"Let no one delay the study of philosophy when young nor weary of it when old." Epicurus (341 - 270BC)
You may be asking how I could possibly serve justice to such a blog post title and keep it a digestible length. That's easy: I'll do the same as any self-professed "philosopher" would do -- make some observations, ask some questions, and give you enough information to stimulate observations and questions of your own...
I consistently stress on this blog that finance is about philosophy and money is about life, rather than the opposite, as others too often infer. At its core, philosophy studies the fundamental relationship of man to existence and existence to man. Stated broadly, it's about life and the wonder of human experience -- discovering who we are -- both as individuals and as humans... Yet philosophy goes beyond self-acquaintance. To know philosophy is to know history and subjects that have emanated from it, such as science, math, theology, sociology, psychology and economics. Most importantly, philosophy promotes the notion of how to live a better life, which can be thought of as wisdom, and a branch of it's teachings, ethics. Philosophy achieves its objectives by inspiring us, not only to think but, to think about thinking...
To keep this post a relatively digestible length, I will briefly cover three broad areas of mankind's persistent struggles with themselves, personal finance, and with the world...
The Struggle Within
I was first inspired to write this post when I recently read the troubling news that teenage suicide rates have risen sharply. The Food and Drug Administration apparently warned that the use of anti-depressants can cause suicidal thoughts in teenagers; therefore, some psychiatrists draw a correlation between decreasing usage of Ritalin with the increase in suicide rates. Less drugs equals more suicide?
I have recently been drawn to the idea of "philosophy for children" and I have found no better proponent than The Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children. Here are some of their thoughts:
It is through education that philosophy can bring about a change of emotional and intellectual dispositions to prepare the next generation to think and act differently in their daily lives in light of new, broader and more satisfying conceptions of existence...
Instead of focusing on answers, such education is concerned with questions...
Philosophy helps us learn to recognize, for instance, the ethical problems and possibilities in our experience, to think through them carefully, to make sound ethical judgments and to take appropriate action.
Young people are profound examples of all of our struggles to cope with emotion. As teenagers, they are introduced to an array of complex emotions for the first time. Just as with adults, children need a strong coping mechanism, an adequate perception of an ever-changing world, and a foundation for knowing how to act. Imagine a teenager, experiencing complex and overwhelming emotions for the first time, finding comfort that their "feelings" are simply part of the overall human experience and, while their experience may be difficult now, their feelings are normal and they will pass with time. Philosophy will have already given the otherwise troubled teen a fundamental sense of self-acquaintance that includes their own given personal skills and traits but also those of being human. Perhaps psychiatrists should "prescribe" the "I Ching" before considering anti-depressants...
Personal Finance:
As adults, our struggles within ourselves are similar to those of our children but manifest themselves in adult situations, such as personal relationships and personal finance. Poor financial health is both cause and effect of the most debilitating of human conditions:
- A "major financial setback" is a known "trigger" for depression, which, of course, can lead to failed marriages or even suicide.
- Money may not be the primary culprit in a failed marriage but what it represents (dependency, control, freedom, security, pleasure, self-worth)
explains why money becomes a dividing wedge in 90 percent of marriages that lead to divorce.
- Those who are fortunate enough to have enough money to "invest" are not necessarily "wise" enough to manage it. In fact, as humans, we are not wired to be prudent investors.
The simple fact that behavioral finance is gaining in popularity illustrates the demand, necessity, and ability to understand our emotional intelligence as it pertains to investing and personal finance.
World Conflict: East Side Meets West Side
On a much larger scale, the failure (and hope) to understand and maintain our personal and inter-personal struggles extends to the international level. Once again, a greater and wider understanding of philosophy could go far to bridge our cultural gaps.
From ancient eastern philosophy, such as Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, to ancient western philosophy and the teachings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, through medieval and modern philosophy, we may gain an understanding of where we are today and why we think the way we think.
Today, undoubtedly, the primary struggle of the world is fundamentally eastern versus western. A central theme of eastern philosophical thought is "collectivism" or the idea of "the group is greater than the individual." Western philosophy is quite the opposite, promoting the idea of "individualism," which would say that individual rights and freedoms should form the basis of society. Put quite simply and in a modern context, one can understand why China is communist and why America is a democracy. Communism and socialism are collectivistic (eastern) while democracy and capitalism are individualistic (western). If the knowledge and respect of these two basic philosophies were universal, do you feel the international challenges we face today would or could be different?
Specifically, it is not surprising that more positive results have flowed out of the recent understanding and leveraging of the importance and influence of tribal culture in Iraq than any ground gained from Iraqis gaining the right to vote a few years ago.
Do you understand the fundamental and cultural differences and how philosophy is at the root of understanding?
Furthermore, while most world citizens can recognize that the ancient Greek belief in many gods (polytheism) gave way to the belief in one true God (monotheism) thousands of years ago, many of those same people may be surprised that the middle-east, where so many of our current Geo-political tensions exist today, is the same place that gave rise, not only to Islam but, to the other great world religions of Judaism and Christianity. What's more, many still do not know that all three religions embrace the idea of a single, all-powerful God and the belief of the philosophical views of good and evil, justice and equality, and history...
Studying philosophy will not only allow us as world citizens to understand, and potentially appreciate, our differences but can go a long way to understanding our similarities as well...
I said I would keep this to a "digestible length." I will assume, if you made it this far, your "appetite" for philosophy has not quite been satisfied. I'll leave you with these words from Ayn Rand:
...but the principles you accept (consciously or subconsciously) may clash with or contradict one another; they, too, have to be integrated. What integrates them? Philosophy. A philosophic system is an integrated view of existence. As a human being, you have no choice about the fact that you need a philosophy. Your only choice is whether
you define your philosophy by a conscious, rational, disciplined process of thought and scrupulously logical deliberation -- or let your subconscious accumulate a junk heap of unwarranted conclusions, false generalizations, undefined contradictions, undigested slogans, unidentified wishes, doubts and fears, thrown together by chance, but integrated by your subconscious into a kind of mongrel philosophy and fused into a single, solid weight: self-doubt, like a ball and chain in the place where your mind's wings should have grown...
For the entire piece, take a look at Ayn Rand's 1974 speech to West Point graduates, "Philosophy -- Who Needs It?" (hat tip to TraderFeed). I highly recommend it...
Philosophy alone can not solve all of our personal challenges, or those of the world, but it can go a long way in understanding those challenges, which is a wonderful place to begin...
TFPAuthor, Kent N. Thune, is the President and founder of Atlantic Capital Investments, LLC (ACI), a 'fee-only' Registered Investment Advisory firm located in Mount Pleasant, SC.
