Today is UNESCO’s International Day of Philosophy. A lot is made of understanding philosophy, knowing others’ philosophies, learning the skills of thinking about them, around them and discussing them.
But one skill is overlooked more often than not.
Kids in school don’t get enough opportunities to develop it.
Adults forget it.
Institutions assume theirs is right, when often people don’t understand it at all.
The skill is knowing your own philosophy.
Ask a child today what their philosophy is, and you’ll probably get some blank stares. If they’re up for it, they might have a stab at forming something, but with the hesitancy and uncertainty of whether it’s “right”, approved by those around them.
Ask your staffroom colleagues what their philosophy is and you’ll hear responses ranging from the thoughtful but non-committal, to the thoughtless raised eyebrow and request to just drink your coffee.
Ask your whole school community what their philosophy is and I think most places will draw a blank.
That’s why we help so many schools get around this blank by digging deep to define their purpose, or mission, in the most succinct and colourful way possible.
Sir John Hegarty does not believe you can be a successful creator unless you have some fundamental beliefs that you put into your work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM2TMQgRX4I
Why do you get up in the morning?
Why do you do what you do they way you do it?
You’ve got to know what the answers are to these questions for yourself first. He should know. He’s arguably one of the most creative ad creators on the planet.
Once you know the answers to those questions for yourself, only then you can set about finding a shared philosophy - or purpose - for your team.
Because unless you really know your own philosophy, you cannot use all the other skills of philosophy to argue, justify and take the best decisions for those around you.
So on the International Day of Philosophy, why not take out a few minutes to have a go at your own philosophy, version 1.0?