from a book called, "Modern studies in philosophy’’
a collection of critical essays… edited by George Pitcher,
the volume is title “Wittgenstein”
so in this there are a series of essays about Wittgenstein,
and in the very first essay which is actually part of a history
of Philosophy by A. M Quinton and in this first essay this sentence
is written:
“… Wittgenstein maintains that philosophy is not a theory, does not
issue in a body of assertible truths, but an activity, that of making
propositions clear”
not a theory but an activity…this is an very old fashion notion…
the Greeks and the Romans held to this, that philosophy wasn’t
a theory but a way of life…we use philosophy to make propositions clear,
that “being good is a better way of life then being evil”
and one uses their life to prove or disprove this proposition…
it was not a theory to them, it was an answer to the Kantian question,
“what are we suppose to do?”
Our failure with philosophy lies in the fact we treat is as a theory that doesn’t
commit us to anything…let us look at one such “empty” statement…
“Kropotkin is a lying commie, socialist”
this statement has no value of any kind because it isn’t philosophy,
it doesn’t commit us to anything… it is nothing more then an opinion…
and a badly formed opinion that has no basis in facts… it isn’t a theory
and it isn’t a way of life… it has no philosophical value of any kind…
and most of the posts here in ILP are nothing more then just opinions,
with no regards to any facts, no attempt to bring out a theory or
engage with an already present theory, no attempt to commit us to
any action or a way of life…no attempt to understand any theory…
in fact most post here are polemics… and writers who engage in
polemics aren’t interested in theory or facts or truth or how do we
engage in a way of life… nope, most polemics here exists as
attempts at propaganda, not philosophy…look at the posts of
UR or Observe or joker or wendy or gib or gloomy… they are not attempts
at philosophy or attempts to engage in a way of life… no, their posts
are polemical or attempts at propaganda…
there is no attempt to seek or understand the truth or even understand
finding a way of life using philosophy as a guide, as the Greeks or Romans
would have thought about using philosophy…
I am not even sure why they are posting here because all they offer is
opinion pieces badly disguised as philosophy… polemical writing that is
meant to fix opinion on a certain political fact… facts which change all
the time… or have you forgotten the many right wing scare tactics of the
past, sex education, or LBGT fear driven theories, or how the gays
were attempting to convert everyone into being gay… how soon they forget…
and the latest fear attack… CRT…and tomorrow, it will be something new…
and trumpeted here on ILP as opinion pieces badly disguised as philosophy…
or said another way, polemical pieces designed to be propaganda and
nothing more…
but Kropotkin, what of philosophy? the vast majority of people here
wouldn’t know philosophy, real philosophy if it bit them on the ass…
because as Wittgenstein says, it is an activity, not a theory…
and as an activity, it is meant as a way of life… we should live
our daily life as a philosophical exploration, not as a theory to
be studied and then forgotten the minute we close the book…
for that is what happens to philosophy…it is studied, and not used,
theory and not activity… the polemical writers on ILP would never
consider living their lives as philosophy… to live their lives
as the theories of philosophy… in other words, it isn’t enough to
hold to the theory of liberalism or conservatism… unless we
actually lived that life…
as I have mentioned before, I was an anarchist for many years…
and it wasn’t enough to hold to the theory, I lived as an anarchist…
I was off the grid, I didn’t have a place to stay, I didn’t pay taxes,
I rarely had a car, I didn’t have a bank account… I was off the grid…
living my life as an anarchist… not in theory, but as a way of life…
and unless you are ready to do just that, you are simply pretending to
engage in philosophy…for philosophy requires, demands that we don’t just
hold to the theories, but we engage in philosophy as a way of life…
not to create polemical pieces but to engage in the practice of philosophy,
as a way of life… are you ready to engage in philosophy as an activity?
not just as a theory, but an actual engagement with philosophy as an
activity? as an way of life?
for most here, no, no, no they will not do that… because it is
far easier to create polemical pieces that don’t mean anything
because that doesn’t commit one to anything… it is nothing more
then mental masterbation to write out polemical pieces while
doing nothing but holding to the theories, but not engage in any type
of activity…
until one is ready to engage with philosophy as an activity, not as
an theory, then you are just writing polemical pieces pretending to
be philosophy…
Kropotkin