Is philosophy a skill?

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Judaka
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Is philosophy a skill?

Post by Judaka »

For people like myself who are interested in philosophy, we spend a great deal of time devoted to thinking about, creating it and making choices. People also refer to famous philosophers for guidance, presumably under the belief that their fame is due to them having said something worth hearing. Can anyone do this or can someone be GOOD at philosophy?

Do you feel philosophy is a skill that can be improved over time, or would someone who started taking philosophy seriously today be equally effective at it as anyone else? If you think philosophy is a skill, why and what about it makes it a skill?

I ask this question because I always found it interesting that philosophy can have so much time devoted to it but many people talk about as though everyone has one or it's just a choice whether you do it or not, like turning on a TV. While I feel my opinions are developed over time, I'm unsure of whether my abilities as a philosopher have been improved over time.
Spectrum
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Re: Is philosophy a skill?

Post by Spectrum »

It is critical to define 'what is philosophy' before addressing the OP.

I define 'Philosophy' as leveraged upon the fundamental drive inherent within all humans to strive for continuous 'positive' improvement to optimize [within constraints] the well being of the individual and the collective.
This striving for continuous improvement [Philosophy] overrides all human activities, this is how we have the Philosophy of X [anything].

To achieve the above, Philosophy [like the conductor of a symphony] relies on all sorts of tools, philosophy itself [its various subsets], logic, language, Science, 'higher' rationality, management and whatever tools necessary.

Like the conductor of a symphony who need skill, the philosopher also need skill in general philosophy and be reasonable good in all skills of the tools used.

So, Philosophy is a skill [require development] in the above sense.
Not-a-theist. Religion is a critical necessity for humanity now, but not the FUTURE.
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Hereandnow
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Re: Is philosophy a skill?

Post by Hereandnow »

Apologies Spectrum. I have something altogether different, and I would think as a Buddhist you would agree: Philosophy is the yoga of the destruction, or deconstruction, of the world, the point of which is enlightenment (to be discussed if desired). Yes, it is a skill; one that dismantles foundational assumptions, exposes them for their failings, and in the end recommends shutting up and letting something extraordinary rise within.
Judaka
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Re: Is philosophy a skill?

Post by Judaka »

I would define the act of "doing" philosophy as the construction of a method or style of thinking but people can add their own definitions in their post if it is different.
Spectrum
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Re: Is philosophy a skill?

Post by Spectrum »

Hereandnow wrote: January 6th, 2018, 12:04 am Apologies Spectrum. I have something altogether different, and I would think as a Buddhist you would agree: Philosophy is the yoga of the destruction, or deconstruction, of the world, the point of which is enlightenment (to be discussed if desired). Yes, it is a skill; one that dismantles foundational assumptions, exposes them for their failings, and in the end recommends shutting up and letting something extraordinary rise within.
I am not a Buddhist officially but has a great respect for its philosophies and practices, and I adopt many of those suited to my inclinations.

My definition of Philosophy is defined in my earlier post.
I believe Philosophy is more effective in analogy to the principles and skills necessary for a symphony conductor to perform his/her best, similarly philosophy conducts the symphony of life which comprised every aspect for the better and continuous improvement.
I have tested this definition and it works for every and whatever the case.

As for Buddhism, there is more construction than destruction which applies to the rewiring of the brain for continuous improvement and the better. Nirvana is never teleological but driven along a path of continuous improvement via the Middle Way.

Buddhism is more on the rewiring of the brain for the better, but at present it is based on the 'black box' method which is not very efficient. However in the future when the Human Connectome Project [Mapping of the Whole Human Brain] has reached certain critical milestones, humanity will be able to expedite the rewiring of the brain/mind more expeditiously [foolproof, no side effects and voluntarily].
Not-a-theist. Religion is a critical necessity for humanity now, but not the FUTURE.
Spectrum
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Re: Is philosophy a skill?

Post by Spectrum »

Judaka wrote: January 6th, 2018, 1:57 am I would define the act of "doing" philosophy as the construction of a method or style of thinking but people can add their own definitions in their post if it is different.
If you do not state the end results, then your definition of philosophy [related to wisdom] could be directed to promoting evil.

In addition you cannot avoid including the best tools for the job.
Not-a-theist. Religion is a critical necessity for humanity now, but not the FUTURE.
Judaka
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Re: Is philosophy a skill?

Post by Judaka »

Well I would define philosophy as the act of doing, deconstructing and negotiating the constructions of methods or styles of thinking. I think philosophies can be dangerous, ineffective or violent. The main issue of attaching a skill to philosophy on a societal level to me seems to be the ambiguity on what philosophy is supposed to accomplish. I wanted to ask those who engage in philosophy on a day-to-day basis whether they feel they are working on a skill/discipline or something more similar to writing a book or even simply exercising their opinion on a range of topics that interest them and happen to be consider philosophical.
Spectrum
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Re: Is philosophy a skill?

