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             Can Philosophy Be Of Any Value To Big Business?
               [or: The Philosopher as Systems-Analyst]
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/ Ngz >  alt.philosophy, alt.religion.apologetics /
/ Forum >  TOL - Philosophy ~ Religion / 21Sept02 /
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 I was quite interested to learn recently that most people now
consider corporate executives to be a form of life even lower on the
scale than politicians. Apparently there is some justification for
this perception, as much of the current turmoil on the stock market
can be traced back to misleading numbers in financial statements. And
you thought the numbers can't lie! Well, now you know that sometimes
even the numbers can lie. But have you given any thought to the
question of why this is so?
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 Over the course of the twentieth century, religion finally lost its
grip over the businessman (and other "men of the world"); and this has
only encouraged the general loss of values in both public and private
life. Honesty, integrity, and other Christian fantasies that once
influenced economic and political life, have apparently lost all their
power following the recent death of God. This in itself should
surprise no one; for Dostoyevsky has told us plainly that without God
everything is permitted. And having now lost their religion, most men
have not bothered to fill the void with something else (such as
philosophy), and the result is that fear and greed are now (again) the
chief forces driving the economic life of the nations.
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 Thus the businessman has no regard for philosophy because she seems
to him to be just as irrelevant and impotent as religion. In part,
this is the fault of philosophy herself, in that questions about the
nature of mind and matter, the sources of knowledge, and the validity
of philosophical discourse are indeed lacking for that basic relevance
which would recommend philosophy to all serious-minded people. On the
other hand, the shared rejection of philosophy also has much to do
with a superficial and inadequate conception of what philosophy is,
and what it has to offer to the average post-modern man-without-faith.
Thus a more balanced view of the value and utility of philosophy could
do much to alleviate the current dependence upon fear and greed as the
ultimate foundation of all civilized life. Even the mighty international
corporations could make a change for the better if they could be
convinced of the essential value of philosophy.
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 But can philosophy really contribute to the well-being of the
corporation in a tangible and practical manner? I believe that the
possibility does in fact exist, because I have reliable knowledge of
one case where a philosopher did make a significant contribution to
the life of the corporation he works for. Now my friend is not a
philosopher after the manner of the professors and academics (those
benighted philosophic pharisees), but rather after the manner of the
lifelong student and lover of philosophy (ie. a true philosopher).
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 So his contribution as a philosopher consists of his analyzing and
addressing a problem that is perhaps a common one. As an employee of
the famous Tacoz2Go corporation (one of a group of companies that
relies on its customers to pay its own workers), my friend had ample
occasion to observe the behaviors and practices of his fellow
employees, and these observations were the raw source material for the
larger attitude and perspective of the philosopher who saw a problem,
then went on to analyze and address the situation in such a way that
the corporation was able to remedy the matter with a simple change in
policy and procedure.
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 Here then is the report offered by a philosopher to a corporation. I
present it to the reader in full, and largely unchanged; although I
have taken the liberty to change some minor details, and the names of
all those involved in order to protect the semi-innocent:
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                                                                                June 15, 1981
                 To:  the CEO of the Damn-Big Corporation
 Concerning:  the theft of some $50 from the
                         Brentwood Tacoz2Go on Friday, June 14.
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 Before leaving at the end of my shift (approx. 4:30pm) it was brought
to my attention (in a highly insulting manner) that the store had been
robbed that very afternoon. After reflecting on the matter for some
time, I believe I can offer you an explanation of the situation and
events that led up to the crime in question. For much of the afternoon
of the 14th the store was empty. It is Frank's habit to leave the till
open (with the money "hanging out", as it were) and then go wandering
off somewhere for 15 or 20 minutes at a time.
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 Meanwhile, I'm out in the parking lot reading or resting my eyes. I
see people going in and out once in awhile (and once a possible
customer trying to go in, but was met by a locked door, and so walked
away), and sometimes Frank would be there for them, but sometimes
not. I saw one guy go in there, and he was looking around behind the
counter (there next to the wide-open till) for some fliers, I guess,
because he shortly walked out with one in hand. Although I did not
actually see him go for the cash, I imagine that he could easily have
taken a few bills as well. He spots them there lying in the tray, and
they say to him "Help me. Save me. Liberate me!" And so he does just
that. End of story.
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 But Frank and the manager would much rather suppose that I somehow
"borrowed" $50 because I was in and out of the store all day, and so
had plenty of opportunity to do the dirty deed. And this is perfectly
true. I did indeed have plenty of opportunity. Three times during the
first few hours of the shift I would walk by and close the till
(hoping Frank would pickup on the hint to be a little more careful
with Other People's Money), but every time it would soon pop open
again (evidently its natural condition). After the third attempt I
simply gave up on him. I thought he might just as well hang a sign on
the door saying "Robbers Welcome Here!"
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 Anyway, while I did have opportunity, your genius detectives seem
entirely unaware that I have no motive; so it is unlikely that the
case will ever be satisfactorily resolved from that end of things.
With that in mind, it falls to me (there is no one else to do it) to
at least bring the facts to your attention so that you may properly
consider what sorts of actions or measures can be taken to address
this little problem.
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                              Your loyal servant, Jonathan Barker
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 Now the reader may well ask what this bizarre story has to do with
philosophy, and the answer is much more than what appears at first
glance from a hurried reading. Once you consider carefully all of the
various elements that go into this odd business scenario, the whole
matter easily raises a multitude of questions. Think of it this way:
the philosopher is (ideally) someone well-trained in clear-thinking
and clear-seeing. And being also one interested in many and various
things motivates the philosopher to carefully observe, ponder, and
consider that very particular and concrete world that falls to his
gaze (and just generally engulfs him, as it were).
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 Basically, it is this disinterested (yet passionate) "seeing" that
sets the philosopher apart from other sorts of people, and renders him
highly susceptible to the awesome power of the philosophical writings.
In other words, the philosopher is much like the systems-analyst,
except that the systems being analyzed are not those of computers, but
rather those somewhat larger systems of the world (and the universe).
In the above case, philosophy rendered practical service to the
corporation through the philosopher who was seeing and reporting a
problem that would otherwise only grow and prosper.
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 So philosophy is not merely a way of thinking about things. She is
not just some set of weird ideas. She cannot be reduced to the barren
conceptualization of the world, nor does she consist only of a
multitude of various rationalizations. Philosophy is also an attitude
toward things, peoples, and situations. Philosophy is all of these
things, but it is the philosopher's way of seeing things that combines
and manifests the disparate characteristics of philosophical activity
in general. Thus it is this attentive philosophical-attitude that
empowers the philosopher's eyes; and this is because the philosopher's
strength of character derives from the strength of his mental
attitude. Einstein correctly observed the flip side of this same
psychological process when he noted that "weakness of attitude
becomes weakness of character".
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            - one who favors disconceptualization -- textman ;>
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P.S.  the Canadian Football League; time well wasted
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