Considerations on the practical aspects of Applied Philosophy
The philosophical needs of today, differ greatly from the contextual nature of the philosophic endeavors demanded by the times and human realities of the not-too-distant past; let us consider the 20th century as a recent example. These needs, or, better said, means through which humanity sees and understands itself, urge the modern philosopher to carry out a discursive task capable of illustrating, explicating, relating to, and being of substantial use to the intellectual habits of contemporary societies. It is necessary to understand that presently, due to an unprecedented generational change, humanity seems, for the most part, to have done away with the necessity for all established authorities, be they academic, religious, humanistic, philosophical, political, etc., when it comes to identifying, interpreting, and expressing itself as part of the world.
To produce, consequently, philosophical practices and applications based not only on a vast number of theoretical works, but above all, on the nature of humanity’s quotidian existential experience, is a necessary task to be undertaken by all philosophers applied to social problems of practical concern, so that anyone interested can reflect on daily life (and all that this act entails) in a more coherent, sincere, prudent, practical, and efficient way. This should always be considered the holy grail of applied philosophy.
However, to create and develop a philosophical method and a way of thinking that combines the fruits of our long and fertile human history of philosophical consideration, with the necessary practical applicability to address the immediate reality experience, requires not only great philosophical erudition and the highest standards of argumentative rigor (things that unfortunately tend to make philosophy a realm of the few), but also a specific attitude on the part of applied philosophers that encourages them to conceive of their intellectual assets as an available practical tool for navigating ordinary life, thus offering more rational and pertinent alternatives for people to meet the immediacies of daily experience.
The only way, however, in which an applied philosopher can come to realize and apply the potential of his intellectual assets as a meaningful practical tool for the concrete life of the ordinary person, is by no means to engage theoretically in the practical aspects of applied philosophy, for such an approach would never suffice. Rather, it is indispensable for any applied philosopher to commune with and study firsthand the everyday events in a wide variety of human contexts in a professional manner; preferably those most in need of humanistic development, so as to succeed in applying significant philosophical methods based both on knowledge and, above all, on direct experience.
Similarly, it is never the task of the applied philosopher to criticize and judge the particularities of human behavior, but rather to proficiently analyze the nature of the contexts in which human phenomena occur, thus providing an objective account of the possible reasons (circumstantial and otherwise) for people’s actions, the conceptual framework that fosters those actions, and their probable cultural and epistemological implications. In this respect, it is necessary to point out that if the applied philosopher fails to provide both analytical and practical suggestions that illustrate and relate closely to the social reality, jargon, common interpretations, belief system, idiosyncrasies, and history of the human context in which philosophical assistance is to be provided, the members of that context will not only be unable to identify with the applied philosopher’s approach, but most likely will not be offered a course of action of any practical relevance.
This is, without question, a colossal challenge in the career of applied philosophers, for sometimes they must overlook the formalities of the philosophical tradition and immerse themselves in any given human context by means of multidisciplinary and sometimes informal methods, such as anthropological, linguistic, sociological, psychological, technological, pedagogical and scientific methods; and, of course, through the close and friendly interaction necessary to understand firsthand the eyes through which each human context understands itself, and the world. However, they should always be very cautious and remember to set aside all prejudices and avoid value judgments (epoché) when penetrating the nature that drives, motivates, constraints, conditions, and enables human phenomena, so that their methods of philosophical application can be adequate to the factual reality of human experience.
On a less philosophical note, one could say that the applied philosopher should not only be able to recognize the intricacies that regard each human context, but should also be something of an artist, capable of designing appealing philosophical proposals for daily application out of his or her own creativity, rather than from normativity. In other words, it is never the responsibility of the world to adapt to and become interested in the conventional methods of applied philosophy; on the contrary, it is the task of applied philosophers to offer reflective exercises closely related to the interests, needs, conceptual frameworks, and existential possibilities of each human context, in order to provide both attractive and useful tools for a better understanding of the experiences of daily life; and this will always require a considerable dose of artistry.
In any case, for any philosopher, whether applied or not, to bring forth an intellectual toolkit, will always involve a creative process, but to apply those intellectual tools in such a way as to have a meaningful social effect is a task that requires being something more than just a philosopher or a mere artist; let us say, for lack of a better term, that it requires an applied-philosophical-artist.
It should be more than clear by now that the main purpose of applied philosophy is not only to elaborate philosophical methods and practices for connoisseurs. Quite the contrary, the goal of applied philosophers, as we have already discussed, is primarily to provide practical tools for all those interested in or in need of philosophical, humanistic, and existential development. To accomplish this, however, the applied philosopher must know when to set aside the purely theoretical aspects of philosophy, and engage with the various means by which the world interacts with the world, and the ways in which humanity reflects on all phenomena.
Applied philosophers can no longer afford to overlook the philosophical needs of the present times; thus, they must pay close attention to the means and ways in which today’s generations express, communicate, interact, and make sense of themselves: social media, apps, reels, memes, influencers, podcasts, trending topics, tweets, Instagram stories, and the like. Consequently, the applied philosopher must have the ability to deal openly and professionally with the complexities of the modern world in order to present convenient, appealing, adequate, and innovative philosophical tools that can help anyone make more rational, coherent, and beneficial decisions, and, with any luck, make existence a more authentic and interesting experience.
There is therefore no doubt that applied philosophy must be able to constantly adapt to the ever-changing cultural and humanistic challenges of today’s world. Thus, it will no longer suffice to have in its ranks philosophers of great erudition, enthusiastic about knowledge and committed to the preservation of rationality, nor encyclopedic minds capable of detailing the theoretical advances of philosophy throughout history: such philosophical actors would never be enough to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of applied philosophy in contemporary human contexts. In this sense, there is really no need for more philosophers! Rather, applied philosophy requires active members committed to the multiple contexts that constitute the human experience, i.e., professionals capable of creatively adapting philosophical methods to our everyday needs and to the intellectual realness of each specific community in the interest of its psychological, humanistic, and social progress. All in all, applied philosophy requires masters in the creation of philosophical tools for the ordinary life.
In the end, the field of action seems quite promising for the applied philosopher: all human contexts are in a state of constant flux and their nature depends on contingent elements that constitute and open up a world of possibilities for the daily application of philosophical tools and methods.
