Why do we investigate?

A reading of Pierre Hadot on philosophising as therapy

Abstract

The French philosopher Pierre Hadot is best known for his thesis that philosophising in Ancient Greece designated something markedly different from the contemporary meaning of the term: rather than an accumulation of informative knowledge, philosophising was a formative practice aimed at cultivating a state of serenity of soul (ataraxia) through the practice of spiritual exercises. Although the term philosophy has come to designate an exclusively theoretical attitude (establishing a separation between theory and practice that did not exist in ancient philosophy), Hadot insists on affirming that there are repeated reappearances in modern and contemporary philosophy of the ancient conception of philosophy as a way of life. This paper attempted to address the issue of the permanence of an existential posture of total conversion of being in contemporary philosophy, which is pointed out by Hadot in his work. Special attention was paid to the notion of philosophy as a therapy – which points to the cultivation of a fundamental inner attitude as an integral part of philosophical endeavour. The aim was to answer the following question: how does the conception of philosophy in Ancient Greece described by Pierre Hadot relate to contemporary philosophising? In order to explore this problem, an approach was made between philosophical investigations and obsessive neurosis in psychoanalysis. In particular, it explored Freud's account of the case of the Rat Man regarding pleasure in achieving an intellectual result in obsessive neurosis. It was argued that the failure to recognise this intellectual satisfaction that continues to permeate philosophical investigations generates a certain lack of understanding in philosophy about its workings and its objectives. With this, it was pointed out that Hadot's work allows not only for a new understanding of Ancient Greek philosophy, but also of philosophy today.