What good are philosophers today?
- Thread starter John J. Bannan
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Scientists are paid money and get to work with fancy equipment such as particle accelerators and electron microscopes.
Philosophers have to work for a living. And our fancy equipment is a pen some paper and our minds.
Seems unfair doesnt it?
And if the philosopher does research on his computer about what scientists have discovered. How do we know what they discovered is right or wrong?
You rarely find good informaion about why something does something.
Philosophers have to work for a living. And our fancy equipment is a pen some paper and our minds.
Seems unfair doesnt it?
And if the philosopher does research on his computer about what scientists have discovered. How do we know what they discovered is right or wrong?
You rarely find good informaion about why something does something.
And the same is true of philosophers.
As I see it, they mostly spout off about theories of which they have little or no evidence and virtually no proof. Hell, anyone can be a "philosopher" ...look around the forums here ...everyone thinks he's a philosopher. And ya' know what, they are! Anyone can be a philosopher by just saying, "I'm a philosopher."
Baron Max, not a philosopher!
You mis-understand Baron. They have evidence and proof. For example. Epistemology is the study of knowledge and various aspects about knowledge. A philosopher has the proof in his / her mind, his / her life, and it is very evident and hearty what they are doing.
And no, philosophers are actually pretty rare. A "true" philosopher is more likely to understand philosophy than someone who doesn't. Look up philosopher in the dictionary (Fraggle Rocker). Philosophy has to deal with (IMO) very details and things which ... are usually too complated to comphrend. Infact, this is just speculation.
The people who say "I'm a philosopher!" are the people who have not worked out their ideas.
And no, philosophers are actually pretty rare. A "true" philosopher is more likely to understand philosophy than someone who doesn't. Look up philosopher in the dictionary (Fraggle Rocker). Philosophy has to deal with (IMO) very details and things which ... are usually too complated to comphrend. Infact, this is just speculation.
The people who say "I'm a philosopher!" are the people who have not worked out their ideas.
That sure covers a lot of territory, don't it! The "proof" is in his/her mind???
I'm a philosopher, by golly ....it's in my mind, but I don't like to spout off about to others.
Huh? So anyone who says he's a philosopher isn't one? I'm confused.
Baron Max
spouting off
Well. Maybe I want to spout off. You have no idea
Yes, the proof he is doing is evident to the philosopher. Sometimes it may not be, I really don't know.
Maybe everyone is a philosopher.
"Philosophers" are the people who exercise themself in philosophy? Anyone who says he is a philosopher is probably a liar if they don't.
Well. Maybe I want to spout off. You have no idea
Yes, the proof he is doing is evident to the philosopher. Sometimes it may not be, I really don't know.
Maybe everyone is a philosopher.
"Philosophers" are the people who exercise themself in philosophy? Anyone who says he is a philosopher is probably a liar if they don't.
Philosophy is the love of wisdom or knowledge.
A Philosopher will subconciously spend most of his day thinking about the sciences.
A Philosopher will subconciously spend most of his day thinking about the sciences.
" A phlosopher will subconsciously spend most of his day thinking about the sciences.."
WHat?! Philosophers serve good in this day and age anywho, until philosophy is complete of course. Which at that time all of the free-thinkers and such are going to be really dissappointend that their arguements have already been put forth... I smell Doestoevsky here...
I don't think a philosopher thinks about science too much. I'm not sure though. Philosophers think about everything.
The "proof" exists within him/her. We all have a life and must utilize it to the best of our abilities. ..........
Existence is kind of shitty, but philosophers are also the ultimate expression of a person. Shit, I could blab all day aabout this non-sence!
WHat?! Philosophers serve good in this day and age anywho, until philosophy is complete of course. Which at that time all of the free-thinkers and such are going to be really dissappointend that their arguements have already been put forth... I smell Doestoevsky here...
I don't think a philosopher thinks about science too much. I'm not sure though. Philosophers think about everything.
The "proof" exists within him/her. We all have a life and must utilize it to the best of our abilities. ..........
Existence is kind of shitty, but philosophers are also the ultimate expression of a person. Shit, I could blab all day aabout this non-sence!
Einstein.
At least he was the last great philosopher I know of.
Without someone doing some philosophy, there wouldn't be any context or meaning for any scientific discoveries - the scope and character of their deployment, the restrictions and normative assumptions involved, would be incoherent and senseless. We've never seen anything like that. Taking the philosophical background for granted does not make it inevitable, however.
Most of that philosophy will be done by writers and lawyers and politicians and the scientists themselves, but the vocabulary and reasoning and such that they use will have come from specialists or pros - often from one or two particular philosophers.
