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America is not known for its great philosophers. We are a people of action—of doing, not thinking. And when we do take a break from our restless activity to think, it is usually only to contemplate how better to make our next move. For us, the “how” of things tends to overshadow the “why” and “what for.” This is what makes Henry Bugbee, the now mostly forgotten mid-twentieth century American philosopher’s thought so interesting: he effortlessly and seamlessly does both. While descending to the absolute depths of things, he never looses sight of life. There is no distinction for him between fly-fishing and philosophy, duty and dialectic.
The above video is an interview we conducted with Bugbee’s student Dr. James Hatley, a professor of Environmental Studies. He reminisces about his experience with Bugbee during his graduate studies to help paint a portrait of the man behind this unique form of thought. And in the case of Bugbee, such an introduction is eminently warranted. For him, thought is personal or it is nothing; it either arises from and inhabits our very beings or it is worthless.
This video also serves as an introduction to an eight episode seminar we will be releasing on his singular (meaning both remarkable, and only) work, The Inward Morning: A Philosophical Exploration in Journal Form. Written over the course of fifteen months in 1952-53, Bugbee leaves no stone unturned, as he attempts to layout a new mode of philosophizing that breaks free of the abstraction and depersonlization of the modern world. For a deeper dive into his life and thought, we have also published an introductory essay by our friend Joseph Keegin, Thinker, Wanderer, Fly-Fisherman.
His ideas, but moreover his life, embody the very essence of The Koinos Project. We hope these brief introductions will inspire you to follow along with our discussion as we begin releasing the seminar over the following weeks—and even more, to pick up the book yourself, go for a hike, and immerse yourself in the wilderness of Being.
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