“Philosophy” is one of the most oft misused terms of our time. Many take it to mean simply ethics or morals, while still others use it to mean a theme or idea. Some use it to mean a guide, and some use it as the butt of intellectual jokes. What makes it worse is that very few sources exist from which to learn about this ambiguous field. Walking down the street, one sees very few “Philosophy Stores”, and even fewer offices of “Professional” philosophers.
If you become unbearably curious, you might poke your head into a philosophy lecture at a university—but his helps you little. You quickly become confused with the terminology—words like ontology, epistemology, and metaethics—being dropped every few moments, and all the students seem to be talking about people whom you have never heard of—Machiavelli, Lyle, Nietzsche, and Kant, Hume, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Descartes.
Now completely confused, you might decide to go to a bookstore, at the back, in a dusty old section filled with books ranging from century’s old to decade, where you find Introduction to Philosophy. Filled with glee, you run and skip home to sit on the couch and open up the marvelous tome of wonder.
I’m here to save you all that trouble.
In a series of threads here in Outside Magic, my friend ljossberir and myself will attempt to shed some light on the subject of philosophy, discussing the various branches, themes, ideas and philosophers that have left their mark in history.
Philosophers
The word “philosopher” comes from the Greek, meaning “A lover of wisdom”—this is important in understanding the nature of philosophy. Unlike the hard, empirical fields like science, philosophy will not necessarily answer all of the questions it raises. Indeed, while one can only be called a physicist by having definite knowledge of physics, a philosopher is simply one who has asked the questions, but still may be searching for the answers.
The role of philosophers has changed over the years. In ancient Greece, all fields of intellectual study were considered to be in the realm of philosophy; from mathematics to law to physics to language. As science became more accurate and more empirical, it broke away from the purely speculative field of philosophy—as did, in time, mathematics, history, and others. Now, in the modern times, when much can be explained by science, one might ask what relevance philosophy has to the present day man.
The Purpose of Philosophy
Some have asked, of late, what the point of philosophy is, if they never answer anything. But consider this: If you could determine, philosophically, that man is fundamentally amoral, what would be the point of law? Since law is the concretization of morality, if there were no morality, there would be no law. Or, if you decided that reality exists in a perpetual chaos, the nature of which is unknowable to humans, why would one study science? The goal of philosophy is to answer not the questions of our age, but of all ages. Philosophy, then, is the basis of every intellectual task and pursuit.. Without a guiding philosophy, science and math and even history would be rendered impotent. Philosophy is the basis of all human thought. When answering the question of why we should study philosophy, Bertrand Russell wrote the following:
The man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his mind without the co-operation or consent of his deliberate reason. To such a man the world tends to become definite, finite, obvious; common objects rouse no questions, and unfamiliar possibilities are contemptuously rejected. As soon as we begin to philosophize, on the contrary, we find … that even the most everyday things lead to problems to which only very incomplete answers can be given. Philosophy, though unable to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to the doubts which it raises, is able to suggest many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom.
In an address given to a graduating class at West Point in 1974 on the topic, Ayn Rand said:
Most men spend their days struggling to evade three questions, the answers to which underlie man’s every thought, action or feeling, whether he is consciously aware of it or not: Where am I? How do I know it? What should I do? By the time men are old enough to understand these questions, they believe they know the answers. Where am I? Say, in New York City. How do I know it? It’s self-evident. What should I do? Here, they are not too sure—but the usual answer is: whatever everybody else does. The only trouble seems to be that they are not very active, not very confident, not very happy—and they experience, at times, a causeless fear and undefined guilt, which they cannot explain or get rid of. They have never discovered that the trouble comes from the three unanswered questions, and that there is only one science that can answer them: philosophy.
Methods of Discourse
There are many ways to, for lack of a better word, philosophize, but here are some basic guidelines by which one should think:
Does the question being asked even make sense, and is it relevant?
Does the structure of the question make sense? It could be that the words used are understood but the form of the question is in error in some way. This is the start of analyzing the language in which the question is posed.
Are there any sources of information we can refer to? If so, we may want to ask if they apply as they are or if there are limitations to be taken into account. If we want to call upon evidence to aid us, we first need to know if our question is open to experimental proof, eg, “does God Exist” has no relevant proofs to be used.
What kind of answer are we looking for? Does the question require a definitive yes or no, or are we being asked for a best guess? We need to consider the form of answer we want to aim for, or whether an answer is even possible.
