How philosophy enriches our lives

Explore practical philosophies, how they can shape your decisions, inspire growth, and deepen your understanding of the world

…muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone…

—Alan Watts, The Way of Zen

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Philosophy isn’t just about ancient texts or abstract theories.

It offers practical wisdom that shapes our thinking, decision-making, and interactions, helping us live more intentional and fulfilling lives by questioning beliefs, finding balance, acting ethically, and creating personal meaning.

When we apply the practical wisdom in philosophic principles such as Stoicism, the Socratic Method, or the Golden Mean, we can address challenges in our daily routines, continually improving our approach to life.

We can begin with one of its most fundamental practices: questioning.

Questioning and Critical Thinking

The Socratic Method, championed by the Greek philosopher Socrates, is the simple act of questioning.

It teaches us to challenge assumptions and seek deeper understanding through dialogue.

The Socratic Method is widely applied today, from law schools sharpening legal reasoning and IDEO fostering innovation, to cognitive behavioral therapy challenging negative thought patterns.

Active learning environments use this method to promote critical thinking, which is valuable for those utilizing lean startup methodologies.

Overall, the Socratic Method helps resolve conflicts by probing underlying interests.

It’s not about having all the answers but embracing the process of seeking them, making questioning a powerful tool for personal growth.

This leads to the next point: balance.

Striving for Balance

Aristotle’s Golden Mean brings us the wisdom of balance, suggesting that virtue lies between extremes.

This principle of balance are applied in

• Google’s flexible work policies for work-life balance,

• the flexitarian diet for sustainable eating,

• Apple’s Screen Time feature to manage digital use,

• Vanguard’s balanced investment strategies,

• servant leadership models in companies like Patagonia, and

• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programs.

These approaches help people and organizations tackle modern challenges by avoiding extremes, striking a sustainable balance between ambition and relaxation.

Core principles provide a steady guide for decisions, helping avoid extremes and ensuring balanced, sustainable choices.

Acting on Principles

Categorical imperatives are vital for the well-being of individuals and societies, as they remind us that our actions shape the moral fabric of society.

To illustrate, consider the question:

What if everyone did this?

This principle is evident in Patagonia's commitment to sustainable sourcing, healthcare providers' ethical use of AI, Meta's universal content moderation, fashion brands' circular economy initiatives, educational platforms' dedication to accessibility, and coffee companies' fair trade practices.

Adhering to ethical principles creates a fairer world, and integrity—anchored in these principles—drives personal excellence by keeping us honest, true to our values, and resilient in overcoming challenges.

Personal Excellence and Overcoming Limits

Nietzsche’s concept of the Will to Power is all about striving to be the best version of ourselves.

The Will to Power is not about exerting control over others but about overcoming our own limitations and pushing beyond what we once thought possible.

This drive for personal excellence and overcoming limits is evident across various fields.

For instance, Sara Blakely’s success with Spanx, Eliud Kipchoge’s marathon record, and Yayoi Kusama’s boundary-pushing art showcase how integrity and ethical principles lead to remarkable achievements.

Similarly, Tim Berners-Lee’s advocacy for an open web, Amanda Nguyen’s civil rights activism, and James Clear’s guidance in "Atomic Habits" illustrate how these values foster innovation and positive change.

Whether perfecting your craft, innovating as an entrepreneur, or striving for daily improvement, integrity and personal growth drive excellence and resilience in every pursuit.

But, there is a equally powerful motivator: meaning.

Finding Meaning

Existentialism, from 19th and 20th century Europe, explores themes like anxiety, freedom, and authenticity, emphasizing the challenging yet liberating process of creating personal meaning in one's life.

While thinkers like Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, de Beauvoir, and Camus often distanced themselves from the label, their ideas still left a major mark on psychology, art, and literature.

Some examples of this include:

• Irvin D. Yalom in psychology,

• Marina Abramović in performance art,

• Haruki Murakami and Rachel Cusk in literature,

• Charlie Kaufman in film

In every aspect of life, from career to relationships to facing challenges, existentialism encourages us to chart our own course and seek purpose in our experiences, similar to Stoic teachings.

Focus on What You Can Control

Picture a mindset that helps you zero in on what you can control and brush off what you can’t.

This approach is often called Stoicism, and it’s still shaping how we tackle life’s challenges today.

Tim Ferriss, Kevin Rose, and Tom Brady use it to enhance decision-making, daily productivity, and focused discipline. Navy SEALs rely on it for resilience under combat pressure. Even the company Basecamp uses Stoic practices to manage stress and prevent burnout in their workplace culture.

Stoicism guides us to face challenges with a steady mind, focusing on what we can influence while staying composed and resilient.

What’s at stake is our internal and external happiness.

Maximizing Happiness for All

Utilitarianism, developed by Bentham and Mill, promotes actions that maximize happiness and reduce pain, aiming for the greatest good for the most people.

