[QUOTE="ferrari2001"] We accept some beliefs without argumentation, philosophy shows us why.Well, no. Not really. Only in mathematical systems is adopting foundationalism necessary, and even then the axioms you choose tend to be the ones which are supported by empirical evidence. [QUOTE="ferrari2001"] There have been many times where scientists have left our evidence or ignored something simply because it got in the way of their conclusion. Our underlying beliefs are just as important as those things we search for. Can you give a few examples?
I'm thinking one day the day/night cycles wont even be a obstacle. Just harness it from space but of course were a long way off but I do believe our main energy source will be from the sun one day.
XileLord
Then you run into the major inefficiencies of transporting energy over a long distance
[QUOTE="ferrari2001"][QUOTE="TDSE"][QUOTE="ferrari2001"] Sure we all do philosophy but by taking classes you learn how other thought and how to respond to them. You also learn why organizations, religions and other groups historically believe what they do. You discover the basis for their thought. That you cannot learn on your own. Philosophy is invaluable to understanding where people get their beliefs and why they believe them. And theology classes are worth a damn when you are discussing theology. 2000 years worth of Christian theology has to be learnt somewhere. Your going to learn more in formal classes than anywhere else. Yes, but why bother learning theology? It's all bull**** anyway, and the same goes for large swathes of philosophy (most obviously metaphysics). Much better to do a proper degree and actually contribute to humanity at the end of it rather than train to be a social parasite. You bother learning theology if you actually believe in a particular religion for one. Also metaphysics is only a small section of philosophy. Most the classes involve going through the various ages and tracing the progression of thought. I think it's important to see why we think like we do today. After all we learn from history. By looking back at the philosophers we can discover why we have a particular belief. It makes it easier to judge whether that belief is worth having. Sure it's not the most important subject out there but it does have advantages especially for believing Christians who want to understand the basis for their faith. I think that's nonsense. You don't need to know about the historical origins of a belief in order to evaluate whether it's actually true or not. I don't know why so many humanities students have that weird idea. Beliefs are to be judged solely on the evidence/arguments supporting them and nothing more.
[QUOTE="TDSE"][QUOTE="ferrari2001"]I would say formal college classes (taught by both catholic and non-catholics) as well as the study of philosophy trumps grade school and personal education on the subject. ferrari2001
>implying that theology and philosophy classes are worth a damn >implying that anyone who's not an idiot can't easily do philosophy themselves, without formal education in the subject Sure we all do philosophy but by taking classes you learn how other thought and how to respond to them. You also learn why organizations, religions and other groups historically believe what they do. You discover the basis for their thought. That you cannot learn on your own. Philosophy is invaluable to understanding where people get their beliefs and why they believe them. And theology classes are worth a damn when you are discussing theology. 2000 years worth of Christian theology has to be learnt somewhere. Your going to learn more in formal classes than anywhere else. Yes, but why bother learning theology? It's all bull**** anyway, and the same goes for large swathes of philosophy (most obviously metaphysics). Much better to do a proper degree and actually contribute to humanity at the end of it rather than train to be a social parasite.
I would say formal college classes (taught by both catholic and non-catholics) as well as the study of philosophy trumps grade school and personal education on the subject. ferrari2001
>implying that theology and philosophy classes are worth a damn >implying that anyone who's not an idiot can't easily do philosophy themselves, without formal education in the subject
And finally, would anything change if the pope was not here?FMAB_GTO
Countless thousands would be saved from a slow and agonising death from AIDS, and the world would be altogether less sexist, homophobic, irrational and anti-science.
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