Harmonising my life with philosophy? Bringing the good things in philosophy into my way of living? No, for me that's meaningless. 'Oh, yes,' I could say. 'I would like to conduct myself better, act better, be better to people—more respectful, more thoughtful, more loving. Yes, I would like to bring a considered sense of morality into my being.' All very well, all fairly pointless for me. If it was that easy, I would have been doing it for most of my life. For example, I could try and respect all individual human differences—a good idea, but morally impossible and wholly unconvincing.
We have to be convinced, to sincerely believe in what we think, in order meaningfully to carry out our intentions. If we don't, then we can't say we are acting meaningfully in good faith; and good faith is central to our actions. I could, of course, act in good faith but find that most of my actions are, at best, philosophically questionable. For example, I could more easily not respect individual human differences—but there is no moral gain in this.
I walk through a well-heeled city: people with shopping bags, mobile phones, dressed for summer, short skirts, focused weekend aimlessness, clutches of excited young girls, couples ageing, someone dressed up as a cigarette, some walking fast, some slow, some sitting, clatter, laughter, stories being told, illnesses recounted, clean clothing, beauty—and the beast. A young man busks—a forceful Desolation Row. He must be 30 years the song's junior. It means nothing to him—he is not anything of Desolation Row. He does not understand, does not recognise its meaning. And maybe neither did its writer. Maybe it was a fluke of words, and temperament, and the era. The song is out of keeping with the singer. There is no harmony. If it were, then it would be a harmony of faith. I could think to myself that this young man was singing about where he was in life, and through his identity with the song, I would know his desolation, and I would give him some money—all I had in my pocket—because he was true to himself, and he had reflected his truth onto me.
That is all I want as a philosophical life—just that.
