Philosophise With a Hammer

A lot of students come to philosophy without ever having studied the subject before, certainly not in any rigorous manner, and I felt it was important to show them what the subject is all about, what is valued and prized in philosophy, and to give a rough idea of the lie of the land that they would be forging out across. Many thanks to all those friends and colleagues who gave comments on this piece.

Logic and structure are essential.

All arguments contain within them their own inherent structure, like veins in a rock you only need follow these to produce a sharp, effective essay. Finding the veins may be tricky, but once you’re there the argument should always show you the way. Remember, philosophy is just as much about questioning answers as it is answering questions. Sometimes working out what the right question is can be far more significant than working out what the right answer is.

Clarity is the highest good.

Clarity should be your guide for every point you make, every sentence you write. If it could be clearer, make it clearer. Philosophy is about communicating meaning and anything that isn’t clear obscures and distorts your meaning. Though sometimes the clearest you can be is obscure; “but at least you then know where the light fails.”

Take time where time is needed.

Some points can be said quickly, succinctly, and with little time and attention. Others need to breathe. There are arguments and ideas you simply can’t rush; like precisely crafted instruments they have to be explored and articulated point by point – if you miss something out or hurry something the whole construction will seize up. Learn when time needs to be taken and be prepared to give that time.

The devil is in the details.

Mistakes happen, errors are made, but every inaccuracy that creeps in lessens the impact of what you are saying. If a key point is from a particular thinker or particular text, get it right. That means to spell it right, use it right, say it right. Not everything you say needs to come slathered in minutiae, but when it’s relevant and contributes to what you are saying make sure you get it right.

Avoid fallacies – they’re lurking everywhere.

Don’t attack straw men, it’s a waste of time and you look a fool. Instead, always construe your opponent’s argument in the strongest possible manner. Be alert to shifts in meaning, games played with logic, poor reasoning, and common errors of argument in everything you read and, most importantly, everything you write.

Never shirk the grunt work.

Philosophy isn’t all mind-expanding realisations and a smug sense of superiority, a lot of it is hard, detailed, gritty work. Understanding the ideas of philosophers is not easy, and nor should it be but it should also be work that is, in the end, rewarding. It’s important to remember that just because you are finding something hard doesn’t mean you’re not understanding it or that you are not good enough. All philosophers find things hard and sometimes the fact that you are finding it hard shows that you’re making progress. Don’t be afraid of the hard graft.

Everything is up for grabs.

Your hard-fought ideas may be wrong. Your best arguments may be wrong. Everything you’ve learnt may, possibly, be wrong. A philosopher should be prepared to abandon a position if that’s what the logic demands. Of course one should be tenacious in defending one’s position, but nothing is so important that it cannot be dropped if that is what’s needed. This also applies to style, argument, and form – if something isn’t working, no matter the time you’ve spent agonising over it, it should go. Be prepared to start again; sometimes the most useful thing is a fresh page.

Expose yourself to as much as possible.

A great deal of one’s progress in philosophy comes from making connections, running up against new ideas, and pushing what we think we know in challenging ways. The best way to do these things is to expose oneself to as much philosophy as is possible and give it a good think. You won’t like everything, you won’t remember everything, but it’ll all help fertilise your philosophic faculties.

Engage in the marketplace of ideas.

The way to do philosophy was cracked two and a half thousand years ago, read it, talk about it, write it. Often only two of these get a real look in, reading and writing, but the talking is just as important. Discourse is the way that ideas come to grow and develop or to wither and die. It is crucial to expose all ideas to this process, whether they are your own, those of your teachers and lecturers and even (and especially) those from the Big Names. No ideas should be immune from rigorous discussion, no one gets a free pass just because of their status. It’s in this climate that ideas can begin to mature and gain depth and sophistication. Be bold, be brave, and talk.

All questions are unique.

Whilst there are standard responses to many of the major problems in philosophy, very often the question we’re dealing with has its own particular character and peculiarities. It is crucial to develop an appreciation for these nuances and not just barrel in with the half dozen standard-issue objections. A lack of appreciation for the particularities of a question will leave you producing a response that will often miss that mark and may even suggest you’ve not given the question the proper time and thought. Questions, just like ideas, are peculiar beasts and they take many varied forms, make sure you’re tackling the question as it is and not as you wish it to be.

Philosophy matters.

Philosophy matters – that is, the intellectually disciplined study of these topics is of the utmost seriousness and has real implications in all sorts of ways; personally, academically, socially, politically – this stuff matters. It is because of that, that we ought to be doing philosophy as well as we possibly can.

Philosophy should be a joy.

We do philosophy for a reason and usually, that reason is very different from why we do many other subjects. That reason, too, will vary from person to person but often it connects to something deep within us – something intellectual, emotional, psychological and this can give philosophy tremendous significance. It should be wrestled with, and thought upon and digested but it should be enjoyed too – even if that enjoyment is more the glow of hard work done well than the pleasure of a long soak in a hot tub.