I cannot stop questioning...

[Nyx]

I cannot stop questioning philosophical issues. I have delved deeply into both sides of many of the main debates and of course come out with no new answers. Everything is subject to doubt. Can you ever really know anything? If not...is it possible to give life any meaning? How can you live life to the fullest if you cannot stop questioning? How can you not question things/Does anyone else feel this way?

 

[Snow Turtle]

Why can't a person live life fully while questioning things?
Why does life require meaning to live fully?
What does living fully even mean?

Why are these questions more special than your normal "How'd you do?" questions?

Sorry for no answers. ^^;

 

[laughingebony]

I cannot stop questioning philosophical issues. I have delved deeply into both sides of many of the main debates and of course come out with no new answers. Everything is subject to doubt.

I think my psychology professor from last fall depicted this problem quite elegantly. (Granted, I think he said he heard this idea from someone else.)

Although we usually consider Newton's laws of motion to be within the realm of physics, Newton would not have called himself a physicist, since physics had not yet differentiated itself as an independent field of study. Newton would have called himself a natural philosopher. Psychology, likewise, was categorized as philosophy until the late 1800s. As we discover new truths and ways of discerning truths, we give those methods their own branches of study. Philosophy, then, is left with the stuff we don't know and/or don't know how to know (which could be argued to be everything).

Can you ever really know anything?

I'm going to have to get semantic here. According to dictionary.com, to "know" is to "to perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty," at least by the first definition. It should be evident that one can perceive or understand some concept as fact or truth without that concept necessarily being true in the objective reality (if there even is such a thing). If a person convinced himself 100% that 2+2=5, then he would "know" that it was true, but it wouldn't actually be true. (I know that point can be argued, but just play along.)

If not...is it possible to give life any meaning?

You can always impose your own meaning upon life and run with it. Who's to say your own meaning is any less valid (not in the strictly logical sense) than any other meaning?

Does anyone else feel this way?

I do. Very much so.

Why can't a person live life fully while questioning things?

It's hard to make something of life if you question every single thing you do, trying to find some profound meaning in eating breakfast before eating in the morning.

 

[Timeless]

I guess this is why we need those S types to keep our heads on the ground.

 

[Oom]

I guess this is why we need those S types to keep our heads on the ground.

Then we would be like ostriches. Birds incapable of flight.

 

[Quinlan]

I guess this is why we need those S types to keep our heads on the ground.

I feel like this often though.

 

[Nyx]

I think my psychology professor from last fall depicted this problem quite elegantly. (Granted, I think he said he heard this idea from someone else.)

Although we usually consider Newton's laws of motion to be within the realm of physics, Newton would not have called himself a physicist, since physics had not yet differentiated itself as an independent field of study. Newton would have called himself a natural philosopher. Psychology, likewise, was categorized as philosophy until the late 1800s. As we discover new truths and ways of discerning truths, we give those methods their own branches of study. Philosophy, then, is left with the stuff we don't know and/or don't know how to know (which could be argued to be everything).

Well, that sums it up nicely.

I'm going to have to get semantic here. According to dictionary.com, to "know" is to "to perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty," at least by the first definition. It should be evident that one can perceive or understand some concept as fact or truth without that concept necessarily being true in the objective reality (if there even is such a thing). If a person convinced himself 100% that 2+2=5, then he would "know" that it was true, but it wouldn't actually be true. (I know that point can be argued, but just play along.)

Ok, so can you ever know if something is true or false?...what about objective truth? (uughh, I feel like these discussions have been rehashed literal millions of times, but I am always interested to here what other people have concluded.)

It's hard to make something of life if you question every single thing you do, trying to find some profound meaning in eating breakfast before eating in the morning.

Good point. Reminds me of the Buddhist teachings of mindfulness.

I guess this is why we need those S types to keep our heads on the ground.

Hahaha yes, though I would only say that to other Ns (errr... in jest of course ). Unfortunately, I have had many uncomfortable arguments with Ss about Nness and some of them feel inferior... a touchy subject. Everyone plays a part in the game...I try to assure them they are more than just a cog in the whole thing.

 

[Blank]

I rather like what Vonnegut had to say on the subject--See my sig.

 

[swordpath]

"Truth" is just a claim.

 

[Athenian200]

I cannot stop questioning philosophical issues. I have delved deeply into both sides of many of the main debates and of course come out with no new answers. Everything is subject to doubt. Can you ever really know anything? If not...is it possible to give life any meaning? How can you live life to the fullest if you cannot stop questioning? How can you not question things/Does anyone else feel this way?

My username is Athenian. What do people usually associate ancient Athens with? In short, yes, someone else feels this way. Many have, and many do, in fact.

I don't believe it's possible to know the world, but I do believe it's possible to know ourselves to some degree. We can know what is right for us, and we can constantly improve our ability to make valid assumptions.

I actually believe that it's the lack of knowledge that gives life meaning. I think If we actually KNEW something, we would no longer be curious about it, and it would become meaningless. It's the very fact that it's an argument, that it's not known for certain, that gives it meaning.

I think that questioning is what life is all about, thus in the very process of questioning and exploring/modifying our sense of knowledge, we ARE living life to the fullest. In other words, the meaning is in the questions, not the answers.

That's my take, anyway.

 

[antireconciler]

Good questions! If the point of questioning is to arrive at answers, then to question at all implies that there are answers. Even if "everything is subject to doubt" there are still the structures in place which allow for doubting at all. That means doubting can't be entirely negative, but requires other things to be in place in order to be what it is. It can be overwhelming, but hopefully you can also take a step back from the doubting process and see that it is an ordinary movement of the mind which does not throw away that which is doubted, but rather retains it in a different way which no longer takes it for granted, and gives it a kind of life or space to follow its own movements. Doubt is an implicit function of the mind, so there is surely nothing about it to be troubled by in itself.

