Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

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UniversalAlien
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Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

Post by UniversalAlien »

In the first answer, I will answer my own question:

I am here engaged in a mental exercise for its own sake - To exercise my mind.

I don't necessarily expect to find any deep meaning or answers to basic philosophical questions,
but in attempting to do so I can keep my brain functioning, especially important as we age.

How about you :?: Can you tell us what meaning you see in philosophical inquiry and speculation :?:
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chewybrian
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Re: Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

Post by chewybrian »

As I could dig a hole without a shovel, I could come to understand myself and the world without the use of philosophy, yet they both have their purpose.

I think philosophy provides us questions, not answers. It gives us a possible framework to use to subjectively study ourselves and the world in a slightly more objective way. But, I can only find my own answers, whether they overlap with Sartre or Epictetus or some other philosopher or not. If I simply absorb the text and import the thoughts as if they were all my own, and declare myself an existentialist, for example, then I have probably failed the test, and not really engaged in philosophy at all.

The value of philosophy must be unique to each one who engages in it. For me, the value is as a gateway to psychology. It helps me see how my thinking has been distorted in the past. It helps me to try to think more clearly. It prompts me to forgive others for making similar mistakes, making the world seem like a better place in the process. The same world seems brighter if I attribute the BS to ignorance rather than malice. Once I see and admit these faults in myself, it is easy to see them in others and to forgive both myself and others. All that remains is to go forward and do the best I can, and to assume that others are doing the same in most cases.
"If determinism holds, then past events have conspired to cause me to hold this view--it is out of my control. Either I am right about free will, or it is not my fault that I am wrong."
Nick_A
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Re: Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

Post by Nick_A »

From Jacob Needleman's book "The Heart of Philosophy"

Chapter 1

Introduction

Man cannot live without philosophy. This is not a figure of speech but a literal fact that will be demonstrated in this book. There is a yearning in the heart that is nourished only by real philosophy and without this nourishment man dies as surely as if he were deprived of food and air. But this part of the human psyche is not known or honored in our culture. When it does breakthrough to our awareness it is either ignored or treated as something else. It is given wrong names; it is not cared for; it is crushed. And eventually, it may withdraw altogether, never again to appear. When this happens man becomes a thing. No matter what he accomplishes or experiences, no matter what happiness he experiences or what service he performs, he has in fact lost his real possibility. He is dead.

……………………….The function of philosophy in human life is to help Man remember. It has no other task. And anything that calls itself philosophy which does not serve this function is simply not philosophy……………………………….
Man would like to be an egoist and cannot. This is the most striking characteristic of his wretchedness and the source of his greatness." Simone Weil....Gravity and Grace
popeye1945
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Re: Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

Post by popeye1945 »

Philosophy is wonder and without it we dry up and blow away. Quest is the inactment, the reaction to wonder, without which there would be no fire to cook with!!!
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psyreporter
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Re: Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

Post by psyreporter »

My argument for the purpose of philosophy:

Philosophy can test whether scientific beliefs / ideas or methodologies are plausible, and/or if they remain so upon new developments / discoveries. Philosophy can investigate questions that span multiple fields and connect the dots to find valuable insights that could be essential for determining what is "good" for the future of humans.

In the same time philosophy can be responsible. It will listen to scientists and anything that they pose can be challenged with no sort of dogmatic resistance. The rickety nature of philosophy could be a quality for flexibility and the prevention of dogma's. Instead of holding on to ideas, ideas can be changed if you can convince that it should.

Philosophy or thinking could walk upfront, beyond what is known, using imagination. It could help make science more efficient. Instead of relying on past science with as logical effect dogma's (scientific facts are considered hard truths that cannot be denied), it could test hundreds of dogma's in theory while it will remain open to continuous testing or challenging of past assumptions using methods that are continuously developed or enhanced.

My personal perspective/idea is that philosophy could be vital for humanity in the (near) future. To facilitate and structurize a return to the human wisdom "think before you act". With modern day risks such as exponential growth, putting intelligence before practice may become increasingly essential.
PsyReporter.com | “If life were to be good as it was, there would be no reason to exist.”
Tegularius
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Re: Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

Post by Tegularius »

Philosophy is simply that which we chose to think upon. As usual some of it gets implemented; most of it gets chucked. If there's any purpose to philosophy it's to create a reasonable hypotheses upon whatever premises its based. It doesn't have to be true only coherent. It's the mind's single battery flashlight searching in very dark caves.
The earth has a skin and that skin has diseases; one of its diseases is called man ... Nietzsche
Fellowmater
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Re: Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

Post by Fellowmater »

I think about philosophy to be a field in which people study a corpus of works by writers, some of them 2500 years old, in whom nothing new is going to be discovered. (Like, "I never noticed before that Plato mentioned how much he admired brain surgeons.") Philosophy is narrowly focused on the nature of the cosmos, this world, and us--mostly us, and a bucket full of vague abstractions like "truth". As such, philosophy has at various times hatched new fields (such as psychology) which have gone on to supersede the achievements of philosophy in specific ways.

