Philosophy - What's It Good For?

In my last year at the University of California at Irvine, I switched majors from biology to philosophy. Friends asked me, "What good is philosophy?" What they really meant was, "Can you make any money at it?" I knew people with lots of money, but little meaning in their lives. They seemed to be lost in games and pastimes. They worked without questioning the purpose or value of their work. I was interested in meaning, not money, but the people around me didn't share my feeling. Most of them believed that only money was real.

In my search for meaning, I first turned to the study of logic, mathematics, and science. In my teenage years I encountered logical positivism. Logical positivism was an early 20th Century school of philosophy that claimed all the grand questions of traditional philosophy were meaningless. Questions like "What is the meaning of life?" or "Is there a God?" were meaningless, logical positivists asserted, because the answers cannot be verified. But questions like "Does the moon have an opposite side?" are meaningful because we can construct tests to prove or disprove any answer. We can build a rocket to the moon. But how can we verify the meaning of life, or the existence of God? The logical positivists saw no true/false test for these matters.

Of course, just because we can't prove or disprove God's existence doesn't mean he doesn't exist! Logical positivism lost its hold on me while I was a graduate student at San Francisco State University in 1970. I was moving toward 'meaningless' questions like: Why is there something rather than nothing? What is the purpose of life? Why is there evil in the world? Then I discovered Buddhism and other ancient spiritual traditions that addressed such questions. I was beginning to find real philosophy. 

Philosophy is not a word game. It is, as Plato explained, the "love of wisdom". Few students get to study real philosophy at college. Philosophizing is an extraordinary act. It requires re-thinking issues at the most fundamental level -- right down to questions of being. One winds up asking simple-sounding, childlike questions like "What is real?"

The world is adrift, without meaning. That is why so many become victims of political ideologies and extreme religious viewpoints that offer a sense of meaning at the expense of compassion, truth, and justice.

"Does philosophy help you make money?" My answer is personal. All the really amazing jobs I've held came from my grounding in philosophy. I became a computer programmer because my boss assumed that philosophy made one logical. I got promotions to higher levels of responsibility because I saw the "big picture" in the organizations I worked for. One day I found myself the acting CEO of several small technology companies in trouble. Why? Because my philosophical perspective gave me a high tolerance for ambiguity, which allowed me to go into unknown and almost unknowable situations again and again. So yes -- philosophy can help you make money. But meaning, understanding, and wisdom are the real payoffs.

Soul Healers

In forests, deserts, plains, mountains, and valleys – the ancient healers of soul, mind and body knew Grace, Power, Wisdom, and Love.  They lived before civilization – awake to the sky, earth, sun, rain, fire, and seasons.  Now we know the sky through ever changing varieties of electronic media. Very few live the primal life. Agriculture brought cities; and the flowering of poetry, writing, politics, and complex divisions of labor.  Some went back to the forest and deserts to connect with the elemental powers. Finally returning to their communities speaking and teaching truth and wisdom. That is our story too. We quest for knowledge of stars and atoms, forgetting the knowledge of Life and soul; and, recklessly subduing the earth and each other. What did the ancient ones know and teach? Did they cut through all illusions and see truth behind the blinding power of ego? Can we weave these personalities, these archetypes, together into wholeness? Can we? Dare we not?  It’s time for a new alliance of humans, earth, and cosmos; and humble submission to the Source of all-that-is.

Philosophy in My Life

In my last year at the University of California at Irvine, I switched majors from biology to philosophy. Friends asked me, "What good is philosophy?" What they really meant was, "Can you make any money at it?"

I knew people with lots of money, but little meaning in their lives. They seemed to be lost in games and pastimes. They worked without questioning the purpose or value of their work. I was interested in meaning, not money, but the people around me didn't share my feeling. Most of them believed that only money was real.

In my search for meaning, I first turned to the study of logic, mathematics, and science. In my teenage years I encountered logical positivism. Logical positivism was an early 20th Century school of philosophy that claimed all the grand questions of traditional philosophy were meaningless. Questions like "What is the meaning of life?" or "Is there a God?" were meaningless, logical positivists asserted, because the answers cannot be verified. But questions like "Does the moon have an opposite side?" are meaningful because we can construct tests to prove or disprove any answer. We can build a rocket to the moon. But how can we verify the meaning of life, or the existence of God? The logical positivists saw no true/false test for these matters.

Of course, just because we can't prove or disprove God's existence doesn't mean He doesn't exist! Logical positivism lost its hold on me while I was a graduate student at San Francisco State University in 1970. I was moving toward 'meaningless' questions like: Why is there something rather than nothing? What is the purpose of life? Why is there evil in the world? Then I discovered Buddhism and other ancient spiritual traditions that addressed such questions. I was beginning to find real philosophy.

