What do you think about philosophy?

Lena410 · 18-09-2003, 18:20

We had an intersting discussion in my philosophy class and I decided to ask you the same questions, cause I'm really curious what you think.

Our teacher asked us to define what philosophy is and what someone has to do to be a philosopher.

So what do you think? Can anyone be a philosopher? And is philosophy important in everyday life or more important then other departments of sience?

I know that European philosophy concentrates around the meaning of life and being. Is philosophy different in your country?

I personally think that philosophy is important for people even if it gives no answers, because many people think and muse about the meaning of their lifes and they wouldn't if it weren't important for them.

freddie · 18-09-2003, 18:42

Philosophy IS the meaning of my life. I couldn't imagine my life without it, yet there is no clear way I could define it. It's like a definition of "a company". Both this terms represent such complex phenomenon that it simply can not be moulded into a clear definition.
The best I can do is to ofer you a school-thought definition which is rather general:

Philosophy - the search for knowlage and understanding of the nature and meaning of the universe and of human life...

I think philosophy sadly isn't very important in people's lives. I think there would be much less fighting and misery if it was. It's the only way for people to understand eachother.

Tranz · 18-09-2003, 18:47

taking up philosophy when i get to college. Anyone can be a philolsopher if they wanted to. Although they have to really enjoy philosophy to be good with it.

I think philosophy is important in both aspects of everyday life and departments of science. Philosphy can have alot of meanings, but in general it is about life and meaning.

It can get so in depth, that you can learn so much about yourself and other people from other cultures.

Lena410 · 18-09-2003, 19:42

freddie I also think that philosophy should be more important. Our society is too materialistic and since you can't gain anything from pilosophy in a materialistic way most people think it's unimportant.

I'm not saying it's the most important science because I think that people should have a basic knowledge in every department, but I do think that philosophy is more important than some people realize.

freddie · 18-09-2003, 19:58

Quote:

Originally posted by Lena410
freddie I also think that philosophy should be more important. Our society is too materialistic and since you can't gain anything from pilosophy in a materialistic way most people think it's unimportant.

I'm not saying it's the most important science because I think that people should have a basic knowledge in every department, but I do think that philosophy is more important than some people realize.

Exactly. How can we even BEGIN solving our problems when we don't even know who we are, where do we come from, what are we doing here? Even a discussion about it makes people more enlightened and willing to understand the problems of others...

Lena410 · 18-09-2003, 20:11

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How can we even BEGIN solving our problems when we don't even know who we are, where do we come from, what are we doing here?

I think we don't even have to KNOW what were doing here or where we come from..the important part is to start thinking about it. Because I don't think there are answers for those questions that apply for everyone. You for yourself can find an answer, but maybe it won't fit for someone else's life.

I totaly agree with you that you can't even begin to solve problems when you are not willing to think about the meaning of what you are doing, what you should do and what others think.

freddie · 18-09-2003, 20:28

Quote:

Originally posted by Lena410
I think we don't even have to KNOW what were doing here or where we come from..the important part is to start thinking about it. Because I don't think there are answers for those questions that apply for everyone. You for yourself can find an answer, but maybe it won't fit for someone else's life.

Yes indeed! The inportant thing is to start discussing it and not treat it as irelevant. That's the beauty with philosophy - there are no definite answers. As fast as clear answers appear it becomes science no philosophy ('though philosophy is also a science in a way). Philosophy can be emotional, subjective...everybody has their own view on the questions of exsistance and human role in it. And if we discuss the differences in our views we might understand eachoter a bit more.

Lena410 · 18-09-2003, 20:52

Quote:

Originally posted by freddie
That's the beauty with philosophy - there are no definite answers. As fast as clear answers appear it becomes science no philosophy ('though philosophy is also a science in a way).

That's excatly what I think. That's the good thing about philosophy. There are no answers and most definitly there are no right or wrong answers. The moment you find an answer to a philosophyc question it moves into another department of science and stops being philosophy.

Philosophy is science. It's the mother of all departments of science. The Greek for example started studying the sky. But it were the Philosophers who did that. The moment they found an answer for a problem surrounding the stars, that answer and question moved into Astronomy. Philosophy is in a way the science of all the questions you can't answer with the other science departments.

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And if we discuss the differences in our views we might understand eachoter a bit more.

Discussion is the only way how we can realize that not everybody thinks the same. And that differences in views are not something bad. Some people think that at the end of a discussion you have to agree on certain view, but it's the differences even slight differences in views that bring discussions forward the most.

freddie · 18-09-2003, 21:25

Quote:

Originally posted by Lena410
That's excatly what I think. That's the good thing about philosophy. There are no answers and most definitly there are no right or wrong answers. The moment you find an answer to a philosophyc question it moves into another department of science and stops being philosophy.

Philosophy is science. It's the mother of all departments of science. The Greek for example started studying the sky. But it were the Philosophers who did that. The moment they found an answer for a problem surrounding the stars, that answer and question moved into Astronomy. Philosophy is in a way the science of all the questions you can't answer with the other science departments.

I would even say that philosophy steps in for science where the science becomes blurry and unefficient. They walk hand in hand together and can't exist without eachother. Philosophy expands the boundaries of science while science tries to empiricaly explan the new grounds that philosophy opened up.

Quote:

Originally posted by Lena410
Discussion is the only way how we can realize that not everybody thinks the same. And that differences in views are not something bad. Some people think that at the end of a discussion you have to agree on certain view, but it's the differences even slight differences in views that bring discussions forward the most.

