How can Philosophy help your life?

It can be very difficult to see philosophy’s benefit when faced with questions like these. It’s not so easy to see the cause and effect of philosophy in the same way you might see the cause and effect of going on a diet. Maybe this is why we ask the question “what can philosophy do for me?” in the first place.

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The Value of Philosophy

At the end of Bertrand Russell’s book The Problems of Philosophy, he includes a short chapter titled The Value of Philosophy[1]. In this chapter he outlines what he believes the value of philosophy to be, namely, that it provides “food for the mind”[2]. Russell believes that philosophy addresses an important, but commonly underrecognized, aspect of human beings. It is definitely true that we need food to survive, and shelter to keep warm, but these are not the only conditions necessary to human flourishing. He even goes so far as to say that a society that provides the best material wellbeing for its people (everyone has a home, food, and clothing) would still need to do a lot to become a valuable society. That’s a very bold statement, but is there truth to it?

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Is Philosophy Practical?

Have you ever wondered deeply about something? It could really be anything. Movies, stars, history, or anything at all? This feeling of curiosity, and that there is more to the picture playing in front of our eyes than is obvious, is the main impetus behind philosophy. A deeper understanding of the things that intrigue us is one of the most wonderful feelings I have ever known. When Russell mentions “food for the mind”, it is this desire that I believe him to be referring to.

In our present society (I am speaking as a lower middle class guy from Colorado) everything must be quantified. Success is measured by numbers, maybe numbers in our bank account, numbers on the weight scale, numbers at our jobs, numbers of contacts, numbers of this, and numbers of that. I personally love keeping track of numbers. I cannot have any success in weightlifting (one of my many hobbies) if the numbers do not go up from week to week. However, the entire story cannot be captured in numbers. In fact, I would argue that the vast majority of the world and our experiences become closed to us if numbers are our only means of measurement. So then, let’s take this as an example. Studies have shown that happier employees are more productive at work than their unhappier counterparts[3]. Well, how do you measure happiness?

You can come up with a survey to measure happiness, but of course, happiness cannot be captured in numbers or quantified in any meaningful way. Happiness is simply too broad and contains too many variables to be captured in a universal way. You can’t create a formula for happiness. But this does not mean that happiness is not practical.

If we study philosophy, and we encounter a new perspective, this can have a drastic impact on our happiness and therefore on our productivity. Perhaps we discover a new framework through which to view our lives and suddenly we gain perspective. Yet, this is not the only practical benefit of philosophy. What if studying philosophy makes us kinder? More ethical? Are these not beneficial to us and society?

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The free intellect will see as God might see, without a here and now, without hopes and fears, without the trammels of customary beliefs and traditional prejudices, calmly, dispassionately, in the sole and exclusive desire of knowledge

Bertrand Russell

Freedom

Let’s take a look at a man named Bob. Bob was raised in a middle-class family with democrat parents and a loose Christian belief. Throughout his adult life, Bob maintains his political allegiances and beliefs in Christianity. It is important to ask where these beliefs originated because they obviously did not originate in Bob. Bob is a product of his society and upbringing. He may question things from time to time, such as the best way to lose weight, or whether or not a presidential candidate is full of it. But it never goes deeper. At the core of his being are ideals and beliefs that he never questions. If his life were like tetherball, he we would be the ball and only allowed to stray away from the central doctrine for a few feet, only to be brought back.

This is the most important thing philosophy brings to the table, in my opinion, and also in Russell’s[4]. When we begin to question our underlying assumptions about the world, our view increases as we begin to see all the possibilities that life can offer. Is it necessary for us to work at a job we despise in order to retire in peace? Must we revere the religion we were born into and leave all other options unexplored? Or on a more basic level, how should we live our lives?

These questions open the door to freedom of thought. There are so many options worth exploring (whether or not they improve our numbers) for their own sake. Rather than merely adopting the conventional outlook, we can become empowered to seek our own means through life, and live one worthy of being lived.

References

Broom, Douglas. “Happy Employees Are More Productive, Research Shows.” World Economic Forum. Accessed February 10, 2022. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/11/happy-employees-more-productive/.

Russell, Betrand. “The Value of Philosophy.” Essay. In The Problems of Philosophy. Project Gutengurg, 2009. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5827

[1] Russell, Betrand. “The Value of Philosophy.” Essay. In The Problems of Philosophy. Project Gutengurg, 2009.

[2] Russell

[3] Broom, Douglas. “Happy Employees Are More Productive, Research Shows.” World Economic Forum. Accessed February 10, 2022. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/11/happy-employees-more-productive/.

[4] Russell, “The Value of Philosophy”