ABSTRACT

It is widely supposed that the special feature of ‘humankind’ is that all and only properly human beings ‘think’, and that ‘philosophers’ are dedicated to thinking ‘better’ (and so also living better). What is less clear, and less firmly agreed, is what such ‘thinking’ amounts to, and how close ‘philosophical thought’ is to commonsensical ‘reasoning’. What’s the point (and nature) of ‘thinking philosophically’? What’s the advantage of ‘reason’, whether philosophical or commonsensical, when so many creatures manage well without it? ‘Practical thinking’ may be something we need because we are not so well-informed as other creatures about what to do. We need to prioritize our goals, and understand the context and the effects of what we do. We need to understand how things are, both ‘objectively’ and as understood or perceived by others. That goal, of finding and understanding the real world, is the office of ‘speculative’ reason: what assurance do we have that this talent can ever be veridical? And what is the likely content of such enjoyment? The proper exercise of wisdom, of sophia, transcends both practical and speculative enquiry, in an effort to rejoin the gods. If that isn’t what we can ourselves imagine, perhaps we had better look instead to animals for our inspiration!