Is boredom a necessity to come to philosophy?

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Is boredom a necessity to come to philosophy?

Postby Aulus Dionysius Mencius on Thu Sep 09, 2004 6:56 pm

Salvete omnes

I thought this was a nice question for you all. Why did I ask it? If I look at a philosophical dictionary (which my paper is feeding us with), the impression is given that Romans, contrary to the Greecs, did not indulge in philosophy because they found it was boring.

There are some pholosophers, amongst them Heidegger, who state that a sense of boredom is a conditio sine qua non for philosophy.

What do you think, amici?
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Postby Q. C. Locatus Barbatus on Thu Sep 09, 2004 9:11 pm

not really, I realized that I think most at times I'm very busy. Strange, isn't it. I can sit an hour in my sofa doing notghing and thinking nothing, and the seldom moments I'm far too busy my brain starts thinking about philosophical questions.

But after all, I'm a strange person!
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Postby Curio Agelastus on Thu Sep 09, 2004 11:39 pm

Salvete Menci et Locate,

I find most of my philosophising is not when I'm bored, or busy, but when I've specifically set aside time to be able to think. For instance, when something particularly bad or good happens to me, then my reflections on this event usually turn into reflections on a related topic.

What this means, I have no idea, I just thought I'd share my own experiences. :)

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Postby Quintus Pomponius Atticus on Fri Sep 10, 2004 11:21 am

Salvete omnes

If I look at a philosophical dictionary (which my paper is feeding us with), the impression is given that Romans, contrary to the Greecs, did not indulge in philosophy because they found it was boring.


1) Rome produced few truly original philosophers, that's true, but neither did Greece after the 3rd century BC. Around that period, the 'field' got divided between Platonists, Aristoteleans, Stoics, Epicureans etc. Eclectics existed, but no philosopher really abandoned the established 'framework of thinking' that the mentioned doctrines shared. Telling is the fact that perhaps the only new philosophy to originate after the beginning of the Christian era was a "neo-style", Neoplatonism. A "philosopher with the hammer", as Nietzsche called himself, never appeared in the Greco-Roman world and, imo, perhaps never could appear in the 'philosophical field' I just described.

2) Rome knew very few professional philosophers. Most philosophy teachers in the Empire were Greeks, often liberated slaves. I think it
was simply contrary to the practical genius of the Romans to devote their lives entirely to philosophy, as most famous Greek philosophers did. I believe they didn't really regard philosophy as boring, but -as everything with them- it needed to serve a practical end. If it didn't, it was regarded as useless, or worse : dangerous. Carneades, who was a member of the first delegation of Greek philosophers to be sent from Athens in 155 BC, shocked Rome by arguing convincingly for one argument one day, and then refuting all his arguments the following day. Cato the Censor, not very sympathetic to this display of relativistic cleverness, immediately expelled them from Rome.

Cato's opponents, the Scipiones, were much more favourable to philosophy : the Stoic Panaetius was a prominent member of their cultural 'salon'. His adaptation of Stoicism, making it less antisocial and more ethical and pragmatic, would attract many of the Senatorial class in the late republic and further. The end-product of this evolution were figures like Cicero or Seneca, important statesmen who kept philosophy for their spare time (both also wrote extensively in their period of exile) and regarded it as a guide for both their personal and political lives.

Valete,

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Postby Gnaeus Dionysius Draco on Fri Sep 10, 2004 12:29 pm

Salve Menci,

Philosophical thoughts or moments can occur at any given time, I think. In fact, I think that you need input from the outside world to even think of such thoughts. So doing nothing, in my opinion, will seldomly lead to original thoughts. Although I guess, in order to truly analyse the world or oneself, you need the luxury of time.

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Boredom?-->something else

Postby Aldus Marius on Sat Sep 11, 2004 9:48 pm

Salvete amici...

I'm making one of my few appearances here as a contributor; I do usually stop by and read. I like listening to everyone, following (or being lost by) the trains of thought, assimilating what is useful to me and leaving the rest for some other soul to discover in his/her own right. Rarely have I thought that I myself had anything original or relevant to say; or if I did, and it was strong in me, I might be at a loss for a sociable way to express it.

But this...? Looks do-able enough. Here ya go.

My best times for philosophizing are when I am driving on a long road-trip...or when I am lying in bed, awaiting the arrival of sleep. These are my most creative times in general; it is at these times that I make up my stories, come to conclusions if there are any to be had, and just in general figure things out. This relaxed, yet alert, state helps me get the Big Picture on whatever it is I'm thinking about, whether it's a life-situation or plot complications in an RP adventure. My body doesn't have all that much to do in the car, and nothing at all when falling asleep. I have composed entire novels in my head some nights.

In short, it is anything but boring!

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Postby Aulus Dionysius Mencius on Sun Sep 12, 2004 9:44 am

I agree that it is not a boring activity. Because, when you think about things of the past, or about meaning of life, it has some repercussions on the things that lie ahead, too.

And should one find that boring, why bother and live on?

A bit short and radically expressed, but that is my view on things...

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