It is not the only field of study by which one can become a better thinker. Most fields of study--geology, history, biology, literature, art criticism, mathematics, music, physics, theology, sociology, chemistry, supply chain management, etc. require one to think clearly and practice systematic and disciplined thought.
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sulfur_man
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Re: Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

Post by sulfur_man »

Simple answer – the purpose of philosophy is to search for the truth, but it sounds platonic.
But what you mean by the purpose of philosophy? The answer depends on philosophical schools and doctrines.
Nick_A
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Re: Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

Post by Nick_A »

sulfur_man wrote: April 27th, 2021, 2:08 pm Simple answer – the purpose of philosophy is to search for the truth, but it sounds platonic.
But what you mean by the purpose of philosophy? The answer depends on philosophical schools and doctrines.
Hi Sulfur-Man

Is the search for truth the same as the lover of wisdom? Do you recognize difference?
The idea of philosophy goes all the way back to ancient Greece. It is said that the philosopher Pythagoras in the 6th century BCE was the 1st to call himself a philosopher—a philosophos, or “lover of wisdom.” In calling himself this, he was not claiming to be wise. Instead, he was merely saying that he was somebody who valued or cherished wisdom.
Man would like to be an egoist and cannot. This is the most striking characteristic of his wretchedness and the source of his greatness." Simone Weil....Gravity and Grace
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UniversalAlien
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Re: Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

Post by UniversalAlien »

Hypothesis:

The purpose of philosophy is to know
:arrow: What we know; How we know; Why we know, and why we should know what we know

For example :arrow: Should we know what is the purpose of philosophy :?:
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sulfur_man
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Re: Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

Post by sulfur_man »

Hi Sulfur-Man
Is the search for truth the same as the lover of wisdom? Do you recognize difference?
Hello, Nick_A.

I assume that truth and wisdom are indissociable, therefore loving wisdom and searching for truth are equal by essence, but different in form. Loving wisdom is a quality, search for truth is an action.
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UniversalAlien
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Re: Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

Post by UniversalAlien »

What famous philosophers have said on the meaning of philosophy
- It is for us to determine the purpose:

“I think therefore I am” (“Cogito, ergo sum”)
– René Descartes

“Happiness is not an ideal of reason but of imagination”
– Immanuel Kant

“This is patently absurd; but whoever wishes to become a philosopher must learn not to be frightened by absurdities” – Bertrand Russell

“Life must be understood backward. But it must be lived forward ”
– Søren Kierkegaard

“Science is what you know. Philosophy is what you don't know”
– Bertrand Russell

“Things alter for the worse spontaneously, if they be not altered for the better designedly”
– Francis Bacon

“Is man merely a mistake of God's? Or God merely a mistake of man's?”
– Friedrich Nietzsche

“Man is the measure of all things”
– Protagoras
Asif
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Re: Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

Post by Asif »

Academic philosophy in general serves a political agenda,money and the striving for "prestige".
So many years of philosophy and what is agreed upon or certain?
Hardly anything!
Internet philosophers are generally show offs,abstracters and pedants who love boosting their low self esteem by word games and cynicism.

Philosophy is something that some have to overcome in a battle for freedom. To be oneself,free from societies ideology,that is to be rid of philosophy,that is freedom and practical wisdom.

Reason: off-topic ad hominem flooding
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UniversalAlien
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Re: Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

Post by UniversalAlien »

Asif wrote: June 20th, 2021, 1:27 pm Academic philosophy in general serves a political agenda,money and the striving for "prestige".
So many years of philosophy and what is agreed upon or certain?
Hardly anything!
Internet philosophers are generally show offs,abstracters and pedants who love boosting their low self esteem by word games and cynicism.

Philosophy is something that some have to overcome in a battle for freedom. To be oneself,free from societies ideology,that is to be rid of philosophy,that is freedom and practical wisdom.
So you have decided to stop posting on a philosophy forum? - And these are your final words on: "Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?"

GOODBYE
WanderingGaze22
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Re: Does Philosophy have any Purpose ?

Post by WanderingGaze22 »

I feel that philosophy's main purpose is to learn and have epiphanies about life. It helps us to learn from experience and make the lessons learned from each encounter more understandable for future generations. Having a profound interest shows just how dedicated one is to a cause or an ideal.
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