— Ch. 1 · Therapeutic Philosophy Definition —
Quietism (philosophy).
~4 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
Philosophical quietists want to release humanity from deep perplexity that philosophical contemplation often causes. Quietism in philosophy sees the role of philosophy as broadly therapeutic or remedial. Quietist philosophers believe that philosophy has no positive thesis to contribute. Rather it defuses confusions in the linguistic and conceptual frameworks of other subjects including non-quietist philosophy. For quietists advancing knowledge or settling debates is not the job of philosophy. Philosophy should liberate the mind by diagnosing confusing concepts instead. Crispin Wright said that "Quietism is the view that significant metaphysical debate is impossible." It has been described as the view or stance that entails avoidance of substantive philosophical theorizing. More particularly it is opposed to putting forth positive theses and developing constructive arguments. Quietism by its nature is not a philosophical school as understood in the sense of a systematic body of truths. The objective of quietism is to show that philosophical positions or theories cannot solve problems settle debates or advance knowledge.
Ancient Quietist Traditions
Pyrrhonism represents perhaps the earliest example of an identifiably quietist position in the West. The Pyrrhonist philosopher Sextus Empiricus described Pyrrhonism as a form of philosophical therapy. Some have identified Epicureans as another early proponent of quietism. The goals of Epicurean philosophy are the decidedly quietist objectives of aponia freedom from pain and ataraxia even dismissing Stoic logic as useless. The neo-Confucian philosopher Cheng Hao is also associated with advocating quietism. He argued that the goal of existence should be calming one's natural biases and embracing impartial tranquility. This aversion to bias is nevertheless quite distinct from Wittgenstein's position. These ancient traditions sought mental peace rather than constructing new systems of thought. They viewed confusion itself as the primary problem needing resolution through silence or therapeutic intervention.