How to Think Like a Philospher

Sandy & Chris Phoenix

When we think of philosophy, we usually picture some ancient person in a toga, or some esoteric individual upon a mountaintop, pondering obscure thoughts that have no practical use in our ‘real’ world. Philosophy, therefore, is usually seen as something distant to us with no reasonable uses. What if I told you, however, that philosophy can be of great benefit to your life. In fact, in an age of superficial motivational memes and ‘life hacks’, philosophy has become more important than ever. Not only in your personal life, but in your professional life as well. After all, reflecting on your pedagogy is a philosophical pursuit that you are already doing every day. Or at least should be doing. It even says so in the frameworks that guide you. These include Element 1.3.2 (Critical reflection) of the National Quality Standard (NQS), and Principle 5 (Ongoing learning and reflective practice) of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF).

The greatest philosophers, however, don’t tell you what to think, rather they try to teach you how to think. For instance, two and a half thousand years ago, a roundfaced, and flat-nosed Athenian wandered the streets of Ancient Greece. After finding an expert on a subject matter, he would initiate a conversation, and through dialogue, would illustrate where the expert’s knowledge is at times contradictory, and therefore erroneous. That man’s name was Socrates, and his dialogical method is known today as the Socratic Method. This involves scrutinising our current beliefs to determine their validity.

The Socratic Method can be undertaken in four steps:

1. Focus on a common belief.

2. Find an exception to that belief.

3. Reject the belief if an exception is found.

4. Re-formulate the belief to account for the exception.

Therefore, Socrates, did not teach a fixed philosophical doctrine, rather he taught us that we need to examine beliefs and practices, especially our own. After all, he did say that the unexamined life is not worth living.

Where Socrates maybe considered the father of Western Philosophy, modern philosophy is said to be attributed to the seventeenth century French philosopher and mathematician, René Descartes. If you have ever watched the movie, The Matrix, Keanu Reeves plays the character Neo, who attempts to save humanity from a simulation. Descartes was the ‘real world’ Neo, and what he realised is that knowledge could be doubted. Even our senses, which are for most part our primary mode of gaining knowledge of the world. For example, some dreams feel so real that when we are in them, we cannot distinguish them from real life. Therefore, how can we be sure we are not in some dream now? Or, have you ever thought you recognised someone until you got close enough to realise it wasn’t them? What Descartes realised is that he could doubt nearly everything, except for the fact that he was doubting (or thinking). Therefore, by virtue of doubting, the only thing he knew for certain is that he existed. Uttering perhaps the most famous phrase in all of philosophy, he says “I think, therefore I am.” This is known today as Cartesian doubt, and is considered to be the basis of our modern scientific method. Therefore, what Descartes is known for today is rationalism and deductive reasoning, where we examine the very nature of knowledge itself. So, where Socrates taught us that we should examine our beliefs, what we can learn from Descartes is that where we acquired our beliefs also need to be investigated. Therefore, reason can be at times more useful than our sensory experience, and as such, reasonable levels of doubt are important for critical thinking.

It is not just individual philosophers who change the course of history, but movements of philosophy as well. One French duo, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir realised that we are not fixed beings who are defined by our circumstances, rather we are freely able to choose. In fact, they believe choosing not to choose is also a choice. They also acknowledge that we need to remove any selfdeception, and make commitments to ourselves, and what really matters to us. Therefore, although we cannot always control the situation, they do believe we can control how we respond to the situation, even if its just the way we think about, and respond to it. As such, for Sartre and Beauvoir, our values, identity, and even our meaning in life are not predetermined. For them, we are choosing these things. There is no blue-print, and instead it is up to us to create ourselves. In fact, they believe we are already creating ourselves with every single decision we make (and every decision we do not make). Therefore, sometimes we may need to ask ourselves if we are the person we want to be, or are we just playing the part? Are we simply choosing to just go along with the flow and drift through life, feeling as though we have no control, or, are we going to take the reigns and guide ourselves to where we want to go, and become who we want to be.

With thousands of years of philosophy, we’ve only just scratched the surface of what the discipline has to offer us. What we can already find, however, is that we need to challenge our beliefs, and our practises, and take control of our lives. Above all, the important thing is that we do not stop thinking.