The third Thursday of November was proclaimed World Philosophy Day by UNESCO in 2005 with the following objectives:
- to renew the national, subregional, regional and international commitment to philosophy;
- to foster philosophical analysis, research and studies on major contemporary issues, so as to respond more effectively to the challenges that are confronting humanity today;
- to raise public awareness of the importance of philosophy and its critical use in the choices arising for many societies from the effects of globalization or entry into modernity;
- to appraise the state of philosophy teaching throughout the world, with special emphasis on unequal access;
- to underline the importance of the universalization of philosophy teaching for future generations.
The 2019 observance, as in previous years, considers philosophy in the context of major world issues facing us today, and highlights its potential to clarify the discourse emerging in the diverse global debates about our present challenges.
Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO, stated:
In an increasingly complex world – one in which uncertainty prevails, societal changes and technological revolutions scramble traditional reference points, and we face huge social and political challenges – philosophy remains a vital resource. It allows us to step back and slow down and it lights the way ahead.
***
As Kant had observed, we may distinguish three basic concerns: What can we know? What should we do? And for what may we hope?
In “Kant for Kids,” Bruce Krajewski writes of the children’s book written by Salomo Friedlӓnder in the 1920s, which was structured around these fundamental questions. While originally intended for children, this book bears relevance for adults as well. These three questions can allow some direction to the search for the way forward in this ever-changing modern time.
In the spirit of Kant, we have collected a few thoughts from our contributors that point towards these questions and answers.
WHAT CAN WE KNOW?
Philosophy turns our attention to the faculty of knowledge. It can give our inquiry a new freedom and it welcomes curiosity.
In the “Power of Generous Questions,” Joe Morrison celebrates the ways in which philosophy is a “liberating, ground-shaking pursuit—a chance to break free from the unreflective life.” It “helps us question the world around us” and “enables us to challenge received ideas and to build up new possibilities in their place.”
But, he continues, philosophy does more than that: as philosophers, “we help other people to articulate their ideas by listening intently to them speaking and by asking them questions.”
We might tend to overlook this simple power, he adds, but “it is a deeply humane thing just to listen to someone fully, to let someone speak entire thoughts, and to encourage them to follow those thoughts up with yet more speaking and thinking aloud.”
Only by means of this recognition of diverse perspectives can we hope to understand what is emerging concerning the current crises in the world and the discourses to which they give rise. Philosophy allows us to frame them in an equally reflective and critical manner. It allows us to discern the modern import of ancient insights and to show how they have current relevance. It allows us to intuit the kinship across diverse cultures, and to recognize the importance of what each can offer.
Brian Wong, for instance, drew on Hannah Arendt’s political theory to fathom the unfolding crisis in Hong Kong (“Hannah Arendt on Hong Kong’s Violence”.)
Eugene Chislenko writes of what philosophy can offer to the pressing matter of climate change. In “Philosophers and Climate Change,” he recognizes that philosophers excel in persuasive and forward thinking argumentation: “we can create, recognize, and spread conceptual changes that can have a lasting effect.”
WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
The importance of philosophy has been recognized throughout history, but yet in today’s world its value requires affirmation.
In “A Moment to Take Stock (and Keep Advocating),” Beatrice Gurwitz seeks to remind political leaders of this priority. Given the present uncertainty, “this is a moment to recognize the success of the humanities community’s efforts,” so that the necessary financial sponsorship can be secured. In the United States, this has involved the seeking of bipartisan support in Congress.
While philosophy faces an uncertain recognition from without, it ought not ignore the diversity of those whom it should embrace. If it is to have worldwide relevance, all must be included.
But many groups are presently underrepresented. As Zoe Lawson reports (in “Philosophy for Pre-College Students”,) “at the undergraduate level, only 17% of bachelor’s degrees in philosophy are awarded to people of color.” In Masters and PhD programs, “only between a quarter and a third of philosophy degrees are awarded to women.”
What, then, is the solution?
“Bringing philosophy out of the university and into pre-college classrooms can help jumpstart the process of diversifying philosophy,” writes Lawson.
Jeremy Bendik-Keymer, in “How do you approach public philosophy?”, draws on antiquity as a guide. “The value governing [Greek philosophy] is neither truth nor goodness, primarily, but is a kind of beauty that is found in the harmony of people being in touch with each other.” This, of course, is intrinsic to the formation of any society. What is realized, as Bendik-Keymer shows, is “an event of meeting,” from which comes “trustworthiness and a kind of eye-to-eye friendship.”
As he concludes, “public philosophy, if it is true to its name, has to be led by relational reason, with theoretical and practical reason in pursuit.”
Moreover, if philosophy is to extend its reach more broadly, we must make the broader public aware of it. Kristin Culberston shares her experience in in “Teaching Philosophy to Non-Majors.” “I didn’t realize how valuable this was until I saw that I was consistently surprised by my students’ intuitions.”
People from diverse backgrounds responded in unexpected ways. “When I started actively encouraging my students to use their own backgrounds,” writes Culberston, “I found that they applied the ideas in interesting ways that I wouldn’t have come up with.”
FOR WHAT CAN WE HOPE?
This diversity of backgrounds, if embraced, offers the prospect of rejuvenation, as well as growth.
Philosophy, at its greatest potential, emerges naturally from the places where people live and think.
For philosophy to flourish in these places, those interested ought to have access to what philosophers have written. One might suppose that the relevant texts would be available, but Christina Hendricks (in “Philosophy Open Textbook Series”) reports that this is not the case. “Quite a number of students in various North American institutions report going without textbooks, or choosing different sections of courses, or taking fewer courses than they’d like because of textbook costs.” Hendricks describes her ongoing work to create a platform for these resources to be open for public access.
Aditionally, for philosophy to emerge from the places where people live, there must be venues for its adequate expression. Joseph S. Biehl describes one such endeavor in “Philosophy Magazine for the City.” By launching the project Phi on New York, he hopes that New Yorkers can create “a space for philosophically investigating the city and the kinds of lives it makes possible.”
***
As the above has shown, there are many diverse endeavors underway. In answer to Kant’s questions–What can we know? What should we do? For what may we hope?–the answer is a great deal.
But it depends on how we know, whom we include in the doing, and the hope that may arise together.
Emily Rose Ogland has just completed an MA in Continental Philosophy at the University of Warwick (UK), having graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 2018 with a BA in French and Philosophy. Her research interests center largely on phenomenological questions of human nature and intersubjectivity. She is pursuing an MA in Literary Translation and hopes to translate recent French research in this field. Emily Rose is currently working for the Blog of the APA as the Social Media Intern.
Emily Rose Ogland is a postgraduate student at the University of Warwick, currently studying the philosophy of literary translation and working on her own translations of current philosophical texts. Follow Emily Rose on Twitter @er_ogland.
