By Pravin Periasamy
There is a peculiar aversion to philosophy in Malaysia, an instinctive recoiling from the subject. It is as though philosophy is a dead language or an archaic relic better left undisturbed.
Even in higher education, where one might expect the life of the mind to be championed, philosophy remains absent. This stems from neither a lack of interest nor even a lack of potential. Rather, it is because of a systemic failure to recognise its value.
The country, bursting with institutions of higher learning, has not yet developed a robust network of philosophy faculties. And this, if we care at all for the intellectual health of the nation, must change. Taylor’s University, for instance, has achieved a great milestone in establishing Malaysia’s first philosophy, politics and economics programme to empower Malaysian students with a unique approach to critical thinking.
To say that philosophy is essential is to understate the case. Philosophy is not merely another academic subject; it is the foundation upon which all rigorous thinking is built. Every discipline – whether law, science, politics or economics – owes its intellectual scaffolding to philosophical inquiry.
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Without philosophy, we are left with technical proficiency but no ability to question the very frameworks we operate within. We produce engineers who know how to build bridges but never ask where they should lead. We have policymakers who legislate without considering the ethical dimensions of their policies. And most worryingly, we have people who consume information without ever analysing it.
Part of the problem is a lingering suspicion of philosophy itself. Many regard it as an indulgent, abstract exercise, something to be left to European universities with their ivy-covered halls and long, self-indulgent debates over whether reality is real. But this caricature is as lazy as it is misleading.
The Greeks – who, lest we forget, laid the groundwork for democracy, science, and rational governance – did not treat philosophy as a luxury but as a necessity.
The same is true for the Islamic Golden Age, during which figures like Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi (Alpharabius) and Ibn Sina (Avicenna) applied philosophical reasoning to medicine, maths and theology, enriching entire civilisations.
The reluctance to engage with philosophy is often rooted in an unspoken fear that it is dangerous. Philosophy, after all, asks difficult questions. It teaches people to challenge authority, to probe assumptions and to dismantle ideas that do not withstand scrutiny.
If there is one thing fragile power structures despise, it is scrutiny. The absence of philosophy faculties in Malaysia is not merely an academic oversight – it is a symptom of a wider discomfort with free inquiry.
The consequences of this neglect are already visible. In Malaysia, discourse is often reduced to shallow binaries, whether in politics, religion or public policy. People latch onto ideologies without interrogating them, mistaking slogans for arguments.
The inability to engage in civil discourse – to challenge ideas without resorting to personal attacks or dogmatic fervour – is atrophying. And nowhere is this more evident than in the nation’s response to controversial topics.
Consider the increasing inability to separate criticism of an idea from an attack on identity. This is precisely the kind of distinction that philosophy equips us to make.
A nation that does not engage in rigorous philosophical debate is one that will always be at the mercy of demagogues – leaders who can manipulate public sentiment without ever being challenged on logical grounds.
Malaysia prides itself on being a developing knowledge economy. We aspire to produce world-class researchers, innovators and leaders.
But this cannot be done by prioritising technical knowledge at the expense of critical thought. The most successful nations are not those that produce the most obedient workers but those that cultivate the sharpest minds.
Many of the world’s greatest thinkers – Rene Descartes, Karl Marx, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche – were products of societies that took philosophy seriously.
Even in modern times, fields like artificial intelligence, bioethics and political theory rely on philosophical principles.
Malaysia cannot hope to become an intellectual powerhouse if it refuses to nurture the discipline that underpins all knowledge.
The solution is clear: Malaysia must invest in philosophy at the institutional level. This means establishing philosophy faculties in universities across the country, not merely as niche departments tucked away in a few select institutions, but as central pillars of academia.
Philosophy should not be an afterthought, a minor elective offered to the particularly eccentric. It should be embedded in the curriculum and taught with the same seriousness as law or medicine.
Malaysia has a choice.
It can continue down the path of anti-intellectualism, treating education as a mere means to employment.
Or it can recognise that true progress – economic, political and social – depends on having ordinary people capable of thinking for themselves.
The establishment of philosophy faculties is not just a matter of academic interest; it is a matter of national importance.
Pravin Periasamy is the networking and partnership director of the Malaysian Philosophy Society.
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