Biographical Philosophy
I have been lucky enough to be invited to take part in a handful of interviews following the release of The Iconoclast. These conversations and the perspective of outsiders have revealed to me a unique style of philosophical writing, which dominated sections of the book, which I believe has the potential to overcome the shortcomings of both the analytical and continential traditions. Biographical philosophy (Biosophy?) is the style of philisophical writing which is relayed and related to a true life story.
Over the course of the conversations I had about the book I realized the best way to explain the impetus, aim and conclusions of the book was not to bullet point premises, signpost arguments and repeat conclusions but instead to explain through the personal lense of autobiography. It is through this perepective that my issues with ‘philosophy’ as it was hitherto understood and my conclusion of anti-philosophy is most relatable. To be honest, the emotive nature of my journey in writing the book is far more persuasive and compelling to us faulty and irrational philisophical subjects than any anylitical syllogism could ever be.
Analytical philosophy suffers from its abstract nature of concrete quantity and the resulting dogmatic assumptiveness of this foundation. Continental philosophy, though the inhibitor of enguaging prose, often has a ‘fluffy’ texture of indecisivenesss and a poetical disembodyment which rarely gets at the heart of what it means to be human. Starting the philisophical journey with biography regrounds and realigns philosophical cognition around the experiential phenomenon of the embodied context, of which we are all intimately familliar.
Leveraging our embodied experiences allows us a chance at the correctness of the analytical without sacrificing the prose of the continental. It is a fact that we find it easier to remember and utilize narritive information. Make philosophy relateable again!
So, here is my proposal: we start a literary movement.
Like literary movements before we will explore new styles through collision of philisophical challenges with biographic description. But, more importantly save philosophy in the process. Save philosophy not only from its current capture in the outclassed institutions, but also from the outmoded forms of the analytical and continental.
The embodied context places us in an inescapable maelstrom of philosophical questions and propositions. Everything we do, or omit to do, every action and inaction marks our biographical story with philisophical judgements. This constitutes the implicit values for which we are known to eternity.
Biographical philosophy runs against philosophies of an analytical nature which are based on propositional knowledge. A demonstration is given directly from the subject to the reader leading them in the direction of that all important non-assertoric knowledge-how. The embodied context gives us access to experiential knowledge.
Not everyone can write philosophy, but everyone can tell their own story.
Not everyone can parse philosophy, but everyone can relate to a story.
Not everyone is driven towards philosophy, but everyone enjoys a great story.
