Is Philosophy Good For You?

A book review of The DIM Hypothesis – Why the Lights of the West are Going Out by Dr. Leonard Peikoff.

Many people think that the study of philosophy is the least important endeavor among all the things man can do.  Many people consider it boring and impractical.  They think that few men of action would ever waste time on philosophy. 

I would like to point out that these ideas about philosophy are themselves philosophical views developed by philosophers, the pragmatists to be precise.

These negative views encourage you to avoid ideas and, as a consequence, they harm your life and your ability to thrive as an autonomous human being.  Certainly, philosophy is not an easy area of study; but, the rewards can be highly beneficial.

The person who most eloquently convinced me of the above perspective was Dr. Leonard Peikoff in his lectures on the history of philosophy and his new book, The DIM Hypothesis – Why the Lights of the West are going out.

I also learned from Dr. Peikoff that if you study the consequences of philosophical premises, you can identify the sources of the world-shattering events that have affected human life throughout history, some positive, but most negative.  The clear conclusion is that philosophy determines the course of human events. It is the most impactful study of man, life, science, ethics and political systems. If you want to change the world, you must change the dominant philosophy.  You do this through persuasion.  You convince people about the wrong premises they hold.  You show the practical consequences for individuals of holding the right ideas -  and you fight for a new philosophy that corrects past mistakes. 

As I like to put it, philosophy could be the biggest future long-term growth industry in history – if men begin to practice it correctly.  Or it could devastate life if the present trends continue.  This appears to be the basic premise behind The DIM Hypothesis.  Although Dr. Peikoff did not make that point in precisely those terms, it is implied by his analysis of the major philosophical movements in history.  His conclusion is that present trends will eventually lead to the triumph of mysticism and the next Dark Age for man.  But he leaves open the possibility of the triumph of reason over mysticism.

To illustrate the positive influence that a proper philosophy can have on man’s life, let’s look at one of the major victories of philosophy over the last few hundred years. 

The largest single example of the power of philosophy was the scientific revolution.  Spurred largely by the discoveries of Copernicus, Galileo and Newton to name a few, this revolution dealt a death blow to the idea that the universe was a realm of miracles and divine intervention in the affairs of men. 

Before science began making its life-enhancing discoveries, it was assumed that all metaphysical questions had been settled.  The world was created by God in six days and God had placed the earth in the center of the universe.  This was considered fact because it was declared by God in the Bible.  Scripture was sacrosanct and any statement to the contrary could produce death.

Slowly at first, with Galileo’s discovery of the moons of Jupiter, many “truths” accepted on faith were put into doubt by philosophers and scientists; and it did the Church no good that it put to death and tortured men whose discoveries were putting the Church’s dogma into doubt.  Eventually, men saw first-hand that experience and inductive science was the key to understanding the world and that such understanding could yield important benefits. 

The consequence of the scientific revolution is virtually everything you see around you: electricity, life-saving medical devices, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, airplanes, computers, HDTV and five-speaker sounds systems, to name only a few.  These products have improved the lives and pleasures of millions of people; yet only a philosophy that considers reality amenable to human thought could create them.
 

Dr. Peikoff’s hypothesis is that cultural products express accepted fundamental ideas as they are found in the dominant philosophies of any given age.  His analysis reveals the essential struggles between three fundamental concepts which he explains in the book. These concepts, because they represent the fundamental conflicts of history, have made our world what it is today. 

The Acronym, DIM, encapsulates the three essential methods of integration as they have influenced culture.  D = Disintegration, I = Integration and M = Misintegration.  These concepts refer to the essential process of human integration.  The book discusses each of these fundamentals in detail and shows how they have influenced cultural development and even how they may influence the future.  Dr. Peikoff holds that man has volition and, if he chooses reason,  the future can be bright.  Otherwise, not so bright.

The key chapters in the book require a thorough grounding in philosophical concepts and even an understanding of the development of key concepts in philosophy throughout history.  Dr. Peikoff effectively uses the widest abstractions to identify the philosophical movements as they have come down to us today.  I highly recommend this book if you are interested in ideas.  It promises and delivers on its goal of providing a new and valuable perspective on philosophy as it is reflected in culture.