This afternoon I noticed a story posted in the Wall Street Journal and nearly fell out of my chair, reaching to the floor to pick my jaw off the ground where it hastily fell in bewilderment. A recent survey was conducted asking people from various disciplines of higher education to state their level of satisfaction with their degree in accordance to their welfare in the last half-decade. The results stated that those who were most likely to be disappointing with their didactic investment were those in the field of Psychology, African-American studies, and (gasp!) Philosophy.
God forbid the day!
What happened to the day when Philosophy was the Hegemon of the Humanities, the Dictator of Disciplines, and the Mother of all thoughts. Why didn't they survey me? I would have given a valiant defense of my good lady! Nothing barred! The nerve of some people! Where would we be without Plato and Aristotle, Kant and Hegel, Augustine and Aquinas and so on and so forth? As I put my laptop into hibernate I mentally rolled my sleeves up in case in the near future epistemic fisticuffs would be thrown down for the sake of wisdom herself.
After a few minutes to ponder (and a good meal of split-pea soup and fresh rye bread) I nestled down in my seat, turned on The Mimicking Birds, and re-assessed the assumed audacity of the writer. Maybe she wasn't so wrong to make such an assumption, I thought as I gingerly sipped a spicy cup of coffee. Burning one's tongue is, in my opinion, always adding injury to insult, since you always know the beverage of choice is smoldering hot and the inside of your mouth is temperature sensitive. When you burn your tongue, more often than not, patience falls victim to eager anticipation and your body will proclaim "i told you so" throughout the rest of the evening through morning.
Philosophy is, at it's root, a love of wisdom. It is a pursuit of knowledge, a quest for understanding, and voyage to comprehend the Brobdingnagian mysteries of the depths of our universe. It analyzes big questions, asks bigger questions, and, if its good philosophy, leaves more questions than answers. However, my experiences included, hours of hypothetical conceptual engineering is like riding a Tilt-O-Whirl while reading Jacques Derrida: complete disorientation from reality (not to mention an upset stomach).
In the ancient world there's an anecdote about the Greek thinker, Thales. According to the source, Thales, completely preoccupied with his studious observation of the heavens, walked straight into a well to the bemusement of a passing slave girl. In some sense, Philosophy can be like our distracted ancient: all the contemplation and conceptualizing does little good when we've lost sight of the world (and wells) around us. Indeed, it merely becomes a skandelon, a stumbling block, when our dogged pursuit of wisdom blinds us to the application, the praxis, surround our daily interactions with society, with culture, and with our walk with Christ.
There's the saying a mind is a terrible thing to waste, so is a day, an hour, a minute in this beautiful world. Wisdom for the sake of wisdom is no different than a car that's never drove, a book that is never read, or a song never enjoyed. To be embodied and existent in this world is to be intimately connected with people, places, and things: all of which hold an especial place in God's grand masterpiece. As He has freely give us such wisdom and knowledge to understand and discern this world (James 1:5) may we never be hesitant to freely give as we have been given.
A tongue is a terrible thing to waste too. A lesson in patience is in order for yours truly. Yeouch!
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