related whole. Yes, there are parts, but the whole is all about: "what is reality and how do we behave in the light of that reality". That is the purview of philosophy and there is nothing outside of it. I don't see Philosophy as a 'part' or simple subject among many, to be fit on the shelf alongside other subjects we might choose to study in school, for example. Rather, the basis of everything in Human thought and action.
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