What are the consequences of the answers? Do they tell us anything important enough to influence which answer to choose, if any? If one or more of the options seems to lead to consequences that are impossible or seem highly unlikely, we can narrow our search. On the other hand, if people have already based other decisions on a certain outcome of the question, how will changing it alter their ideas?
Are there any errors in the reasoning we apply to the question, such as the logical fallacies? If so, can we avoid them?
The Branches of Philosophy
Philosophy is not an irreducible primary. There are many branches of philosophy, many more than we have time to cover, but here are the basic six, which make up most of philosophic theory:
Ethics- Ethics deals with defining a moral code by which man must live, and more: it considers whether mankind needs a code of morals, and why.
Metaphysics- What is the nature of reality? Does existence truly exist? Is reality, if there is such a thing, knowable by humans?
Epistemology- How do humans gain knowledge? What is the validity of our senses, and what we perceive with them? Are there any innate ideas? If not, how do we explain instincts? Is logic valid as a tautology?
Aesthetics- The philosophy of art. How does one judge a work of art? Is there a way to objectively define “good” art?
Politics- The study of Government; the nature and proper use and structure of a governing body.
Logic- The study of not only how to debate and argue, but how to think logically. This focuses on the limits and nature of logic.
There are, of course, others. Indeed, almost every field of study has underlying philosophical roots, eg, the philosophy of law, the philosophy of science, et al.
Conclusion
I hope I was able to shed some light on what philosophy truly is. In future threads, ljossberir and I will cover these six individually, as well as the great thinkers that make up the meat of philosophical study.
Thank you to ljossberir for your input on this thread!
Spock is not portrayed correctly. If Vulcans are above petty emotions, what motivates him to join the most elite starship crew in the galaxy? I, on the other hand, have transcended the weakness of emotion and achieved a blissful lack of caring. Apathy is my strength, our strength, which prevents us from being all-to-human. In this spirit, may Meh be with you, always.
Oh, this thread is so pretentius and official. I don't like it. It is too serious. I just like to duke it out, insanity style. This may get us where we want, but it's the trip that matters.
Billking: Be carefull about sneering someones English as there are quite some people here where English is not the first language. Not that I know where F1r3ball is coming from, but ehr... Just to remind you the world is larger then your backyard. Anyways, language and philosophy are two different skills anyways.
Arkham, the 1920's. Investigators battle horrors from beyond time and space, risking life and sanity while conspiracies of cultists and malign servitors seek gateways for their outer gods to return...
Soon, the stars will be right! Great Cthulhu shall rise!
While the Metaphysics questions are good examples a better (aka debatable) question is does existence as we know it really exist or is it something like what we see in the Matrix or other similar alter reality films? (or is this what u were aiming for to begin with?) Besides, IMO, the way that question was asked it would make the question not exist if existence didnt exist.... and that right there is really run around confusing to me. Metaphysics isn't my stuff tho so excuse me if it doesn't make sense.
Otherwise good thread. And I actually know of all but two of the names u mentioned. Amazing for me.
Accordig to Plato, what we perceive as existence isn't the actual essence of existence. But the fact that we do perceive existence is proof that it exists, even if we don't see it as it truly is.
And? We can't perceive pure philosophy in the Platonic sense. His "abstract existence" was corrected by Aristotle to be mere common consent of pattern recognition.
I am just posting to let everyone know that the next thread, to be written by ljossberir, is about the very subject which you are debating: Metaphysics and Epistemology. Coming soon to an OM near you!
/me blushes at such a stupid joke.
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If you become unbearably curious, you might poke your head into a philosophy lecture at a university—but his helps you little. You quickly become confused with the terminology—words like ontology, epistemology, and metaethics—being dropped every few moments, and all the students seem to be talking about people whom you have never heard of—Machiavelli, Lyle, Nietzsche, and Kant, Hume, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Descartes.
Now completely confused, you might decide to go to a bookstore, at the back, in a dusty old section filled with books ranging from century’s old to decade, where you find Introduction to Philosophy. Filled with glee, you run and skip home to sit on the couch and open up the marvelous tome of wonder.
I’m here to save you all that trouble.
In a series of threads here in Outside Magic, my friend ljossberir and myself will attempt to shed some light on the subject of philosophy, discussing the various branches, themes, ideas and philosophers that have left their mark in history.
