Philosophy’s Regress – Part II

So, what is philosophy’s function in society?  What was its intended purpose?

It seems that philosophy’s aim is to bring about greater comprehension of Life.  Socrates once said, “I know you won’t believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others.”  Questioning was a virtue.  Today, answering is considered the highest virtue.  We don’t understand the value of an answer-less question.  We want the problem resolved, and we want it resolved now. (Hence, our extensive catalogue of conflicting and contradictory Absolute Answers).  In fact, we take it one step farther: if the question appears to be unanswerable, we blame the question!  Nevermind our insufficient knowledge or our finiteness of cognition.  Could we be more arrogant? (…and shamelessly ignorant).  

So, philosophy began with a search for the here-and-now “good life, and the quest for this (purposefully ambiguous) “good life” seems like the only reasonable End worth searching for…but, how have we advanced that cause?  What good are our contemporary philosophers’ insights into life if they don’t help or aid humanity in our collective journey toward a more robust and rewarding life on earth.  Jesus of Nazareth, in his eloquent simplicity, stated his purpose as a teacher and mystic thus, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”  What greater cause could we involve ourselves in?

I will end Part II with Immanuel Kant: “Sapere Aude! Have the courage to use your own intelligence! is therefore the motto of our enlightenment.”

sapere aude: “dare to know”