The choice at the larger societal level is not really philosophy or no philosophy, but good and bad, skilled and incompetent, deep and shallow, philosophy. Leo Strauss may have been an academic and "useless", but his philosophy has had quite a bit of influence on the actual conduct of, say, the Iraq war. Malign influence, IMHO, but undeniable.
What I think Keynes said about economic theories also appllies to philosophy - if you honestly claim to make official political decisions independent of all that BS, all that means is that you are slave to one you haven't examined.
Most of that philosophy will be done by writers and lawyers and politicians and the scientists themselves, but the vocabulary and reasoning and such that they use will have come from specialists or pros - often from one or two particular philosophers.
The choice at the larger societal level is not really philosophy or no philosophy, but good and bad, skilled and incompetent, deep and shallow, philosophy. Leo Strauss may have been an academic and "useless", but his philosophy has had quite a bit of influence on the actual conduct of, say, the Iraq war. Malign influence, IMHO, but undeniable.
What I think Keynes said about economic theories also appllies to philosophy - if you honestly claim to make official political decisions independent of all that BS, all that means is that you are slave to one you haven't examined.
Baron Max:
It's quite a bad habit you have of off-handedly dismissing things you don't know anything about. Perhaps you should try reserving judgment and actually learning some things. It's not too late.
That's right. Philosophy is egalitarian in that way - just like science. Anybody who "does" philosophy is a philosopher.
But there are amateur philosophers and professional philosophers, just as there are backyard scientists and professional scientists, pop psychologists and real psychologists, etc.
It's quite a bad habit you have of off-handedly dismissing things you don't know anything about. Perhaps you should try reserving judgment and actually learning some things. It's not too late.
That's right. Philosophy is egalitarian in that way - just like science. Anybody who "does" philosophy is a philosopher.
But there are amateur philosophers and professional philosophers, just as there are backyard scientists and professional scientists, pop psychologists and real psychologists, etc.
Okay ....now back to the topic. If that's true, then what good am I or it?
See? The topic is "What good are philosophers today" ...and as I see it, and apparently you do too, every-fuckin'-body is a philosopher if he even says anything about anything. And if that's true, .....? What good are they?
Baron Max
Only a philosopher as i have said a thousand times, is capable of understanding things that can potentially change the world. Epistemology is the most important thing. It can possibly change everything. That is what good philosophers are today,
Baron Max, Very Philosopherish!
Baron Max, Very Philosopherish!
Philosophy is dead. The world is a cesspool, thanks to the internet. But the internet is not to blame for it. The useless educational system we have around the world is to blame. You are never thought logic at school. Logic is something a few of us stumble upon while searching for some truth in the universe. It's the luck of the draw.
Sadly, our educational systems are designed to produce economic-oriented quasi-robotic people that comply to rules and regulations without questioning them, so that the plutocratic elite can continue to dominate over our lives with the advent of abstract "corporations" with superhuman abilities and preposterous privileges over the general human population.
Slaves can't think, or they won't be slaves.
Philosophy is dead.
Sadly, our educational systems are designed to produce economic-oriented quasi-robotic people that comply to rules and regulations without questioning them, so that the plutocratic elite can continue to dominate over our lives with the advent of abstract "corporations" with superhuman abilities and preposterous privileges over the general human population.
Slaves can't think, or they won't be slaves.
Philosophy is dead.
Huuumm... I think I just discovered the exciting world of descriptive adjectives...
Maybe I will actually starting writting without so much brevity, from now on? Maybe I will be able to write a book that doesn't look ridiulous because it is devoid of adjectives and it is 2 pages long?
LOL!
Maybe I will actually starting writting without so much brevity, from now on? Maybe I will be able to write a book that doesn't look ridiulous because it is devoid of adjectives and it is 2 pages long?
LOL!
heliocentric
Registered Senior Member
Philosophy is completely free-form in alot of ways, which is its greatest strength and its greatest downfall.
I kind of like foucault's idea of philosophy as a discipline to continualy re-program the human self-image.
Philosophy also works as a sort of fail-safe mechanism to challange our ways of knowing and our ways of aquiring truth.
Dont forget that philosophers were the first to publically challange religious doctorine, and are largely responsible for a great deal of the secular feedoms we take for granted today.
Of course philosophy these days is more about questioning the validity of the scientific method than anything else. Which again, is an absolute necessity in an age where scientists not priests and prophets are the new sacred cows.
I kind of like foucault's idea of philosophy as a discipline to continualy re-program the human self-image.
Philosophy also works as a sort of fail-safe mechanism to challange our ways of knowing and our ways of aquiring truth.
Dont forget that philosophers were the first to publically challange religious doctorine, and are largely responsible for a great deal of the secular feedoms we take for granted today.
Of course philosophy these days is more about questioning the validity of the scientific method than anything else. Which again, is an absolute necessity in an age where scientists not priests and prophets are the new sacred cows.
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