Humanism and Philosophy as a Way of Life

Book chapter

Sharpe, Matthew. (2022). Humanism and Philosophy as a Way of Life. In Philosophy of Culture as Theory, Method, and Way of Life - Contemporary Reflections and Applications pp. 173-192 Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004515796_011
AuthorsSharpe, Matthew
Abstract

What this chapter aims to do is to enlarge upon Hadot’s passing reflection. My framing claim will be that the contemporary recovery of the ancient sense of philosophy as a way of life, led by Hadot’s works, represents a contemporary recovery of a distinctly humanistic approach to philosophy, occluded now by generations of approaches to the history of the discipline. Such an approach to philosophy reflects exactly what Jared Kemling in this volume calls a “cultural philosophy of culture,” hearkening back to the ancient Latin colere, tied at once to agriculture and to spiritual cultivation, leading into worship or veneration:
Philosophy of this kind is not an analysis of culture; it is an instantiation of culture. As a cultural act, it is therefore an act which persons do not have to perform (it is free), and nevertheless we “philosophize” for the sake of growth. This is philosophy not in its academic or theoretical aspect, but philosophy as a way of life; as an orientation, a way of being in the world. In this case, philosophy (as the literal pursuit of wisdom) becomes a certain kind of cultural action ...

KeywordsLiterature and Cultural Studies; Criticism and Theory; Philosophy; Aesthetics and Cultural Theory; 19th and 20th Century Philosophy; Philosophy of Science
Page range173-192
Year01 Jan 2022
Book titlePhilosophy of Culture as Theory, Method, and Way of Life - Contemporary Reflections and Applications
PublisherBrill
Place of publicationNetherlands
Edition2
ISBN978-90-04-51579-6
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004515796_011
Web address (URL)https://brill.com/display/book/9789004515796/BP000018.xml
Open accessPublished as non-open access
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Publication dates
Print02 May 2022
Publication process dates
Deposited24 Jan 2024
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Copyright © 2022 by Przemysław Bursztyka, Eli Kramer, Marcin Rychter and Randall Auxier. Published by
Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.

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