What It Means To Be A Philosopher

Though philosopher is often a term assigned to someone who formally educates or writes, everyone is a philosopher to the extent that he or she contemplates reality.  A philosopher is not someone who holds a faculty position at a school or someone who has written books.  People often conceive of a philosopher being at least one or the other, when neither is a requirement.  Someone can be a beloved member of a prestigious faculty and publish many articles or books without having ever engaged in serious thought, much less rationalistic thought.

Everyone who seeks to understand reality is a philosopher, whether they are a rational or irrational, deep or shallow.  The person who reserves the title of philosopher only for a teacher or an author misunderstands the nature of philosophy.  All key metaphysical and epistemological facts that can be proven are available to every willing intellect, for intelligence, not education or social recognition, is what makes a philosopher sound in his or her worldview.  Everything else is secondary at best, and unrelated to soundness at worst.

Since there is nothing that is outside the domain of philosophy, every part of our daily lives is in some way ripe for philosophical analysis.  Despite being surrounded by matters of philosophical concern, though, it is only a relatively small fraction of humanity that is either curious or intelligent enough to consistently live in intellectual depth and sincerity.  Proximity to academia and/or the publishing world are irrelevant factors.

To be a philosopher, one needs nothing more than to seek to understand reality.  This intention in no way ensures that someone will be a rational philosopher on its own.  Adherence to strict rationalism is necessary for that.  Nevertheless, this intention is at the core of philosophical pursuits, whether the conclusions a given philosopher makes are accurate or inaccurate, verifiable or unverifiable.  The one who mistakes credentials--arbitrary and meaningless things at best--for what makes someone a philosopher is guilty of stupidity and ignorance.