Is Philosophy Impractical?

Have you ever heard anyone tell you that "philosophy is impractical?"  Has anyone ever suggested to you that matters of philosophy are irrelevant to everyday life?

If so, whoever told you that is deeply incorrect.

Philosophy as a discipline is the study of reality, reason, belief systems, and everything contained in those categories (which is everything!); a philosophy is a belief system or an idea held by a person.  Already we can prove that everyone has a philosophy because philosophy is inescapable no matter how impractical some people call it.  It is not only the most practical instrument for discovering truth, it is the only practical tool to discover truth with.  How else will you identify and approach truth if not through the illumination of reason and the contemplation of ideas?

Now, what would a rational Christian say to someone who claims that theology is impractical?

Someone may call theology impractical, and in doing so he or she succumbs to an error similar to the one that targets philosophy.  Now, I realize that theology is just one of many sub-categories of philosophy--a very important one, but one of many regardless.  A Christian may dismiss the need for any theology deeper than an apprehension of Christ's divinity and Biblical teachings about salvation as an impractical hindrance to ordinary life, but one who does this holds an incorrect understanding of the necessity of theology.  After all, learning those issues alone scarcely acknowledges the complexity and depth and urgency found elsewhere in the Bible; Christians of all people should realize that God would have only provided a few books in the Bible did we not require far more information.  In the same way that theology is both practical and necessary to know God, philosophy is practical and necessary for finding truth and if God even exists in the first place.

So, 1) if the Bible is God's revelation to humanity then we need to study it carefully; 2) we need to carefully assess competing religious claims to see which ones are true and which ones are false; 3) we need to know that a deity exists before even bothering with the dissection and application of religious texts; 4) we need to know epistemology before we can apprehend core truths about reality like God's existence.  Therefore, if we want to discover truth, there is nothing that could be more practical than philosophy, especially since there is nothing that lies outside of the realm of philosophy to begin with.

Just because someone views something as impractical does not mean that the thing in question is not objectively necessary for knowing truth regardless of the desires of those who perceive it.  Many things considered "practical" by the average man or woman have absolutely no significance other than subjective appeal to the individual; they are mere trivialities embraced by people ignorant of the absurdity of life and the difficulty of discovering truth and utilizing logic.  In the potential afterlife, will we look back and view many of the things that occupied our time and focus as meaningful?  Near the end of our lives, will we wish we knew more about how to live according to the dictates of the arbitrary societal beliefs we are surrounded by?  Will we wish we knew more about the anatomy of a car, the workings of technology, the secret to financial success, or other matters which are of little consequence to true knowledge?  Or will not the weight and gravity of existence and the demands of reason, truth, and conscience dominate the thoughts of the alert one?

Now, I will prove that philosophy IS ever relevant each day of our lives and not just a tool practical only for those who intently seek truth and reason.  When we wake up, we use our senses to survey our surroundings and act accordingly.  Sensory trustworthiness is something that affects us every day, and something that represents a hugely significant epistemological topic.  No one could drive to work or perform tasks in the workplace without the body and the senses.  But since the average person doesn't seem to ponder his or her senses and their reliability very often, I will move on to something many people think is more pressing--morality.  If someone goes to work and is treated in a manner the employee perceives to be unjust or illicit, the employee will likely experience a sense of moral outrage.  Now, making moral judgments is useless unless you know that right and wrong exist and know what they are.  But I hope you can see that almost everyone is interested in ethics, at least when their own pursuits are threatened or their personhood is assaulted.  Some people, suddenly become concerned with morals and justice when they believe they have been wronged.  Of course, as I have discussed elsewhere, morality does not exists if God does not.  And, of course, God's existence and the criterion that would need to be met to know if he exists are entirely philosophical issues.  Now, whether or not God exists also determines if our lifestyle activities and personal goals and ambitions have any meaning to begin with whatsoever.  People strive to achieve sensations of fulfillment and joy and contentment, yet if God does not exist then there these elusive goals are mere nonexistent fantasies, illusions we will never find because they are not real.  This issue affects everyone constantly.

These three things alone--our senses, moral judgments, and pursuit of meaning--are all inherently philosophical realities or concepts which alter everything about existence and our lives whether or not we acknowledge this or whether are aware of it or not.  In the past I have joked about or avoided certain philosophical, moral, or theological ideas only to be deeply moved or terrified by those very ideas later on.  Ideas have dramatic consequences that can surpass the willingness of many people to acknowledge or act upon.  Philosophy alone can reveal these consequences, and this represents but one of the reasons why philosophy is not an impractical obstacle to life but is instead the exclusive gateway to truth and knowledge.  Philosophy, consisting of logic and theology and also encompassing practically every other discipline, holds the sole keys to enlightenment and knowledge.

Everyone is a philosopher because everyone has a worldview; everyone possesses a philosophy.  A philosophy is merely a worldview or a belief system.  The truth that everyone has a worldview is an axiom--that is, it is self-evident, self-verifying, and is true regardless of what else is.  It is inescapable and it is impossible for it to be incorrect.  Those who avoid philosophy in service to the idea that it is impractical are embodying, ironically, a philosophy that they think is practical to their own lives.

I hope you see that everyone is relentlessly immersed in philosophical matters whether or not they accept or comprehend their condition.  If we want to harness reason and learn about reality, we will need to embrace this fact with the totality of our beings.  There could be nothing more practical than doing so.