Kant, For the Love of It
In college, as part of Salve’s mission to inspire students to be “global citizens of the modern world”, everybody was required to take at least one philosophy class. I remember at first thinking, “Yes Salve, you’re right. Learning about dead - and probably stoned - philosophers will absolutely help me with my future career as an elementary special education teacher.” I mean, I wasn’t too far off-- I have never once had to bring up the ideas of Machiavelli during PLC data meetings or discuss the perspectives of Nietzsche with my fifth graders during Morning Meeting; but I ended up being pleasantly surprised by that class. Of course 7 years later, I don’t remember much from it (other than that my fellow hot mess frat sister of a bestie and I surprisingly aced all the tests and I considered taking on a Philosophy minor for two weeks after the class had ended before I realized I barely had enough room in my schedule as it was), but there is one thing that stuck with me, for whatever reason. And that was Immanuel Kant’s ideas of an end vs. a means to an end.
According to some wise person on Wikipedia, “In philosophy, the term ‘means to an end’ refers to any action (the means) carried out for the sole purpose of achieving something else (an end).” Let me break it down: Regina George really wanted to lose three pounds so she started consuming only cranberry juice cocktail and Kalteen bars. Changing her diet was a means to an end. The end that she wanted to get to, was being a skinny betch. Had she truly loved sugary juices and African weight-gain bars, that diet change could’ve been an end in itself, doing it just because she loved it; but because she had a specific outcome in mind and changing the way she ate was just a way of getting to that outcome, her ineffective dieting was her means to an end and losing three pounds was her end. So basically, an end is a goal and a means to an end is the path you take to achieve that goal.
Weirdly enough, I think the UnFamous Movement and its new For The Love of It collection, unknowingly coincide with Kant’s ideas (minus the whole Mean Girls thing). They tell us, “Don’t live to be famous, live to be you.” They’re not knocking fame or telling you to NOT be famous, they’re simply encouraging you to do what you love because you love to do it. If you get famous, cool! You do you! There are so many famous people out there that achieved their fame because they’re good at what they do. And there’s a reason they’re so good at it. Because they love what they do. They didn’t do something ONLY to get famous. They made sure they were loving what they were doing too. What they love to do, sure it might be considered a means to end to get to some other outcome or goal, but it’s also an end in itself because it brings them joy, pride, peace, or whatever it might be.
Look at it this way. My cousins are brewing their own beer (and it’s pretty damn good I might add). Maybe one day they’d love to open their own brewery and become well-known in the craft beer world, I don’t know. But I do know that they do it because they love it (and well they love beer). Me, I write. Well, I used to and I’m trying to get back to it. Part of me does it in the hopes of becoming an acclaimed author of children’s books so I can share my love of literacy and whimsical humor with kids other than my own peanuts. Part of me does it in the hopes that someday my writing will bring in a bit more money to pay for the mortgage since we all know how well-paid teachers are. But all of me does it because it brings me peace and a sense of accomplishment. So sure, you could say writing for me is a means to an end but I also do it simply for the love of it. So doesn’t that simultaneously make it an end in itself too?
Even the guys at UnFamous fall under this category. People might ask, “You say don’t do stuff to get famous, but aren’t you guys trying to get famous?” Solid question. Brian and Ben, let the Mean Girls quoting teacher by day/philosopher by night take a stab at it. Like I said before, and like the guys have said, they’re not knocking fame. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be famous. Just do you. And sure, I know that Ben and Brian dream of hosting events and festivals, manufacturing a solid clothing line, and having their vision be well-known and understood by countless people. But I also see the passion that’s the driving force behind this movement. I hear an enthusiastic Brian cascade ideas of what he wants UnFamous to do and be. I see an exhausted Ben get home every day from working a job that he doesn’t always love. I see him sit down with his laptop after dinner to “work on UnFamous stuff”. And that’s when I see it. That spark of creativity. That drive that keeps him going. That “love” that they’re talking about when they say “for the love of it”. Yes, I think UnFamous could be considered a means to an end but I also think it’s an end in itself for these guys. A creative outlet. A place for them to share the ideas that inspire them. An opportunity to practice their blog writing talents and photography skills and whatever other hobbies they truly love. I see their excitement when their vision starts to come to life. And that’s what leads me to believe that for them, this is also an end in itself. And I think that captures the idea of the UnFamous movement pretty spot-on. Sometimes, what you truly love to do is going to be a means to an end, a path to a bigger goal you would ultimately like to reach. But as long as whatever you’re doing brings you something...happiness, purpose, wonder...as long as whatever you love could also be thought of as an end in itself for you, then according to Kant, you’re living philosophically. And according to Brian and Ben, you’re living UnFamously.
Jackie Horgan, Contributing Writer