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Entropologia
July 11, 2024
The Role of the Philosopher in Contemporary Culture
“If one ought to philosophize, then one must philosophize, and if one ought not to philosophize, one must philosophize: in any case, one must philosophize. For if philosophy exists, we certainly ought to philosophize, because it exists; and if it does not exist, we ought to seek [answers] as to why it does not exist, and in seeking, we philosophize, since seeking is the cause of philosophy.”
Hello! In this article, we will consider the role of the philosopher in contemporary culture. Is a philosopher still needed in today’s world? Does the philosopher play a significant role in social reality? Or is the philosopher’s role merely to ask questions without answers? Is the philosopher a critic of contemporary culture? Or perhaps a writer creating abstract, hermetic works for the ordinary reader? Is the philosopher’s role to be a moralist, or is that more the role of a priest? Is the philosopher a therapist, or has the psychologist taken that position? Does the philosopher explain the mysteries of the world, or has the scientist taken that role? Does the philosopher deal with the theory of art, that is, aesthetics? Most would say that an art historian fills that role. If the philosopher does not deal with science, therapy, theology, ethics, aesthetics, or literature, then what does he actually do? According to some, he deals with the history of philosophy, while others believe he deals with nothing in particular, at best with the methodology of science or metaphysics, that is, meaningless philosophical speculation.
From my own experience, I know that the role of the philosopher in contemporary society is not easy. What kind of profession is a philosopher? What should a philosopher be concerned with? Should he teach ethics in school? Should he work in some cultural center, such as a museum? Should he deal with literary criticism or journalism? Or perhaps a philosopher should engage in politics? Maybe he should search for a person with a lamp, like Diogenes did? Or ask questions to people in the town square like Socrates? What exactly is the role of the philosopher? Marx claimed that a philosopher should “change reality.” It is worth asking how to change the world?
By propagating ideas or by taking power? As we know, Plato was an advocate of philosophers taking power. However, is a philosopher called to govern the state? One can doubt this. So what should a philosopher do? Should he be a role model in society? Or should he live like an ordinary person, who deals with philosophical questions on the margins of ordinary activities? As we know, the times when philosophers tried to create grand systems explaining all of reality are over. Does this not make the philosopher an anachronism? Have psychologists, theologians, scientists, politicians, and writers not taken over his role? What is left of philosophy, which once called itself the “queen of sciences”? Maybe it is a sign of the times that philosophy and its representatives are in retreat? Does this not indicate the decline of civilization? Is there still hope that philosophy will regain its significance in social life? Would it still make sense? Or perhaps we should bid farewell to illusions about the role of philosophy and philosophers? Critically about philosophers and other thinkers wrote, among others, Paul Johnson in his work titled “Intellectuals.”
I highly recommend reading this book by an outstanding historian, as well as two other parts, “Creators” and “Heroes” (The latter deals, among other things, with Ludwig Wittgenstein). It provides an objective look at the biographies of prominent thinkers. In no case did Johnson attempt to whitewash or blacken the characters of his books, guided by intellectual honesty worthy of a true philosopher. What then is the role of the philosopher in contemporary culture? A teacher? A guru? An intellectual? A sage? A scientist? A sophist? For many reasons, this is a difficult question to answer at the end. However we answer it, it seems right to believe that philosophers have not yet said their last word.
Even if slogans of the “end of philosophy” are currently fashionable, and the role of the humanist, including the philosopher, is marginalized in the present. However, it is a fact that people need worldviews that respond to their needs for meaning, place in the world, values, and justification. Some seek them in religion, others in science. However, philosophy has the advantage that it does not provide final answers, it is not dogmatic, but open to the truth about man and the world. So do not stop seeking, asking questions, philosophizing.