Provided by Cleveland Philosophic Advisor
As this is my first guest post for Pointless Overthinking, it seemed appropriate to talk about philosophy as a way of living. It’s such an interesting idea, and although it differs from how one (usually) hears philosophy discussed today, I’ve noticed the idea (1) in the ancient period of Western philosophy, (2) in the philosophical dimensions of Buddhism, and (3) in traditional Chinese philosophy.
In the case of Greek philosophy (i.e. ancient Western), the idea is most obvious in the case of the Stoic school, which included people such as Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. In this school, philosophy is even described as an “art of living,” and has its own collection of what the late scholar Pierre Hadot calls “spiritual exercises.” The other ancient schools, such as Epicureanism, Platonism, and the skeptic traditions, seem to have shared this general view and engaged in their own journeys of self-cultivation.
Turning to East Asia, you might be surprised to hear that traditional Chinese philosophy, whether Confucian, Daoist, or Buddhist, was seen by its practitioners as a kind of kung fu! But as contemporary scholar Peimin Ni explains, this doesn’t mean they were doing martial arts (though some may well have been). “Any ability resulting from practice and cultivation,” writes Ni, “could accurately be said to embody kung fu.” In the case of these families of philosophy, it was an overall kung fu of living a human life, “the art of living one’s life in general.” [1] And although it was Song and Ming dynasty writers who used the term ‘kung fu’ (gongfu) so widely, one has only to read the Analects to see that this reality of artful living, with or without the term ‘kung fu’, must extend back to Confucius himself.
Within the philosophical dimensions of Buddhism too, whether ancient or contemporary, we find something similar. The Eightfold Path, or Middle Way, is in some sense a teaching or even a theory, yet as scholar and monk Walpola Rahula tells us, the path itself “is a way of life to be followed, practiced, and developed by each individual.” He goes on to say that the path “has nothing which may popularly be called ‘religious’, in that it “has nothing to do with belief, prayer, worship or ceremony,” but instead is a matter of “self-discipline in body, word and mind, self-development and self-purification.” I think we may discern here an overall kung fu and art of living.
I’ve been calling philosophy as a way of living an idea, but in the traditions just discussed it isn’t or wasn’t just an idea; it was or is a reality. And if it’s less real in present-day Western cultures, it’s still an exciting possibility. In fact I wonder how many of us have been, to some extent, practicing philosophy in this way – as a way of living – without necessarily realizing that’s what we’re doing?
How would you know if you’re practicing philosophy? That’s a huge question, and maybe we should keep it open, but one very rough answer might be this: insofar as you seek to lead a good life and develop yourself, through both study and action in the world, based primarily on observation and reason… you’re probably practicing philosophy.
In what ways have you been doing this, even if you didn’t think of it as philosophy?
BIO: Cleveland Philosophic Advisor is a scholar, student, and teacher of philosophy, whose interests include philosophy as a way of living and “spiritual exercises,” Stoicism and ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, and philosophical Buddhism. As a certified Logic-Based Consultant, he offers what is often called “philosophical counseling,” though he prefers the terms ‘individual consultation’ or ‘advising’. He also attempts to practice philosophy in his own life. His website and blog concerning individual philosophic consultation can be found here.
Super interesting!!
Thanks for reading!
Nicely stated!
Hi Bogdan
Thank you for your wonderful posts, and for following my blog it’s very much appreciated. As you know, I’m a Buddhist so I’m really intrigued by some of your writings. I think you make a really good point when you ask how do we know if we’re following a philosophy when we practice? To be perfectly frank, I think we read too much into our practice, and in many ways overcomplicate things. Yes the eightfold path gives us a kind of instruction sheet on how we should live our lives and I believe it’s fully possible in this life time to achieve Buddhahood by fulfilling this. But the most important thing for me alongside my meditation practice and daily reverence, is living with a kind heart and with compassion. If we can touch someone else’s life in a positive way, that’s surely the most important thing that any Buddhist would want. Also Buddhism is divided into three main parts, Buddhist science- what we get when we break down Buddhism, how it’s formed and its workings. Buddhist philosophy, how we view Buddhism and out other people view Buddhism in comparison with other religions and faith. Finally Buddhist religion which speaks for itself. All of these things are separate and a very powerful topic to discuss. I really love the way you write and I’m really interested in seeing more of your posts. I’m aware that I don’t respond as much as I should it’s just I facilitate a Buddhist Study Group and only get to respond every so often. But I do look at your work and I enjoy it very much so thank you for sharing
Best wishes Julie
Hello Julie, thanks for your generous response! I also see kindness and compassion as central. And thank you for sharing this division into science, philosophy, and religion. If you have time for a follow-up comment, where (or from whom) did you learn this specific three-fold division?
Hi, everybody. I just want to make sure that everyone knows this is a post by Cleveland Philosophical Advisor (CPA) and not Bogdan. CPA’s website can be found here (https://philosophicadvising.com/).
I recall when I was new to WP, I had no idea what a guest post meant. 😂 Hopefully, you remember that incident too.
A guest-post occurs when the blog of a host contains a post written by a guest instead of the host.
It’s definitely easy enough to miss that this was a guest post. Thanks for the definition.
I don’t know that I would be able to live my crazy life without Stoicism. It is definitely a way of life for me at this point.
That’s really cool that you find Stoicism so helpful, and that you’ve integrated it into how you live. I’m really intrigued by how, for some individuals (like yourself), philosophy is becoming again a lived pursuit of wisdom.
While philosophy is often viewed in modern society as lofty pontification , nothing could be further from the case.
There is a lot of practical wisdom in “philosophy”. Anyone who is religious is practicing and adhering to a philosophy. Capitalism has been defended by moral philosophers. Politics in my opinion is merely an outgrowth of applied moral philosophy.
It is a discipline that transcends every aspect of our society. Most of us aren’t even aware of this fact. Our way of life or how we choose to live demonstrates or values and ethos. How each individual classifies proper deportment and conduct is how they define virtue. The postulations of philosophy provide the frame work for action.
Great work!! Did you have assistant when creating this post or did all of this came naturally?
Thank you very much for reading and for your kind words! i haven’t written it. It is a guest post wrote by Cleveland Philosophic Advisor 🙂
Were you interested in philosophy from a young age?
Actually, yes. I’ve read some of Plato’s work when I was 14 y/o
Are you a fan of Plato’s predecessor and successor?
I’m a big fan of Socrates. He is the reason why I love to ask questions 🙂
Does his method help you see the bigger picture in life?
Only if I’m opened for receiving the bigger picture in life.
How do you feel about Aristotle?
Unfortunately I’m not very familiar with his wisdom, so I cannot answer here…
What makes Socrates so memorable vs his predecessors?
Only the fact that I’m more familiar with it than with his predecessors.
Hi Kintaricus, and thank you! To answer your question, I did not have assistance in writing the post, but wouldn’t say it came naturally either. A lot of experience and previous study were factors in it, as well as working through a writing process.
How long did it take for those studies to come to fruition?