Resurrecting the Philosophical Mind
The single greatest contribution to existence that humanity has and can continue to offer is the human mind. Untapped knowledge and wisdom, as vast and limitless as the universe itself, exists within our individual and collective potential—and we have only barely opened the door. It exists not solely in our inventions and discoveries; those are simply its manifestations. It starts from within our minds and extends throughout our collective consciousness and wisdom.
To all of mankind’s great discoveries, extraordinary sciences, vast industries, and amazing technologies, philosophy gave birth. Human beings began, first, to wonder and question. And from that stemmed critical thought, from which was, in turn, born discovery and understanding.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines philosophy as “the rational, abstract, and methodical consideration of reality as a whole or of fundamental dimensions of human existence and experience.” Truly, “philosophy” is a term we use to describe any manner of searching in regard to the fundamental questions of who we are, why we are here, why things happen or don’t happen, what we perceive, and how and why we perceive it. Natural philosophy, moral philosophy, religious philosophy—these are all just a few examples of the various categorizations. But any manner of thinking, any mode of perception, any expressed idea that shapes the way in which we perceive and react to the world around us is, at its core, philosophy.
Philosophy has no boundaries in both its use and applications. It can be fun and whimsical, or deep and meaningful, and it can be life- or world-changing. It can take place only ever in the mind, or within conversation between friends. It can be found in formal or informal oration, or set to words academically or in a poem or song. Regardless of the modality, there is power in philosophy—a power that compels critical thought, spurs the creation of ideas, and incites action.
It would require an entire volume of works to equitably document the contributions of philosophy throughout the scope of human history. But the truth is that across the world, philosophers have brought about mankind’s greatest achievements. Ancient Greece gave us the beginning of natural philosophy in the west starting with Thales of Miletus—held as the “father of philosophy.” From there, Leucippus and Democritus first theorized atoms in the sixth century BCE, thereby establishing the philosophical and scientific foundations that were later built on by the now-familiar figures of Aristotle in the fourth century BCE, Copernicus in the sixteenth century CE, and Galileo after him.
Ancient Greece saw, as well, the Sophists along with Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato—all philosophers who explored the world and human perception not strictly through an objective lens of empirical observation, but through self-analysis and attention to the abstract, experiential spiritual, or divine. During the Age of Enlightenment in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries CE, the West saw such innovative thinkers as Sir Francis Bacon and Immanuel Kant, who respectively shaped and popularized the concepts of “objective truth” as obtained through reason. In turn, Rene Descartes—considered by many to be the “father of modern philosophy”—revolutionized the western world’s approach to defining and understanding the natural world through logical reasoning and science, and paved the way for the further evolution of theoretical physics and mathematics.
From the East we received altogether different philosophies, infused with divinity and spirituality. In China, during the sixth century BCE, the ethical philosophy of Confucianism was born. Not much later, the philosophically-based religion of Daoism entered the fold, having evolved from the more esoteric Yin-Yang spiritual philosophy that preceded it. The evolution of Chinese Buddhism, a few hundred years later after its inception in India and subsequent migration, revolutionized the Far East. And India itself gave us the earliest surviving philosophies known, with the Vedas and Upanishads preceding Hinduism, beginning circa 1500 BCE. As well, some of the more eclectic religious philosophies, such as Jainism, were born from India, along with various schools of Indian philosophy that branched from the earliest teachings such as the now all too familiar Yoga.
Let us not forget, as well, that America itself was born from philosophy. The English-born Thomas Paine propelled novel ideas that historians maintain set the stage for the American Revolution. Paine’s work Common Sense, published in 1776, deeply influenced our founding fathers and spurred public demand for a new democratic republic. So, the very principles and ideas that led to what we know as America had their roots in philosophy.
The philosophies of the West have shaped nearly all aspects of western cultural outlook and thought, as well as the path of scientific and political evolution. Respectively, the philosophies of the East have had their own unique influences, transforming many aspects of western philosophy, religion, and even popular culture. The transcendentalist movementof the nineteenth century, figure-headed by perhaps two of the greatest thinkers in American history—Emerson and Thoreau—is reflective of this initial amalgamation of East and West.
Sadly, however, with the industrialization and technological advancement of first-world civilization, the by-and-large mantra of the developed world has come to consist of a mindset of utility and practicality first. That is not an altogether bad thing—people must survive, and part of that survival means necessarily adapting to the economic and socio-political system of which they are apart.
However, I would challenge that, as human beings—if we want to continue to develop and evolve and provide further contribution to our world—we must strive to find a balance between the practical utilities necessitated by modern survival and the propagation of higher thought. Even when, at first glance, it does not necessarily provide us any immediate financial or social or other such benefit. That balance has often been shifted; to which all cultures have been guilty.
As a generality, modern society—East and West—increasingly discredits the value of the thinking mind to esteem only the working mind; and to indulge the entertained mind. It devalues higher education and the higher faculties of human thought if no immediate connection to increased economic, industrial, or other more tangible measures of productivity are perceived. This is compounded by the fact that many fill up much of their non-productivity time with modern entertainment mediums. This is not only a reflection of the devaluing of thought and higher faculty—but of addiction to our very creations. While on one hand it must be acknowledged that we have gained immensely from our technologies and our created machines of industry and economy, we must not forget that enslavement to them can lead us to lose the very faculties that brought us to such a technological peak in the first place.
Philosophy is one of the greatest doors to the opening of the human mind and the continued flow of ideas and innovation. It enables us to engage in questions of our very nature and those of the world around us. It is wonderment, it is the root of questioning, and it lies concurrently at the roots of human exploration, understanding, and discovery. The philosophical mind leads us to the practical mind, and to the civil mind; it is vital toward the continued advancement of humanity and the enablement of a more harmonious world.
Philosophy has manifested countless achievements across human history, and there are greater ones yet to come. We have the ability to become benefactors to mankind and to the world we inhabit. We can strive to be better each day, individually and collectively, when we choose to empower the vast potential that exists within us and to resurrect the philosophical mind.
