The highest goal of philosophy in our current era is to investigate and determine how we should share the love of knowledge with the rest of the world. This challenge is a great one; and making philosophy accessible is an ethical imperative. This is an unsolved issue, and a rich unexplored territory for philosophy. If philosophy were brought to the general public, it would enrich the lives of billions. Perhaps it can spur future generations to a style of writing, speaking, and thinking that would instill an everyday mindfulness in the general populace. Against the self-interested forces of the major agents in our modern era, a philosophy of love, knowledge, and beauty provides the antidote, and in allowing humanity as a whole to properly think for the first time, will usher in the next era of human existence, which hereafter we will refer to as “the turn”.

Aphorisms, cliches, and redefinitions of commonly used words may open up the linguistic side of a philosophy of the masses. At the same time, an approach to the process of thinking must be baked into our culture. Returning to the first point, we may say that “thinking cannot be done in isolation”; this emphasizes the necessity that thoughts be developed between minds. This aphorism has a goal of the second point: how the process of thinking can become a cultural endeavor. We may envision aphorisms and redefinitions that carry messages about how language can be used and how thinking can be approached. In a future where these phrases and usages of words become commonly used by the general public, these aphorisms and words must be fool proof, for they will eventually be in the hands of many. These aphorisms must also be catchy, and provide the thinker with some recognizable benefit. The construction of a proper aphorism and the selection of words to bolster greater meaning need both be investigated.

It may be several hundred years from now, but nevertheless the future after the turn is one we must start cultivating now. What does the future after the turn look like? What forms of government predominate? What is the speed at which people live their lives? Has language become more exacting and honest? Do people talk meta-cognitively with more frequency? Do people spend more time thinking out loud with others? How do people shift from one type of thinking to another? What does philosophizing about morality look like? How do people of all walks achieve a thirst for knowledge? What does education look like? What does this future culture value and find beautiful? How do these future people express love and other emotions? What does a typical day look like, and how do activities support pauses for true thinking?

“Words matter.”

“When all anyone reads are headlines, journalists must pay special attention to their words.”

“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”

What is thinking? What is philosophizing? Are they the same or different? Which is more important, if either, and what are their benefits and limits? We should understand that thinking is productive, for thoughts structure actions directly. Philosophizing, on the other hand, is the way that minds are changed. Through philosophy we are exposed to new ways of thinking, our minds are opened, and we turn in new directions. Thinking is a mental effort towards an end; philosophizing is an expanding of the means.

When we say that people aren’t really thinking, what we mean is that people aren’t philosophizing. They may be thinking towards ends, but what they aren’t doing is taking a step outside of their own perspectives and opening their minds to new ways of thinking, seeing, and being. It is not that they are mindless, it is that they are not open to other minds.

In a world after the turn, status is not determined by intellect, knowledge, or wealth, but by one’s ability to philosophize, that is, to discover new ways of thinking and to open the minds of those around them. A disruptor of thought, a renegade against the interiority of modern human experience, a questioner of norms and standards of behavior. Imagine a world where free-thinking is the highest moral good. At first, this sounds like chaos. But would it be? Or does radical freedom of thought end only and always in ways which must agree universally and must be inherently good, for considering all angles of a thing inherently leads to tolerance and understanding. To see something from all angles brings about an unspeakable truth of the thing, and perhaps this is the highest manifestation of Plato’s theory of forms. There exists a universal understanding, but none of us can ever come close to expressing it in words. A single individual may never see the whole, although they will strive towards it and some may get close; no, it is not necessary for everyone to see all, only to push against the status quo and open up the minds of those around them so that in the middle of all minds a human-thought-truth may take the lead. This is only possible after the turn.

One way to phrase the goal of philosophy is as follows: “to be deeply critical of one’s own assumptions.” The unexamined life is not worth living. Ignorance is piss. How do we shake the people of the world loose from their bastions of comfortability and stubborn complacency? People need a strong reason why they should philosophize, for it can be uncomfortable to question the foundations of one’s thinking.

Philosophy need not be functional. The inherently enjoyable, human, and intimate aspects of philosophizing are worth it alone, and nothing else needs to be added. Goodness flows out of philosophy whether or not we aim for it. In the dark, we see things better when we don’t look directly at them. Only others can question our own underlying assumptions, for we do not see our own blind spots. There should be no universal truth that philosophy aims for, but rather the communal uncovering of our own follies, for each individual, and in each generation, eternally. Philosophy is continual and fragmented; philosophy is always needed but not for any stronger reason than this: it is enjoyable in an intimate and essentially human way to connect with others and question our underlying assumptions together. If we can share the intimate and human aspects of philosophy with the world, perhaps we can begin turning towards a future where all become philosophers in their own right. This is the most urgent goal of philosophy, and its highest ethical imperative.