Exchanging the Word

Though a continual interest to philosophers, the inward search is only one aspect of the philosophical life — in addition to introspection, the philosophically reflective self must express itself in the world. Only then will it be properly tested and make itself available to the validation of philosophical clarity or wisdom. Expression in the world tests the reflective self's credibility as a true entity and authenticates its moral worth as a self with practical meaning beyond the purely ‘inward’ — involving itself in 'self-making', creating itself out of itself. The expressed reflective self is involved in the world of its own making.

Sometimes, I sense the world in the face of its clatter — cluttered by the sounds of others, the irritation of noise, of difference, of unthinkingness. At other times, I sense the world in silence — within myself, my own frailty, my own fears and my own headlong chase towards death. And in both senses I sense the terror of it all, and the excitement of it all, and the potential, and the joy of anticipation, and the contact with it, and the recurring moment of becoming, and the despair of the certain future passing of all that it is. And when my awareness is heightened like this, I sense the need to act — freely responding to meaning, choice and change.

I do not believe there is anything objectively good or bad which exists but, as much as I know anything, I know there is subjective good and bad. And realising this makes me think that I would like to discover a state of mind which, in good faith, believes in no objective bad, does not reside in the shadow of the fear of depleting life or impending death, and acts upon these beliefs. I sense the need to be convinced by the overpowering simplicity of it all.

In seeking simplicity, I turn ‘outwards’ from myself — I look to others — first to those closest to me and then beyond, to those who may become closer or to whom I wish to be closer. And some of these others welcome me and I fall headlong towards them because they are my opportunity to sense the clarity and wisdom which is available from contact with them.

Although these others are not part of me, neither are they truly ‘beyond’ me. Anything which is truly beyond can never be known — anything contrary to this is logically impossible. Anything which is beyond me but which I can imagine or which at some present or future time I can come to know is necessarily ‘beyond within’.

We know that it is possible to ‘contact’ others when, for example, we feel ‘close’ to them, intimate with them or in love with them. When we experience this feeling we are truly realising that which is both beyond another yet within them — as we sense something important of them or which both they and us are aware — and beyond and yet within us.

The ‘Word’ is the content of philosophy which can inspire clarity and wisdom and which can be channelled by focussed attention of the philosopher on another. The Word can be a glance, a touch, a smile, a penetration of the eyes, it can also be the content of the sensation of intimacy.

We can experience high levels of closeness with another by ‘opening up to the possibility’ of them, by making ourselves available to them so that they experience us as beyond and also within them. We can bring this about by clear and unbroken focus on their being by ‘Exchanging the Word’.[1]

P (the philosopher), with a sense of purpose unknown to O (the other) inaugurates unbroken focuses on the world of O. This brings clarity to bear and to arise. This clarity enwisens O and this new wisdom informs P who is in some way 'enwisend'. This enwisened clarity, based on O but available to both P and O, may produce even more clarity or wisdom for either P or O in unknown quantities.[2]

9.3 I have some knowledge of these things which will form the background to our conversation.

9.4 I genuinely want to hear what you say, and I will help you form and develop this.

9.9 I will pass this sense of clarity or wisdom back to you, and you will understand your own wisdom or clarity better.

9.10 The experience will be felt increasingly as a unifying one, an important one, and a memorable one.

Exchanging the Word opens up a clarity beyond and may bring about some degree or another of wisdom in me or (more likely) in the other. The mutual involvement of Exchanging the Word opens up a new world the subjectivity of which is somehow shared with another. My experience of Exchanging the Word is an experience of a world where confusion can be eradicated, inner turmoil quietened, terror extinguished, and despair lifted.

The encounter of Exchanging the Word with strangers relies upon an inner sense of urgency to act freely and with meaning. Such action also recognises the inherent risk of change and the necessity of being in the present. In life we cannot detain the moment, nor can we usefully anticipate the next to come — ‘time is useless at preserving hopes; it just flits along, busy about its own affairs … fortune has been taken [from me] in a single day, like a feather borne skyward’ (Heracles lines 507-10).

[1] Exchanging the Word reshapes our common understanding of philosophical counselling into something which can happen between people without any of the obvious connotative trappings of philosophy or counselling but which can bring many of the benefits of both together with more.

[2] Ran Lahav interprets it in this way: ‘What is special about it, so it seems to me, is that it does not try to analyze anything, to make a statement about anything, to tell the other person “you are X or Y”. The role of the exchanged word is not to carry information, but to do, to act, to transform both the conduit of the word and the other person’ (Letter Ran Lahav to Gerald Rochelle 15 November 2007).