Philosophers
The word “philosopher” comes from the Greek, meaning “A lover of wisdom”—this is important in understanding the nature of philosophy. Unlike the hard, empirical fields like science, philosophy will not necessarily answer all of the questions it raises. Indeed, while one can only be called a physicist by having definite knowledge of physics, a philosopher is simply one who has asked the questions, but still may be searching for the answers.
The role of philosophers has changed over the years. In ancient Greece, all fields of intellectual study were considered to be in the realm of philosophy; from mathematics to law to physics to language. As science became more accurate and more empirical, it broke away from the purely speculative field of philosophy—as did, in time, mathematics, history, and others. Now, in the modern times, when much can be explained by science, one might ask what relevance philosophy has to the present day man.
The Purpose of Philosophy
Some have asked, of late, what the point of philosophy is, if they never answer anything. But consider this: If you could determine, philosophically, that man is fundamentally amoral, what would be the point of law? Since law is the concretization of morality, if there were no morality, there would be no law. Or, if you decided that reality exists in a perpetual chaos, the nature of which is unknowable to humans, why would one study science? The goal of philosophy is to answer not the questions of our age, but of all ages. Philosophy, then, is the basis of every intellectual task and pursuit.. Without a guiding philosophy, science and math and even history would be rendered impotent. Philosophy is the basis of all human thought. When answering the question of why we should study philosophy, Bertrand Russell wrote the following:
In an address given to a graduating class at West Point in 1974 on the topic, Ayn Rand said:
Methods of Discourse
There are many ways to, for lack of a better word, philosophize, but here are some basic guidelines by which one should think:
Philosophy is not an irreducible primary. There are many branches of philosophy, many more than we have time to cover, but here are the basic six, which make up most of philosophic theory:
Ethics- Ethics deals with defining a moral code by which man must live, and more: it considers whether mankind needs a code of morals, and why.
Metaphysics- What is the nature of reality? Does existence truly exist? Is reality, if there is such a thing, knowable by humans?
Epistemology- How do humans gain knowledge? What is the validity of our senses, and what we perceive with them? Are there any innate ideas? If not, how do we explain instincts? Is logic valid as a tautology?
Aesthetics- The philosophy of art. How does one judge a work of art? Is there a way to objectively define “good” art?
Politics- The study of Government; the nature and proper use and structure of a governing body.
Logic- The study of not only how to debate and argue, but how to think logically. This focuses on the limits and nature of logic.
There are, of course, others. Indeed, almost every field of study has underlying philosophical roots, eg, the philosophy of law, the philosophy of science, et al.
Conclusion
I hope I was able to shed some light on what philosophy truly is. In future threads, ljossberir and I will cover these six individually, as well as the great thinkers that make up the meat of philosophical study.
Thank you to ljossberir for your input on this thread!
Like all abstractions, it does not really exist (exist in the real). It can qualify real manifestations like brain patterns and books, though.
but not, apparently, how to spell which properly or talk in complete sentences
Spock is not portrayed correctly. If Vulcans are above petty emotions, what motivates him to join the most elite starship crew in the galaxy? I, on the other hand, have transcended the weakness of emotion and achieved a blissful lack of caring. Apathy is my strength, our strength, which prevents us from being all-to-human. In this spirit, may Meh be with you, always.
Billking: Be carefull about sneering someones English as there are quite some people here where English is not the first language. Not that I know where F1r3ball is coming from, but ehr... Just to remind you the world is larger then your backyard. Anyways, language and philosophy are two different skills anyways.
• Call of Cthulhu CCG Servitor for the Netherlands!
Arkham, the 1920's. Investigators battle horrors from beyond time and space, risking life and sanity while conspiracies of cultists and malign servitors seek gateways for their outer gods to return...
Soon, the stars will be right! Great Cthulhu shall rise!
Otherwise good thread. And I actually know of all but two of the names u mentioned. Amazing for me.
This just isn't true. Whether you're talking about Platonic abstractions or Aristotelean existence, pure "philosophy" doesn't exist in the real.
And? We can't perceive pure philosophy in the Platonic sense. His "abstract existence" was corrected by Aristotle to be mere common consent of pattern recognition.
I am just posting to let everyone know that the next thread, to be written by ljossberir, is about the very subject which you are debating: Metaphysics and Epistemology. Coming soon to an OM near you!
/me blushes at such a stupid joke.