On the occasion of World Philosophy Day, celebrated every year on the third Thursday of November, the question “who are philosophers and what do they do?” deserves a reflection here, especially at a time when the federal government has been attacking the human sciences in general, and the teaching of philosophy in the country in particular. To better explain this question, we will divide it into two parts, as follows.
Firstly, with regard to the first part of the question “who are the philosophers?”, we will use some ideas of the Prussian philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). For him, “The philosopher is the man of tomorrow; he is the one who cultivates utopia; he is one who refuses the ideal of the day.” In other words, the philosopher is that person who does not think only of himself, only of his family, of his political party. The philosopher is one who thinks about the whole, about the common good.
In this way, Nietzsche is a “down to earth” philosopher, as they say here in Amazonas. That is, for him, things do not happen in the “world of ideas”, but in the “real world”, where we live. Real men are the ones who philosophize, and they philosophize from existential needs, such as the price of food, public transport, the price of gasoline, gas, etc.
You may also like
- The uses of philosophy
- Turn your barriers into borders
- philosophy of care
Nietzsche understands the philosopher as “a terrible explosive body before which everything is in danger”. That is, for him philosophy should not be the refuge of the weak. To philosophize is not to be far from praying, preaching, saving, caring. For him, the philosopher is the opposite of a priest and philosophy is not a house where the sick rest. Philosophy is action, it is struggle; philosophy is real life.
Secondly, with regard to the last part of the question, “What do philosophers do?”, let us just add, in addition to what has already been said above, and still using Nietzsche’s ideas, that “Authentic philosophers are commanders and legislators: they say 'that's how it should be!', they determine the 'where to?', of the human being”.
In this way, the philosopher's job is to become aware of the “will to power” that exists in him and then convince his peers of this inner strength. It's saying no to common sense. It's saying no to prejudice. It is teaching people, especially children and young people, that pluralism is synonymous with intelligence and that “all unanimity is stupid”, as Nelson Rodrigues said.
Last, but not least, it is worth remembering that anyone can be a philosopher, as long as they have their intellectual faculties fully functioning, because if rationality is the first requirement for someone to become a philosopher, and if all men have rationality, so every human being can become a philosopher. Let's put naivety aside and be philosophers!
