Why Taylor Swift's songs are philosophy

Taylor Swift is just not only one Billionaire and songwriter and actors. She can be a philosopher.

As a Swiftie and a philosopherI actually have found this claim to surprise Swifties and philosophers alike. But once their fans learn a bit more about philosophy — and philosophers learn a bit more about Swift's work — each groups can appreciate her songwriting in recent ways.

Look within the mirror

As considered one of the best philosophers, Socrates, famously said: “The unexplored life is just not value living“He argued that folks cannot even know whether or not they reside meaningful lives unless they subject their decisions and values ​​to scrutiny.

Like other great authors, Swift's songwriting at all times involves precisely the type of introspective examination of decisions and values ​​that Socrates had in mind. Several songs address the worth of self-understanding, even when it’s difficult.

In the midst of a breakup, the narrator tells in “Luck“Sings, 'Honey, when I'm above the trees, I see this for what it is.'” Still, she describes how difficult it can be to maintain an objective perspective on a relationship while also dealing with the end of a relationship . “And in disbelief I can’t bear to reinvent myself / I haven’t met the new me yet,” she sings. Her partner is on the lookout for “the green light of forgiveness” when she tells them, “You haven't met the new me yet / And I think she'll give you that.”

The Swift-like narrator in “Antihero” brings up an identical point concerning the challenges of self-knowledge. “I stare straight into the sun, but never into the mirror,” she sings, declaring that it is usually easier to see truths concerning the outside world than to face the facts about yourself, and that her tendency to Self-deception limits their abilities to develop into wiser with age.

Everyone has inherited a set of beliefs and assumptions from their parents, peers, and culture that may affect our ability to really understand others and ourselves.

In Swift's “daylight“She describes how she once viewed relationships as “black and white” or “burning red.” Letting go of those old, reductive narratives allowed her to see her relationships – and herself – more clearly. She has emerged from what she describes as a “twenty-year dark night” to see the more complicated, liberating truth: daylight.

Argue for the reality

Socrates showed that the most effective solution to query one's decisions and values ​​is thru sustained, sometimes argumentative, conversation with others. To a non-philosopher, philosophy often looks like devilish advocacy or trolling – arguing only for its own sake. But for philosophers, unkindness is a virtue that helps counter reflexive dogmatism and conformity.

Swift can be argumentative in her songwriting and does so often an ethical argument to an imaginary listener – often, a romantic partner. In other texts, Swift refutes unfair critics And Record executive.

In her texts she has recently increasingly handled public issues, resembling the promise and meaninglessness of politics. At first glance, “Miss Americana and the Heartbreaking Prince“, released in 2019, is a coming-of-age song about teenage relationship drama. However, Swift also describes her own political awakening and disillusionment when she writes, “My team is losing, battered and bruised.” Lyrics like “American stories burn before me” and “You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.” reinforce a parable about political desperation.

At the identical time, other songs develop arguments for the promise of advocating for political change. In “Only the boys“She addresses someone who sees that “the game has been rigged” and reminds them, “You won't change this / We have to do it ourselves… Only the boys can run.”

Swift's apolitical songwriting also has implications for long-standing ethical debates. In “Gorgias” a dialogue written by Socrates' student Platothe philosopher asks whether it is healthier to suffer injustice than to commit it – a theme that appears in several Swift songs.

Socrates argued that it is healthier to suffer injustice because committing injustice is an attack on one's dignity and integrity. In her 2022 song “karma“, Swift seemingly agrees: “Don't you realize that money isn't the one price?” of immorality, before warning her listener that karma “comes back.”

True – and false

For philosophers, every aspect of human experience is fair game for further evaluation. As a twentieth century American philosopher Wilfrid Sellars wrote, The purpose of philosophy should consist of “understanding how things are related in the broadest sense of the word.”

By adjusting people's beliefs to logical standards of consistency and coherence, philosophical evaluation uncovers contradictions and attempts to find what is basically true.

Swift's songwriting addresses a few of the trickiest paradoxes, resembling whether there may be such a thing as a real, authentic self.

Answering the query in “Mirror ball“It seems to support the view that one's sense of self is essentially strategically and socially constructed to suit the situation. “I'm a mirror ball, I'll show you every version of yourself,” she sings, before saying, “I can change everything about myself to fit in” and “I've never been a natural.” I'm just trying, trying , try it.”

Likewise in “Mastermind“, Swift describes a calculated attempt to win someone's affection when she sings, “I swear I'm only being cryptic and Machiavellian because I care.” In each songs, Swift points out that authentic displays of vulnerability also generally is a type of strategic language, leading the listener to query whether true authenticity is feasible.

Another tricky paradox in philosophy concerns the concept of Overwhelm, which refers to actions which might be morally good but not morally crucial. This idea also allows that actions might be “superior,” meaning that they’re morally bad but still permissible.

Songs like “Champagne problems” And “Should have done“Explore this paradoxical space and describe cases through which someone made a morally criticizable decision that they were still completely justified in making.

In this context, Swift can be fascinated by paradoxes in moral psychology. Songs like “That's what I'm attempting to do“”Illegal matters” And “False good” Ponder the philosophical concept of acrasia: Cases through which people appear to know they shouldn't do something, but do it anyway.

In the philosophical literature on akrasia, the query is usually asked whether that is even possible: if someone believes that their decision is unsuitable or bad for them, then why should they do it? But through her lyrics, Swift creates psychologically realistic vignettes that suggest that real akrasia is not less than possible and possibly happens on a regular basis—from sabotaging a romantic relationship to pursuing a relationship that “We were crazy to think that… it could work.”

Philosophy uses the conventions of logic and poetry to assist people see the world more clearly. A successful philosophical conversation involves formulating rational appeals – logic – that also resonate emotionally – poetry.

But academic philosophers cannot claim to be the one individuals who use logic and poetry to advance understanding of the human condition, the world around us, and the character of justice. Songwriters like Taylor Swift can be philosophers.