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Quite frankly, I don't know nor do I really give a shit at this point. I do know that of all the afore mentioned life paths I've been down, the whole corporate thing was the worst idea. I just don't fit in that environment. In retrospect, the military was actually a good idea, but it seemed pretty shitty at the time. College was the best, but it's kind of hard to pay the bills by going to class. So, what do I want to be when I grow up? At 35, it seems like a pertinent question.

OK, let's take stock of what's happening and what's about to happen. I am still enrolled in graduate school, so there's that. In fact, one of my plans for the upcoming phase of my life is to concentrate on that a bit more. Just taking one class at a time is simply taking too fucking long. We're about to move to an area that will facilitate our getting by with one car. That being said, I'm just about to offload my beloved Mustang to a friend who's in desperate need for a new one. I'm going to replace it with a motorcycle, which will cut my expenses considerably. So, that will remove the need to chase the almighty dollar like so many sheeple get trapped into doing. Not that I disparage people for wanting to make enough money to live comfortably - a lot of people have families and other responsibilities that require a sacrifice of dignity. But that's just the problem. I don't have a family, I only have a wife and she's all grown up now and can take care of herself. It's just not worth it to me to be constantly reminded of how important my job is lest they take away my fancy car and palatial mansion. I'm through suppressing my sense of morality for the sake of accumulating more useless shit. At least, for now.

But, I'm still going to have to earn some sort of living. As much as the Mrs. would absolutely love to give me a free ride and keep me as the hot trophy husband, I just don't think that's fair. Besides, I'm sure she'd expect me to clean or something. Fuck that. Personally, I'd love to work in a bookstore or a coffee shop. I'm sure that anyone who has had one of those jobs will tell me how much they suck, but what else can you do the a BA in anthropology? Not much worth mentioning - trust me on that.

I have applied for a couple of actual "jobs," though. Not that I'm holding out much hope for them. It seems that I'm currently tailor-made for low-level corporate shit pump jobs. I'm overqualified for the mindless and fun jobs and I'm unqualified for the jobs that I think could have some meaning to me. Fuck it, maybe I'll just be a substitute teacher. From what I've read, it seems to have all the stress and misery of being a teacher without all that bothersome cash. Or I could quit being a lazy fuck and write my bestselling novel. No, according to Steve Jobs, people don't read anymore. What an asshole.

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As I've said before, I am not a philosopher. However, as someone interested in the subject, I thought I'd look for groups of like-minded individuals to further my philosophical studies. After all, the dialectic approach is an excellent way to broaden one's understanding of things. A Google search for "Philosophical Society" delivered a host of choices. Now, I wasn't surprised to find that some societies are a bit choosy when it comes to membership. Groups such as the American Philosophical Society are by invitation only and that's understandable. But, they do draw from every conceivable field of study, which is staying true to the spirit of philosophy. However, groups like the American Philosophical Association are a different story. Below are the requirements taken directly from their site:

Regular or International Associate membership is open to persons whose training in philosophy has been advanced and systematic enough to make them competent to teach the subject at the college or university level and/or to persons with special achievements in philosophy. To qualify for Student Associate membership, persons must be actively engaged in the study of philosophy at an accredited college or university.

So, basically you have to have a PhD in philosophy, or be enrolled in the organized study of philosophy at a university. So what about everyone else? Would this group tell people like Descartes to take a hike? What about good old Socrates? At what point did philosophy cease to be the love of wisdom and become a pretentious clique for ivory tower academics only? Are they saying that wisdom cannot be gained by the study of the arts and literature? What about history and human culture? What about the mathematics that was so dear to so many philosophers in the past?

There's another point I'd like to make. Considering that so much importance within philosophy is given to the ability to find new ways of thinking about issues, it makes sense that some of the best philosophers would come from outside philosophy departments. How can you expect a person to think originally when all they've studied is how their predecessors thought? Doesn't strict instruction in how to read and interpret philosophical writings extinguish the flame of free thought? The "love of wisdom" is reduced to writing what your professor wants to hear so that you can pass the class.

But, all is not lost. There are groups out there that endeavor to bring philosophy to the masses where it belongs. The Society for Philosophical Inquiry is one such group "devoted to supporting philosophical inquirers of all ages and walks of life." There is also the Dallas Philosopher's Forum, a group that organizes philosophical discussions that are designed to engage the academic and the Regular Joe - now, that's good shit.

In short, I say we all need to study a little philosophy - or a lot of philosophy. This is not some arcane and dead discipline that has no bearing on modern life. This is life. You engage in philosophy everyday, whether you know it or not. Don't let a bunch of effeminate elitists tell you that you don't have philosophical worth - you do. Philosophy is a living, breathing entity and it belongs to all of us, not just those that have had their creativity systematically squashed by chasing academic accolades.

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I'd like to start by saying that I'm not a philosopher. I'm not really interested in coming up with the answers for any global problems or social ills. I'm not here to answer any eternal questions about God or the afterlife. Instead, I'm simply searching for a new way of looking at things. I want to see the world through my own eyes. I want to ask questions, even if the answer seems obvious. I don't want to take anyone's word for anything. I want to question reality. I want to figure out what really matters to me (not you). Above all, I want to hold the intellectual high ground when arguing with someone who is supposed to be "my superior."

I'm not really going to go into anything tonight, but I'd like to introduce myself from a philosophical standpoint. First of all, I didn't really study philosophy in college (I took two classes). However, anthropology does flow over the boundaries of philosophy in several places, so I'm not completely in the dark here. And I've read enough to be fairly certain about a few points. I don't really get into modern philosophy. I think Nietzsche is overrated (although he did have a bitchin' mustache) and existentialism is a term that gets thrown around a bit too lightly. And even though I do agree with a lot of existential views, I've always been fond of the Cartesian credo of "Cogito ergo sum".

Nope, I'm a classical kind of guy. I love to read about bearded men in togas debating the nature of virtue and ethics. It seems to me that philosophy was pure then, unhindered by its own bullshit. And it seems that I can't get enough Stoicism. Stoicism was the philosophy of choice during the time of the Roman Empire and I think it still has a lot of merit today. Whenever we tell someone to "suck it up and take it," we are espousing the view of the Stoics, albeit in a less eloquent fashion. Despite the fact that I tend to bitch and whine more than a true Stoic it still appeals to me. I never said it was the guiding principle of my life.

So, that's it for now. Like a radio station undergoing a format change, I'm sure I'll be feeling my way through this for a while. But, if philosophical inquiry were easy and the outcome certain, there wouldn't be any point to it.

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