3 ways to think and talk like a philosopher

"I spend my life around philosophers. Sometimes, these philosophers are bodily dead but immortalized in their books. As I read on my sofa, I find myself enrolled in Plato's Academy or cavorting in a Parisian cafe alongside Jean-Paul and Simone. These days, and with fewer apricot cocktails, I spend my time around academics, authors, and denizens of the modern Academy. I read their articles, meet them at events, and, of course, I interview them for Mini Philosophy."

"If you spend enough time around any group of people, you start to think and talk like them. When I log off from an online interview and join my family for dinner, my wife will sometimes say, "You're talking like that again." Because philosophers talk a certain way. There's a beat and cadence to their sentences. They often call on certain words like "necessary," "sufficient," "absolute," and "contingent," and they never shy away from a good hedging phrase: "It's at least plausible to assume,""

Frequent exposure to philosophers produces adoption of their cadence, specialized vocabulary, and hedging phrases. Philosophical speech often features terms like "necessary," "sufficient," "absolute," and "contingent," and qualifiers such as "it's at least plausible to assume" or "broadly speaking." Language influences thought, and adopting philosophical language tends to align thinking with philosophical modes, echoing Wittgenstein and Sapir-Whorf ideas. Philosophical practice values epistemic plasticity: avoiding absolute certainty, remaining open to rival perspectives, and holding beliefs tentatively. Epistemic plasticity manifests as openness, willingness to entertain alternative frameworks, and careful hedging in claims.

Read at Big Think