Pranay Sanklecha at Aeon Magazine:
‘Why did you decide to study philosophy?’ asked the Harvard professor, sitting in the park in his cream linen suit.
‘Because I want to find out how to live,’ I said. ‘I want to find out what matters and I want to live my life accordingly.’
He smiled affectionately, leaning forward in his deck chair.
‘If you want to find meaning, Pranay, don’t study philosophy. Go fish, become a carpenter, do anything. But don’t expect to find it by studying philosophy.’
If by ‘philosophy’ we refer to the played-out game of academic analytic philosophy, he was right. But if by philosophy we refer to the mysterious human activity of searching for truth, to processes of thought and perception, to communal seeking, to genuine dialogue and true encounter, to the moment when our minds open and something true rushes in – if we refer to any of these things, then the professor from Harvard was about as wrong as one could be.
more here.