I'm wondering now. It is possible to bash philosophy? Haha~
Because even if you are--you might not be. It's all relative.
Because even if you are--you might not be. It's all relative.
I am not bashing Philosophy.
- Thread starter Some bullets
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Somebody > ''I'm not a fanboy bashing philosophy''
Yahtzee > ''Yes you are''
Sorry, couldn't help but think that when I first read the title.
Anyway, you seem to have no understanding or concept of anything, you say stuff like ''ease sufferring'' nice and broad issue there, which I'll come back to in a second >
or ''make a perpetual motion machine'', which by definition is impossible. Now going to your example of philosophy; ''why the sky is blue'', which a quick google search can tell you about, to solve those 2 issues there...
- to stop suffering, you must first assess, why somebody/something is suffering.
- and as for a perpetual motion machine, it would be a good idea to ask, why can't it be done, before you waste a lot of time failing to do it
I guess my point is, scientific and technological advancements don't happen without questions and people thinking about things.
And then going back to what I would call philosophy and your example of suffering; you cause me to suffer! People posting stupid stuff like this annihilates my faith in humanity, and philosophers (of sorts) are the only thing that give me the faintest hope for this race.
Yahtzee > ''Yes you are''
Sorry, couldn't help but think that when I first read the title.
Anyway, you seem to have no understanding or concept of anything, you say stuff like ''ease suffer
or ''make a perpetual motion machine'', which by definition is impossible. Now going to your example of philosophy; ''why the sky is blue'', which a quick google search can tell you about, to solve those 2 issues there...- to stop suffering, you must first assess, why somebody/something is suffering.
- and as for a perpetual motion machine, it would be a good idea to ask, why can't it be done, before you waste a lot of time failing to do it
I guess my point is, scientific and technological advancements don't happen without questions and people thinking about things.
And then going back to what I would call philosophy and your example of suffering; you cause me to suffer! People posting stupid stuff like this annihilates my faith in humanity, and philosophers (of sorts) are the only thing that give me the faintest hope for this race.
Actually, the problem we're having here is that you seem profoundly ignorant of a huge swathe of the modern business of philosophy, which has very little to do with 'why are we here?' (indeed, any university philosophy professor worth their salt is going to respond to so facile a question with at best mild amusement), and is much more concerned with, for example, 'Does the right of the baby to life trump the right of the mother to control of her own body?', or 'Should we give the very elderly the tools to take their own lives, or do we not trust them to make rational decisions?', or 'Is it ever okay for (a)a government to dictate on how to conduct marriages to churches? (b)a church or religious movement to dictate to a government how it should legislate to protect children against the breakdown of parental relationships?'
These are three of the great questions of our age, and they are all part of moral or political philosophy. I'll admit, sure, that, there's still a lot of shouting of opinions and geting nothing done (consider, for example, the US Senate or the UK House of Commons), but these are philosophical issues. The problem that gives rise to the horribly misguided belief that philosophy is pointless is that people fail to notice that some of the most divisive issues of our time are *fundamentally* philosophical.
These are three of the great questions of our age, and they are all part of moral or political philosophy. I'll admit, sure, that, there's still a lot of shouting of opinions and geting nothing done (consider, for example, the US Senate or the UK House of Commons), but these are philosophical issues. The problem that gives rise to the horribly misguided belief that philosophy is pointless is that people fail to notice that some of the most divisive issues of our time are *fundamentally* philosophical.
Your belief that philosophy is pointless because actions are louder than words could be said to be your philosophy.
The significance of philosophy is that there are some questions that science can't answer yet, and in humanity's quest for knowledge, they use philosophy to assume as close as they can get before they can get true answers for these questions.
I think René Descartes said it best when he said:
'I think, therefore I am'
Higher thinking is one of the things that sets us apart from the other animals (along with Sentient Thought)
'I think, therefore I am'
Higher thinking is one of the things that sets us apart from the other animals (along with Sentient Thought)
That wasn't Descartes' point at all. It's a good point, but it's not what 'I think, therefore I am' means. It's Aristotle (at least, preeminently) who had the doctrine that man is a rational animal. Descartes was attempting to repudiate the radical scepticism he sort-of inadvertantly unleashed upon the world.