Post by Spectrum »

Judaka wrote: January 6th, 2018, 4:07 am I think philosophies can be dangerous, ineffective or violent.
This is where your view goes off tangent when you do not define Philosophy effectively.
Spectrum wrote:I define 'Philosophy' as leveraged upon the fundamental drive inherent within all humans to strive for continuous 'positive' improvement to optimize [within constraints] the well being of the individual and the collective.
This striving for continuous improvement [Philosophy] overrides all human activities, this is how we have the Philosophy of X [anything].
By my definition, the default of Philosophy is always toward the 'good' and never evil, i.e.
"[optimize [within constraints] the well being of the individual and the collective. The critical tool to use is the Philosophy of Morality and Ethics together with other relevant tools on a continuous improvement basis.
The main issue of attaching a skill to philosophy on a societal level to me seems to be the ambiguity on what philosophy is supposed to accomplish. I wanted to ask those who engage in philosophy on a day-to-day basis whether they feel they are working on a skill/discipline or something more similar to writing a book or even simply exercising their opinion on a range of topics that interest them and happen to be consider philosophical.
Based on my definition of philosophy, I will strive to continually improve myself in all aspects of life [knowledge and skills] optimally using all tool available within the constraints I am facing to contribute to my personal well being and that of humanity.

Obviously I will not be achieving ideal results or expected results at all times but at least I have a model/system to rely on to get feedback and improve upon.
Not-a-theist. Religion is a critical necessity for humanity now, but not the FUTURE.
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Hereandnow
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Re: Is philosophy a skill?

Post by Hereandnow »

Spectrum:
As for Buddhism, there is more construction than destruction which applies to the rewiring of the brain for continuous improvement and the better. Nirvana is never teleological but driven along a path of continuous improvement via the Middle Way.
You're right about your not being a Buddhist. I would just drop the "officially" part. The Middle Way, the Four Noble Truths, the Eight Fold Path: these are just heuristics, and have no value whatever besides this. You can take up Buddhist ideas freely, as you please, of course.
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Burning ghost
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Re: Is philosophy a skill?

Post by Burning ghost »

Anything that can be practiced and improved is a skill. I think if we use our experiences to better ourselves and our environment then we're "improving."

Thinking is a skill, so philosophy must be a skill.
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Eduk
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Re: Is philosophy a skill?

Post by Eduk »

Philosophy can mean different things to different people (see above). Personally I like to go with the normative dictionary definition/s and work from there.
1. the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline.
2. a theory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour.
So for me both 1 and 2 are valid and different definitions.

Personally I think it is interesting that people call philosophy a skill without considering bad philosophies. Philosophies which close the mind, prevent thought and create puppets. I would say 'good' philosophy was a skill. The trick of course comes in identifying what is 'good' philosophy.
Unknown means unknown.
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Burning ghost
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Re: Is philosophy a skill?

Post by Burning ghost »

Eduk wrote: January 22nd, 2018, 2:29 pm Philosophy can mean different things to different people (see above). Personally I like to go with the normative dictionary definition/s and work from there.
1. the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline.
2. a theory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour.
So for me both 1 and 2 are valid and different definitions.

Personally I think it is interesting that people call philosophy a skill without considering bad philosophies. Philosophies which close the mind, prevent thought and create puppets. I would say 'good' philosophy was a skill. The trick of course comes in identifying what is 'good' philosophy.
I think its interesting that you conflate good/bad with skill? I can skillfully murder a thousand people, my skill would be good (obviously, due to the success of my sweeping blade), but that doesn't make the act a good act.
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Eduk
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Re: Is philosophy a skill?

Post by Eduk »

Good point yesterday you raise an interesting idea.
First off all there is more than one meaning to good. I was thinking of things like good cooking not good acts.
So in that sense your scenario is easily resolved as the murderer is a good swordsman but committing a bad deed.
But that's trivial. Where I think it gets interesting is if you can be good at philosophy (using definition 2 above) but commit bad actions. To me that would be like a good chef cooking a bad meal. It's possible but less likely than with a bad chef. Of course less likely doesn't mean impossible.
So on balance I think you could be good at narrow elements within philosophy but prone to bad philosophical choices. Or the other way around.
Could you be good in general (at philosophy) with no failing of skill and still make bad decisions? I'm not saying it's impossible but it's a bit like looking for something, finding it, and then looking for it somewhere else. As in if you know the best choice you can still willfully pick a worse option.
As normal life is complex.
Unknown means unknown.
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