The Necessity Of Intellectual Autonomy

Autonomous philosophical reasoning, the form of originality available to everyone [1], is most purely expressed through completely independent thought about strictly logical truths--that is, truths that are both absolutely certain and accessible to anyone who simply thinks rationally and thoroughly.  No matter how many or few people may have realized those same logical truths before, independent contemplation is a process of originality.  Nevertheless, autonomy can be expressed at any time when someone encounters a claim from others, regardless of how sincere, sound, or random it might be.  There is, indeed, still a large, vital role that autonomy can play.

The necessity of intellectual autonomy does not mean that someone who happens to hear about certain concepts from another person before they would have directly thought about it on their own has failed to do what reason calls for.  There is a way to even take what others have mentioned and still dissect it in an autonomous, original manner.  While it is highly unlikely that many people will have miscellaneous philosophical truths or claims introduced to them directly by others, given that most people are philosophically ignorant or apathetic and that thoroughly intelligent thinkers cling to logic instead of other people's words, there is always room for autonomy.

Even if someone heard of an idea from others prior to discovering it during their own reflections, it is possible to approach the idea without any focus on one's previous exposure to it, contemplating the concept as if one had thought of it wholly on one's own.  In this way, even philosophical notions first brought up by others can be engaged in a truly, wholly original way, for one can look to reason without dwelling on or remembering what others have said.  No one is at the mercy of claims raised by others, even when others suggest concepts that one could or would have reasoned out on one's own.

Some truths and ideas can be discovered without even slight input or prompting from others, as strictly logical truths can be directly accessed.  Other categories, however, by their very nature require some sort of claim from others to be analyzed, such as specific claims about historical events in the 1800s (or any other century).  One's original, autonomous thoughts are needed regardless of which type of idea is being contemplated and regardless of the circumstances around initial reflection on an idea.  Whether one has conceived of an idea and proven truths about the idea to oneself without any assistance or social prompting or one has reactively analyzed the claims of others, originality is never unattainable.


[1].  https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2019/02/originality-is-available-to-all.html