Philosophers: Good, bad, and fake. Beware the false philosophers who trumpet their wisdom. And seek the company of the good.
Philosophy - philo/sophia is etymologically the love of wisdom. With that definition, we’re all to be philosophers, though few seem to be on the path. Among those who are, and among the adepts, there are to be found good practitioners of philosophy, good teachers of philosophy, and good original philosophers. All are good philosophers but in different ways, though some combine all three modes, and yet perhaps with different strengths.
A good practicing philosopher uses wisdom well in her day to day life. She loves wisdom enough that it forms her emotions, attitudes, and actions, what she notices, what she cares about, and what she does. A good teacher of philosophy has to be well informed, imaginative, clear, and passionate about the wisdom uncovered historically and in his or her own life. A good original philosopher ideally needs some measure of all these things, but also needs a very logical mind to an almost extreme degree, an attention to detail beyond even the exceptional, and a strong intuition for creative thought. There are always many people in our society now who present themselves in more than one of these ways, but we should examine their real credentials of heart and mind in so far as possible before we take them seriously as good guides and appropriate their ideas.
And by the way, a shout out to the faculty, staff, officers and cadets of The Air Force Academy where I had a great experience this week, bringing philosophy to the great students and future leaders. Philosophy got a long, loud standing ovation from the hundreds present and it was a great thing to see. We have great young people here and around the world who can help bring wisdom to life in new ways. Let’s cheer them on. I’ll close with a picture of the stage and podium where I philosophized, but this is Robert Gates, former Secretary of Defense at the same podium a while ago.
