Mission Statement
Every philosopher has had an opinion on what philosophy is, what it should be, and what purpose it serves. Bertrand Russell wrote ‘the point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.’ Georg Hegel said ‘the essence of philosophy lies often in answering the question: how does the infinite go out from itself and come back into finitude?’ John Campbell asserted ‘philosophy is thinking in slow motion. It breaks down, describes and assesses moves we ordinarily make at great speed.’ These alternate and disagreeing descriptions have had some even make the claim ‘there is no such discipline as philosophy.’ At least not in the sense that it is a discipline like physics, mathematics, or history; a discipline with a unified method, a semblance of purpose, and explicit content-matter. This however only comes down to the fact that philosophy is the method of methods, it is the discussion of the purpose of purposes, and the laying down of content about otherwise explicit content.
To those who read the above sentence and judge it for being too nebulous, I scribe- ‘think again.’ At all times, always, things are happening to us- either occurring outside of our capacity to decide, or are being decided for us, or by us. We wake up, we study, or we work, we ride home, or we cycle, we hear the news or turn on entertainment, day in and day out we are living. Major events sometimes pass us by- the birth of a child, the marriage of a friend, or the passing of a loved one. World events sometimes intrigue us- wars in distant lands, politics in one’s home, or economic issues between nations. With all these facts passing between us, we never have a moment to understand why they happen; if it is right for them to, or what ‘right’ even is. Philosophy allows us to reclaim this moment. The facts will remain factual, and describing how or what they are remains relevant to the disciplines aforementioned. But the human character is marked with the distinct and distinguished ability to ask why. It always looks for a particular kind of answer to these questions, that kind that gives it space to understand its place in life. The questions of the facts, of prudential occurrences and particular circumstances, have gotten humankind far in its endeavour, but what this endeavour is and why it is so remains the curiosity that is satiated by philosophy.
There is no better way to summarize the Ethos of Pharos than to say ‘we aim to satiate the curiosity of the questions of why.’ But there is a way to qualify it, for unlike other avenues of philosophy- Pharos aims to do this in a manner that is accessible and cathartic to all thinking-kind. So many advances in our lives, and the lives of others, have made us question, more so than ever, what we truly stand for. The answer to this question belongs not to the vanguard of world leaders, nor to the esoteric technocrats, nor to anyone else apart from those who have taken a moment to ask the questions of why. Pharos welcomes your candidate answers. Answers that are coming from a very human curiosity, and not from a place of arbitrary circumstance or someone else’s volition.
Pharos aims to engage in philosophy, answer the questions of why, in a very approachable manner. Articles need not contain volumes of new terminology, or be discursive and dialectical, or even be exceptionally analytic. Pharos is an avenue to explore how philosophy can be used in the everyday paradigm. We hold that the activity of philosophy produces something real, and often visceral and strong. We encourage readers and submission candidates to think about the principle of why something is the way it is. Concentrating on the topics which affect everyone in a manner that is almost dramatic; explaining their significance. We accept fiction and literature because we see how some of the topics can only be conveyed by character, verse, or song.
Altogether, we aim, collectively, to better satisfy our ever-growing curiosity of the queries which affect us all, and which all of us must take a stance in. We aim to give the world’s progress a backbone of philosophy which will remain strong for the future and the present.
Pharos. 