Tony Fahey graduated from DCU with a BA in Humanities (Philosophy and Literature). From there he moved to NUI Maynooth to complete his postgraduate studies. Whilst at Maynooth he taught philosophy at St Patricks College and Maynooth University (NUI Maynooth). On completion of these studies he returned to DCU to realise his ambition to teach philosophy with Oscail. Now retired from teaching, Tony continues to be involved in 'things philosophical': he is a long time member of the Irish Philosophical Society, a board member and Fellow of the International Society For Philosophers (www.isfp.co.uk), and is an active panel member of ISFP's Ask A Philosopher facility (http.askaphilosopher.wordpress.com).


Most recent publications:

Books:

Vico’s Road to Postmodernism, Choice Publishing. 2009

Articles:

‘Vico on the Making of the Heroic or Dignified Mind’. Maynooth Philosophical Journal, 2001

‘Philosophy, Science, Consciousness’, Philosophy Pathways E-Journal,Issue 154

‘Vico, Joyce, Beckett, Yeats’, Philosophy Pathways E-Journal, Issue 153

‘Philosophy, Language and Art’, Philosophy Pathways E-Journal, Issue 152

'Giambattista Vico-Street Catholic, House Heretic, Philosophy Pathways E-Journal, Issue 161

'Giambattista Vico on Language and Education', International Society For Philosophers Essay Archive, 2011

Welcome to the Philosophy Forum

The study of Philosophy is the study of ideas. That is, rather than advocating one worldview over another, Philosophy, ideally, as a discipline, should examine the dogmas, paradigms, worldviews or 'philosophies' : the 'big ideas', of other thinkers. Reflecting Socrates' view that the unexamined life is not worth living, the position the philosopher should hold is that no worldview should be exempted from the microscopic scrutiny of philosophical examination.

Those amongst you who are interested in the history of ideas, the development of human consciousness, medieval, modern, postmodern philosophy and the philosophy of language, may find my recent book, Vico's Road to Postmodernism, of some interest. This book should be available, as they say, 'in all good bookshops'; direct from the publisher (Choice Publishing: phone: 353 - (0)41 - 9841551) or from Amazon.co.uk from the first week of February 2009.

A brief synopsis:

Each philosopher of note has one ‘big idea’: one central thesis that is the feature of his or her entire opus. For Plato this theme is the Good: the inner force that impels all things to excellence or perfection. For Parmenides it is that being is One: immutable and unchanging. For Hegel it is the dialectical process through which the Absolute Spirit moves to self-realisation. Descartes’ central intuition is the cogito. Heidegger’s is Dasein - being in the world with others. Giambattista Vico’s ‘big idea’ is set out the most often quoted portion of paragraph 331 of his magnum opus, New Science (1744) where he says:

Still, in the dense and dark night which envelops remotest antiquity, there shines an eternal and inextinguishable light. It is a truth that cannot be doubted: The civil world is certainly the creation of humankind. And consequently, the principles of the civil world can and must be discovered within the modifications of the human mind.

The ambition of Vico's Road to Postmodernism is to examine the ‘big idea’ implicit in this quotation, and to show how the sentiments represented in it anticipate that movement which we know today as postmodernism.

What is Philosophy?
Philosophy, as any student of Philosophy will tell you, means ‘love of wisdom’. In its truest sense it is a desire to challenge, to expand and to extend the frontiers of one’s own understanding. It is the study of the documented wisdom – the ‘big ideas’ - of thinkers throughout the history of humankind. However, even in our most respected institutions, Philosophy is often presented as theology, psychology, spirituality or religion. Indeed, many exponents of these respective disciplines seem to have no difficulty in identifying themselves as ‘philosophers’ when in fact they are 'dogmatists' (sic). What can be said, however, is that Philosophy is all of the above and none. ‘All’, in the sense that it will certainly engage with the views advanced by the exponents of these disciplines. ‘None’, in the sense that Philosophy can never be constrained by views that do not allow themselves to be examined, challenged, deconstructed and demystified in the realisation that ‘wisdom’ or ‘truth’ is not something that can be caught and grasped as one particular ism.

For those really interested in Philosophy, it is important to draw a distinction between ‘a philosophy’ and ‘Philosophy’ itself. There are abroad today many colleges, institutions, societies, 'schools of philosophy' (and, for some reason 'schools of philosophy and economics'), groups, cults and sects promoting the view that they ‘teach’ Philosophy, where in fact what they are doing is promoting a particular worldview that they claim is superior to other worldviews or ‘philosophies’. What has to be said is that when a body claims that its philosophy has the monopoly on other worldviews it cannot be placed under the rubric of Philosophy - it is dogma. It is for this reason that those institutions that promote a particular religious ethos cannot, by their very nature, be said to teach Philosophy in any real sense: they are constrained by their own 'philosophical' prejudices to treat other worldviews impartially - particularly where these other approaches run contrary to their own. Moreover, by indoctrinating their students into a mindset that holds that it is their way or no way, these institutions show that their interest is not primarily in that which is best for the student, but that which is best in ensuring their own perpetuity. This approach (of using others as a means to one's own ends), as Kant reminds us, is repugnant to Philosophy - the search for wisdom. What this means is that Philosophy cannot condone any body of knowledge that advocates a closed view on wisdom or truth - one cannot take an a la carte approach to Philosophy. As the Dalai Lama, in the prologue to his book The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality advises, where scientific discoveries are made that expose weaknesses in long held traditional beliefs, these beliefs should be abandoned, and the new discoveries embraced (would that all spiritual leaders or ‘philosophers’ were so openminded!). Philosophy, then, must operate on the premise that its conclusions should ever be open to what Karl Popper calls, ‘the law of falsification’. That is where its conclusions are found to be questionable, it is imperative that these views are revisited, re-evaluated and, where necessary, either re-formulated or abandoned. Unfortunately, as history shows, many systems of belief either will not entertain such an approach, or, if or when they do, it is often so far in time removed from the initial discovery that much harm has occurred in the interim.

What should be realised is that the wisdom to which Philosophy aspires is not attained by the practice of uttering self-hypnotising mantras or prayers, nor by being initiated into some select group, sect or cult that promises that its ‘road less travelled’ is the one true road. Philosophy is not love of ‘a truth’ or ‘some particular approach to wisdom’, but a love of truth and wisdom. However, this wisdom or truth does not come pre-wrapped and packaged as one ism or another, rather it involves the courage and preparedness to engage with, to challenge and to expand the boundaries of one’s own knowledge and experience. - one's own wisdom.

In this forum, for your scrutiny, I have posted some of the 'big ideas' of those thinkers that have most influenced the way we think today (see list at top of page). From the various postings you will see, notwithstanding the esteem in which their 'philosophies' are held, that these thinkers do not always hold corresponding views. It is important to realise that the philosophy does not ask you to surrender your beliefs:your own 'worldviews', only to ensure that those you hold so dear are worthy of esteem in which you hold them.