Wednesday, 11 February 2015 19:00

2. Why do philosophical practitioners contemplate?

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To my surprise, many philosophical practitioners I met in the past revealed themselves as practioners of a contemplative system with exercises from ancient Eastern or Western traditions, but also from modern, science-based creations.

What is the reason for this?

Is philosophical practice lacking something fundamental, since it seems to operate more or less only rationally?

Or are philosophical practice and contemplation two sides of the same coin, two ways of approaching the unknown?

Both practices seek truth - a broader picture of reality. Both seek freedom - liberation from personal enmeshments, limitations and attachements. And both practices are possibly an expression of love - the intuition that we are interconnected parts of a One.

After all, it seems quite reasonable to see philosophical practice and contemplation as two manifestations of one purpose, of one objective – and this would take us back to my Reflection 1. But isn´t it wrong to use the term “objective,“ since both practices may be their own purpose, an end in itself?

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Gerald Hofer

I am a German philosopher, a board member of the International Society for Philosophical Practice (IGPP), and alumnus of the first education course of the German professional association on philosophical practice. I am dedicated to exploring ways to approach the fathomless, or what the ancients called “the One.”

Personal contact via email: gerald.drhofer@web.de

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