The first thing I ever learned as a philosophy student is that ‘philosophy’ comes from the ancient Greek, philosophia (φιλοσοφία), which means ‘love of wisdom’. Sadly, that was the first and last time wisdom was ever mentioned. There is a world of difference between ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’, but philosophy – at least as it’s practiced in academia – seems to have fallen into the trap of prioritising the latter. It’s all about smart people doing inscrutable things, but a substantial portion of it fails to speak to the experience of human beings.
If you think this is harsh, consider what a few fellow philosophers have said on the topic. Pranay Sanklecha (2024) likens academic philosophy to Greek temples – once alive with activity, but now tourist attractions – and its practitioners (that would be us) to “caretakers wandering around empty rooms, painting the walls, and washing the floor while the entire edifice collapses around them.” Dr. Shai Tubali (2025) recalls his days as a philosophy student, saying of his professors: “I naively envisioned professors as wise sages who would illuminate life’s thorny questions … they delivered knowledge, yes – but wisdom? That precious spark was nowhere to be found.” Jason Skirry (2015) echoes this sentiment: “Philosophers live intellectually cloistered lives within the confines of academia and have little to say about how to live.” And of finding wisdom in academia, Peter Eastman (2014) says: “If you turn to philosophy in the hope of finding answers to the ‘big questions’ of life and existence – questions about the meaning and purpose of life, and about your ultimate destiny – you will be sorely disappointed.”
On a different note, what is a side quest? I’m no gamer, so it took me a while to get this, but according to Urban Dictionary (2023) (that most venerated of sources when it comes to modern-day slang), a ‘side quest’ is “an impromptu adventure or diversion undertaken by an individual, typically outside the realm of one’s primary goals or responsibilities, often characterised by spontaneous actions and unconventional activities.” In the parlance of academia, a side quest would be that which falls outside of the scope of one’s academic research. It’s the idea you had at two in the morning or while stuck in traffic, but that you can’t explore because, firstly, writing a full journal article would take far too much time, and secondly, we are generally encouraged, for the purposes of demonstrating expertise, to stick to one field of study as opposed to pursuing multiple interests simultaneously (think ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’).
In light of this, the first aim of SideQuests: A Magazine of Philosophical Reflections is to give academic philosophers the opportunity to explore those ideas that tickle our fancy – but that aren’t in any way related to what we do professionally – without having to commit to writing journal articles, dissertations, or (heaven forbid), theses. It is the chance to reflect on the philosophical ideas that interest or amuse us in a sort-of-but-not-quite ‘researchy’ way.
So why this soliloquy on wisdom in the opening paragraphs? Because it brings us to the second aim of SideQuests: to guide philosophy back to what it originally was. Once a toolbox intended to teach people how to live, philosophy is what we all – whether philosophers or otherwise – ought to turn to when we don’t know where to go next. And sadly, if popular opinion is to be believed, philosophy has been confined to the realm of the ivory tower of academia, where it has become inaccessible to most (including, if we’re honest with each other, our fellow academic philosophers). Wisdom, on the other hand, is available to everyone, and is regularly demonstrated by people who, at best, have no interest in philosophy, and at worst, have no clue what it is. At the risk of anthropomorphising, wisdom is out there in the real world – in all the places where philosophy once was, but no longer is.
And yet, philosophy can’t be separated from wisdom; it’s in its soul – it constitutes its spirit – and my fierce hope is that this will never change. As Sanklecha (2024) says: “Philosophy was once alive too, almost terrifyingly so. Why else would a man called Socrates choose to cheerfully go to his death rather than betray it?” The world is full of people who don’t even realise that they are philosophers, and the purpose of SideQuests is to give such people a chance to share their wisdom with – well, everyone. It’s also an opportunity to give a broader audience the tools we all need to live better lives – the tools we as academic philosophers have all had the privilege of finding in philosophy, but that are desperately needed by people outside of academia. To quote Henry David Thoreau (1991): “To be a philosopher … is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically.”
So, if you think about it, if wisdom is what philosophy is all about and the aim of SideQuests is to restore wisdom to philosophy, then these reflections really are the main quests (but don’t tell your supervisor or Head of Department that). We hope you’re ready to join our merry band of questers and become a Jack of all trades, master of none (but better than a master of one, as the full saying goes), where the love of wisdom comes first, the novelty of a magazine second, and inscrutability has fled the building.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Works Cited
Eastman, P. 2014. The Perpetual Emptiness of Academic Philosophy, and its Strange Inability to Address the One Issue that Matters. PhilArchive. (online). Available from: https://philpapers.org/rec/EASTPE [Accessed 18 December 2025].
Sanklecha, P. 2024. On Breaking Philosophy Out of the Seminar and Back into the World. Aeon (online). Available from: https://aeon.co/essays/on-breaking-philosophy-out-of-the-seminar-and-back-into-the-world [Accessed 18 December 2025].
Skirry, J. 2015. Academic Versus Practical Philosophy. Philosophical Living. (online). Available from: https://www.philosophicalliving.com/academic-vs-practical-philosophy/ [Accessed 18 December 2025].
Thoreau, H. D. 1991. Walden, or, Life in the Woods. New York City: Vintage Books.
Tubali, S. 2025. Philosophy Has Lost its Transformative Power. Here’s How We Can Revive It. Big Think. (online). Available from: https://bigthink.com/thinking/philosophy-has-lost-its-life-changing-power-its-time-to-resurrect-it/ [Accessed 18 December 2025].
Urban Dictionary. 2023. ‘Side Quest’. Urban Dictionary. (online). Available from: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=THIS+SIDE&page=20 [Accessed 18 December 2025].
By Cate Otto
Cate Otto is a Johannesburg-based writer and philosopher, and a PhD candidate at the University of Johannesburg. Her research interests include architecture, urban planning, aesthetics, and literature. She is passionate about words and ideas, and the artifacts we have made of these. In her free time, she enjoys bookfolding and paper sculpture, portraiture, and art curation. For more details (dirty and otherwise), check out https://linktr.ee/CateOtto.