'Why Study Philosophy'

[gnarlylove]

i know i'm so dimwitted. you are a god and yet you won't accept my praise. let me try again: you are my master, please suck from me the life essence that your need in order to sustain your superior complex.

the whole point of this thread was to say why study philosophy and i noted, without rigorous grammar. i guess that makes me stupid for noting i have lived in the academic world but fail to adhere to its magical standards. by deviation ergo i am earning the title dimwit. i understand your logic: and its vapid. from 16-22 i pursued philosophy in my private life every day reading long articles i printed at school and from 18-22 i pursued it in academia. what i learned that helped shape my life but i guess this extremely short time spent in academia is farts to you. and i am ok with that. it doesn't matter that i fail to live up to your highly respectable standards of name calling and proper punctuation. i guess by not using it it follows deductively that i don't know it. i guess in your world of vapid logic that short of logic flies. i'm intentionally not adhering to your vacuous attempt to unnecessarily correct my grammar. i guess if it doesn't adhere to your standards you don't know how to read it? must be. idk. i don't know why you cannot accept the fact that you are jesus christ himself. why stop with whatever you identify with today? i won't go making any claims because unlike you i'm not so ignorant that i assume i know you and have wisdom to share by calling me dimwitted. man get a life!

 

[Unkotare]

i know i'm so dimwitted. you are a god and yet you won't accept my praise. let me try again: you are my master, please suck from me the life essence that your need in order to sustain your superior complex.

the whole point of this thread was to say why study philosophy and i noted, without rigorous grammar. i guess that makes me stupid for noting i have lived in the academic world but fail to adhere to its magical standards. by deviation ergo i am earning the title dimwit. i understand your logic: and its vapid. from 16-22 i pursued philosophy in my private life every day reading long articles i printed at school and from 18-22 i pursued it in academia. what i learned that helped shape my life but i guess this extremely short time spent in academia is farts to you. and i am ok with that. it doesn't matter that i fail to live up to your highly respectable standards of name calling and proper punctuation. i guess by not using it it follows deductively that i don't know it. i guess in your world of vapid logic that short of logic flies. i'm intentionally not adhering to your vacuous attempt to unnecessarily correct my grammar. i guess if it doesn't adhere to your standards you don't know how to read it? must be. idk. i don't know why you cannot accept the fact that you are jesus christ himself. why stop with whatever you identify with today? i won't go making any claims because unlike you i'm not so ignorant that i assume i know you and have wisdom to share by calling me dimwitted. man get a life!

Let's see: You're eager to go out of your way to sound like a pretentious douchebag, but too lazy to do so using proper English. Yup, I believe I called you correctly from the beginning.

Maybe you should calm down and start again.

 

[Unkotare]

Really, it's ok. Just start over. Drop the silly persona, express yourself like a normal person, and try to pay a little attention to the use of proper English. Shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[midcan5]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuwYvFlNGns]How philosophy can save your life: Jules Evans at TEDxBreda - YouTube[/ame]

 

[gnarlylove]

start with the the unexamined life is not worth living, at 21 take drugs and 5 years later pursue soulful nourishment and meditation. got it.

great video. but it only speaks to an audience who views philosophy as partly valuable already. most people can't accept marx was a decent guy concerned for under paid over worked workers, nor can they accept the concept of philosophy, which is mostly drivel to a normal reader at first, can improve their life or has the solution. this site is exemplary in showing no matter one's take on logic and philosophy, everyone assumes they are right and have grand ideas, esp those who take logic and flush it first thing every morning yet claim it as their own. i try to flush aspects of western thought (like "contradictions are necessarily bad") because it narrows perception and is often pedantic, like gaylord unkotare the III.
edited: still a great video though. the problem of philosophy is it usually only appeals to those who already subscribe. meditation is far more open and available but with those two in tandem, one can really grow.

 

[Unkotare]

everyone assumes they are right and have grand ideas, esp those who take logic and flush it first thing every morning yet claim it as their own. i try to flush aspects of western thought...

You should have studied harder in school, and you should stop being a hypocrite.

This is not the fresh start I recommended for you.

 

[rightwinger]

I went to college and studied Engineering

The main advantage of studying Phylosopy is that the women are much better looking

 

[Unkotare]

I went to college and studied Engineering

The main advantage of studying Phylosopy is that the women are much better looking

Meh, not so much (ok, maybe better than Engineering chicks...). The good looking broads were in Journalism, Foreign Languages, or the Fine Arts. Some attractive dames in Psychology, but they were mostly bat-shit crazy and not worth the trouble.

 

[midcan5]

"Many philosophical theories try to evade the uncomfortable truth that luck and fate play a role in the conduct of our moral lives, argues philosopher Paul Russell. He chooses the best books on free will and responsibility."

