What is Philosophy?

Chapter – 1

Picture of Harshit Sharma
Harshit Sharma

Alumnus (BHU)

Contact
Table of Contents

I. COMMON-SENSE PHILOSOPHY AND PHILOSOPHY

  • Philosophy is often seen as a mysterious activity, difficult and beyond the reach of ordinary people, yet simultaneously something everyone feels they know instinctively.
  • People think they know what philosophy is because all people, more or less, are considered philosophers, even if they are unaware of it, similar to Monsieur Jourdain who spoke prose unknowingly.
  • Gramsci’s thesis argues that everyone is a philosopher, supported by the idea that everyday language suggests philosophy is a way of thinking rationally about events, accepting them as necessary.
  • The expression ‘to take things philosophically’ means accepting a painful event rationally, acknowledging its necessity, and conducting oneself calmly.
  • Gramsci points out that this attitude can be passive, involving resignation to life’s difficulties, retreating into private life while awaiting events to pass.
  • However, Gramsci does not fully address the second part of the contradiction, which is the popular conception of philosophers as people who are absorbed in abstract thoughts, detached from practical concerns.
  • The caricature of the philosopher as someone lost in abstraction, exemplified by the idea of philosophers falling down wells, holds an ironic criticism of philosophers and acknowledges that their discipline is beyond ordinary people’s understanding.
  • Resignation is a key aspect in the popular view of philosophy, where it is seen as submission to an inevitable fate, possibly without any rational explanation—sometimes viewed as mere fatality.
  • This resignation equates philosophy with a form of passivity, where it is merely a coping mechanism for accepting necessity without questioning it.
  • Two types of philosophy emerge from this:
    • The passive, resigned philosophy (common-sense philosophy), which people use in everyday life to accept circumstances.
    • Active philosophy (Philosophy in the strong sense), which uses reason to understand and change the world, such as Stoic philosophers or communist philosophers.
  • Stoic philosophers adapt to the world’s order rationally, while communist philosophers understand historical necessity through reason and act to change society.
  • The difference between these types of philosophers highlights the distinction between common-sense philosophy and Philosophy that is “elaborated” by philosophers.
  • When philosophical elements enter popular consciousness, we should recognize that they may come from the dissemination of philosophy through movements like Marxism, rather than from spontaneous thinking by the masses.
  • The popular image of philosophy, with philosophers detached from practical concerns, acknowledges that philosophy is not simply common sense but abstract reasoning that deals with difficult ideas beyond everyday knowledge.
  • Philosophers are seen as engaging in abstract thinking, navigating complex concepts that are not immediately available to the masses.
  • The question of what is philosophy then becomes linked with common-sense philosophy, requiring us to differentiate between spontaneous philosophical attitudes and structured, formal philosophy.
  • Common-sense philosophy is concerned with rationally dealing with events in life, while Philosophy (tout court) is a discipline that navigates ideas, theories, and abstractions beyond immediate experience.
  • Understanding these distinctions can help answer the question of what philosophy is by recognizing both its spontaneous, everyday form and its more structured, theoretical form.

