Philosophy for the People’s mission is an educational program aimed at overcoming the paucity of serious, fair-minded, and accessible philosophical discourse available to a popular audience. Though we are ourselves dedicated to the Catholic intellectual tradition, we are likewise committed to exploring ideas from all rigorous traditions of philosophizing (scholastic, classical, analytic, and phenomenological). We pursue this mission by providing long-form guided readings of great texts, discussions with expert guests, our own open-ended philosophical discussions of issues and thinkers, live question and answer opportunities, in depth lecture courses, and our own articles and book-length writings. Philosophy for the People’s pedagogical materials will be provided either without charge or for minimal cost to assure provision of broad access to first-rate philosophical education.
To get an idea of what philosophy is and why it matters, it helps to understand the sorts of questions philosophers ask:
What is the difference between existing and not existing?
Is free will an illusion?
What does it mean to live a ‘good life’?
Does God exist?
How do I know what I know?
Are pebbles conscious?
If any of these questions interest you, you’re probably in the right spot.
Are some of these questions strange, maybe even a little silly? Perhaps. Nevertheless, they are (properly) philosophical questions and they deserve a (proper) philosophical response.
Mortimer Adler described philosophy as returning to the beautifully simple questions children ask, and striving to answer them seriously as adults.
After all, to be a philosopher is to be 1) a natural questioner and 2) a lover of wisdom (philosopher literally means truth-seeker). However, philosophy is more than just asking questions; it’s a way of life. It’s seeking flourishing, fulfillment.
Hence, our mission at Philosophy for the
People is three-fold:
Make difficult thought easy.
Because we believe philosophy is everybody’s business, we seek to empower individuals to not just rely on consensus or expert testimony (including our own), but to check everything for themselves. Not because consensus or testimony isn’t, or can’t, be valuable, but because we believe there is even greater value in working through problems from YOUR perspective with the right philosophical tools in hand.
To demonstrate intellectual virtue.
We believe it is critical that before we say any of the following things “1) I agree, 2) I disagree, or 3) I suspend judgment” that we can first say (with reasonable confidence) “I understand.” This means we intend to treat every idea, every thinker, with due patience and respect, representing their viewpoints with as much clarity and rigor as possible. Our target is truth. And truth demands an honest look.
To have philosophy make a real (and really positive) difference.
Because of philosophy, Jim lost 100+lbs and became a champion jiu jitsu player. Because of philosophy, Pat found his Catholic faith (after years of atheism) and changed his stance on… well, pretty much everything. Whether you agree with Pat and Jim’s philosophy is immaterial at this point; the point is that for both gentlemen philosophy made a real (and really positive) difference in their lives. It wasn’t *just* arm-chair speculation; doing philosophy meant doing better overall, from religion to personal relationships, family life, working out, creative exploration, and more. We hope to inspire the same for you.
