Philosophy and Freedom: How to Remain a Philosopher in Today's Pessimistic World?

Ramin Jahanbegloo, a philosopher, in an article titled "Philosophy and Freedom: How to Remain a Philosopher in Today's Pessimistic World" published on Catchnews, addresses the duty of philosophy and philosophers in today's world and against the institutionalized thinking of democracy. He states that we live in a time where the prevalence of moral relativism has created an attitude of "everything is justifiable" among the new generation, leading to increased public doubt about the role of philosophy. "Many people have come to believe that Socratic oaths for reaching the truth are a waste of time and idealism in today's world." Therefore, at this time, stating that philosophy is a liberating path leads to skepticism, laughter, and mockery from people. Philosophers believe that in today's world, there is no longer education aimed at virtue for humans, and thus an ordinary person is socially unable to avoid the temptation of power without responsibility. We live in a time where the prevalence of moral relativism has created an attitude of "everything is justifiable" among the new generation. As a result of political incompetence and moral ignorance in our contemporary civilization, this has become a common phenomenon. Jahanbegloo sees this situation in contrast to what Vaclav Havel, a Czech writer and philosopher, called "living in truth." "In Havel's view, 'living in truth' is the existential basis for the starting point of moral commitments to the issue of the common good." This moral courage to accept responsibility is the same courage to ask philosophical questions regarding the fate of our democracy. Democracy without its appendage, meaning asking philosophical questions, will not be democracy. Jahanbegloo continues this article by stating that the main concern of philosophy for the past two thousand five hundred years has been the art of asking critical questions, posing the question of why the question of "freedom" is important for philosophers and "why freedom is the most important question that a philosopher must address?" To answer these fundamental questions, Jahanbegloo believes that we must first see what consequences neglecting the issue of freedom will have. "Freedom is the creative force behind philosophical thought just as philosophy helps to understand and advance the concept of freedom." Therefore, philosophers, by helping to build the concept of freedom and striving for its realization, attempt to understand freedom as comprehensively and critically as possible. According to Jahanbegloo, freedom is a concept that is not only poorly understood but also severely misused. For these two reasons, the idea that philosophy is the thought of freedom has become central to all philosophical discussions because a significant part of being free is thinking philosophically. In Jahanbegloo's view, the question of freedom stems from the concept of philosophical questioning. If the essence of the philosophical question means thinking about the concept of freedom, and humanity can act accordingly, then we must consider why it can first deviate from this question and how it may return to (thinking about) it. In other words, Jahanbegloo states that philosophy is not merely a state of questioning about the idea of freedom and its social and political functions, but a state of thought and inquiry in the absence of freedom. "We can refer to freedom as a dissimilar twin of philosophy in the path of questioning and challenging what is thinkable." He believes that philosophical questioning is a state of thought that can create cracks in the walls of institutionalized thoughts. According to Jahanbegloo, it is a civic duty for philosophy to challenge the "unquestionability" of democracy. In other words, Jahanbegloo says: "A democratic society without democratic questions, or more precisely philosophical questions regarding the essence of democracy, will not be possible." He further states that "let us not forget that the main duty of philosophy is not to construct an iron cage of bureaucracy, but to dismantle it." According to Jahanbegloo, philosophers still need to contribute significantly to democratizing democracy. They are beneficial for human societies, provided that people do not think that philosophy is just a hollow and empty word. A democratic society without democratic questions, or more precisely philosophical questions regarding the essence of democracy, will not be possible. In conclusion, Jahanbegloo refers to the words of Arthur Schopenhauer, a German philosopher, who says: "The duty is not to see what others do not see, but to think about what others see every day but do not think about." He concludes that today's philosophers go to war against institutionalized thoughts with empty hands. "We can always hope that philosophers aim for goals that no one else can see and does not want to see."