Philosophy's Popularity on Tessera

On Tessera, in the last years of the Bloodstone War and subsequently, the nations of Oban have entered what could be described as an age of enlightenment.

During the war, the governments of the Empire and many Republic states invested in the research and development of technologies with possible military applications. This catalyzed broader inquiry, experimentation, and prototyping. At the same time, the scope of the war and its weapons--especially hulks--provoked reflection and debate on weighty political, ethical, and spiritual matters. The debate over how to interpret the blood debt was among the first of many lively, continent-wide public discussions.

Previously, interest in philosophy and science was mostly confined to professions and institutions such as sages in private academies, priests and ascetics in sanctuaries, and inventors in guild halls. However, in the years since the war, individuals from a variety of backgrounds began to style themselves as philosophers. For example, some entrepreneurial orators now make a career of giving speeches (e.g., for a fee, for tips), while those more at ease with writing sell their treatises. Among the Imperial nobility, there's a trend towards adopting philosophy as a refined hobby (like falconry or painting), or being a conspicuous patron to one or more philosophers.

The meaning of philosophy has been stretched in many directions. There are political philosophers, religious philosophers, arcane philosophers, natural philosophers (i.e., scientists), mechanical philosophers (i.e., engineers), road philosophers (who pride themselves on staying connected to "the commoners"), and so on. More than a few are charlatans and hucksters exploiting a fad, and some people have learned to be wary around anyone calling themselves a philosopher.