Why has philsophy failed? (Meta-Philosophy)
I am very disgusted right now with my current feeling at the utter incompetance of contemporary philosophy to be anything other than some esoteric trade that has no application outside of academia. This is completely depressing and is actually starting to make me change my outlook. I’m in my senior year of undergraduate studies at the university now, and you’d think I would have figured this out by now, but oh well… better late than never.
I have two choices:
1. Pursue a career in academic philosophy.
2. Not to pursue a carrer in academic philosophy.
Even if I pick 2, I will still be very interested in philosophy, but it will have to be marginalized to some sort of a hobby.
I have piles and piles and piles of books waiting to be read, and some I will never get to. I’m wondering if my answer lies buried there somewhere.. but I have to wade through mud and garbage before I get there?
Lately I’ve also been thinking about the idea of purpose or ends in philosophy - what is called teleology (philosophy is so outdated that it’s still using Greek vocabulary). I think that teleology is actually superior to philosophy itself - for it describes its aims and purpose. It seems to me very sad that the teleology of philosophy itself is mostly aimed at academia. And I have NO idea how to go about fixing it, or if it can be done from within academia or without it. Thus I return to 1) or 2)…
In the short-term, I may end up attending a philosophy conference or two this spring, and I want to write an article to submit, but I’m undecided on the subject again because of the outgrowth of 1) and 2). Should I write a scathing article on the shamble philosophy is in today, or should I write something already accepted as a sub-sub-sub-sub-topic of philosophy? That is, write from without philosophy or within it?
And that’s another thing, why should I care either way? This is probably the attitude that motivates indifference toward philosophy itself. Why care when I can go back and have fun playing video games and working at my job?
So maybe it’s not entirely philosophy’s fault, but the general state of the world today. Either way, things don’t look too good, and I’m not sure how one would go about saving the the world or philosophy. Or even if it’s possible…