What is philosophy? First, let’s dissect this entire sentence. Let’s start with the word “what.”

Don’t worry, I’m totally kidding.

Philosophy doesn’t have to be that way; it doesn’t have to remain a cold, academic area of study to be enjoyed only by old men who smoke pipes and translate Latin texts for fun. Behind every theory and idea is a living, breathing person–and not just the one who originally penned them. You’d be surprised at how many people get starry-eyed just at the mention of Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things and Jean-Paul Sartre’s theory of bad faith.

The New York Philosopher aims to capture these enthusiastic thoughts and emotions towards philosophy by honing in specifically on the philosophical community in New York City. Rather than simply offering analyses and opinions on any given philosophical idea, The New York Philosopher will report on the events and people that make up the city’s philosophical community.

With this blog, I aim to provide a deeper look into a scene that many overlook. After all, that’s what philosophy is: an attempt to better understand the things that surround us every day. (Did I just answer my initial question?)

The Illustrations

The illustrations featured on The New York Philosopher (namely in the logo and in the Weekly Thinker posts) were drawn especially for this blog by my talented friend Elizabeth Maze, who asked no questions at my strange, short-notice request for a feline Nietzsche portrait.