A new breed
of philosophers is approaching.

I will risk christening them
with a name not lacking in dangers.
From what I can guess about them,
from what they allow to be guessed
(since it is typical of them to want to remain riddles in some respect),
these philosophers of the future
might have the right (and perhaps also the wrong)
to be described as
those who attempt (Versucher).
Ultimately, this name is itself only an attempt,
and, if you will,
a temptation.

Beyond Good and Evil, by Friedrich Nietzsche, trans, by Judith Norman aphorism 42

For over 40 years I have been involved with others discussing, “doing” philosophy. A recurring topic is philosophy itself. Exactly what is meant by philosophy? Those “bitten by the bug” of disciplined inquiry as well as the enjoyment of socializing with others so inclined, are haunted by the need to keep asking, “exactly what are we doing here?”

I think philosophy reflects the circumstances of a specific time and place. I am as aware of the war in Ukraine, the genocide in Gaza as I am of New England Transcendentalism. What is our way forward, is it possible to craft a future, a humane dwelling for the next generation? I do not believe that a cul de sac of human civilization is necessarily inevitable, – global climate warming, and the ascendance of authoritarian demagoguery notwithstanding. The future emerges, new, on the basis of wild-ass chance, and upon what we do.

Nietzsche’s offer of a definition of philosophy is appealing. He makes a word play on the German term Versucher. Those who attempt, who tempt, who experiment.

We are not children at play. The earth is not a sandbox for our amusement. The stakes at this juncture are enormous. Nietzsche suggests that we philosophers are “adults at play,” experimenting with thought, evaluating, testing the suitability of complexes of ideas, of viewpoints for application to action.

Versucher is associated with the concept of temptation.

Temptation is fascination is it not?

That which simultaneously attracts and repels…

We cannot, not take, a bite of the apple.