But, well, I've neglected this blog for way too long (as some of you have so generously let me know :) ) and it, and y'all, deserve better than that. Rather than the usual 'work continues, kinda sucks' and 'plans for things, largely postponed', I've decided I want to write a bit about the part of my major that I'm most interested in.
I can't remember who wrote it first (Dave Barry, maybe?), but some wise person once wrote, "Talking about your major is one of the most interesting things in the world. To you. The rest of us, we'd rather you shut up and point us towards the nearest bar."
Keeping this in mind, don't worry. I will be brief.
There is a certain expression that other people tend to give when, after being asked what major I took in college, I respond with 'philosophy.' It's tough to describe perfectly, but I think I can get close. You know that kind of brief upwards head tilt you give when you see someone you don't really want to meet waving to you in a crowd? Combine it with the kind of tight lipped frown that only comes from doing your best not to spit after trying a terrible meal cooked by someone whose opinion you value dearly, and you've got the 'philosophy' face.
Kind of like this.
If you're polite, that is. Otherwise, you snort and clap me on the shoulder with a "good luck, want some fries with that?" or something.
Because, I mean, what in the world could be less applicable to the real world than philosophy? You can't build a house with philosophy. Can't start a business with it (despite the name, a 'business philosophy' almost never includes actual philosophy). And 'traveling philosopher' just doesn't quite pay as well as it did in Socrates' day. It's almost never taught below the college level, and unlike math or language, I have yet to see it as a core requirement in any institution that does teach it. There is no Nobel Prize in Philosophy, though a few Literature prizes have been philosophical treaties. The names connected with it (other than the famous Greeks) are generally only vaguely recalled in dim memory, attached to some obscure term that's nearly always used improperly and out of context (like Occam's Razor), or, like Isaac Newton, remembered more for their other achievements. And you really don't see many heroes, modern day or otherwise, becoming inspired by their mentors and coaches to take up the philosopher's path. Heck, more often than not it's the villain who's managed to reason themselves into some kind of weird sociopathic corner of the universe, and it's the hero who provides the (short, simple, digestible) solution that tears it to pieces.
Thanks guys. Thanks a lot.
And it doesn't help that philosophers tend to write long, difficult pieces that require a background in philosophy to understand. There are no 'easy problems' in philosophy. No 2+2=x. For example, I remember my first philosophy professor in college telling us on the first day of class, "All right everybody, since this is just an introductory course, let's start off the year with an easy one." He turned to the blackboard behind him and wrote in large, clear block letters:
ON THE EXISTENCE OF GOD.
Even if it was a joke, I understand now a bit more what he was getting at when he said, 'easy.' It wasn't that there was an easy answer; heck, the debate's baffled philosophers for millennia. Rather, he had decided to start us on a topic about which there exist an extraordinarily large number of clear, concise arguments on just about every imaginable little detail. Unlike some of the trickier bits that is, like the existence of the soul, or why you shouldn't kick your neighbor's dog.
And---oh man, this is already longer than I was hoping. Errr, fine, let's rap this up. I'll leave you with the following that occurred to me in the tub after a long day at work.
(The expression fits pretty well too.)
"Philosophy is doubt."
Next blog, I'll talk about what the heck that even means, and why ethics is a terrible choice for a major.
