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Specialization, the bigger small picture. Philosophy about philosophy.

Fluffywolf

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Disclaimer: This is a somewhat fluffied up philosophy about philosophy aimed to hopefully spark of some interesting thoughts. As well as a stealth attempt to broaden peoples horizons.


To start of, first of all I notice that when people are thinking about topics that are hard to grasp. Ideas and thoughts that spark off philosophies and certain levels of understanding. One particular aspect almost always seem to stand in the way. In the way of 'the big picture'. Such is specialization. We think about a concept, and we try to specialize in that concept. Our view is narrowed and we come up with interesting ideas. Often missing entire concepts in the process.

Many examples can be found on this board. Subjectivity, relativity, truth, friendship, idealogy, you name it and it's on here. All discissions are loaded and aimed directly at the concept. With zealous focus, putting our entire energy stock into that single word, that single thought. In our attempt to understand that which can't truely be understood.

No brain is capable of seeing and thinking everything and once. The omnipotence needed to see the big picture is nothing more then just another concept we can focus our mind on. Just another idea we can specialize on.

Specialization is therefor argueably the downfall of humanity itself. As we build up false/incomplete conclusions, because of missing parts of the bigger picture in our quest to true understanding. Mistakes are made. Conflicts rise and competition grows. Is it not agreeable that specialization does in fact rift our minds more apart? The concept isn't too hard to grasp. It seems very logical. See at as a "W". Starting ground zero, each view divides in two. Some intertwine. Branching us slowly but surely further and further apart.

But then, what is more important? The quest to try and see the big picture, which we all believe to be futile. An impossible task. Or focus on specializing and perhaps reach understanding within our grasp. Shaken as it may be. In the hopes of someday puzzling all the pieces together.

Philosophy is funny that way. The pieces of the puzzle you unravel will never be puzzled together as a big picture, without the understanding of the big picture itself. One needs the understanding of the end result in order to achieve the construction of it. Thus, as our understanding of all things grows. So does the tree of thoughts that we thrive on. Branch after branch it expands. Even seeding itself to entirely different trees.

So, one can only wonder. What does it take to see the forest through the trees?
 

professor goodstain

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Ignoring inhibition. Yet that inhibition was installed by past experiences experienced while being installed in the trees. Not to mention that inhibition is also part of the job desciption of instinct. Maybe we instinctively 'prefer' not to see the forest because we're quite content with the trees?

Ignor a desire/preference to be content. Yet being content was installed by past experiences in the dang trees. I'm guessing by the use of deductive reasoning. Maybe if we throw out inhibition due to needing to be content by way of deductive reasoning manipulated by feeling/intuition/thought/senses (in other words-instinct)?

Ignor instinct.
 

Fluffywolf

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Wow, yes..

We're instinctively driven towards specialisation. To feel good at something. To understand something, anything. To be recognized.

But like you said, instinct has become part of the trees, part of its construction. Ignoring it entirely would leave gaps in the forest. Perhaps the best way is to rise above instinct. Embrace it as part of the big picture, but not let your reasoning be guided by it to see the big picture. Feel, smell and hear the trees, but see the forest.
 

Poki

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What good does the big picture do to the person that is sitting at home with cancer? We must specialize or certain aspects of this world can wipe us out. The black death comes to mind. If we didnt specialize how many black deaths would we encounter before we finally got down from the big picture to the actual problems at hand? Do we find the root of it all or do we find patches to get us by a little longer. Its all a balancing act where one thing must be done to enable us to get to the bigger thing. Without specialization we would never make it out of the forest to see the big picture. We would be walking in circles and lost. Specialization is not our downfall it is our crutch. The crutch that we need to enable us to last long enough to hopefully find the bigger picture.
 

Halla74

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For me...

Use all that I have learned,
Trust my instincts,
Be true to my objective,
Use all that I've got to find the answer/solve the problem.

...repeat until dead.

:D

Specialization is sometimes worthwhile when applied to concepts outside of that which it was originally intended, it is not all bad, its just not good to get lost in it forever, IMHO.
 

matmos

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If you can't see the wood for the trees you should at the very least try to enjoy your walk through the forest.

There is nothing better than an evening stroll through a dark forest.
 

Fluffywolf

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Aye, it's healthy to sometimes stop and look at what you do have. Instead of continuesly searching behind every corner.

My main concern regarding this topic however, is that we keep growing trees, without even trying to understand the forest. We believe that if we learn everything about every concept, we will eventually know all there is to know. But all the while we keep using the same approach. We keep using the same perspection. We see the outlines but not the bulk.

So, what is importance. Besides being a bunch of subjective ideals that drives us in a certain direction. If there is absolute reality and there is purpose or meaning beyond our understanding. Then wouldn't the logical choice be to move away from the trees to a distance, and look at the whole forest in order to try and attempt grasp everything in its entirety, as futile as that may be. Because if existance is 'part of a masterplan' which most religions and beliefs are based on. Then it's something we would never see with our current method of extracting information from our surroundings. Not with our subjective perception to boot.

But if existance is a by-product of a scientific explanation with no reason or purpose to speak off. For example, where absolute nothing exists, the opposite, absolute everything has to exist as well. This would mean that there are in fact infinite parallel universes, one for every possibility and every form. But anyhow, that's for another topic. If that or a similar explanation is true, then what is the importance, the purpose, of philosophy itself?



Right now, we base our philosophies on our perspective. We give birth to ideas that can only exist in our level perspective. Ofcourse we do, we do not know of any other way. But within our perspective, exists also the idea I put forth in this topic. We know how we attain new information, but we don't know why. We're a curious race, we live to learn. And maybe that's enough. Or maybe, there's a different perspective, a perspective we're missing out on.
 

IEE623

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IMHO, a life span is too short for any person's mind to be capable of putting all the pieces of the universe together to form a complete picture. We explain everything in words, in languages; yet languages were a mere product of our own mind, an unfinished one. Are they capable of helping us explain the universe?
 

Fluffywolf

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We should be capable to simplify our understanding, though.

Example. When you drop a ball to the ground, you can simply say that "gravity causes the ball to be pulled to the earth." Or you could write an entire essay about it with figures, math and physics explaining into every detail with all present forces such as gravity, friction, air density, weight, etc, etc.

Both the one sentence as well as the essay capture the main idea behind why the ball is falling. But the one sentence is easy to understand for everyone, whilest the latter more descriptive means might confuse people.

Same way I view the 'questions' of the universe. We might not be able to grasp every single detail, as our senses and limits would most likely be incapable of this. But we might be able to gather the answers in enough detail to come to a well rounded conclusion.
 
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