ACT BEFORE YOU THINK OR THINK BEFORE YOU ACT?
The importance of philosophy in every day thinking and decision making. "Pursuit of wisdom and knowledge of things and their cause", is the meaning of philosophy from the dictionary. I guess there are two ways of looking at this . First, the notion of philosophy as a theoretical subject comes to mind. Secondly, inbuilt knowledge and wisdom which have grown out of experience influence our actions and thoughts every day. So the question arises what sort of every day thinking and decision making are we referring to. This is bound to be different between a professor of philosophy and a crane driver, whose skill and expertise sometimes calls for split second decisions born out of practical experience, rather than any philosophical notions .
It brings back memories of studying at university and teacher's college for me and two examples which have stuck in my mind, now that I am reaching the age of wisdom and writing about it from the years of life experience. Firstly, I visited Papua-New Guinea in 1964 and brought back many artifacts which I lent to Monash University in Melbourne Australia. They displayed them in their glass cases and looked at many new items not seen before. I knew the exact moments I got these items and could recall the history behind each and the story of it's making. In fact my knowledge was extensive and new and almost ground breaking. Actions and a good memory had achieved all this, yet they failed me as I had lost my exam technique and could not write on the theoretical anthropological knowledge in books written to date . I left university thinking that all their books meant nothing by comparison with my first hand experience. Also, at teachers college, despite all the philosophical, educational concepts we had learned of, in the end it was active, practical common sense of the moment that made us the teachers that we were. I can very rarely recall thinking back to the educational philosophies I had studied and applying them . It was a matter of adapting to the present moment and time and reacting according to experience, not so much my knowledge of things passed on sometimes in another age altogether.
So my point is, that I think we all act on the moment we are in, according to our adaptive processes, rather than attributing too much importance to the philosophical side of immediate actions.
There are all sorts of different cultures and races around the world, all adapting to the climatic and passed on traditions to approach their lives every day. The 'question in question' then becomes a very general one, maybe just referring to a western modern way of life. Consider for a minute the bushman of the Kalahari Desert of Botswana, in Southern Africa and how important is philosophy in his every day thinking and decision making. You would have to say oral passing on of innate knowledge, directly related to the environment would be his main concern to survive in one of the toughest environments on earth. No supermarket ease for him. Traditional stories and methods would be used to capture that gazelle, even if it meant a 12 mile chase and tipping your arrow with just the right amount of poison that you knew would do the job.
In the more modern western nations, where we can indulge these philosophical notions and surviving is easy on a professors salary, then we may be able to build up a case where we can say that philosophical concepts (and that's all they are, not practical solutions) are important to our every day thinking. It really all boils down to the way you were brought up as to how you tackle life's immediate issues every day. What an ironical statement it is," The survival of the fittest in the jungle". Which jungle, the concrete one, or the African one where the fit little bushman can run flat out for 12 miles to get some dinner? Who has the most knowledge on earth, the oldest indigenous peoples, such as the bushmen and the Australian aborigines, or the modern new man moving fast, fast ahead, really not knowing where the future is going? Old traditions are lasting and can be practiced in the open spaces where there are no philosophical distractions.
Anyway when all is said and done, the only thing you can do is reflect on some advice and maybe use it . Do not be afraid to go your own way with courage in the search of fulfillment and peace. Do not spend too much time analyzing your actions based on others theories. Carpe Diem. "Seize the Day". You only have so many to act in.