Philosophy in America

These days there seems to be three general popular conceptions of 'Philosopher'. One is monastic, i. e. referring to someone who is 'philosophical' about life, meaning, someone who retreats from the tribulations of life to seek solace in contemplation and reflection. Another is someone who teaches the academic subject 'Philosophy', usually a selection of abstruse studies and exercises. Finally, there is the 'street' philosopher, the utterer of pithy phrases that try to sum up personal experience. The difficulty in seeing what these three might have in common is rooted in the complexity of the word 'wisdom', which is half of what comprises the term 'philosopher', the 'lover of wisdom'. There are traditionally thought to be two types of wisdom--theoretical, and, practical. While the former concerns the grasp of the 'big picture' of the way things are, the latter proposes a guide for conduct. So, on the basis of that classification, the monastic philosopher is one devoted almost exclusively to theoretical wisdom; the academic type might practice the teaching of theory of a sort, the implication of wisdom therein however being usually, at best, unclear; and, the street philosopher seems to be trying to promote practical wisdom, though the scope of the theory informing it is typically limited. On the other hand, this classification suggests what would constitute a 'Philosopher' in the fullest sense--someone who systematically combines theoretical and practical wisdom, namely someone who articulates a code of conduct to which they adhere, that is informed by a comprehensive vision of reality. That there have been those who have exemplified this notion, for example Spinoza, Kant, and Dewey, to name a few, does not seem to be common knowledge in the monastery, on the street, and even in academia, so it should be no surprise that the general American public knows so little about true Philosophy either.