Philosophy and Human Affairs: Rethinking the Public Perception of the Philosophical Profession

Abstract

This paper examines the place of philosophy in human affairs through a rethink of the public perception of the discipline. In the public mind, philosophy is an abstract, abstruse and fuzzy discipline that offers little or nothing but unnecessary hair-splitting discourse detached from the practical concerns of human life. This unfortunate conception of philosophy is predicated on the theoretical characterization of its subject matter and its conceptual misrepresentation by philosophers and teachers of philosophy. This has led to the prevalent lukewarm attitude towards philosophy as a discipline that lacks practical relevance to human affairs. Against this backdrop, the paper articulates philosophy as a discipline with two fundamental outlooks: formative and utilitarian. The former sees philosophy as a discipline that builds in the individual the capacity for self-transformation and actualization while the later articulates the philosophical skills-set as the ultimate transferable skills required by employers of labour. On the basis of this, the paper demonstrates the inevitability of philosophy in the overall development of the human person as well as its place in human affairs. In addition, it outlines the skills-set of philosophical training and illustrates how it fits into corporate thinking as well as why various human endeavours are in dire need of philosophy graduates. In addition, it recommends the steps to be taken to correct the misconception about the value of philosophy in relation to the practical concerns of life. Finally, the paper calls for a rethink in the public perception of the philosophical discipline in order to maximize the abundant benefits of philosophical skill-sets for the greater good of humanity.

Keywords: Philosophy, Human Affairs, Skills Set, Self-Transformation, Self-Actualization.