Is philosophy mostly for young 'uns?

[AlexBP]

It's an idea that been growing on me in the past few months and seems to be confirmed by the fact that most people in this forum who show their age are in their 20's. The stereotypical picture of a philosopher has usually been a gray-haired old man. However, I find that I see very few old people who have any interest in debating the 'big' philosophical questions, such as free will, theory of knowledge, metaphysics, and so forth. Other than my grandfather, who was a philosophy professor at UCLA, I can barely name anyone above forty who's willing to have a friendly, off-hand discussion on philosophical topics. It seems to be a thing for young people. Would your experiences confirm or deny it?

 

[Defcon]

I would agree. I think this largely has to do with our public education system. Philosophy is seldom if ever taught. We're taught to know facts and memorize them, not to account for our worldview and its implications.

I think recent generations are beginning to find the bankruptcy of such education. That's a good thing, since we all practice philosophy every day and base our lives on these views.

 

[jacks]

..maybe people that like to discuss philosophy, tend to lie about their age.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

It's an idea that been growing on me in the past few months and seems to be confirmed by the fact that most people in this forum who show their age are in their 20's. The stereotypical picture of a philosopher has usually been a gray-haired old man. However, I find that I see very few old people who have any interest in debating the 'big' philosophical questions, such as free will, theory of knowledge, metaphysics, and so forth. Other than my grandfather, who was a philosophy professor at UCLA, I can barely name anyone above forty who's willing to have a friendly, off-hand discussion on philosophical topics. It seems to be a thing for young people. Would your experiences confirm or deny it?

I've encountered very few people who have an interest in Philosophy. I have a degree in Philosophy myself, and from what I can remember from my university experiences, most people just do not perceive that philosophy has much in the way of practical value in analyzing various issues.

I think some of the younger crowd has a larger degree of interest because they are more often internet savvy and likely seek out religiuosly centered debates that utilize philosophical arguments. But, again, from what I've seen, the depth of philosophy education among even the younger crowd is often shallow.

 

[Eudaimonist]

I can barely name anyone above forty who's willing to have a friendly, off-hand discussion on philosophical topics. It seems to be a thing for young people. Would your experiences confirm or deny it?

Deny it.

I agree that philosophy attracts twenty-somethings because it excites their imagination and helps them to form their personalities and their worldviews.

But that doesn't mean that philosophy is just a phenomenon for young people. I can name several 40+ year old posters here who love philosophy, and that includes myself. Most of the participants in the Fellowship of Reason, a philosophical community, are 40+. Philosophy is certainly "a thing" for us as well.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[The Nihilist]

It's an idea that been growing on me in the past few months and seems to be confirmed by the fact that most people in this forum who show their age are in their 20's. The stereotypical picture of a philosopher has usually been a gray-haired old man. However, I find that I see very few old people who have any interest in debating the 'big' philosophical questions, such as free will, theory of knowledge, metaphysics, and so forth. Other than my grandfather, who was a philosophy professor at UCLA, I can barely name anyone above forty who's willing to have a friendly, off-hand discussion on philosophical topics. It seems to be a thing for young people. Would your experiences confirm or deny it?

The big philosophical questions have no answers. You can only chase the wind so long.

 

[JonF]

My Grandpa likes philosophy, but he also isn't all that internet savvy.

 

[jayem]

Deny it.

I agree that philosophy attracts twenty-somethings because it excites their imagination and helps them to form their personalities and their worldviews.

But that doesn't mean that philosophy is just a phenomenon for young people. I can name several 40+ year old posters here who love philosophy, and that includes myself. Most of the participants in the Fellowship of Reason, a philosophical community, are 40+. Philosophy is certainly "a thing" for us as well.


eudaimonia,

Mark

Dittoes to that. I enjoy philosophy as well, though I have narrowed my focus. Ethics is my predominant interest, and biomedical ethics in particular. And that's because I work in health care, and have served on an ethics committee, where relevant ethical principles can be applied to real life situations. So in my case, age and life experience haven't diminished my interest in philosophy. But it has become more specialized.

 

[AlexBP]

Actually, now that I think about it, the biology teacher at my school has expressed some interest in debating the existence of free will and things like that. We had some good discussions during the first year that we worked together. She's in her 50's. (That is to say, I think she is. Being a gentleman, I never asked her age.) But certainly the majority of people I've known who are willing to have a good dinner conversation about Hegel are either college-aged or in their 20's.

 

[Bushido216]

I think we need to distinguish between:

1. People in the first half of their lives with an interest in Philosophy and
2. People in the first half of their lives with an education in Philosophy.

A LOT of people fit into the first category. Part of being a 20-something is being disaffected, I find. For every one person who's gone through the academic process and has come out the other side as a refined thinker, there are roughly six hundred people who have heard that Nietzsche once said "God is dead" and didn't really figure out why or in what context (we have killed Him!).

I generally find it to be the case that the people who throw out the names of the most authors know the least, or at least are sufficiently poor at generating their own ideas that they just stick to someone elses.

My guess is that the majority of people who one will find talking about philosophy in their lives are type 1, and thusly grow out of it by the time they get to 35.

Or they become professional bloggers for HuffPo.

 

[RETS]

In some ways, both.

I know a lot of younger folks who are more than willing to debate and discuss philosophy until the sun rises. However, I also know a lot of older folks far more grounded and able to make a simple statement that defies rebuttal.

 

[GrowingSmaller]

Aawwww, it's a scientific question.