Love and other drugs
Coming alive with philosophy-ing
“How can you love existence from a theory?
You can’t.
You have to love by living and live by loving.”
This is how
and I ended the sixth episode of Philosophy & Organisations.This episode is the result of a longer conversation, the first two thirds of which became the previous episode we posted.
What’s most interesting for me in this discussion, and perhaps something that Jes and I orient towards in most of our conversations, is the way in which our lived experience provides so many teachable moments, from the basic and practical through to the transcendental (and the ways in which we can value, and in important ways, rely on this first-person process).
We are not abstracting ourselves out of the ‘knowledge’ equation. We are attempting to embrace, with all of the nuance, complexity and uncertainty, our being in this world (in a sense, as I’ve described before, we are balancing different ways of knowing. This is not easy, because we’ve become rather obsessed with the propositional over the last few centuries).
In fact, Jes gets at this beautifully in her latest post:
Prescribing a new philosophy isn’t enough.
What we need is the courage and discipline to practice philosophy - for ourselves and collectively.
To not just adopt ideas, but to question, wrestle, reflect, practice, and make meaning in real time, in real life.
Because real transformation — personal or systemic — can’t be imposed.
It has to be discovered.
And that’s why I keep returning to philosophy. Not as a fixed doctrine, but as a daily act.
Not to find “the answer”, but to stay in relationship with the questions that matter.
That’s what wild:philosophy is about.
Not a map, but a Waymaking, as Andrea Hiott might say.
Not a system, but a practice.
Not my way — but maybe an invitation into yours.
When Jes and I talk about philsophy-ing, we are referring to a living process that plays out at ‘various scales’. Not a specific view per se, but a relational process that’s enacted again and again and again, very imperfectly, by human beings. A process that enhances our individual and collective capacity to (at the very least, drawing inspiration from
and his micro-philosophy framework):Know ourselves, each other, the world and our broader context (cosmos)
Define what we care for, and
Consistently behave in ways that align to what matters
And although this goes against much of the last few hundred years, I believe we both recognise that we—the subjects in said equation—are as rich a source of inspiration, information, insight and learning, as anything there is or can be (in certain contexts, of course).
*None of this is to say that the ‘checks and balances’ that feature in the various processes of doing science aren’t important. They are and they have clearly helped radically enhance our capacity to know certain things about ourselves, each other, the world and our broader context (cosmos). No need to caveat further right now.
So, without further ado, enjoy!
A quick reminder that we are covering the following types of (formal-ish) questions in this series:
What do we actually mean by philosophy?
What’s the value of philosophy in organisations?
How is philosophy compared / contrasted (equivalency), relative to other organisational functions?
How can philosophy help organisations interface with genuine uncertainty and complex challenges no organisation has ever faced?
How can diverse ethical theories or lenses help inform decision making within organisations?
How can philosophy help organisations more responsibly and effectively design, develop, and use AI (or not)?
How can philosophy help us better understand the role of trust, and its importance, within organisations (and beyond)?
Beyond profit, how can philosophy help an organisation define its telos? And how can defining this inform strategy and support culture?
How can philosophy enhance an organisations’ capacity to identify and mitigate ‘consequential uncertainty’ (i.e. risk)?
How can philosophy inform authentic progress in boardrooms (how they are comprised, how they collaborate, the ways in which they communicate etc.)?
How can existentialist ideas about meaning, freedom and authenticity apply to ‘employee engagement’, motivation and combatting workplace alienation?
How can a deeper understanding of epistemology improve an organisations approach to data and ‘evidence based’ decision making?
How does one’s philosophy influence their leadership style, and how might this impact (or be impacted by) organisational culture?
What philosophical questions should organisations be asking about the future of work and their role in ‘shaping it’?
Please add others you’d like us to explore in the comments.
Or better yet, join us on an episode!!!
With love as always.