Why we need philosophy to help us navigate modern life

President Michael D Higgins has urged the need to embed philosophy in the Irish education system and to promote it more widely in society. He spoke of “a reflective atmosphere in our classrooms, in our media, in our public space”.

When the psychiatrist Carl Jung was asked what was needed to fix the ills of modern life, he replied “when each person looks to the inner life”.

So, how can philosophy help? It can help distinguish between truth and fallacy in an argument; it can guide you to decide whether you have a moral duty to intervene in a troubling situation that is “none of your business”; it can reinforce psychiatry in resolving personal hurts or anxieties.

Philosophy cannot necessarily activate correct conduct or decisions. The mystery of grace must come into play. Sometimes the two elements converge

In Irish public affairs, philosophical thinking could facilitate the kind of changes needed today. A wealth economy grappling with social problems, population growth and a newly ethnically diverse society, are among the issues challenging traditional norms.

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Philosophy cannot necessarily activate correct conduct or decisions. The mystery of grace must come into play. Sometimes the two elements converge.

Active exploration of new possibilities in science and technology enriched modern life greatly, not least in medicine. However, a philosopher would say that these advances were the result of right answers to wrong questions. Nuclear power is used for deadly weaponry as well as for fuel in homes and industry. Synthetics have introduced a new level of convenience into modern living, but discarded plastic material is killing off fish.

Contemporary culture discourages introspection. American journalist Krista Tippett addresses this lacuna. She created and hosts the PBS programme and podcast, On Being. The American way is to value self-help, competition, getting results. These values are common across the western world. Now in its 20th year, the podcast examines what it calls “the animating questions at the centre of human life: what does it mean to be human, and how do we want to live?”

Asking the right questions is what philosophers do. In this, language is critical to achieving clarity and an understanding of complexity. Ludwig Wittgenstein pioneered research in this field. His contemporary, George Orwell, brought the vital role of language in society to the attention of the general public.

In his novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell exposed how influencers could not only distort the truth but could suppress thinking altogether. “Newspeak” was the language that Big Brother devised to distort truth. This strategy is echoed today in the use of terms like “collateral damage” and “friendly fire”. In everyday affairs, it is common for a public figure exposed in wrongdoing to refer to his/her “mistake” rather than admitting guilt. Such euphemisms debase the truth.

Since Orwell, the impact of social media has unleashed on society a tsunami of unregulated, unresearched, random information and opinions. Never was critical thinking more necessary. Such thinking is grounded in personal reflection and association with wise guides, contemporary and historical.

In Ireland, up to the late 20th century, racism and homophobia were endemic. Corporal punishment of children in schools and homes was common and only legally prohibited in 1982

There is a swerve in society towards recognition of the importance of wellbeing over material gain. Mindfulness and empathetic leadership feature in the curriculums of business schools and are incorporated in the brief of human resources managers. Organisations such as the international Charter for Compassion and the widespread appeal of the On Being initiative testify to this phenomenon. The vision which sees beyond self-interest takes shape in organisations dedicated to conflict resolution or to saving the environment. Such issues of topical concern extend the remit of traditional faith-based and community activities.

In Ireland, up to the late 20th century, racism and homophobia were endemic. Corporal punishment of children in schools and homes was common and only legally prohibited in 1982. Such practices still occur but are no longer tolerated and are now crimes.

The swerve we’re now seeing will not turn swords into ploughshares nor reverse the degradation of the planet. However, a critical mass seeking well-directed change can have an impact.

The philosopher Hegel theorised that human history was a struggle, one system evolving into another until finally a synthesis was reached. He called this “the Absolute”. Scientist and mystic Pierre Teilhard de Chardin proposed a Christian narrative of an evolving human consciousness based on love and culminating in what he called the Omega point. These great thinkers, though proposing a totally different worldview, shared the concept of the possibility of positive change. History is a flow of energy, not a static situation in which we are trapped. The same idea, applied to public affairs as well as individually, could be liberating. Philosophy can help it along.

• Dr Carmel Heaney is retired from the Department of Foreign Affairs and is a freelance writer