What are philosophers for?
Do philosophers make any difference to the way we live our lives?
I couldn’t sleep last night (work stuff; life stuff) so I started reading the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. I started with Feminist Perspectives on Sex and Gender, which started talking about resemblance nominalism, and I didn’t know what that meant, so I looked it up, and then it occurred to me.
I read maybe 10,000 words with quotes and cites from 100 different philosophers and none of them had made a single bit of difference to the world.
Resemblance Nominalism
According to this theory, it is not that scarlet things resemble one another because they are scarlet, but what makes them scarlet is that they resemble one another. Thus, what makes something scarlet is that it resembles the scarlet things.
Each one of those 100 philosophers had probably spent months and years writing up their little version of what it means to be a resemblance nominalist when it comes to feminist perspectives on sex and gender. But who cares? What difference did they make? What a waste of 100 lives. They must have had something more important to do, no?
There are maybe three or four philosophers per century who make a difference in the world. Meanwhile, there are thousands and thousands of philosophers churning out philosophy papers. What are those papers for? Who reads them? The philosopher who wants to write the next paper on resemblance nominalism *has* to read all the previous papers — but no one else will.
Perhaps we need all these philosophers to teach philosophy students, and the papers they publish are just a bureaucratic excuse that allows them to get paid and promoted.
I believe the habits that philosophy teaches are tremendously valuable. Learning maths and English is usually compulsory in school, but most smart kids know enough maths and English to get through life before they are 14. A couple of years of philosophy instead would do them good.
Of course, if you intend a career that requires maths or English, you should continue to study maths or English — but most people don’t pursue such a career.
I’ve been interested in philosophy for decades, and I still enjoy it thoroughly, but I can’t say that it’s anything more than an interesting hobby like gardening or stamp collecting. It’s fun to talk about philosophy with fellow devotees. I like writing about it too. I’m even tempted to do a PhD, and put Rawls straight on his mistaken Theory of Justice (Those are my Tomatoes!). But after that?
I think the only respectable course of action would be to retire to my armchair with some philosophy books. I’m approaching the end of my career in software now. An armchair with some philosophy books would be perfect.
I’ve always wanted to make a difference with my life. Aiming my anti-aircraft gun at Argentinian aircraft to scare them away made a difference. Repairing the sonar on a ballistic missile submarine so we could stay on patrol made a difference. Building an online community for cancer patients made a difference. But writing philosophy?
I don’t think it makes much difference. It’s just fun.
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I haven’t read much. But surely philosophy is its own utility. Just as no education is wasted. Anything that makes the world you live in a little bit bigger can only be worthwhile.
Sadly, I think this is the truth. I watched a movie called American Fiction the other day that's basically about this very topic. The books that are actually substantial and complex get tossed to the side because they are too X, Y, or Z, while the books that appeal to the lowest common denominator end up winning in the market and become best sellers. Kind of explains why self-help does so well. I actually really like self-help books myself, which I guess means I might be part of that problem. :'D