Philosophy is not a word game. It is, as Plato explained, the "love of wisdom". Few students get to study real philosophy at college. Philosophizing is an extraordinary act. It requires re-thinking issues at the most fundamental level -- right down to questions of being. One winds up asking simple-sounding, childlike questions like "What is real?"

The world is adrift, without meaning. That is why so many become victims of political ideologies and extreme religious viewpoints that offer a sense of meaning at the expense of compassion, truth, and justice.

All the really amazing jobs I've held came from my grounding in philosophy. I became a computer programmer because my boss assumed that philosophy made one logical. I got promotions to higher levels of responsibility because I saw the "big picture" in the organizations I worked for. One day I found myself the acting CEO of several small technology companies in trouble. Why? Because my philosophical perspective gave me a high tolerance for ambiguity, which allowed me to go into unknown and almost unknowable situations again and again. So yes -- philosophy can help you make money. But meaning, understanding, and wisdom are the real payoffs.

Stars and Atoms

We quest for knowledge of stars and atoms, forgetting the knowledge of Life and soul; and, recklessly subduing the earth and each other. It’s time for a new alliance of humans, earth, and cosmos; and humble submission to the Source of all-that-is. 

Settling Down

Settling down is the great work of giving life meaning. It's also the great work of getting up in the morning and clearing the mind for the day's work. In my case it is writing these notes and publishing a blog entry. Humble but meaningful to my soul. I live in the way that I must - so as to be real to the self. What else can I do? 

Stages of Life (Americ Recording Sound Cloud)

Don't Write

Facing the Future

Facing the future demands that we stand firm on this spot. We begin from where we are. I am here and now in this particular place and time. For most of us, that seems too simple. Try it. It always begins and ends here and now. To go forward, just be here. Don’t be afraid of stillness. Change will happen no matter how hard you fight it.  ∆

Being, Doing, Having, and Giving

Awareness of being, doing, having and giving transforms life. Discover being - and all else follows. Being is the ground of all that is. We reflect being within ourselves. Doing follows naturally once being is established in our minds, hearts, and bodies. In that doing, comes our having, and the capacity for giving. The path back to being is in our capacity for discovering and sustaining stillness within, even while "in the world".

Whispers Of Eternity

Alignment with Being

Most people live in a fog - moving between tasks, situations, and pleasures. Often in a mental fog of remembrances and fantasies. Live life fully. This could just be the only life you know. Pre-life and after-life are matters of speculation and faith. A full life is not measured in number of years, but by depth of understanding and experience. Some die young but had rich lives. Others live long but accomplish little. It's not how long we live, but how we live that counts. We become happy, wealthy and wise in proportion to our alignment with being.

Life's Breath

Life plays us like flutes. The flute's openings are mind, intellect and the five senses. With egos put aside - these flute openings become pure. Life's breath passes freely though us. Our lives become harmonic.  

Image from http://www.oldworldmusicandgifts.com/img/flutesmall.jpg  

Floating

 The mystery and secret of life. Learning to be. Relaxing into this present moment. A metaphor for living well.  

Meaning of Life

Questions of Existence

“Why do we exist?” “Why is there something rather than nothing?” These are questions of being. Questions remarkably productive to ask simply because they are bottomless, without final answers. Questions of existence pull us out of ordinary life – putting our lives into “question” - and, bringing us into silence.
(Professional philosophers may consider questions leading silence unproductive and even dangerous. But a philosopher-at-large does not worry about that; she or he may find wells of wisdom in that silent stillness.)
So, be silent and wait. Wait without expectation. The unexpected may come without invitation.

Steve Jobs’s last words: ‘Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow’

Audio spoken shortly after Steve Jobs' death on October 5, 2011.

Steve Jobs's last words were reported in the news shortly after his death. Well worth reading are Steve Jobs’s last words: ‘Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow’ (Washington Post) and A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs (New York Times). In the past, I asked students to read or listen to Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement address (2005) .

Be Real

Many of us constantly try to escape from ourselves. That's impossible - and usually creates neurosis. Instead, face reality even if it is uncomfortable. Slowly the authentic Self dawns. Be real! It's worth it.  

What's the meaning of life? (Michael Nagler, Alexander, & Martin)

Every answer to the question "What is the meaning of life?" is radically different from person to person. This group begins with Michael Nagler who is Professor emeritus of Classics and Comparative Literature at University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1966, and where he founded the Peace and Conflict Studies department. Next is Alexander who is in grade school and is seven and a half years old. Finally, we have Martin who is a Senior at UC Berkeley.

LISTEN to "Meaning of Life - Part 2" (1.18 mb; time 05:11)

Audio production by Lynette Webb. Image from Almeida Cartoons.

Perfection of LIfe

Surrender