Philosophy
Note: Peru has proven to be an excellent forum for philosophy. Well balanced by a rigorous work-load, daily devotionals, and good sleep, I can participate in philosophical gymnastics, but manage to land on my feet every day on the mat of life.
"Philosopher" is a word often saddled by an unusally heavy load of connotations. Embittered crictics who decry the entire undertaking as "the endless spinning of dusty cobwebs" would be far from the mark except for a few of history's more ambitiously vague and archane so-called "philosophers". Today, philosophy is distrusted by some, and with cause, because of the hazy blanket of Rationalization, in which many of it's modern-day proponents are firmly ensconsced.
I wish to take a fresh look at the issue, stripping away layers of preconceived connotation which the word has accrued on it's long and wending path through the milenia.
William James, a psychologist by profesion, described philosophy as "a peculiarly stubborn effort to think clearly". I like that. Thinking clearly is the most important life skill. In this sense, philosophy is an attitude that demands questions, chews them for a while, and then forms an answer that is based on good reasoning, formed from a plausible hypothesis. In this light, philosophy may be seen as the minds filter, straining through muddy issues in an effort to separate the drinkable and the pathogenic.
Philosophy may not be seen as it's own field, unless the term is used loosely, as to accomadate numerous other fields of inquiry. Anthony Gottlieb puts it well in his history of philosophy "The Dream of Reason".
"The traditional image of it (philosphy) as a sort of meditative science of pure thought, strangely cut off from other subjects, is largely a trick of the historical light. The illusion is created by the way we look at the past, and in particular by the way in which knowledge tends to be labelled, chopped-up, and re-labbeled. ... Yesterday's moral philosophy becomes tomorrow's Jurisprudence or welfare economics. Yesterday's philosophy of mind becomes tomorrow's cognitive science. And the road runs in both directions: new inquiries in other disciplines prompt new questions for the philosophically curious." (Gottlieb, ix).
Whether or not philosophers have traditionally followed these terms in unimportant. I choose to make philosophy the tool by which I clarify my opinions, not muddy them. I also choose to apply the same rules for clearheaded thinking to a broader range of life than the field to which philosophy is traditionally limited.
Most importantly, I choose to base my thinking in "the Fear of God". The great philosopher Solomon, said "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction". (Prov. 1:7). God is the ultimate reality, and many is the great philosopher who ultimately fell into distraction by failing to realize it. I acknowledge him as the beginning, the end, the ultimate dimension, the creator, and ultimately the redeemer.
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths". (Prov 3:5-6 emphasis added).
"Philosopher" is a word often saddled by an unusally heavy load of connotations. Embittered crictics who decry the entire undertaking as "the endless spinning of dusty cobwebs" would be far from the mark except for a few of history's more ambitiously vague and archane so-called "philosophers". Today, philosophy is distrusted by some, and with cause, because of the hazy blanket of Rationalization, in which many of it's modern-day proponents are firmly ensconsced.
I wish to take a fresh look at the issue, stripping away layers of preconceived connotation which the word has accrued on it's long and wending path through the milenia.
William James, a psychologist by profesion, described philosophy as "a peculiarly stubborn effort to think clearly". I like that. Thinking clearly is the most important life skill. In this sense, philosophy is an attitude that demands questions, chews them for a while, and then forms an answer that is based on good reasoning, formed from a plausible hypothesis. In this light, philosophy may be seen as the minds filter, straining through muddy issues in an effort to separate the drinkable and the pathogenic.
Philosophy may not be seen as it's own field, unless the term is used loosely, as to accomadate numerous other fields of inquiry. Anthony Gottlieb puts it well in his history of philosophy "The Dream of Reason".
"The traditional image of it (philosphy) as a sort of meditative science of pure thought, strangely cut off from other subjects, is largely a trick of the historical light. The illusion is created by the way we look at the past, and in particular by the way in which knowledge tends to be labelled, chopped-up, and re-labbeled. ... Yesterday's moral philosophy becomes tomorrow's Jurisprudence or welfare economics. Yesterday's philosophy of mind becomes tomorrow's cognitive science. And the road runs in both directions: new inquiries in other disciplines prompt new questions for the philosophically curious." (Gottlieb, ix).
Whether or not philosophers have traditionally followed these terms in unimportant. I choose to make philosophy the tool by which I clarify my opinions, not muddy them. I also choose to apply the same rules for clearheaded thinking to a broader range of life than the field to which philosophy is traditionally limited.
Most importantly, I choose to base my thinking in "the Fear of God". The great philosopher Solomon, said "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction". (Prov. 1:7). God is the ultimate reality, and many is the great philosopher who ultimately fell into distraction by failing to realize it. I acknowledge him as the beginning, the end, the ultimate dimension, the creator, and ultimately the redeemer.
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths". (Prov 3:5-6 emphasis added).
posted by Jonas at 11:49 AM
2 Comments:
Superbe. I wish I had written something like this.
Peru has expanded your mind. I look forward to arguing with you:-)
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