University of Arkansas at Little Rock

To study philosophy is to acknowledge that it is one thing to make a living, and a very different thing to have a life. In Plato’s Republic, Socrates tells a story about the navigator on a ship who is thrown overboard by the sailors who see him as a useless stargazer: what is useful depends on whether you are focused on the task of steering the ship or the need to guide it. Imagine a race in which speed is the highest value among the runners, all of whom have forgotten where the finish line is and why they want to get there. Studying the ‘big ideas’ (with which Philosophy is concerned), looking at an issue from various perspectives (with which Liberal Studies is concerned), or trying to understand the religious convictions of a different culture (with which Religious Studies is concerned), can seem an indulgent hobby when faced with the urgencies of daily concerns. And yet it is those very ideas, perspectives, and convictions—inchoate and unexamined as they may be—that drive the decisions and outline the goals that shape our lives and the lives of those around us.