Teaching and Philosophy

Reading Salomon Malka's biography of Emmanuel Levinas, I came across an exchange between Malka and the late Paul Ricoeur in which they discussed the question of why Levinas, Ricoeur, and Jacques Derrida are three of the most well-known French thinkers of the late 20th century. Ricoeur says that despite their, at times, very different views and methods, "what unites [them] is the fact that they were all teachers first." Ricoeur goes on to say that "Levinas liked to teach. Derrida adores teaching. And me too." Another reason why I think they are so well-known is that they were all great philosophers, but this too can be attributed to their love for teaching.

I argue that to be a true philosopher, you should also love learning and teaching, since you would not effectively convey, or even wish to convey your ideas to others. Teaching allows philosophers to engage others in discussion of great ideas and provides philosophers with an audience that can respond to their arguments and criticisms; by teaching philosophy as a lived experience, philosophers avoid the danger of becoming stagnant or closed off from other points of view. A philosopher may have a great idea, but if he or she cannot convey it to others, what impact will the philosopher have?