Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 74

24 November 2025

Brief Notes on Various Topics – 74

1.  Life and Meaning

Recently I listened to an online talk by a young philosopher who argued that it is not the job of Philosophy to teach people the meaning of life.  The young philosopher put the argument in analytic terms by arguing that asking ‘What is the meaning of life’ isn’t actually a question, that such a question, paradoxically, has no meaning.

It was frustrating to listen to such a talk at this point in the 21^st century.  I would have thought that the analytic tradition’s tropes about what falls into the category of meaningful would have, by now, exhausted themselves.  But, apparently, that is not the case.

If I were speaking directly to someone who has this person’s view my response would be to refer them to Plato’s Phaedo and to The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius.  Both of these are examples of Philosophy taking on the task of guiding the characters in these works, and the reader, to the meaning of life in the face of impermanence and death.  These works are salvific; and it used to be the case that philosophers thought of Philosophy as the means whereby it is possible to be guided to the meaning of life, to the point of existence, to how a human being can transcend the difficulties that life brings and how to transcend those difficulties by going beyond the mundane.

2.  Continuities

In the West those who are interested in Buddhism have access to the full range of Buddhist traditions.  In Buddhist history that is unusual, perhaps unprecedented.  Traditions that were separated for many centuries by geography, culture, and language (such as Theravada and Tibetan Vajrayana) are found rubbing shoulders on bookshelves and they are available at online retail outlets.

Years ago I was thinking about what holds these Buddhist traditions together?  Is there some kind of underlying unity that runs like a common thread among all these traditions?  If you contrast Theravada with Tibetan Buddhism you find that they have different collections of Buddhist texts, that they have different philosophical interpretations of what it means to be a Buddhist, that they have different rituals, and so forth.

What came to mind when thinking about this is that in all of these traditions there is one thing that unites all of them and that is the Monastic Sangha.  It is the institution of monasticism that provides a sense of unity among all of these variant Buddhist traditions. 

When I look at Platonism I see similar kinds of variations among contemporary Platonists.  Some Platonists are theurgists and others eschew a theurgic interpretation of Platonism.  Some consider Platonism to be grounded in mystical experience and others regard Plato as an analytic philosopher, or proto-analytic philosopher. 

Looking at this and thinking about it, I came up with a source of unity among these variations and that is the Dialogues that Plato wrote.  All the various interpretations of Platonism are rooted in that common canon; the Dialogues of Plato.

It’s interesting, I think, to consider that in Buddhism it is an institution that provides a common basis for the tradition as a whole; the Monastic Sangha.  In Platonism it is not an institution that provides a common basis, it is a book, the Dialogues. 

I think this happens because the Dialogues are attractive at many levels; as literature, as analysis, as dialectic, and as a guide to the transcendental.  The Dialogues are like an eternal spring of crystal clear water that flows forth nourishing everything that it contacts.

3.  Doing Platonism

Most people are introduced to Platonism through the reading of some of Plato’s Dialogues.  Usually this happens in college but it can also happen if someone is interested in becoming familiar with the foundations of Western thought in general, or Western Philosophy in particular.  If interest in Platonism takes root this often manifests as understanding Platonism as primarily a scholarly activity; I mean reading the Dialogues and related material, commenting on them, and exploring how others have understood them.  All of this is wonderful and inspiring and I, and many others, have benefitted greatly from this kind of activity.

At some point some people ask how to embody these teachings in one’s life; I think of this as asking how to do Platonism or what does Platonism indicate, or even demand, of its followers.  This is when an individual becomes interested in wanting to ground the teachings of Platonism in one’s behavior and in comprehending Platonism as not only a way of thought, but also a way of life.  By ‘way of life’ I mean that Platonism manifests in identifiable behaviors.

I have posted previously about what I think of as the Precepts of Platonism that offer a framework for doing Platonism, a doing that goes beyond ‘thinking about.’  I think the question that those interested in taking this step have is where to start.  The reason that is not easy to answer is that Platonism has not generated a guidebook for the basic steps, or practices, or precepts, in the way that, for example, Jainism, or other Dharma traditions, have.

But it is possible to glean from the Dialogues ethical practices and precepts that define a way of life that is consistent with being a Philosopher.  If I were asked by someone interested in what I call doing Platonism, I would make the suggestion that the first step is simply to become a vegetarian.  I say this because it is relatively easy to do; there is a lot of material to support a change to a vegetarian diet and there are a lot of vegetarians to offer support in such a change. 

I also make this suggestion because vegetarianism, in a Platonist context, is directly tied to the teachings of non-harming and non-retaliation found in Dialogues such as Crito and The Republic.  Non-harming is the most important ethical teaching of Platonism and the source for all other ethical teachings and precepts.  But it is often the case that when first encountering non-harming it seems to be too big of a demand when considered in the abstract; and often the mind will raise objections.  Vegetarianism, however, is easy to access, provides an experiential basis for what non-harming means, and deepens one’s understanding of non-harming so that when a reader comes across these teachings in Platonic literature the reader has an experiential basis for understanding what non-harming means.  This is why I consider vegetarianism to be a significant teaching of Platonism rather than something peripheral.

There is a lot of material in the Platonic tradition that supports becoming a vegetarian.  This is helpful for those who want to practice Platonism in their lives.  Porphyry’s On Abstinence is the most significant example of a work on the topic of vegetarianism and it links vegetarianism to non-harming and living a philosophical life.  But there are others such as three essays on this topic by Plutarch.  The combined impact of these kinds of writings is to show the function of vegetarianism for those wanting to walk the Path of Platonism, for those wanting to become Philosophers.

I would also suggest that becoming vegetarian sheds a new light on reading and study of Platonic literature such as the Dialogues and the Enneads.  Once someone embodies Platonism through the practice of vegetarianism they begin to see reading and study of the Platonist tradition as a way of doing Platonism, as another practice that embodies Platonism in the life of a practitioner.  This is a subtle shift in the understanding of what someone is doing when they are reading Platonic literature.  The tendency is to understand such reading, at first, as a means of acquiring information in the same way that someone might read a history or even fiction.  When one begins to embody Platonism by doing Platonism then reading Platonic literature more closely resembles a musician playing music on their instrument, or the daily practice a musician has to maintain their musicianship.  Vegetarianism is similar to this kind of relationship; it is a practice that deepens one's understanding of what it means to be a Platonist and at the same time deepens one's understanding of what it means to read and study Platonic literature; the two practices mutually nourish each other.

So that is my suggestion to someone wanting to embody Platonism, wanting to do Platonism, in their life.  It is a first, or perhaps more accurately, an early step on the path that leads to the Good and the One.

4.  The Unseen Sun

At dusk the sun swiftly sets behind the distant November mountains.  On a moonless night the stars come out above the desert with its cacti and creosote bushes.  The sun has disappeared but its presence remains.