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Before we actually get into the subject at hand, I need to make a few comments about my personal experiences, and consequent attitudes towards this subject. In the United States, the word philosophy is often used with very different connotations from the ones one would find in Continental Europe. Here, on this side of the Atlantic, philosophy is sometimes confused with religion, to the point of being included as an item in listings of religions. It is also used in reference to customs and traditions, as well as to describe a person's likes and dislikes. On the other side of the Atlantic, the word philosophy has a much narrower scope.
Until very recently, as recently as the 19th century, a philosopher was a scientist. All of the sciences were covered by that one word. Scientific instruments were called "philosophical instruments". Taken litterally, the word "philosopher" means "lover of wisdom". By extension, it came to mean "lover of knowledge", which is not necessarily the same thing.
With the development of the physical and social sciences, only some of the more speculative areas were left under the banner of "philosophy". Namely, we were left with metaphysics, epistemology, logic, ethics, and aesthetics. A human being does not need to be a doctor of philosophy to be a philosopher. Conversely, a Doctor of Philosophy is not necessarily a philosopher. A philosopher is one who understands the universe he lives in. One may actually be totally illiterate and still be able to fulfill that requirement. Such men have existed throughout all of recorded history. In Hebrew history (the Old Testament) these men were called "prophets". A prophet is not an oracle medium. He is rather a person who, because of his understanding of the Universe, can foretell the exact consequences of a given action, or set of actions, within the parameters of rigidly set circumstances. Change any of the circumstances and you are automatically changing the consequences as well. That is why every prophecy comes coupled with an alternative. If you do this, then that will happen. If you do not do that, then this will happen. There is actually a very fine distinction between a philosopher and a prophet: Given an equal level of understanding, the philosopher becomes a prophet when he submits completely to what he knows to be the absolute truth, while totally ignoring the consequences, and even the danger, to his/her person. The result is that prophets are almost always killed. One prophet is capable of instilling more fear than a huge and well equipped army would ever be able to instill.
Some of the more renowned philosophers found very ingenious ways of preserving their lives. Descartes, for instance, states in "Discourse on the Method", Part III, parag. 2: "experience seemed to dictate that I should regulate my practice conformably to the opinions of those with whom I should have to live..." Descartes could never have become a prophet; it simply wasn't in him. I suppose that the Cartesian Mask that critics speculate about is quite real. Kant had a very difficult time after the publication of De mundi sensibilis atque intelligibilis forma et principiis (The form and principles of the world of the senses and that of the mind). He weathered that particular storm by retreating to the lecture hall and staying out of the limelight for a good ten years. Among the letters that he wrote during this period there is one that went to the Emperor himself reassuring him that it is not necessary for an individual to tell all that he knows, simply because he knows it.

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olleber320@hotmail.com

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