What is philosophy?

To even pose this question, let alone answer it, one is already required to engage in philosophizing. Philosophy is thus marked by a certain circularity: it presupposes what it seeks to clarify, and no final exit from this structure appears possible. And yet, some circles are worth traversing again and again.

As the British philosopher Martin Hollis aptly put it:

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”

At the very least, I believe I know what philosophy is not: it is not merely an academic discipline. It cannot be confined to the university, nor exhausted by institutional teaching, research, and discourse. Indeed, one may ask whether philosophy, under the constraints and expectations of rigid academic structures, can fully remain faithful to its own vocation — the pursuit of truth and the love of wisdom.

Certainly, there is an element of intellectual mastery involved; yet a certain freedom of thought also belongs to the very essence of philosophical activity. It is therefore no coincidence that many of the great philosophers were never permanently embedded within university institutions.