Utilitarianism's key principles are:

• Greatest Happiness Principle: Actions are right if they maximize happiness and wrong if they produce the opposite.

• Consequentialism: Morality is judged by outcomes, focusing on consequences rather than intentions.

• Hedonism: Pleasure and the absence of pain are the only intrinsic goods, guiding actions to increase pleasure or reduce pain.

• Impartiality and Universality: Every person's happiness holds equal value, requiring unbiased consideration of all affected.

• Utility Maximization: The aim is to maximize overall happiness and well-being for the greatest number in personal and societal decisions.

Utilitarianism guides decisions by considering the broader impact of actions, aiming to create harmony in communities, workplaces, and families.

Examples include prioritizing COVID-19 vaccinations to protect public health, Spain's effective organ donation program, ethical programming of autonomous vehicles to minimize harm, and charity evaluations by GiveWell to maximize donation impact.

Even the controversial Ford Pinto case, which prioritized financial savings over safety, reflects utilitarian decision-making.

These examples demonstrate utilitarianism’s focus on maximizing overall welfare and minimizing harm.

But, how do they affect social roles and relationships?

Respecting Social Roles and Relationships

Confucianism nudges us to look beyond ourselves, urging us to cherish our connections and act with kindness to strengthen the bonds that hold us together.

As Confucius notes in the Analects when we embody virtue, it naturally influences those around us: “The virtue of the gentleman is like wind; the virtue of the small man is like grass. When the wind blows over the grass, it is sure to bend¹.”

Confucius's metaphor of the wind (virtue) and grass (people) shows that when we lead with virtue, others follow, fostering respect, harmony, moderation, and inner peace both within individuals and throughout the community, similar to the Middle Way.

Seeking Moderation and Inner Peace

Buddhism’s Middle Way, rooted in the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, emphasizes a balanced approach to life through moderation and mindfulness, steering clear of extremes like self-indulgence and severe asceticism.

Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Marsha Linehan’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) draw from the Middle Way, using mindfulness to manage stress, pain, and intense emotions.

Both approaches illustrate how finding balance and avoiding extremes can lead to a calmer, more meaningful life.

It’s not just for therapy programs, as companies such as Google and Intel have adopted mindfulness programs, to promote employee well-being and balance.

These practices help us slow down and tune out the noise of everyday life, making space to connect with ourselves, find clarity on what truly matters about our lives and where we fit in the world.

In other words, they help us discover deeper truths about ourselves and the world around us.

Searching for Deeper Truths

Plato's Theory of Forms, found in works like "The Republic" and "Phaedo," teaches us to look beyond superficial appearances to seek deeper truths and ideals.

In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato illustrates how most people mistake shadows for reality, urging us to pursue true knowledge beyond the material world.

This philosophy drives scientists to explore beyond the surface to discover deeper truths, as seen in quantum physics.

Companies like Apple apply this by designing products that strive for an ideal balance of functionality and aesthetics, setting new industry standards.

In personal development, the Theory of Forms encourages self-reflection and mindfulness, helping individuals connect with core values rather than being swayed by external distractions.

Plato saw wisdom as a journey beyond the surface, urging us to dig deeper into what we see and think. In Charmides, he describes wisdom as “… a science of other sciences, and of itself²,” showing that true insight is at is the foundation of all knowledge and self-discovery.

Exploring various viewpoints broadens our minds and enriches our insights, helping us become more perceptive and accepting of different ideas.

Embracing Diverse Philosophies

Life is complex, and no single philosophy has all the answers.

Whether it's Empiricism³, Transcendentalism⁴, or another viewpoint, each offers a unique way to see the world.

Exploring diverse perspectives enriches our understanding, adding value to our lives and making us wiser and more connected.

Bringing Philosophy to Life

Philosophy isn’t just for the ivory tower—it’s a practical guide relevant to everyday living.

Whether pursuing personal growth, facing ethical dilemmas, or seeking peace of mind, philosophy provides valuable tools for navigating life.

As Marcus Aurelius reminds me in Meditations, all “things are little, changeable, perishable. All things come from thence, from that universal ruling power either directly proceeding or by way of sequence⁵.”

Remember, you have power over your mind, not external events.

Recognizing this brings strength.

I’m curious, how often do you challenge your assumptions, seek balance, and act with integrity in your daily life?

1. Book 12, Chapter 19

2. Found between sections 166-167

3. Some foundational texts by Empiricists are:

• Locke, John. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding

• Berkeley, George. A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge

• Hume, David. An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding

4. Some foundational texts by Transcendentalist are:

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Self-Reliance

Fuller, Margaret. The Great Lawsuit: Man vs. Men. Woman vs. Woman

Thoreau, Henry David. Walden

5. Book Six, in George Long’s translation