Abstract

This treatise advances the novel concept of Philosophical Neglect—the systematic institutional failure to develop the philosophical self and its attendant functions (meaning-making, value determination, existential inquiry, identity formation) in the citizens entrusted to institutional care. The argument identifies two co-responsible institutions as defendants: the United States education system and the discipline of psychology, which together have denied the development of the philosophical dimension of selfhood. The American populace constitutes the plaintiff class in what this paper frames as a theoretical class action. Drawing upon the author’s theoretical corpus—including the Double Helix of Understanding (Boether, 2025), the Mathematics of the “I” (Boether, 2025), the Sound Mind reconstruction (Boether, 2026), the Pyramid of Personality (Boether, 2025), and the theory of Borderline Nihilistic Disorder (Boether, 2026)—this paper constructs three interlocking arguments. The legal argument establishes that educational and psychological institutions owe a duty of care encompassing philosophical development and that their breach constitutes actionable negligence. The moral argument contends that excluding philosophical education violates ethical obligations grounded in Kantian autonomy, Aristotelian flourishing, and the social contract. The consequentialist argument demonstrates that the measurable outcomes of Philosophical Neglect—a mental health crisis affecting over 60 million Americans annually, epidemic meaninglessness, and the lethal phenomenon of adolescent suicide—constitute empirical evidence of institutional failure. The paper concludes that both institutions bear a duty to correct this error and proposes remedial actions grounded in philosophical-psychological consilience.