Because as rational animals it is in our nature to want to understand more about our lives and how we can enrich it, hence our "philosophy" or "love of wisdom".
I took a class in truth function logic which is like a math based philosophy and one of my older friends from China said it was exactly like the stuff they made him learn for electronics
It functions as the epitomic example of a university degree in which the disparity is maximized between its usefulness and the extent to which its possessors believe themselves superior to those without one.
It functions as the epitomic example of a university degree in which the disparity is maximized between its usefulness and the extent to which its possessors believe themselves superior to those without one.
it used to be to explain life and try to analyze humanity, but now its only for smartasses to post as facebook statuses8-Bitterness
I happen to be one of those smartasses, thank you very much :P. Philosophy, to me atleast, is pretty much what you said, to examine humanity and try to explain life, but it is also used to teach morals and challenge trends in society.
To answer your question would be to determine the meaning of life, which, while perfectly possible, would require a ton of typing. If you'd like me to skip to the end (though this is counter-productive in the long run), we use philosophy in order to eventually reach the ultimate fulfillment of humanity. My favorite teacher described a philosopher as this: a man on an ancient Greek ship just looking up while everybody else rows and cleans the deck and does all the physical work. Eventually the workers got fed up with this, and they threw the man overboard. Then they got lost and all died, because the man they threw overboard was the star-gazer, who kept their ship on the right course toward home. A lot of people say that philosophy is meant to determine a bunch of things, but that is not true, as determining a bunch of things is a means to an end in itself. Philosophy determines these things in order to reach that end, which, as I've said, is the ultimate fulfillment of humanity. It's a wonderful subject.
I tire of people who ask me what the point of Philosophy is... I don't mean the TC, but the people who simply cannot see any point in it whatsoever. Typically these people are only smart to the extent a machine could be.
I tire of people who ask me what the point of Philosophy is... I don't mean the TC, but the people who simply cannot see any point in it whatsoever. Typically these people are only smart to the extent a machine could be.SolidSnake35
I know exactly how you feel. It's wonderful to ask people, "Why do you say that?" after they tell me philosophy is useless, and then they'll go into a philosophical dialogue without even realizing it. :lol:
Isn't that metaphilosophy? The philosophy of philosophy? I'm terrible at philosophy, but I'd gather that it is to analyze and come to decicisive con-screw it, philosophy is dumb.
Isn't that metaphilosophy? The philosophy of philosophy? I'm terrible at philosophy, but I'd gather that it is to analyze and come to decicisive con-screw it, philosophy is dumb.
Will2Live
Indeed! It's like looking into a reflection of a mirror, innit? But it's so cool!
Imo philosophy is what we do to sate our curiosity and need for knowledge of things that are tough to come to a conclusion about.
Key word: curiosity
Theokhoth
Ah, but is the sating of curiosity the end or a means to the end of philosophy? Why are we curious?I wouldnt say its the end, because I believe that in the process we dont have a set goal to 100% find an answer. We just take it more like a mental exercise (while of course wishing to gain something from it although not as a first priority imo). Would that mean its the means?
I believe we crave for knowledge because we are imperfect and need to occupy ourselves with something, because we could go mad. /philosophises :P (that was your purpose wasnt it?)
Imo philosophy is what we do to sate our curiosity and need for knowledge of things that are tough to come to a conclusion about.
Key word: curiosity
Teenaged
Ah, but is the sating of curiosity the end or a means to the end of philosophy? Why are we curious?I wouldnt say its the end, because I believe that in the process we dont have a set goal to 100% find an answer. We just take it more like a mental exercise (while of course wishing to gain something from it although not as a first priority imo). Would that mean its the means?
I believe we crave for knowledge because we are imperfect and need to occupy ourselves with something, because we could go mad. /philosophises :P (that was your purpose wasnt it?)
