WHY PHILOSOPHY? FRANÇOIS JULLIEN interview and portrait by olivier zahm TRANSLATION BY STEVEN B. KENNEDY OLIVIER ZAHM — The question is as simple as it is broad: why philosophy? What can philosophy do for us today, in 2022, during a period of generalized confusion, political chaos, and nihilism? FRANÇOIS JULLIEN — Every era has its uncertainties, but now uncertainty is the reigning ambiance. In the face of that, philosophy today is in retreat, faced with books about the business of happiness and personal development, books that aren’t really books but rather recipes for life. It’s an avalanche of flimsy, insubstantial thought. OLIVIER ZAHM — Has philosophy given up on the domain of the living? FRANÇOIS JULLIEN — Yes, philosophy of Greek origin has focused on thinking about being, the search for truth and knowledge, and the shadow world of pure ideas, and has ignored the question of living. …