A Guide to Motorcycle Philosophy

French philosopher Dominque Janicaud wrote his last book, "A Beginner's Guide to Philosophy" for his daughter Claire. Janicaud died in 2002. Claire was planning to study philosophy, perhaps hoping to extend her father's legacy.

I started reading this book and found each chapter as almost like blog posts, with each one being fairly short (about 10-12 paragraphs each). The book was intended to help Claire sift through the many complexities that plague philosophy scholars. And in it, he's effectively talking to his daughter, as opposed to writing in an intellectual, and dry kind of way.

So I decided to adapt this very same book into a motorcycling perspective, at least based on my perspective as a US-based rider, and dedicating a blog post for each chapter.

Since starting "Motorcycle Philosophy" I've thus far written about my what I've witnessed and seen in the greater riding community, but without really asking the question of "why do we ride".

I mean, I know that many other motorcycle bloggers have already written blog posts entitled, "Why I Ride a Motorcycle", of which I've read many of. But I don't want to talk about me specifically. I want to get into deeper stuff, more about humanity, but adding the unique motorcycle element into it.

Philosophy is unique in that everyone already qualifies as being a philosopher. All you need is a brain that is capable of wondering "why", and then being able to place yourself into neutral corner and start separating truths from beliefs.

I often use the words "motorcycle philosophy" to refer to each motorcycle rider's preference. Some riders would rather find the shortest distance to Cook's Corner so that they can spend more time hanging around the local clubs. Others would rather spend more time riding the back roads, riding as fast as they can. Some ride cruisers, and some ride sportbikes. Some join clubs, and some remain as lone wolves. Each rider has their own preferences, and those preferences stem from a philosophy of how they see themselves.

And how you perceive yourself, and the world around you, is precisely what philosophy is.

Popeye the Sailorman, a famous pugilist and vegetarian, once said, "I am what I am, and that's all what I am". Is there any more simpler way of putting philosophy than that?

A Guide to Motorcycle Philosophy...

1. Chapter 1: Motorcycling and What It Is Not
2. Chapter 2: Beware of Gurus
3. Chapter 3: Nothing If Not Critical
4. Chapter 4: A Portmanteau Word
5. Chapter 5: Philosophy With a Capital 'P'
6. Chapter 6: Trying It Out...
7. Chapter 7: Socrates and Hippias Intervene
8. Chapter 8: Difficult or Simple
9. Chapter 9: The Gallery of Great Minds I: Some Philosophical Stars of Antiquity
10. Chapter 10: The Gallery of Great Minds II: Some Modern Stars
11. Chapter 11: History or Analysis?
12. Chapter 12: Why?
13. Chapter 13: What is Man?
14. Chapter 14: What is Freedom of Action?
15. Chapter 15: Moral Freedom, Political Freedom
16. Chapter 16: The Question of God
17. Chapter 17: So What About Religion?
18. Chapter 18: What Does Happiness Have to do With It?
19. Chapter 19: Which Desire? Consciousness and the Unconsious
20. Chapter 20: Technology and Life
21. Chapter 21: Good, Evil and Beyond
22. Chapter 22: The Elevating Effects of Art
23. Chapter 23: Nietzsche the Unclassifiable
24. Chapter 24: What Society, Which State?
25. Chapter 25: Too Many Questions?
26. Chapter 26: How to Approach the Authors
27. Chapter 27: Why Not a Science?
28. Chapter 28: Justice and Truth
29. Chapter 29: Which Kind of Love
30. Chapter 30: A Few Seeds of Wisdom