I don't think the mental exercise is the first priority. For example, when you exercise your body by running or whatever, you're not doing it just for the sake of running; you're doing it for the results, the muscles you get or the calories you burn or the heart rate you get up. So while philosophy does give mental exercises, the exercises serve only as a means to the benefits of those exercises. My purposes are never clear to anyone but me, as I am totally bat**** insane. :D
[QUOTE="Theokhoth"] Ah, but is the sating of curiosity the end or a means to the end of philosophy? Why are we curious?Theokhoth
I wouldnt say its the end, because I believe that in the process we dont have a set goal to 100% find an answer. We just take it more like a mental exercise (while of course wishing to gain something from it although not as a first priority imo). Would that mean its the means?
I believe we crave for knowledge because we are imperfect and need to occupy ourselves with something, because we could go mad. /philosophises :P (that was your purpose wasnt it?)
I don't think the mental exercise is the first priority. For example, when you exercise your body by running or whatever, you're not doing it just for the sake of running; you're doing it for the results, the muscles you get or the calories you burn or the heart rate you get up. So while philosophy does give mental exercises, the exercises serve only as a means to the benefits of those exercises. My purposes are never clear to anyone but me, as I am totally bat**** insane. :DWhy should physical exercise be analogous to mental exercise?
Also no. When I did track and field training, being fit wasnt my first priority. I am just hyperkinetic/restless and love running.
Science/rationalism/objective reasoning answers the "how." Philosophy/religious thought/subjective reasoning answers the "why."
foxhound_fox
Philosophy isn't subjective, though. It relies on methodologies and an agreement of definitions, and once an agreement on definitions of terms is met there is always a right or wrong answer to the question in question, even if the answer can't be found yet. Philosophy would be utterly useless and worthless otherwise.
Philosophy in the sense of logical rationalization and meditation, is certainly a valuable skill. I've grown a strong disdain for most of those in the field of philosophy through personal experience, though, because most of those that I've been in contact with are more concerned about proving that a certain viewpoint can't be proven correct than about actually seeking some useful knowledge.
Philosophy isn't subjective, though. It relies on methodologies and an agreement of definitions, and once an agreement on definitions of terms is met there is always a right or wrong answer to the question in question, even if the answer can't be found yet. Philosophy would be utterly useless and worthless otherwise.Theokhoth
But philosophy is a "subjective" form of thought, in that it is reasoned around what your subjective self experiences and what your perceptions tell you. You aren't going to philosophize on the nature of proving that the gravitational constant of the Earth is 9.81m/s^2 are you?
But philosophy is a "subjective" form of thought, in that it is reasoned around what your subjective self experiences and what your perceptions tell you. You aren't going to philosophize on the nature of proving that the gravitational constant of the Earth is 9.81m/s^2 are you?
foxhound_fox
If philosophy was subjective, there would be no point in debating it. Any disagreement would be concluded with, "That's your opinion", but as you can see from the debates that originate from philosophy, that is clearly not the case. The goal of philosophy is to be objective. By the way, science is nothing without philosophy.
If philosophy was subjective, there would be no point in debating it. Any disagreement would be concluded with, "That's your opinion", but as you can see from the debates that originate from philosophy, that is clearly not the case. The goal of philosophy is to be objective. By the way, science is nothing without philosophy.Genetic_Code
*sigh*
You've both missed my point entirely. This isn't about reasoning, but perception. Science is the perception of the physical universe around us, the "objective realm" outside our consciousnesses, experienced through the five senses. Philosophy as a broad term including religion as well, is the perception of the inner self, and the experience within the consciousness of experiences that may not be objectively verifiable. Thus the "how" and "why" of our existence.
My favorite teacher described a philosopher as this: a man on an ancient Greek ship just looking up while everybody else rows and cleans the deck and does all the physical work. Eventually the workers got fed up with this, and they threw the man overboard. Then they got lost and all died, because the man they threw overboard was the star-gazer, who kept their ship on the right course toward home. Theokhoth
I feel like this, or something similar is found in The Republic. Possibly?
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