What Makes Philosophy Interesting and Important in Life?

[Pattern-chaser]

To continue the music analogy, there are times (like this week) when this forum seems like a chaotic din to my ear, not wildly unlike music class when thirty children would play Moon River on the recorder.

Nice analogy. I think I can hear those philosophical recorders, if I listen carefully...

[JackDaydream]

@Pattern-chaser
Yes, I was amused by what Sy Borg said about 'the chaotic din' of voices here. I may be one of the voices singing out of tune but there seem to be times when threads and the general 'vibes' of the forum seem so much better than others. When I read and get irritated, I often wonder how much is due to me. Perhaps, we all need to learn to play the recorder a little more tunefully. Perhaps, we all need to keep a bit of a sense of humour too, because I find that as someone who thinks too much, if I lose the ability to smile and laugh, it all gets too grim. I like to be able to laugh at the absurdities of life, but I prefer to laugh at myself rather than at others, to avoid causing offence.

[Sy Borg]

I may be one of the voices singing out of tune ...

Not you ... others.

[anonymous66]

I was first drawn to philosophy as an alternative to religion. One can ask questions about reality and answer those questions in various ways. One of those ways is religion. It seems to me that these days another option is science. Philosophy just looks to me like a better way to ask and answer questions about reality. And philosophy appears to be more challenging than either religion or science - so it has that going for it.

[LuckyR]

I was first drawn to philosophy as an alternative to religion. One can ask questions about reality and answer those questions in various ways. One of those ways is religion. It seems to me that these days another option is science. Philosophy just looks to me like a better way to ask and answer questions about reality. And philosophy appears to be more challenging than either religion or science - so it has that going for it.

Well religion tells you what to do, but is light on why. Science tells you what is going on, but it is up to you to decide what to do about it. Philosophy allows you to decide what to do and why. How you get there is your choice and since you only have to answer to yourself, the quality of your conclusions is mostly dependant on your integrity, which can vary dramatically. Garbage in, garbage out.

[anonymous66]

This fits my view of philosophy pretty well:

"But between theology and science there is a No Man's Land, exposed to attacks from both sides; this No Man's Land is philosophy."
Bertrand Russell

[JackDaydream]

@anonymous66

Absolutely, the big questions about reality and how it all comes together, especially in relation to the idea of 'God' do take us into the area of no man's land, or as TS Eliot described as the 'wasteland'. I feel that I inhabit this place, in between science and science and it is not easy at all, especially in relation to the big questions about metaphysics and what is reality. I live with an ongoing issue of being extremely perplexed and I have no idea if others on the forum feel this too, because no one as far as I am aware has expressed the problems of philosophy in these exact terms. I will probably continue to explore the underlying issues which I perceive, but so much arises in the area between science and philosophy. It may appear that science can demonstrate so much empirically, but it can be asked what questions arise in the limitations of science and its methods of ascertaining knowledge?