II. PHILOSOPHY HAS NOT ALWAYS EXISTED

  • Common-sense philosophy has always existed, but Philosophy as a formal discipline has not.
  • Lenin highlights that the state exists only in societies with social classes, and similarly, Philosophy is observed to exist in societies where:
    1. Social classes (and thus the state) exist.
    2. Science (or at least one form of science) exists.
  • By science, the text refers to an abstract, ideal discipline that operates through abstractions and demonstrations, such as Greek mathematics.
  • Philosophy as we know it begins with Plato in fifth-century Greece, where social classes and demonstrative science (mathematics) existed.
  • In Plato’s society, mathematics and demonstrative science were foundational, and he integrated these into his Philosophy.
  • On the pediment of Plato’s school, it was inscribed: “Let none enter here who is not a geometer,” underscoring the importance of mathematics in his philosophy.
  • Plato used geometric proportion to justify social class structures, viewing society as divided into those who work, those who rule, and those who enforce the ruling class’s dominance.
  • Despite earlier class societies (e.g., Greece before the fifth century, Near Eastern kingdoms, Egypt), these did not have demonstrative science or the formal concept of Philosophy.
  • Therefore, Philosophy requires two conditions: the existence of social classes (necessary condition) and the presence of science (sufficient condition).
  • While earlier philosophers existed (e.g., the Seven Sages, Ionian philosophers), they did not practice Philosophy in the formal, demonstrative sense seen with Plato.
  • Philosophy, as established by Plato, did not disappear after his death. It continued to exist and perpetuate itself in a specific manner, evolving but maintaining core elements.
  • Philosophy has perpetuated itself primarily in the Western world, which remained relatively isolated until the rise of capitalism, where social classes and the state continued to exist alongside the development of the sciences.
  • Throughout this period, class struggle also underwent significant transformations, shaping the evolution of Philosophy.
  • Observing the continuity and transformation of Philosophy, we see that it has adapted but retained key aspects of its original form.

III. POLITICAL-SCIENTIFIC CONJUNCTIONS AND PHILOSOPHIES

  • Philosophy has undergone major transformations, with key figures like Aristotle, Stoicism, Descartes, St. Thomas Aquinas, Kant, and Hegel marking pivotal moments in its evolution.
  • The question arises: did these transformations occur because of the inspiration of great thinkers, or were they shaped by external factors?
  • Great transformations in philosophy typically occur when there are significant changes in class relations and the state, or when major events occur in the history of science.
  • These transformations often involve a conjunction where changes in class struggle and scientific developments reinforce each other, leading to prominent effects in Philosophy.
  • Examples of key political events influencing philosophy:
    • Creation of the Macedonian Empire (end of city-state)
    • Formation of the Roman Empire and Roman Law
    • Feudalism and revival of Roman Law
    • Development of mercantile relations under absolute monarchy
    • Rise of the bourgeoisie and the French Revolution
    • Contradictions within the French Revolution
    • Emergence of the workers’ movement and its struggles
    • Imperialism and the rise of the petty bourgeoisie
    • Crisis of imperialism
  • Examples of scientific events shaping philosophy:
    • Biological science and early developments
    • Mathematical physics foundations by Galileo
    • Newton’s revolution in physics
    • First approaches to a theory of history
    • Marx’s science of history
    • Axiomatization of mathematics and mathematical logic
    • Developments in technology
  • The table shows a connection between major political and scientific events and the philosophy of figures like Descartes, whose work marked the beginning of Modern Philosophy.
  • Descartes’ philosophy was influenced by the development of bourgeois law under absolute monarchy, and Galileo’sfoundation of modern physics.
  • This conjunction of political-economic and scientific changes radically distinguished Descartes’ philosophy from earlier periods, such as the Italian Renaissance.
  • The interplay between transformations in class relations and the history of the sciences has been crucial in shaping the evolution of Philosophy.
  • The conditions for the existence of Philosophy involve a complex interaction between these transformations.
  • Looking to the present, we find that some societies have never developed Philosophy as we know it.
    • Primitive societies lack both social classes and science, and thus do not have Philosophy.
    • Nineteenth-century India and China had social classes but did not have science in the Western sense, raising questions about whether their intellectual traditions qualify as Philosophy.
  • The term Hindu philosophy and Chinese philosophy may describe theoretical disciplines that only superficially resemble Western Philosophy.
  • The question arises whether these traditions, like early Greek thought, are not true Philosophy in the strict sense, a topic to be explored further.
  • The existence and transformations of Philosophy seem to be closely related to conjunctions of significant political, social, and scientific events.
  • The next step is to investigate the nature of the relationship between these factors and Philosophy, starting with a deeper understanding of society.

You cannot copy content of this page

error: Content is protected !!
Scroll to Top

Privacy Policy - Refund & Cancellation - Terms and Conditions