What is philosophy and what can it accomplish?: Philosophy Forums

Page: 1 2 3

What is philosophy and what can it accomplish?

CryingFayth
Jeka the Great

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Oct 17, 2009

Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 2

Posted 10/17/09 - 08:59 AM:	#11
Philosophy, along with religion, science, ethics, spirituality, whatever your belief is or even disbelief is (far as atheism goes) is just another preference to the truth, what can we accomplish by it? Well we can seek the truth were looking for as far as things that are not explained. Plain and simple.
~ Jeka the Great ~

duszek
little ghost

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Sep 21, 2009

Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 24

Posted 10/17/09 - 09:07 AM:	#12
SynAps wrote: But of course, much of philosophy is also about self-interpretation, or opinion (to a logical extent), although when I personally have philosophical debates, I seek not to win the argument but to meet a common goal, and find a common answer. Perhaps this is the goal or all philosophical debates. Yes. And put in Hegelian terms: a thesis is opposed by an antithesis in order to get to a synthesis. Which is the new thesis. And so on.

Invictus_88
New Arrival

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Aug 13, 2006
Location: England,

Total Topics: 3
Total Posts: 133

Posted 10/18/09 - 11:27 AM:	#13
Nihilism wrote: "Personally I dont think philosophy can give us knowledge of the world." Ever heard of the philosophers such as Rene Descartes , Copernicus , Aristotle etc the list goes on and on. These philosophers contributed loads to modern society mainly SCIENCE, alot of their ideas sparked off other ideas. They are dead. Notice that all the contributions are past tense. Philosophy isn't contributing, history is.

Invictus_88
New Arrival

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Aug 13, 2006
Location: England,

Total Topics: 3
Total Posts: 133

Posted 10/18/09 - 11:31 AM:	#14
SynAps wrote: Perhaps this is the goal or all philosophical debates. In a world where philosophers have nothing useful to contribute, and are consequently ignored, the goal of philosophical debate is a bit irrelevant. It seems to me that the discipline has fallen behind the changing reality, and has lost its ability to contribute to humanity.

swamy
Student

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Oct 19, 2009

Total Topics: 9
Total Posts: 61

Posted 10/19/09 - 11:45 PM:	#15
Invictus_88 wrote: In a world where philosophers have nothing useful to contribute, and are consequently ignored, the goal of philosophical debate is a bit irrelevant. It seems to me that the discipline has fallen behind the changing reality, and has lost its ability to contribute to humanity. The subject of Philosophy has been made difficut to be understood and used by the common man. Philosophy is very much essential to evary human being. I came up with this simple definiton of philosophy. "Philosophy is a context which guides the thoughts and actions of an individual" Secondly a friend of mine said "we are all different", I said "We are all different within a same context." This word context is PHILOSOPHY which is being taught in many ways for e.g. Moral, personality development etc and must be taught and learnt continuoulsy.

GrasBourJei
Initiate

Usergroup: Members
Joined: May 05, 2009

Total Topics: 2
Total Posts: 18

Posted 10/23/09 - 05:55 PM:	#16
Philosphy is in PART about: - A study into the history of human ideals and ideas and what is and was considered meaningful in life by other people - The connection of human affairs of broader ideas; and the value therof - The understanding of how and why the world was and evolved to be the way it is today - The explanation and understanding of concepts and how they are connected and not - The understanding of principles BEYOND daily life - The means to make meaning in life To know what there is to know; what is true and false and why; what matters beyond what the use of an idea is, but its being true in the sense of sense and logic.
“To dwell is to garden.” Martin Heidegger

180 Proof
kynic

Usergroup: Sponsors
Joined: Apr 27, 2003
Location: NOTHINGlifeNOTHING

Total Topics: 84
Total Posts: 5136

Posted 10/23/09 - 06:48 PM:	#17
Tobias wrote: Well the first question should be whether reality is somehow different from the concepts we use to explain reality .... Isn't the territory different from maps used to navigate the territory?
The question isn't "Which explanations do I believe?" but rather "Which explanations do I least disbelieve?" Absence of evidence THAT MUST BE THERE (i.e. implied by any claim, concept, or (its) predicates, that affects changes in/to the world) entails evidence of absence. [What cannot be done?[What cannot be hoped?[What cannot be known?]]]

brainpharte
Huh?

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Jan 07, 2009

Total Topics: 7
Total Posts: 968

Posted 10/23/09 - 07:27 PM:	#18
180 Proof wrote: Isn't the territory different from maps used to navigate the territory? Indeed a map ignores all but a tiny fraction of the aspects of the territory.
"I don't see much sense in that," said Rabbit. "No," said Pooh humbly, "there isn't. But there was going to be when I began it. It's just that something happened to it along the way."

swamy
Student

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Oct 19, 2009

Total Topics: 9
Total Posts: 61

Posted 10/23/09 - 08:35 PM:	#19
In our day to day life a common man uses many abstract words that are directly related to philosophy but not clear with its definition. Seconldy instead of using the appropriate word some other word gets used for e.g. FAITH for BELEIF. Philosophy does provide benefit in such cases.

Invictus_88
New Arrival

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Aug 13, 2006
Location: England,

Total Topics: 3
Total Posts: 133

Posted 11/01/09 - 06:00 AM:	#20
swamy wrote: The subject of Philosophy has been made difficut to be understood and used by the common man. Philosophy is very much essential to evary human being. I came up with this simple definiton of philosophy. "Philosophy is a context which guides the thoughts and actions of an individual" Secondly a friend of mine said "we are all different", I said "We are all different within a same context." This word context is PHILOSOPHY which is being taught in many ways for e.g. Moral, personality development etc and must be taught and learnt continuoulsy. It's never had to be understood by the common man so long as it was relevant to those guiding the progress of humanity. Now, it tends to be both incomprehensible (even to students of philosophy) and irrelevant. It is non-essential, because it has effectively cut itself off from the world in which we live.

Page: 1 2 3

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