Doing Philosophy Is Like Building a House

2,181 characters2007.09.11

Different philosophers build different kinds of architecture—some are magnificent and luxurious, some solemn and quiet, some plain and simple; some can provide people with a place to settle down, while others are made for revelry; some are towering spires for people to gaze up at, some are labyrinths buried deep underground waiting to be explored, and some are merely foundations laid in the hope that later generations will carry the project forward,……

The architects of those new buildings, each with a style all its own, are the philosophers. But they either build upon the foundations laid by their predecessors, or else innovate by imitating and blending earlier thinkers; if one were to refer to nothing at all and design in complete independence, then at most one could only put together a thatched hut.

After the philosopher has left, the completed building needs to be repaired and improved by others before it can remain fresh through the ages. Those responsible for patching and updating it are the ordinary workers in philosophy.

Others devote themselves to finding their way through complex palaces and explaining and guiding later visitors, arousing their interest and providing inspiration for new architects; those who serve as guides are the ordinary teachers of philosophy.

Still others specialize in demolishing old houses and clearing the site; if a building possesses enough vitality, it will not fear the attack of the iconoclasts, but those edifices that are merely superficial will be toppled by the skeptics.

Finally, there are those who devote themselves to building roads between buildings, linking different structures into a single whole. Or rather, this is also what each of the above kinds of people—including the most ordinary visitor—is engaged in. When philosophers build new houses, they are at the same time surely laying roads as well, or else they may use the roads already built to seek out new bases. Building roads can make visiting and communication easier for people, and often by doing so one can discover new territories, new environments, or great relics long forgotten by others. More importantly, in the final analysis, no matter how magnificent a building may be, it is always only a place to rest one’s feet for a moment; people are still searching for an eternally unknown destination, and so they will forever need to seek and build new roads

September 11, 2007