What is Philosophy?

[SolitaryWalker]

I insist that the first thread of this topic be imbued with meaningful content.

Why dont we go ahead and try to clearly define for what we understand philosophical discussions to be. Set a standard once and for all, so in the future we may know what to hold to, so we can avoid many of the decidedly unphilosophical exchanges that took place in this area in INTPc.

[Brendan]

2 a : pursuit of wisdom b : a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means c : an analysis of the grounds of and concepts expressing fundamental beliefs

[SolitaryWalker]

That is a sound perspective.

Essentially philosophy should be a pursuit of wisdom, though again we have to be careful about what we understand for wisdom to be.

I'd like to make a point now about how one should engage in philosophy only to gain an understanding and argue only for that purpose. If you are arguing to prove something or to use philosophy to some other end, you're in the wrong enterprise.

I do believe that philosophy does transcend empirical evidence and the province of conventional sciences, yet at the same time it is free to lodge on that territory as well!

[Brendan]

If you are arguing to prove something or to use philosophy to some other end, you're in the wrong enterprise.

Why?

I do believe that philosophy does transcend empirical evidence and the province of conventional sciences, yet at the same time it is free to lodge on that territory as well!

I'm of the opinion that it's somewhat beneath the hard sciences, as it's not culpable to empiricism.

[SolitaryWalker]

Why?

I'm of the opinion that it's somewhat beneath the hard sciences, as it's not culpable to empiricism.

Oh absolutely philosophy underlies the hardsciences, you got that right. One way to think of it is that hard sciences are concerned with something like physics which are firmly grounded in empiricism, yet philosophy does metaphysics. You need metaphysics to do physics, after all, you need a hypothesis of some kind to do an experiment.

The answer to your first question is that if you start thinking that you need to convince someone or you need to use philosophy to accomplish something other than the discovery of truth, you will be distracted from your task of pursuit of truth. And hence in the long run you will wind up at a point where you do philosophy not to learn but to convince yourself of a rectitude of your initial prejudices. Your inquiry will degenerate into mere sophistry.

[Totenkindly]

The answer to your first question is that if you start thinking that you need to convince someone or you need to use philosophy to accomplish something other than the discovery of truth, you will be distracted from your task of pursuit of truth. And hence in the long run you will wind up at a point where you do philosophy not to learn but to convince yourself of a rectitude of your initial prejudices. Your inquiry will degenerate into mere sophistry.

*still pretending not to recognize seawolf*

[targobelle]

Philosophy is about personal growth inorder to reach a greater more indepth perspective on life and events around you. It's about looking for a meaning that is greater than what is just visible or attainable through the naked eye.

[Eileen]

Hmm. I think philosophy only rarely has anything to do with "personal growth." Personal growth might be a result of a philosophical discussion, but philosophy itself is not personal growth.

[SolitaryWalker]

Hmm. I think philosophy only rarely has anything to do with "personal growth." Personal growth might be a result of a philosophical discussion, but philosophy itself is not personal growth.

I will agree with that. Philosophy's task should be to understand the world and does not keep in perspective any of your personal ends.

So personal growth can come as an entailment of all that you've gained from your inquiries.

[Anonymous]

Philosophy is simply the search for truth which is not yet reachable by science, I think. Science has already answered some questions that only philosophy could make a hack at earlier, and those questions are no longer philosophical in nature. There are many other questions, though, that it will take quite a while for science to be able to answer, or never be able to answer at all. And these are the ones that philosophy will always be around for.