The point of philosophy

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The point of philosophy

Postby Gnaeus Dionysius Draco on Sun Mar 09, 2003 4:27 pm

Salvete amici,

I have a question for you all. Does philosophy have a use, a purpose, a point?

The ancient Greeks didn't care that some of their thinking was useless at first sight. It was even a sign of their aristocracy that they could devote their free time to "idle business", although the socially lower classes had other thoughts on this. On the other side of the spectrum, there is an increasing group of people in the modern world that finds philosophy a usless waste of time that eventually boils down to the ultimate argument... "because I feel so."

Is this true? Is philosophy useless? Don't just say "yes" or "no"! ;)

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Postby Quintus Aurelius Orcus on Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:14 pm

Salve Draco
To me philosophy has a use. It gives you an opportunity to think about the world and how you view certain things. Philosophy can take a step further where science can't: personal interpretation. We have different philosphies and many people in the world were at one time or another "influenced" by their thoughts. I say "influenced" because most of them don't really know where these ideas come from unless they look it up. A world without philosophy is something i can't really imagine. The enlightment of the 16-18 century was one of the important events of these times. What if that didn't happened? How would the world looked like? It are questions i have no answer for at this time and somehow i don't want to know them. I think that philosphy is one of the sources where the principles that one person may have, come from. I could be wrong on this but still philosphy has a point. Philosophy can enlighten us.
I'm just rambling here but i think i made my case here.
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Postby Horatius Piscinus on Mon Mar 10, 2003 5:21 am

Salvete

A couple years ago there was a gathering in Chicago of some of the most brilliant minds in the world today. The conference could be said to have dealt with astrophysics, but there came a point where science and its theories could no longer apply. Suddenly you had people like Stephen Hawkings discussing metaphysics. Is time travel possible? It depends on your view of the universe. Is the universe randomly chaotic or determinist? Are those other universes that our mathematics hypothesize actually out there or a part of a larger universe than the one in which we find ourselves? There are still questions to ponder that science cannot answer, and while some of the answers offered may prove to be idle speculations there is still a value in those philosophical musing as they will lead to a greater understanding.

Modern philosophy focuses on different questions today than attracted the attention of ancient philosophers. Some of the questions, such as dealt with Plato's ideal forms, have never been fully answered. They still lie behind what modern physics and metaphysics address. The primary focus of ancient philosophy however was on how to live your life. Ethics. As our science progresses new questions in ethics are constantly arising. Is it ethical to clone humans? Is euthanasia justified, and under what circumstances? If we do find life on another planet, intelligent life, how might that impact on how we conceive humankind? Today we face the threat of technological horrors in our weaponry. Although capable of unleashing biological or nuclear weapons would it be ethical under certain circumstances to use them? Is it ethical to even possess such weapons? There are other circumstances that arise in our personal lives every day which force us to make ethical decisions. A simple matter such as a sales clerk giving you the wrong change, more than you should receive, poses an ethical question. Should you inform the person of their mistake and give back the money or take advantage of the situation and keep the money?

No, philosophy is not useless today. If anything ethics has become a greater concern for all of us. And those metaphysical questions have become much more interesting in the possibilities that await us. Other issues of philosophy are still with us as well. How we live our lives, how we view our lives, how we view the universe in which we live our lives are still questions that need to be addressed each day.

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Postby Curio Agelastus on Tue Mar 11, 2003 10:30 pm

Salvete,

I think Piscinus said most of what needs to be said. I will add one point though - philosophy will never solve anything. Humans are too damn argumentative and opinionated for us to arrive at a conclusion. ;-)

Despite the fact that we will never philosophy's questions (I'm not sure I'd want to) that does not mean philosophy is useless. Sometimes the journey is more important and beneficial than the destination.

Bene valete,
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Postby Gnaeus Dionysius Draco on Sat Mar 15, 2003 12:57 pm

Salvete omnes,

Mi Piscine, I think you have said things and touched issues which are indeed very relevant to modern philosophy, much more so than philosophy about atomary sentences or dialectical materialism.

Personally I feel that the role of philosophy could be made clear from the very beginnings of education, perhaps in elementary school already. Instead of teaching these kids religion they might get philosophy. I think it would not only help to develop a sense of healthy criticism, but to also to learn what it's like to rationally debate over issues using logic rather than emotive rhetorics. Call me naieve, but I would even push it as far as saying that philosophy might save us from unreasonability and superstition, if everyone has some basic notions of it. But then again, there have also been unreasonable philosophers ;).

Questions on ethics today are very important. I feel that philosophers should take stronger stances and make their voices heard better. Today ethics are (again) the exclusive domain of religion. In the west and especially the USA, the re-emergence of conservative christianity and political neoconservatism in the last decades has influenced the perspective on ethics. Philosophers and intellectuals, if they can speak with a voice loud enough, could counter this.

The problem I fear is that most modern philosophers are academics who don't go "to the people" enough (whatever that may entail...) and use traditional intellectual forums to make themselves heard which are usually not visited or read by the common man. The same applies here in Europe, by the way. Ethics and morality are mostly determined by politicians, who of course have their own respective (political) philosophical backgrounds, but philosophers are rarely heard, unless in columnistic essays where only few of them have strong positions. Of course it's important to nuance and not to fall into the black vs white trap but sometimes I would like to hear stronger, bolder opinions. Where's the time philosophers, such as Voltaire when he returned to Paris, were enthusiastically greeted by crowds?

Sic transit gloria mundi... or not?

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