Philosophy and Wisdom

In my December 27 weblog essay, ‘On Virtue,’ I ended with a plea for an examination of “the virtues we subscribe to and live by, or live without, and how they line up with the wisdom of the ages.” I have wondered, Have any of my readers done so? Do many people anymore actually care about the wisdom of the ages?

I once asked about ten young adult men and a few young women if any of them have read the writings of Confucius. None ever had. I asked who were their favorite philosophers or the wisest authors they had read. A large majority had none they could identify. One mentioned Jesus. I didn’t ask the others if they could read.

Historically we know that philosophy was the major concern of the classical Greeks (e.g., Thales, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle). Philosophy and liberal arts were once a main focus of our universities. A pursuit of the wisdom of the ages was perhaps my primary private secular focus as a young married adult throughout the decade of 1966-1976. I compared the luminaries of the past with my then new-found religion which I used as a standard (I converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1967). I read a great deal of philosophical and religious literature from both genres and gleaned gems and answers and approaches that have clarified my identity and given direction to my life. My religion proved to provide most of the tools and answers for my on-going education, however, because it provided a education for my eternity, but other wise sources contributed much.

In Ayn Rand’s profound 1957 novel, Atlas Shrugged,for example,she has one of her minor characters being an academic philosopher and a pirate (Ragnar Danneskjold) and her protagonist (John Galt) being a practical philosopher and an engineer. She, herself, as a ‘writer’ was a philosopher of the ‘old school’ and of the highest order. During those years Atlas Shrugged and the corpus of Miss Rand’s other work was highly influential in my life and helped define some philosophical referents for me. Her book encouraged me to continue my graduate education and gave me the desire to pursue a doctor of philosophy degree. Unfortunately, all the ‘doctor of philosophy’ degrees at my university (Brigham Young University) were in fields other than formal philosophy so I settled on a doctor of education degree being closest to my intellectual and professional aspirations. By carefully selecting my courses and professors I gained the degree and a wonderful education, anchored my philosophy, and learned that formal secular philosophy has more questions than answers.  As pertaining to my formal education it is not over--and that there is no such thing as a 'terminal degree. My time at the university showed me that a pursuit of learning will never be over.

All this leads up to an encouragement to read, read, read. I have often said that the person who does not read has no particular advantage over one who cannot read. How I love the university setting, libraries and bookstores; what worlds they open up!