Looking back on the course it is difficult to pin down any great revelations other than one which I am wary of discussing. It seems to me as I become older that the way the common man behaves is so much at odds to how I do, and I find myself increasingly isolated from my peers, not attracted to their entertainments, their culture or their supposed values. I think that this is the burden of practicing philosophy, i.e. a mind which has become rational and left the allegorical cave, so to speak; while the philosopher is aware of the case, he must live amongst those who commonly are not, and remind himself that he is not going insane on a daily basis, so fatigued by the systematic falsity surrounding him. One quote from a certain depressed German romantic strikes me at the heart: ‘Sometimes I speak to men and women just as a little girl speaks to her doll. She knows, of course, that the doll does not understand her, but she creates for herself the joy of communication through a pleasant and conscious self-deception.’ The words of Schopenhauer could very well be those of a more cynical Socrates, who after spending his life as a catalyst of virtue, was executed for pulling the wool from the eyes of the people.

And I suppose that it is this sentiment renewed that I am left with when parting from the class, as I can’t help but be stunned over and over by the willful ignorance of my peers, who shamelessly repeat the answers of others in the discussions you attempted to initiate (how many more times much we suffer the answer “I agree with what he said”), and seem entirely indifferent, or at least disengaged from, how their lives are piloted. It is perhaps for this reason that while philosophy is my primary vocation, I would never be able to teach it, at least not at the survey level, for the best philosophy is a practice rather than a knowledge, and practice must be predicated upon willful inclination, many of the conscripted students of philosophy present in our class of no such persuasion. I believe the root cause of their disinterest in philosophy to be the way it is oft presented, as a discipline of theory rather than of practical application, and of fanciful words but lacking guidance in everyday matters. This is perhaps more true of modern and contemporary philosophy than of the ancient Greek tradition, the former of which seem focused on the technical use of language and of abstract meanings, but the latter offers a great treasure to those who pursue after it, offering fortitude and consolation in times of injustice and disaster. When I think of good philosophy the moral aphorisms of Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Seneca immediately come to mind, as they wrote plainly and offered succinct advice in matters of befuddlement, focused on relieving the human race of suffering and of misdirection by preaching the skillfulness of rational principles and a cultivation of the virtues. It is this tradition which I believe can be of most use to the average student, as it is always ready at hand, and improves the character of the practitioner by compelling him or her to seek excellence.

This is not to say that the more intellectual philosophies are of no use, but they require a close esoteric reading to be of optimal service, a sort of understanding and patience which most people simply cannot exercise, even if they will it. Rousseau spoke succinctly of and elucidated this matter in Discourse on the Arts and Sciences:

As for us, common men to whom heaven has not allotted such great talents [i.e. a great intelligence] and destined for so much glory, let us remain in our obscurity.  Let us not run after a reputation which would elude us and which, in the present state of things, would never give back to us what it would cost, even if we had all the qualifications to obtain it.  What good is it looking for our happiness in the opinion of others if we can find it in ourselves?  Let us leave to others the care of instructing people about their duties, and limit ourselves to carrying out our own well.  We do not need to know any more than this.

While The Republic might be a work of great contemplative guidance, it is not useful as a handbook, for its wisdom derives from a serious and perennial study; one cannot rightfully open Plato’s manuscript and find guidance, and perhaps may not attain a greater measure of prudence until several or more readings and deep meditations have been completed. While this sort of deep intellectual awakening is a product of consistent philosophical practice, it should not be expected at the outset, or even more ineffectually and wastefully, offered as a form of mental masturbation and trivia. We must then submit to novice students of philosophy a more austere and aphoristic primer in the style of the Discourses of Epictetus or the Meditations, so as to start them upon a path of rational virtue which rather than be known for regurgitation on a test instead becomes a way of life, a lifestyle which may hopefully in the future bring about the coveted esoteric understandings.

So it was under Socrates, who was more concerned with establishing authenticity and flourishing in the lives of his novice students rather than expecting them to gain a transcendental knowledge of the Forms or of how to constitute the ideal state. In modern philosophy I believe that there is a disconcerting trend to essentially pursue formulations of the latter type and to reject ethics as being marginal at best, and at worst, of no importance. Descartes for instance, in Discourse on the Method calls for a “provisional moral code,” in essence a faithful following of the unexamined common religious and cultural dispositions, a matter of nearly irrelevant importance, his mental efforts dedicated to the abstractions of ontology. Herein is the cause of the typical survey student’s consternation with philosophy: the citizen is more concerned with how to survive a broken heart, feelings of doubt, injustice and cruelty, and the science of living well, rather than the analytical logic chopping and abstract theorizing of the modern and contemporary philosophy culture. And while I must contend that from time to time a reading of a modern philosophical manuscript will offer an insight into the operation of my life, it is profoundly malnourished stock in contrast to the eternal wisdom of the ancient Greeks and Romans, who wrote primarily to offer such wisdom and to bring about a realized life in their students.

As far as this relates to your class, I believe that you made an admirable effort to apply the philosophies we discussed to the lives of the students, inasmuch as I think the pre-lecture discussion and questioning segments were designed to initiate a chain of self-examination and exploration, but I do think that the philosophies could be perhaps presented with more immediacy. I am of the opinion that an individual who is ignorant to rational principles is feeble; capable of being corrupted by sophistry and demagoguery, and who often is controlled as a puppet by ill-tempered desires, faulty judgments and the capricious winds of fortune. In this fashion I think philosophy can be presented as a toolbox, medicine and an aegis, immediate to the psychological wellbeing of the individual.