A Worldview Change is Insufficient

Turtles all the way down.

Worldviews are like the glasses we never take off. They shape how we see everything—our reality, our decisions, our morning coffee. Worldviews are more than just opinions; they're the architects shaping our societies. The current dominant social worldview feels like trying to catch the ocean in a teacup. It’s reductionist, leaving out the dazzling mess of coexistence and interconnection.

At the same time, the concept of worldviews is insufficient. It’s not enough to change our worldview intellectually, it also has to be embodied and practiced and lived on a daily basis. That’s what I think practical philosophy can offer - practical philosophy is about finding a philosophy and living that philosophy. It’s a practice of becoming, of identity formation, of consciously choosing principles, ideas and narratives to live by and to try to live according.

To me, this is the most exiting practice in the world.

Most times, the philosophies we live by are hand-me-downs from our upbringing and and our environment - our human environment as well as our nonhuman environment (mountains, the weather, oceans etc.). Society tells us what’s hip and happening—like chasing money or measuring our self worth based on that money. Often, we accept these philosophies without questioning.

Many of us sense though that the principles we live by, many of the values and aspirations we hold, don’t cut it anymore. In times of the Anthropocene the dominant philosophies seem insufficient - to say the least.

And so we search for alternatives. Sometimes, we are not even aware that we are doing this. Yet, we look to indigenous wisdom, self-helpers, spirituality, techno optimism… They all offer something helpful. None of them offer something complete. That’s in the nature of a philosophy - I don’t think any philosophy can be free of blind spots or shadows. Searching for better philosophies and living by them (practical philosophy) is how we change as humans. I am inclined to say how we evolve as humans, but that would be presumptuous: I am not sure we are actually evolving or rather - as hinduists believe - that the universe moves through cycles of creation, sustenance, and dissolution. But that’s part of another discussion.

What’s clear is that our current materialistic, reductionist, capitalist philosophy is as useful for our times as a snow jacket in the Sahara.

Finding and living different philosophies requires time, self examination and deliberate practice as well as discomfort. It also takes the willingness to admit that we are wrong.

“The philosopher needed to be trained not only to know how to speak and debate, but also to know how to live. The exercise of philosophy was therefore not only intellectual, but could also be spiritual. Hence, the teaching and training of philosophy were intended not simply to develop the intelligence of the disciple, but to transform all aspects of his being - intellect, imagination, sensibility, and will. Its goal was nothing less than an art of living, and so spiritual exercises were exercises in learning to live the philosophical life. Spiritual exercises were exercises because they were practical, required effort and training, and were lived; they were spiritual because they involved the entire spirit, one's whole way of being. The art of living demanded by philosophy was a lived exercise exhibited in every/ spect of one's existence.” Pierre Hadot

Most of us find ourselves in situations where it seems impossible to practice philosophy.

Plus, everyone’s picking different philosophies like it’s a potluck dinner, leading to differences among us. And these differences often are what divides us. Embracing practical philosophy therefore also means to embrace difference. As Gregory Bateson said “it’s the difference that makes a difference”.

We don’t have to find a new unifying philosophy - like Christianity or capitalism used to be. Ecosystems actually thrive and depend on diversity. And if we take the concept of natureculture, as proposed by Donna Haraway and others, seriously, (nature)culture will also thrive with a high diversity of philosophies. The question is therefore how these different philosophies can work together. For Hadot, to philosophize is to learn how to dialogue - with oneself and others.

For 2024, my goal is to develop and do research on philosophy gyms —little havens where people can cozy up to their philosophies, practice living them, and collaborate with the differences. At this point, I am looking for people who’d be interested in co-developing this together, if that’s you, hit reply.

🚀Practical Philosophy

I want to share more about my own process of finding and living a philosophy. Maybe not every week, but every now and then.

One thing that I am exploring is the topic of discipline and doing what I don’t feel like doing. This doesn’t just matter because I want to exercise more and buy less, but it matters so much to me because a lot of the things that I see as being more conducive to a regenerative future take effort and - on a very individual living - I often don’t feel like doing them. I found that there are very contradictory philosophies to discipline. On one side of the spectrum is the “Navy SEAL approach” - grind through the pain. On the other side of the spectrum is the “rainbow and unicorns approach,” which suggests that we don’t even bother to do something we don’t feel like doing because we should always follow the flow of life. Between these two extremes, there are many nuances and helpful considerations. I experimented with some of these last year during my project on fasting, fractal, and fungi. As the New Year is inviting resolutions (that we usually don’t feel like doing), I thought it’s a great time to dive into this topic again. I will share my insights about this in the next couple of weeks. As practical philosophy is never merely a theoretical endeavor, I will also commit to a few challenges I don’t feel like doing.

🐒 Something Fascinating About Other Beings

Hummingbirds can flap their wings at an astonishing rate, often ranging from 50 to 80 times per second, allowing them to hover in mid-air, fly backward, and even upside down. This rapid wing movement creates the humming sound they're named after.

📚Things I Enjoyed Reading, Watching or Listening

• Reclaiming our Indigenous European Roots by Lyla June

• Let's make 2024 the year of saying no to productivity culture by

  Kirsten Powers
  . I believe that productivity and the metacrisis are tightly entangled, for regenerative futures, we need to disentangle.

• What If We Stopped Pretending by Jonathan Franzen. From the book: “In times of increasing chaos, people seek protection in tribalism and armed force, rather than in the rule of law, and our best defense against this kind of dystopia is to maintain functioning democracies, functioning legal systems, functioning communities. In this respect, any movement toward a more just and civil society can now be considered a meaningful climate action. Securing fair elections is a climate action. Combatting extreme wealth inequality is a climate action. Shutting down the hate machines on social media is a climate action. Instituting humane immigration policy, advocating for racial and gender equality, promoting respect for laws and their enforcement , supporting a free and independent press, reducing the number of assault weapons in circulation — these are all meaningful climate actions. To survive rising temperatures, every system, whether of the natural world or of the human world, will need to be as strong and healthy as we can make it.