Paul Russell on Free Will and Responsibility | Five Books | Five Books

 

[Shrimpbox]

I skipped about eight pages and on the twelfth page I saw some of the same posts as before, but I would like to comment on the op.

I was at a liberal arts college for two and a half years and left before they kicked me out. I just didn't have the discipline or the interest to hit the books, but it was the most stimulating and interesting time of my life as I rubbed shoulders with more intelligent people than I have since in one place. But my brain was like a sponge and my mind was like putty. Thoughts were like the drugs( of which there were many) and each new one got you high with possibilities. I was intellectually immature as were most of my classmates and there were some things I did( going to the march in Washington against the Vietnam war) where I behaved as one in a herd instead of thinking for myself. I probably could have fallen into either the left or the right camp depending on the environment I was in. Churchills quote is so apt about a liberal at twenty and a conservative at forty.

The letter in the op reinforces the stereotype of far left academia. I say that because if you read the whole thing it is impossible to separate the philosophy from the political harangue about not letting fat cats run her state. Her second major seems to be women's issues as well as her second job, her first job is working for duke, an institution located I believe in the golden triangle of NC and the heart of liberalville. She lives in an environment of extreme liberalism and I am not persuaded that she will ever come up for air. Isn't maintaining an open mind a prerequisite for any philosopher. The drift of the article insinuates that liberal arts and philosophy can only be appreciated and utilized by progressive thinkers with the reverse being that those knuckle dragging conservatives really don't have the brain power to apply and argue for conservative values with philosophical tenets, a recurring and ubiquitous conceit here lately.

I agree with the promotion of well rounded individuals seasoned with philosophy. Philosophy should be sex neutral, should apply to all mankind ( and womankind) in the most quintessential generic fashion and the promotion of it should be devoid of a political agenda.

 

[midcan5]

More food for thought.

"Singer is one the most famous ethicists alive today. He also draws the most ire, and inspires the most vociferous denunciations. Among his most influential (and argued-over) beliefs: that relatively wealthy people have a moral duty to donate relatively large amounts of money to people suffering in poverty; that "speciesism" causing mistreatment of animals is "as indefensible as the most blatant racism;" and that, in certain instances, euthanasia of profoundly disabled and suffering people is morally justifiable. (Please take the time to read Singer's own writings on these issues before leaping to attack or defend him.)" Peter Singer Is Here to Talk About Right and Wrong

 

[midcan5]

Two more items of interest.

Review of Rebecca Goldstein?s philosophy book Plato at the Googleplex.

Why Study Philosophy? 'To Challenge Your Own Point of View' - Hope Reese - The Atlantic

 

[midcan5]

More on topic.

Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog: Why study philosophy?

 

[Unkotare]

But what are your thoughts?

 

[midcan5]

But what are your thoughts?

My thoughts are all over this board, check the links in my sig as well.

Additional thought from Peter Singer on Humanities today.

"GDI recently released a ranked list of the top 100 Global Thought Leaders for 2013. The ranking includes economists, psychologists, authors, political scientists, physicists, anthropologists, information scientists, biologists, entrepreneurs, theologians, physicians, and people from several other disciplines. Yet three of the top five global thinkers are philosophers: Slavoj Žižek, Daniel Dennett, and me. GDI classifies a fourth, Jürgen Habermas, as a sociologist, but the report acknowledges that he, too, is arguably a philosopher."

Peter Singer explains why the world's leading thinkers are philosophers. - Project Syndicate

 

[Unkotare]

But what are your thoughts?

My thoughts are all over this board, check the links in my sig as well.

On this topic.

 

[Avatar4321]

Same reason you you study any other topic, so you can get a better understanding of the world around you.

 

[midcan5]

The recent debate....

Physicists Should Stop Saying Silly Things about Philosophy | Sean Carroll

Philosophy begins where physics ends, and physics begins where philosophy ends | The Curious Wavefunction, Scientific American Blog Network

An interview with John Searle ? CRASSH

John Searle: The Philosopher in the World by Tim Crane | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books

 

[Unkotare]

The recent debate....

Physicists Should Stop Saying Silly Things about Philosophy | Sean Carroll

Philosophy begins where physics ends, and physics begins where philosophy ends | The Curious Wavefunction, Scientific American Blog Network

An interview with John Searle ? CRASSH

John Searle: The Philosopher in the World by Tim Crane | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books

So, what do you think?

 

[MaryL]

Physics is about the real world, and how it works. Philosophy and religion is more about the human psyche and intuition, arts and mysticism. Here in the world, few can feed themselves or their families with what are just pie in the sky pipe dreams.