This entry is a part of the “No Method: Practical Philosophical Skills” series. Part 1: Existential Wayfinding. Part 2: Weltanschauung Remodeling. Part 3: Monasticization of Daily Life.
I am concerned with navigating life well. Hopefully, one day, I will navigate life exceptionally because life feels exceptionally confusing these days. Navigating today's complexities, including mundane everyday issues, along with the heady possibilities of collapse, totalitarianism, technological singularity, and World War III, is what many who come to my practice are looking for.
My answer has been to return to philosophy, the love of wisdom. Since my "based definition" of wisdom is "navigating life well," I will reference the literature on navigation. Geographer Daniel R. Monte bifurcates navigation into locomotion and wayfinding. The former he describes as the "body movement coordinated to the local surrounds," and the latter as "planning and decision making coordinated to the distal as well as local surrounds." Wayfinding is the art of finding one's way in physical space, and we can view "existential wayfinding" as the art of finding one's way in life.
The first wayfinding divide is aided and unaided in the "taxonomy of wayfinding tasks" diagram above. Aided wayfinding uses navigation tools, such as signage, maps, and wilderness guides, to help one find their way. Today's equivalent for existential wayfinding would be podcasts, Substack posts, and philosophical guides. Unaided wayfinding is when you have to find your own way—people drawn to The Stoa fall in this category.
The next big divide on the diagram is undirected and directed wayfinding. One way to look at this is being in being or having mode. Sometimes we must allow ourselves to be, explore, wander, get lost, and go on an adventure. Other times we should be on a mission and have a goal to target, one that puts fire in the belly and is of service to others.
My inquiry partners always sought clarity on some directionality in their life. Sometimes it was getting clear on spiritual attractors to pursue, such as awakening, individuation, and eudaimonia, or material ones, like, health or financial goals. The most common was those wanting direction on transitioning from a profession to a vocation—doing something for a living that brings about what meta-rationalist blogger Dave Chapman calls “enjoyable usefulness.”.
However, for many issues, the desire for clarity was relatively mundane: setting social boundaries, writing their thesis, creating a social media account, etc. The throughline with these issues was that there was something bothersome about them, with a sense of stuckness and a need for clarity on how to proceed. I found the mundaneness quite beautiful, as these slice-of-life confusions had profound richness, and insights were always lurking underneath, surprising both of us.
What distinguishes philosophical inquiry from philosophy in the academic sense is that inquiries always start with the personal, then weave into the theoretical, then back to the personal. In contrast, academic philosophy starts with the theoretical and stays there. I'll explain in tomorrow's entry that theoretical philosophy is essential and needed. However, when an inquiry does not honor the messiness of one's situation, finding the way cannot occur.
Over the last two years, my philosophy practice has allowed me to see life as one living inquiry where the way needs to be repeatedly discovered and rediscovered. I aspire to see the art of philosophical inquiry be quite common, and having a space to practice will be needed for wisdom to become more common.
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A new practice for existential wayfinding is being introduced at The Stoa: Collective Inquiry. This practice is where you will have the opportunity to be in the “agape seat” and have Stoans inquire about any issue that is salient for you. The first session starts today at 6:00 pm et.
You can RSVP by signing up for The Stoa’s Patreon.