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- Title
Reclaiming an Essential Practice For Western Philosophy.
- Authors
JONES, SHANTI
- Abstract
At the beginning of western civilization, philosophy was a way of life involving analytic and synthetic methods aimed at guiding and training people so they could learn how to live consciously and happily. Theoretical knowledge was insufficient for this task. Philosophy was to be practiced at all times and places so it could become a matter of course. The emphasis was on practice. The most foundational philosophical practices were centered on the development of an individual's capacity to pay attention and to perceive. These exercises enabled him to live consciously in reality. However, once western philosophy and its practices were Christianized and confined to Orthodox monasteries, these exercises, as originally practiced, were essentially lost. Beginning in the mid 19th century, the importance of attention and perception as vehicles for knowing the truth was seriously written about once again, this time by a group of philosophers called phenomenologists. They offered deep and convincing outlooks on why perception is so fundamentally important to philosophy. At the same time, they lacked clear directions on how those essential capacities could be used wisely in everyday life. This renders their writings brilliant, but less than practical for the individual who wants to improve his life through the study of western philosophy. The aim of this paper is to re-establish the importance of attention and perception and to present a method born out of the western philosophical tradition that will enable any person who wants to practice Western philosophy to do so.
- Subjects
WESTERN civilization; MONASTERIES; DESCRIPTIVE psychology; ATTENTION; PHENOMENOLOGY
- Publication
Philosophical Practice: Journal of the American Philosophical Practitioners Association (American Philosophical Practitioners Association), 2017, Vol 12, Issue 1, p1864
- ISSN
1742-8173
- Publication type
Article