Through Philosophy Comes Entrepreneurship
From Pablo Picasso and Oscar Wilde to Steve Jobs the idea that “talent imitates and genius steals” has been a strong thread through the history of human endeavors. The greatest advancements, both technical and philosophical, were primarily the result of somebody taking seemingly disparate things and recombining them in a previously unthought of way.
Philosopher Adam Smith recognized this when he wrote that “those who are called philosophers, or men of speculation, whose trade it is not to do any thing, but to observe every thing, and who, upon that account, are often capable of combining together the powers of the most distant and dissimilar objects in the progress of society.” Smith understood that the societal revolution he was observing was the result of enterprising philosophers able to recognize and recombine value in things that the masters of trade or business administration could not.
The entrepreneur, who emerged as a result of the industrial age, has become an increasingly important figure in the progress of society. Robert F. Kennedy recognized a defining trait of entrepreneurs in that only “those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly.” Globally today in universities, private enterprises and governments we are exploring how to cultivate more entrepreneurs — how to encourage more individuals to “dare to fail greatly.”
Aristotle believed that “through discipline comes freedom.” That in being self-disciplined one would be more free to focus on pursuits of passion and avoid impulsive distractions.
Similarly, I believe that through philosophy comes entrepreneurship. Not the isolated academic philosophy that has become synonymous with the word; but true philosophy, defined as the “study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence.” Philosophy as the study of the disparate parts of ourselves, society, and the universe that can be recombined “in the progress of society.”
While we must continue to educate the masters of trade and business administration through investment in STEM and MBAs it is equally important to invest in the humanities. To cultivate entrepreneurs we must encourage the study of liberal arts, as through philosophy comes entrepreneurship.
