Contextual knowledge: Philosophy Forums

Philosophy Forums » Introduction to Philosophy / Factual Issues / Books » Contextual knowledge » Contextual knowledge

Contextual knowledge
How to understand a work built upon the shoulders of others.

Contextual knowledge

russiancircles
Initiate

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Oct 06, 2009

Total Topics: 1
Total Posts: 2

Posted 10/06/09 - 05:22 PM: Subject: Contextual knowledge	#1
I'm a 17 year old high school student, and I'm interested in philosophy. I've been attempting to break into the subject ever since I began obsessing over the mind-body problem. However, that question faded into the background as I embarked upon a highly slow and desultory journey into (I would not use the word "through") the works of famous philosophers. I began this voyage at the age of fifteen, back when I was young(er) and stupid(er). I feel now that I am finally at a level of thought capable of understanding philosophical works. Before, I would skim over sections that were too difficult, and thus obtained a superficial knowledge of the texts. Now, I work through every sentence of the books, and will spend twenty minutes figuring out what a paragraph means if need be. I'm reading Hegel's idea of a phenomenology of spirit by John Forster, which is an analysis of Hegel's Phenomenology. I've come to realize, as Newton did, that all philosophy is built upon preceding ideas. With this single nugget of understanding that my two years of study has produced, I've begun to wonder whether philosophy is meant to be read in such a manner. Forster himself advocated an analysis encompassing Hegel's entire life, as opposed to the more superficial ones analyzing single chapters by Hegel in a practical vacuum. I've managed up until now by searching each quoted philosopher on wikipedia, but I"m wondering whether this detracts from the understanding of the works. My question is, how practical is it to understand and have read the entire contextual background of a particular strand of philosophy? I'd assume a chronological progression exists (such as Hobbes>Locke>montesquieu>rousseau), but as a presumed bioengineering major, I'd like to gain my dualism-overcoming powers before I die, or the effort is lost and I must wait for someone to overcome the life-death duality.

jsidelko
Assistant Professor

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Jun 08, 2009

Total Topics: 30
Total Posts: 261

Posted 10/06/09 - 07:02 PM:	#2
The best way to learn about a philosopher is to understand his historical and contextual background. That is, how is his philosohy influenced by the past and the present.
thanatos

Sorry, you don't have permission to post. Log in, or register if you haven't yet.