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Did you know how frustrated it is to be in the position of teaching philosophy to first-year students? I
bet you did. The problem is: Is there any tip to teach philosophy for students that recognizes this art
of living as a "beyond of everyday life", especially, never getting used to being comfortable and
enjoying life? The worst is that he/ she who loves philosophy lives in a "strange world" — out of
norms, eccentric and "beyond the ideal figure".
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Here's my take on your question. You are living in a Far Eastern society, one in which population
density is very high and in which conformity is valued very highly. It is probably what is termed a
'shame' rather than a 'guilt' culture, where moral rules, customs, and so forth are enforced by group
pressure, rather than by internal pressure. Am I correct? In the West, the culture is guilt-based, i.e.,
one's actions are largely internally guided. There is value attached to nonconformity in this culture,
sometimes quite high, depending on context. Artists and philosophers are taken for granted as
eccentrics, for the most part, and are valued for that quality. Given that, you see that your question is
not one with which a Westerner would consider central to being a philosopher, and certainly not the
'worst' of it. To a Westerner, the 'strange world' of the philosopher is a small deviation from the normal
one, and it is very hard for us to understand and appreciate what is behind your question. I do not
know how to answer it, because I do not know how eccentrics in your culture cope with the status of
'outsider', which in Western culture is an accepted role. I can refer you to an interesting book, The
Lotus and the Robotby A. Koestler, a Westerner's viewpoint on India's and Japan's cultures. I have
no idea as to whether there are writings in your or similar cultures about this dilemma; I do not know
your literature. But those topics: the outsider, shame versus guilt cultures, and similar ideas are
where I believe you should look.
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