Philosophy is thinking in slow motion. It breaks down, describes and assesses moves we ordinarily make at great speed - to do with our natural motivations and beliefs. It then becomes evident that alternatives are possible. (John Campbell)
His definition describes philosophy as a skill rather than a set of facts. As a skill that involves thinking, philosophy is applicable to every area of life. Campbell's definition reminds me of Daniel Kahneman's book Thinking, Fast and Slow.
Kahneman basically says that fast thinking are those heuristics (also called gut instincts) we use automatically when we do things like run from danger. If a bear is charging down the hill in your direction you don't want to spend too much time deliberating about the probability that you will be killed or doing some sort of cost benefit analysis of your various options. You want to decide fast and move fast. Slow thinking, on the other hand, does all those things Campbell points out. It helps us to analyze our situation so we can uncover the biases that lead us astray.
Overcoming biases in our thinking is also the goal of science. Science, too, is thinking in slow motion. But science is also observation in slow motion -- being careful and writing down what we observe. Scientists need to keep good notes, but they also need to analyze their data carefully (something philosophical training can help with).
In fact, there is a whole area of study in philosophy called logic which delves quite deeply into uncovering how our thinking works and what are the best ways of making arguments and avoiding mistakes in our thinking.
How could a baby fall out of a twenty-story building onto the ground and live?
Or, if you would rather, here are some
to slow you down and get you thinking.
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