Sorry to nitpick, I'm practicing 'cuz I'm trying to find work teaching philosophy (with my degree, it's about the only way I'm going to find work at the moment >.>)
Sorry to nitpick, I'm practicing 'cuz I'm trying to find work teaching philosophy (with my degree, it's about the only way I'm going to find work at the moment >.>)
I agree with you, Some Bullets, Philosophy questions things that there is no point questioning; Is this table really here? or is it's existance an illusion?
What difference does it make; unless it suddenly disappears that table is still useful for putting stuff on.
The main problem with philosophy is that it is not practical - it needs a proper use to actually have some sort of value, instead it just causes bickering between different thinkers.
Come up with a practically applicable doctrine or dissasemble the religous politics of oppressive governments in a an attempt to bring some happiness into the world.
Don't question the accepted facts about existance - just accept that existance is as it is and enjoy it.
Discussing anything bieng otherwise is a massive waste of time.
What difference does it make; unless it suddenly disappears that table is still useful for putting stuff on.
The main problem with philosophy is that it is not practical - it needs a proper use to actually have some sort of value, instead it just causes bickering between different thinkers.
Come up with a practically applicable doctrine or dissasemble the religous politics of oppressive governments in a an attempt to bring some happiness into the world.
Don't question the accepted facts about existance - just accept that existance is as it is and enjoy it.
Discussing anything bieng otherwise is a massive waste of time.
Questions like "why are we here" and "does the universe really exist?" are a specific subset of philosophy called metaphysics, and I'd agree that it's worthless. On the other hand, I've found ethical philosophy to be very interesting and is something I think everyone should be exposed to.
You've never heard of moral philosophy or political philosophy, huh? Not all philosophy has to do with what does or doesn't exist, or what means what. As popular as metaphysical philosophy is, moral philosophy is at least as well-covered in academic circles, and any ethical debate (say, about abortion, human rights or the legitimate powers of government) that you see on TV or participate in yourself is a philosophical debate. Accusing philosophy of being impractical because all it talks about is airy-fairy metaphysics (not in itself as useless as you seem to think) is like suggesting that the Bible doesn't contain the Sermon on the Mount or the 10 Commandments; inaccurate and ignorant.Versago said:
If you take a philosophy CLASS (forget about the pop books for now), most teachers will acknowledge that some people believe philosophy to be nothing more than (at least this is how my own professor put it) "mental masturbation".
But then you realize that the deeper questions you have about your existence are legitimate questions, and deserve an answer. Only philosophy can address these questions, and if approached in a rational way, you might even begin to get answers (raising even more questions along the way).
But then you realize that the deeper questions you have about your existence are legitimate questions, and deserve an answer. Only philosophy can address these questions, and if approached in a rational way, you might even begin to get answers (raising even more questions along the way).
Easier said than done. I have asked myself many times if I would like to believe that everything is not pointless, but I'm not certain I could sacrifice knowledge for peace of mind.Versago said:
Ignorance is bliss, believe me.
And sorry, but technically that's not ironic.The_root_of_all_evil said:
Edit: In (very recent) hindsight, that was a pretty dickish thing to say, sorry again.
Ancient philosophy was one of the earliest attempts to reach new knowledge through rational thought and understanding.
And it still is important today, especially in regard to questions of ethics.
In many ways, it is similar to science (albeit a lot more abstract and not necessarily based on experiments) in that it can be used to constantly cast doubt on the status quo, thus allowing for progress.
And it still is important today, especially in regard to questions of ethics.
In many ways, it is similar to science (albeit a lot more abstract and not necessarily based on experiments) in that it can be used to constantly cast doubt on the status quo, thus allowing for progress.
Don't we need to wonder about stuff before we invent it? Your argument is really flawed.Some bullets said:
Skeleon: some science isn't necessarily based on experiments any more, at least if what my physicist housemates say about quantum theory is anything to go on... (I very much subscribe to the 'provided it works, who cares?' philosophy of science - and there's another kind of philosophy that Some Bullets seems to have overlooked)