“Do you really love Philosophy?”
“2 the point of self destruction: the neglect of the petty and mundane which sustains us all.”
“Would you mind explaining what you mean?”
That’s actually a bigger question than you might realize and overlaps into our cultural history as a whole –for instance, the arts. When we start our process as the creatively and intellectually curious, we start, based on our heroes (such as Van Gogh, Marx, Socrates, Jimi (both Hendrix and Morrison( etc.( with romantic notions of the tragic soul carrying the burden of the world. But what we ultimately find is that it is the petty and mundane matters that wear us down (and this is especially the case in America with its unconditional embrace of producer/consumer Capitalism and the tyranny of the functional –that which can be translated into dollar value: that constant struggle to devote our resources to pursuing our higher selves in an economic and social environment that in too many small ways demands our resources for its interests. And do not be fooled by the Randian myth that Capitalism is the only means by which we can find our higher selves. The greatness it champions must always stay within the perimeters of capital and what can be translated into profit: a formula for mediocrity if ever there was one.
(Note, for instance, the way that cable TV has gravitated towards the lowest common denominator through reality shows because they produce the same (if not more (profit for less investment than creating actual art.)
Every day that I spend on here, every day that I spend around an hour reading in preparation for this, feels like a violation of God and country in that I could be devoting that time to the numerous petty and mundane responsibilities imposed upon me by everyday life. And there would be any number of people who would argue that I clearly have my priorities wrong. I could, for instance, devote my intellect, creativity, and time pursuing more profitable disciplines. I did that for 5 years and it did work to extent that I have a decent job. But having abandoned my liberal and fine arts disposition to do so, it eventually began to feel like a carrot on a stick. I mean to what extent do you need to pad your resume before you actually achieve financial security? That is given that I am making reasonably good money while struggling as much as I ever have financially because of the petty and mundane little demands that have accumulated in my life –many of which were forced upon me because I happened to be the one with resources?
But as hard as this is, as hard as it feels to go on when the barbarians are always at the gates, it is for this very reason that I am always reminded that I must go on. As Camus argues:
“All arguments for beauty are ultimately arguments for freedom.”
I have to go on out of a stubborn rejection of the notion that the worth of my point A to point B must be based on how society and the market rewards it. While we believe in things like afterlives, higher powers, and higher principles (such as Capitalism (our point A to point B is all there is: consequences be damned.
This is why I would respectfully disagree with those who argue that you can’t love philosophy, but only like it. They sound like people who think of it as little more than a hobby (something they can just do in their spare time (as compared to a way of life –which is fine if that is all you want from it. And that way of life being one that goes against the general flow of things (the market, responsibility, and the tyranny of the functional (duty as the Buddhists would put it (you had better goddamn well love what you’re doing (to the point of self destruction if that’s what it takes (in the face of the opposition you will find yourself up against.