Philosophy is Jazz Solo

Discussion in 'General Philosophy' started by coberst, Dec 10, 2006.

  1. coberst Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
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    Plato informs me that philosophy means a Jazz solo. I am no musician but I think I comprehend a little about jazz because I understand Plato’s message.

    To do philosophy is to create meaning. To learn philosophy is to study the great minds of history as they create meaning while in an attitude of critical self-consciousness of a radical nature.

    To do philosophy is to liberate the individual just as I imagine that jazz liberates the musician; s/he liberates the self by arousing the emotions and extending by analysis the knowledge and the understanding of our self and the world.

    Knowledge is an achievement instigated by a search for truth; truth is our comprehension of reality and it has a universal quality. Understanding is the creation of meaning; it is a leap beyond knowledge. Understanding is a rare confluence of intellect and emotion; meaning is subjective, it is meaning for me. Understanding is the resulting synthesis of fragmentary knowledge into a form that has meaning for me.

    I look at philosophy as being of two levels. On one level it is a subject to be taught in our schools and colleges to provide to young people a fundamental comprehension of what the great thinkers thought about the human condition.

    Secondly and more importantly philosophy is a personal avocation directed toward making the most out of life as an individual and as a responsible member of the community. Through a critical self-consciousness and a critical consciousness of the world the individual can best create a value system based upon an attempt to go to the root of the matter. Adhering to a critical attitude about the self and the world is the proper response to Socrates’ admonition “the unexamined life is not worth living”.

    I construct my meaning of philosophy from what I find to be Socrates’ attitude toward philosophy. The philosophical attitude is a critical stance toward the self and the world. The critical attitude is a constant questioning and analysis that seeks to understand on a very personal level, not upon a superficial, passive, and uninvolved level.

    What we know about Socrates we must glean from the writings of Plato. Socrates was a great thinker but evidently did not care much about writing.

    It is well known, even to the least curious of modern men and women, that Socrates was convicted and executed by his fellow Athenians. He was brought to trial for past political associations with an earlier Athenian regime. The account of this matter is contained in Plato’s “Apology”.
     

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