 

[Xander]

How to survive when you question everything... personally I'd turn that around and ask if you are really alive if you don't!

Although it is possible to have a darned good definition of an apple in your head it remains impossible to have an actual apple in your head (well avoiding certain nasty procedures and ignoring the eating process of course). Therefore what is stored away in your head is an approximation. If you cannot be absolutely sure that it is true then the only calculable method to go forward is to include the uncertainty within your thinking. Personally I gave up on certainty and truth a while ago. I tend more towards estimated probability. If something is probable then at a certain point you may as well treat it as true unless the parameters which make it probable are significantly altered.

Oh yeah and ignoring all the BS about "what does life mean", which I'm about 90% sure is a question for when you're stoned only, is a definite must if you want to firstly not lose your mind to the soup from which this question arrives and secondly ever hope to make any kind of coherent sense.

 

[Snow Turtle]

It's hard to make something of life if you question every single thing you do, trying to find some profound meaning in eating breakfast before eating in the morning.

Mmm breakfast.
Those crunchy letters are signs from the universe!

I actually believe that it's the lack of knowledge that gives life meaning. I think If we actually KNEW something, we would no longer be curious about it, and it would become meaningless. It's the very fact that it's an argument, that it's not known for certain, that gives it meaning.

I think that questioning is what life is all about, thus in the very process of questioning and exploring/modifying our sense of knowledge, we ARE living life to the fullest. In other words, the meaning is in the questions, not the answers.

That's my take, anyway.

Nice answer. The search process for truth is important. How would you incorporate it with beliefs such as enlightenment which is all about discovering truth?

Ok, so can you ever know if something is true or false?...what about objective truth? (uughh, I feel like these discussions have been rehashed literal millions of times, but I am always interested to here what other people have concluded.)

Haha. Makes me wonder though... is mainstream philosophy slowly dying? As we slowly move towards answers from other scientific fields. Clearly the answer would be no based on what philosophy means but still it needs some new topics as it's all starting to sound the same. Anybody with new questions?

 

[antireconciler]

Makes me wonder though... is mainstream philosophy slowly dying? As we slowly move towards answers from other scientific fields. Clearly the answer would be no based on what philosophy means but still it needs some new topics as it's all starting to sound the same. Anybody with new questions?

Well, if you start with such basic questions, then it will surely seem like old territory. A lot of philosophical questions posed on a forum like this can be generalities for much more specific questions that are perhaps too personal to the writer to give in all their specificity. Even the author in a lot of cases may not even be aware that they mean something more specific, but asking general questions can perhaps probe for verification for responses that the OP (in general) already has in some implicit format in their mind. It can work as a kind of disguised sanity check. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is helpful maybe if it is known ahead of time that the author may not be expecting anything particularly original. Philosophy, in terms of the meaning it has for a person is simply inherently personal, even though it strives for objectivity.

 

[Oaky]

Why can't a person live life fully while questioning things?

Why not?

Why does life require meaning to live fully?

Why not?

What does living fully even mean?

What do you perceive living fully to mean?

Why are these questions more special than your normal "How'd you do?" questions?

Why not?

Why must people ask why questions? Why not?

 

[stellar renegade]

I cannot stop questioning philosophical issues. I have delved deeply into both sides of many of the main debates and of course come out with no new answers. Everything is subject to doubt. Can you ever really know anything? If not...is it possible to give life any meaning? How can you live life to the fullest if you cannot stop questioning? How can you not question things/Does anyone else feel this way?

You can't ever really be certain of anything because knowledge is just inside of your head and is an interpretation of external things and events. It's best to just live in the here and now and let things interpret themselves.

Even if we can't know anything in a Cartesian sense, at least we can have a good enough understanding to risk taking action. Quantum physics allows for anything to happen - the floor could open up right under me and I could fall through to the first story. But do I worry about that? No, but if it happens I'll just figure out some way to deal with it.

To me, truth is practical, and knowledge is just a useful mechanism for dealing with life. Like my friend said once, it's all shit. You can play with it and obsess over it all day, or you can bury it in the ground and use it to make something better.

Even if you can't "prove" we exist, even if you just have to shrug your shoulders at the thought of it all being a dream - at least just enjoy the dream. Get out a bag of popcorn and enjoy the movie. You know what I mean.

 

[Rajah]

Why, yes, I am offering insight from a reputable repository of philosophy: Buffy the Vampire Slayer's 6th season brilliant but Emmy-snubbed musical episode.

Life's not a song
Life isn’t bliss
Life is just this
Its living
You’ll get along
The pain that you feel
You only can heal by living
You have to go on living
So one of us is living

The hardest thing in this world is to live in it

 

[Sniffles]

As Socrates once put it, the wise man is one who knows he's ignorant. No many can truely claim to possess knowledge, only that they're a lover of such.

 

[Fluffywolf]

It's a lot of fun to read up on a philosophy subject and truely feel it feels right. Then suddenly when you ask the right question, it all crashes and burns.

 

[Snow Turtle]

Why not?

Why not?

What do you perceive living fully to mean?

Why not?

Why must people ask why questions? Why not?

I love my why questions. Unfortunately I wasn't there to give answers, only ask questions xD. Granted I see your point, it's all abit pointless giving counter examples since there is no real answer or lots of multiple answers... which really mean nothing.