Amen to that! That's why all the conflicts in this world start - because we are under illusion that we should agree on everything before true understanding can come. But IMO this is not the case at all - the most important thing we should be concentrating on is UNDERSTANDING eachothers differnt views. If you know where they're coming from then they' maybe aren't differences at all anymore - just different ways of looking at the same thing. So infact (ironicaly) the differeces are the ones that can brink us closer together - now that was philosophical.

Lena410 · 18-09-2003, 21:35

freddie that really was philosophycal

and I totally agree. Most people don't even take the time to listen to other views, but other views are the only things that can open up your own horizonts of thinking.

Sometimes people even have the same view, but only express it in different ways, but never take the time to question the other one's or their own responses and after hours of fighting they reallize that they had been saying the same thing all along.

Quote:

the most important thing we should be concentrating on is UNDERSTANDING eachothers differnt views

I would sometimes be even happy if people would at least try to accept other views.

guesshoo · 18-09-2003, 23:28

well, personally i am in love w/ philosophy. i don't read the books or anything, i guess i haven't gotten around to it *how can i when ppl like parrish and pt post their material here?* however i will say this, my former economics teacher and present accounts teacher qouted something that rattled my mind for days! and made me realize mankind and his possibilities. and deep we can get if we could just settle ourselves long enough. it was at that moment that i fell in love. i find debating interesting as well. just something about the human mind and the things that run through it.......

as far as the question concerned w/ needing it in our everday lives, i believe that if taken in and understood thoroughly, the world would be in a better state. if ppl would sit down and let intelligence of these philosopher's at least rub off on them, we'd have a lot more conscienceness and tolerance and alot less hate and violence.

thank you!

XSpex · 19-09-2003, 04:02

A practical meaning of philosophy could be the guideline everyone follows on their life. I think it doesn't matter if a person knows the concept of philosophy he/she could be practicing it by thinking about his/her own existance.

Are we all able to be philosophers? Yes, it's only a question of thinking and being interested about the world around.

taty994945 · 19-09-2003, 11:43

I don't know nothing about philosophy but it sounds interesting. Can someone please make a list of the different schools of thought? The only one i've heard of is existentialism.

Kappa · 19-09-2003, 17:36

I think philos should be something that everyone profundizes in at some point of their life, but not a subject taught at school. I took an exam on it and it's the most VAGUE subject ever. Once its yours, it's easy. But not TAUGHT. :/

Tom Violence · 20-09-2003, 03:05

It's great to see so many people being positive about philsophy. Half of my degree was in Philosophy. And God are Philosophy students easy targets for jokes. Most of them, predictably enough, concerning starring out of the window for hours on end.

Then again, Sheffield University didn't help matters by putting the Philosophy department on the 12th floor of the Arts Tower. We had some incredible views over the Peaks, meaning it was pretty hard to resist spending seminars gazing out of the window. La la la.

I'm glad I studied Philosophy. Even if it very nearly sent me strange in the first year, with too many questions in my head at once. It might not have given me any answers in itself, but it taught me how best to go about looking for them. It's taught me how subtle even an apparently simple question might be. This is reassuring, I feel less inadequate when I don't always have the solution.

I think anybody can be a philosopher, but not everyone can be good at it. To see long-established problems in new ways takes a remarkable capacity for insight which, alas, very few of us will ever develop.

Lena410 · 21-09-2003, 15:43

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Originally posted by darje
I think philos should be something that everyone profundizes in at some point of their life, but not a subject taught at school. I took an exam on it and it's the most VAGUE subject ever. Once its yours, it's easy. But not TAUGHT. :/

I agree with you to some point. But I would not generalize it that way. I for example have a great teacher and she encourages us to philosophize and I noticed that she got some people to philosophize who normally wouldn't. And as far as I know her she won't do an exam, cause she knows herself it's very vague. It's definitly a nearly impossible subject to teach.

forre · 21-09-2003, 16:23

Philosophy astronomy and gastronomy is one of the kind - something for the body and something for the soul.

Confused? Don't be - that's what philosophy is.

freddie · 21-09-2003, 20:31

Quote:

Originally posted by Lena410
I agree with you to some point. But I would not generalize it that way. I for example have a great teacher and she encourages us to philosophize and I noticed that she got some people to philosophize who normally wouldn't. And as far as I know her she won't do an exam, cause she knows herself it's very vague. It's definitly a nearly impossible subject to teach.

Unfortunately we didn't philosophize at all in our philosophy classes, but rather learned about ancient greek philosophers and different schools that they developed... then at the end of the year we wrote an essay on one of Machiavely's or Plato's works... and that's it. the teacher was a bore as well.
No deep thoughts on the meaning of life, space or anything.

mir · 21-09-2003, 20:36

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I don't know nothing about philosophy but it sounds interesting. Can someone please make a list of the different schools of thought? The only one i've heard of is existentialism.

Right the biggest and most covering group is extentialism
the other goes about theological things.. but they are always connected with eachother the out come of the one often leads to the other...
A whole new stream is about evolution which is often seen as the produkt of the two main groups described above...

Lena410 · 21-09-2003, 20:50

Quote:

Originally posted by freddie
Unfortunately we didn't philosophize at all in our philosophy classes, but rather learned about ancient greek philosophers and different schools that they developed... then at the end of the year we wrote an essay on one of Machiavely's or Plato's works... and that's it. the teacher was a bore as well.
No deep thoughts on the meaning of life, space or anything.

That must have been boring. Our teacher said we would have to do that as well but she would try to philosophize and discuss with us as much as she can. I hope she will sitck to her word and the class won't turn into a boring one in the end.