(Why Everyone Needs to Hire a Philosopher)
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Those are some of the famous last words uttered by the great philosopher Socrates during his trial in ancient Athens. Having been told by a friend who visited an oracle that there was “no man wiser” than Socrates, this humble but inquisitive fellow set about to prove that this could not possibly be true. In doing so, he laid the foundations of Western thought – and apparently pissed off some very important people in the process! Because after questioning the influencers of his day, he discovered the paradox of his so-called wisdom: While neither he nor his interlocuters knew much of anything, Socrates was better off—because at least he knew that he knew nothing!
Well, I have to admit I have been pissing people off with annoying questions for a long time myself. Just ask the grade school math teacher who was never really able to answer me, “How is zero 'zero' if it’s nothing?” (After getting dragged by my ear to the principal’s office, she did not seem to have the answer, either). I was never offered a poisonous shot of hemlock—at least not yet—but apparently I sentenced myself to a long and winding career path by choosing the college major that I did…
I guess with two parents as psychologists, I was bound to turn out at least a bit odd. Of all the many times my parents challenged my thinking and spurred me to introspection, one moment stands out in particular. My dad was picking me up from school in first grade, and I was complaining about my best friend named Michael, pointing at him as he walked by the car. Without missing a beat, my dad asked me, “How many fingers are pointing back at you?” As I counted out three fingers on my little hand, I already began to grasp what my father was teaching me. The person I really had to question, the person for whom I was responsible, was me. Then I noticed something else…
“What about my thumb?” I asked, referring to that one unique digit that pointed straight up to the heavens.
My father laughed and proclaimed, “We’ve got a live one here!”
Fast-forward to the mid-90s, and picture a guy with wire-rimmed glasses and chin-length hair, a sort of New Age hippie in a tie-dye shirt. I was just planning to knock out some more core classes that semester, starting with “Basic Philosophical Questions.” I had just transferred from a community college to Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit, and all these years later I believe it was the Holy Spirit who opened my ears when I first heard—really heard —those famous words.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
“You mean, there’s a choice?” I asked out loud, to no one in particular, but if you have ever been in a classroom with me, you know talking is how I think. I do not remember if the teacher answered my question directly, or, more likely, told me to quiet down, because my mind was set spinning by the shocking realization that not everyone does thinking the way I do. Turns out this was not just a core class. It was the beginning of my journey into the foolish wisdom and wise foolery of becoming a philosophy major. In keeping with my eclectic interests, I added studies in psychology, theology and business, but Wisdom was my first love, and I followed her all the way to graduation (in about five years or so—ahem!).
So picture me again in the early 2000s, now a preppy and clean cut guy looking for a job. I open up to the “Help Wanted” pages in the newspaper (who remembers those?) searching under “P” for Philosopher, but surprisingly, find nothing! I suppose by then most of my fellow philosophy majors had found their respective doctoral programs, but I was a single dad, engaged to be married, and I needed to get my head out of the clouds.
What I did over the next 20 years was, in retrospect, pretty creative. I naturally leaned into professions where thinking and talking were paramount, namely, education and social and human services. In my most recent 9-5 role as a social worker, I taught psychoeducation classes and facilitated groups for people recovering from mental illness. With no materials provided by my then-employer, I decided to create my own. I began a series of masterclasses from positivepsycholgy.com that leads to a Certificate in Positive Psychology, acquiring new tools to utilize my knowledge of human growth and development in practical ways. I watched the light bulbs going off over the heads of my clients time and again, as I helped them set goals to improve their lives by cultivating a growth mindset. I thought, “This is something everyone can use, especially after the pandemic.” And I wanted to offer it to everyone, without the constraints of insurance paperwork or health care bureaucracy. A life integration coach was born!
Now I am combining my studies of philosophy, psychology, business and—for those who want it, theology—in order to bring my unique brand of holistic personal development and mindset mentoring to a much larger audience. Did anyone ever tell you that you need to “think outside the box?” Well, I never really had a box, so consider outsourcing some of that thinking to me! I guess you could say I am a philosopher for hire. And why would you want to hire a philosopher, you might ask?
Well, as a quizzical troublemaker observed some millennia ago, there is a lot to learn about being human—or, to put it much more gracefully…
The unexamined life is not worth living.
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