Plato, Socrates, Marcus Aurelius, some of the greatest minds of their time, but what did they do? They were teachers sure, but their most notable acheivment is their ability to spout really amazing B.S. I have considered becoming a philosophy prof. for my career but I wonder if it would really be useful.
Now Socrates and friends kind of had it easy( except for persecution and hemlock poison), they were able to start the basic setup for philosophy today. They also had religions that were able to explain most phenomina that we now know today are not so phenominal. We still have the same difficulty of trying to explain the unexplained but instead of trying to B.S about what lightning is we are trying to find our purpose in life.
People are still contented with answers that religions give, but we have more questions. I myself find it hard to believe that god simply wants us to follow his rules and go about our business. There is such a wide universe out there that it is hard to imagine being the most important of his creations. I believe god loves us, enjoys watching our antics, but I can't imagine we're the only life forms taking up his time.
I think god wants us to seek out the beauties he has left for us to find, if god can be said to want, But god is hardly the topic of this blog.
There are so many books, quite a few just conversations these men of men, these minds of minds had that were nothing more than ideas they had. Which begs the question, why is philosophy so powerful?
Just new ideas conserning math could have been a death sentance if spoken in the wrong era, new ideas about religion, forget about it. Also, I hear so much about these fellows but not many talk about anyone new. I enjoy philosophy but havn't studied much so it's hard to keep up with the bullshitters of my time. I still feel like we should do more in classes, maybe even offer better philosophy courses in high schools. Who's up for a common sence class? Now that is a useful life skill right there, and one I find severly lacking in the youth today.
So what do you think. Why is philosohy such a esteemed practice? Should we have more classes or expand our current programs? Got any bullshiting you've been waiting to do?
I'll come back and comment on this, I just want to make sure I can track it.
I consider myself a Christian and i always have questions. But i think if my High School even had a Philosophy class i would take it. As for a common sense Class, have idiots that commit idiotic crimes court ordered to them. : P Also maybe a manners class. When I hold doors form people they look like deers in headlights.
As for a common sense Class, have idiots that commit idiotic crimes court ordered to them.
I'm not sure what you mean by this. A class that talks about honor wouldn't be to bad either, know one seems to remember that people used to do the right thing because it was the right thing, and I think it's time to go back to that ideal.
Right. Philosophy. The love of knowledge. Well, it's somewhat of a lame excuse for not doing any experiments in the physical world. That 'reason' is enough to derive all the answers you could possibly want to know. At the same time, it's basically impossible to separate God from the conversation of philosophy. I think the best explanation of philosophy came from reading Epictetus' 'Discourses'... it's kind of like the science of how to live. The application of the knowledge of what is 'right' and what is 'wrong'. It can also be viewed as the poor man's science (in that no experiments, ergo expensive equipment, is required).
To me, philosophy is the 'science' of integration. It's the fitting of data into a 'world-view', namely, the development of a personal 'philosophy'. I think the reason that we don't hear much about modern philosophers is that nothing new has been discovered since Socrates summed it all up. It's all just different opinions on the same unknowable subject.
But enough of my philosophizing. I wish it were a science so I could get a B.S. in Philosophy. What poetic justice!
You can B.S in philosophy all you want. :))
I think modern day philosophers have it easier. You gave one example: persecution. Also, there are so many ideas to build upon that you don't have to name your own, just expand on someone else's.
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http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/tricia0711