A Companion to Public Philosophy

38Interactions Between Professionalized and Non‐Professionalized Philosophers

JOHN ALTMANN AND BRYAN W. VAN NORDEN

There was a time in the history of philosophy that the phrase “public philosophy” would have been redundant. Figures such as Socrates (470–399 BCE), Hypatia (350–370 CE), Confucius (551–479 BCE), Mozi (470–391 BCE), Śantideva (685–763 CE), and Śankara (700–750 CE) all led lives as philosophers that were inextricably linked with public life. In addition, even for those who were paid to teach, their status as a “lover of wisdom” (philosophos), “Master” (zǐ), or guru was thought to depend more on their character than their job title. This was a time when being a philosopher was dangerous, a vocation whose potential cost was life itself, if the public found the philosopher’s ideas too challenging to the established order. There were also instances, however rare, of a philosopher’s counsel being solicited by prominent heads of state, who believed that procuring the services of those who lay claim to wisdom and virtue would only further their aims of proper governance and being looked upon favorably by history. Philosophy reigned as queen, encompassed all of human nature and its pursuits, and so was inseparable from the ebb and flow of society. However, as we shall explain, the status of philosophy and philosophers has changed substantially over the last few centuries.

As Richard Rorty pointed out, “The notion that there is an autonomous discipline called ‘philosophy,’ ...