Holistic Philosophy vs. Academic Post Mortum Philosophy

Philosophy in our day and age is dead and is long past the cold lifeless state, it is so gone that the grave is not longer there, gone, only grass and vegetation are left in its place. This is because in our academic institutions philosophy has long ago departed from being part of human life, to distance itself on a fractal talent irrelevant to irrelevance itself. It began in the mid to late 19th century. Today we have career academics in isolated compartmentalized cells, all stuck up in their head far away from anything holistically relative to humans at all. So why does anyone need an answer to why Hinduism, Buddhism and Yoga have become popular? Just the simple fact that it bears philosophy alongside something of an everyday use is the answer. Those practices engage us wholly, more or less. Pointing ones nose to a book or screen leads nowhere if ones body and mind does not engage. We are composed of our perception, health, mind, attitude and intellect. As long as philosophy actively embodies some of these aspects it is useful – and I mean useful in the sense of wonder and of benefit.

In this age the word philosophy has little meaning unless accompanied by some other qualifying term. The body of philosophy has been broken up into numerous isms more or less antagonistic, which have become so concerned with the effort to disprove each other’s fallacies that the sublimer issues of divine order and human destiny have suffered deplorable neglect. The ideal function of philosophy is to serve as the stabilizing influence in human thought.

– Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teaching of all the Ages

Philosophy we think of is the kind of classical-branded philosophy – yet the philosophy of today is far too niched into question it almost works like a payed propaganda tool, something I wrote up on in this post – Applied Ethics – The Modern Sophists and Academic Priesthood. So instead of subsidizing the relativistic nonsense studies and research our government could just as well grant each citizen discount to access some sort of holistic philosophical mind- and body practice.

What do you think?

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2 Comments
  • Drazen Pehar
    January 9, 2018

    Interesting reflections and a set of practices (I mean, the overall blog and website). I will follow this. In 2005 Richard Rorty gave a lecture in Sarajevo, and started by saying that philosophy, as he sees it, should not be considered as a potential source of an advice to two parties caught in a political conflict. I thought: “wow, did not know philosophy has fallen that low.” But, of course, some of us continue believing in a general message, or a view, that still goes under the heading of philosophy, some kind of thought meant to help one trough the entire life. As to the academic part, you are totally right. Thanks for your reflections. Inspiring.