The Importance of Philosophy to a Person

It can be said that while we study Philosophy as a body of knowledge, is aimed to make a person/man a full man-cultured, refined and well-rounded.  It provides him the ability to synthesize, criticize, systematize, assimilate, and evaluate a variety and huge mass of knowledge.  So it is an important aspect of his total development that will provide opportunities to lead a life worthy of man’s dignity as an individual and as a member of society.

The study of philosophies of various thinkers by any person can be exposed to different philosophical thoughts and can develop his own personal philosophy, which in return would give him the necessary direction of life.  These philosophies on hand would give him a strong foundation in meeting the demands of his profession and in coping with the problems brought about by his diverse activities.  These learned philosophies will also guide him in choosing the right option/direction from a wider perspective for philosophy offers the person a holistic view that will undoubtedly be an integral part of his human development. It is therefore concluded that the importance of philosophy to any person is: it serves as a bulwark against mental servitude and thus provides a framework within which he can think and act intelligently.

It can be added that philosophy can be used to help convince people that you are right, and (sometimes, when it’s done correctly, and depending on your opponent’s view) that they are wrong.  For example, if you want a raise from your boss, if you know what these good reasons are, such as increasing the sales of the company, the quality of the product, the efficiency of the company, etc., and how to show the way in which these elements are vital to the company’s well-being, you would stand a better chance of getting a raise than if you were to argue with your boss using bad reasons, such as:  “My poor family cannot live on my salary alone, and I really need to have more money” or “If you don’t give me a raise, I’m going to quit and take my friends with me.”  The reason for the first appeal (about your poor family) is a bad one, for it is an appeal to pity on emotion, and if you haven’t benefited the company lately, then it doesn’t really matter if your family is going hungry – it is not the company’s responsibility to feed your family (it’s yours).  The second appeal (“I’m quitting”) is an appeal to force.  The company should not give you a raise out of fear because you’re threatening them; the company should give you a raise because of your work merits..  In short, if you have a job (and this is about 98% of us) or even if you do not, philosophy can help you argue well for your position.  And in order to be able to argue well for your position, you need to think.

As just one of its many specializations, philosophy contains the study of ethics, which is the study of happiness and how best to attain it (or indeed if and how that is possible).  The main questions of ethics are “What is happiness?” and “How should I live?”  There are, as you might guess, many and varied answers to these questions.  I would guess that every single person is, and should be, interested in whether we can be happy, what happiness is, and how we can act so as to obtain happiness (assuming it exists).  Everyone should be interested to know what the philosophers of the West and East have said about happiness and how best to attain them.  The answers range from “true happiness is not attainable in this lifetime” to “happiness is a state of mind” or “happiness is an activity” and so on.  You may not think that any or all of these views of happiness are correct, but you might be able to put another theory together using your favorite parts of some of the extant ones.  It is worth finding out if someone has already articulated the right theory, or whether you can improve on an existing theory, since nothing less than your current and future happiness may be riding on your view of happiness.

I will close with two quotations, the first of which comes from the American Philosophical Association’s 1992 publication entitled, “The Philosophy Major:”

The study of philosophy serves to develop intellectual abilities important for life as a whole, beyond the knowledge and skills required for any particular profession.  Properly pursued, it enhances analytical, critical, and interpretive capacities that are applicable to any subject-matter, and in any human context.  It cultivates the capacities and appetite for self-expression and reflection, for exchange and debate of ideas, for life-long learning, and for dealing with problems for which there are no easy answers.  It also helps to prepare one for the tasks of citizenship.  Participation in political and community affairs today is all too often insufficiently informed, manipulable and vulnerable to demagoguery.  A good philosophical education enhances the capacity to participate responsibly and intelligently in public life.

Second, Dr. George James, from the University of North Texas, warns that philosophy is not for everyone:

It’s not for persons who have no interest in asking deeper questions.  At the end of a lifetime of philosophizing one great philosopher made the claim that the unexamined life is not worth living.  Many people don’t believe that.  Some people don’t even care to raise the question.  Philosophy very simply is not for them.  Philosophy is not for followers.  If all you want is to get a job and a paycheck, if all you want is to spend as little time and effort at that job as you can and still get paid for it, then philosophy is not for you.  Philosophy is not training.  It’s education!  It’s for persons who want to understand, who want not just to live, but to live well.  It is for persons who simply could never be happy without asking why. (Adapted from Dr. George James’ text)