Philosophy: What does it take?

[Zekromic 1,054]

In that situation I don't think there is necessarily a true good or evil, simply two convictions clashing.

 

But that almost contradicts my first point.

 

Yay, not making sense.

Well, nothing is absolute, and nothing is black and white, we contradict ourselves pretty often 

[Discordian 6,015]

For every five times you spout nonsense there is always one moment of surprising clarity and profoundness. 

I aim to please.

 

 

Well, nothing is absolute, and nothing is black and white, we contradict ourselves pretty often

Contradiction is our minds trying to make sure we think what we think to know where we truly stand.

[PsychedelicPony 440]

 

 

No I understand that point. I do believe in God, but trying to prove He/It exists simply based on "I just feel it" is nothing but baseless conjecture; and is no more intellectually valuable than trying to claim there's a "missing" digit in between 0-9 simply because the novelty of the idea is subjectively interesting. 

 

 

Another point that is important to philosophy is understanding if an argument is sound. One of the biggest unsound arguments are arguments that are circular. Circular arguments are ones where the premises are only true because of the conclusion being true and the conclusion is only true because of the premises being true. The main example of these sort of arguments is "God exists because the Bible says so" and "The Bible is true because it is the word of God" you see how this argument is unsound?

Edited March 30, 2014 by PsychedelicPony

[AlicornAcolyte 254]

For every five times you spout nonsense there is always one moment of surprising clarity and profoundness. 

 

Well, now, I'm rather enjoying having a devil's advocate here!

 

 

OH MY GOD, THIS ALREADY HAS 8 PAGES? W00T

 

Most of the posts so far have been chitchat, but we have indeed tackled the great issues from time to time!   

[Sun Burst 5]

Philosophy could be a synonym to pondering, thinking deeply, loving the truth or simple thinking. It really doesnt have a paradigma. It also depends which kind of philosophy you are interested in. Metaphysics, fenomenalism? I am interested only in existentialism. I mostly read books by Nietzsche and Sartre and am kind of nihilistic in this view of things. So being a philosopher cant be really described. You can consider yourself one or not depending on your view, be it because of respect for great minds or arguying that every human is a philospher. Philosophers are mostly free thinkers and thats why you cant really get a proper definition to anything. They dont agree to anything be it fundamental or not. Realism or solipsism or other ? Only you can answer the question what philosophy is to you.

[AlicornAcolyte 254]

@@Steel Accord, any other philosophy topics we should be addressing here? 

[Steel Accord 6,660]

@@Steel Accord, any other philosophy topics we should be addressing here?

Not sure. What else is there to discuss?

[AlicornAcolyte 254]

Well, philosophers have found things to talk about for thousands of years! 

 

 

Maybe we can discuss why philosophy is important to think about?

[Treble Bolt 1,122]

There are many kinds of philosophy...I am more of a Epistemologist than any other kind of basic philosopher (although I tout no degree)..speaking of which, something that I have not yet read so far in this thread is the ability of abstract thinking. In order to really delve into any philosophical matters, one must be able to put themselves into other perspectives. They need to find an understanding as to WHY people come to different conclusions about philosophical topics. To put yourself into other peoples' shoes allows for more constructive discussions as well, and that's how everyone should approach any debatable subject matter. I believe approaching subjects from many different perspectives as well can help one find better grounding in their own beliefs and opinions.

I am by degree a Biblical Theologian. Religion is very subjective, and arguing over religion is something I cannot stand (because nothing comes out of it besides angry, stubborn people). Thus, I believe that in order to get a well rounded grasp upon my own beliefs and ability to teach the multiplicity of perspectives respectably, I study everything.  For the Bible, I not only study the original Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew (to the best of my own ability), I also study as many English translations as I can. I even study other religions. I want to know as much as I can about why other religions are the way they are, as well as the culture around the religions.

Well, I'm rambling now....I love philosophical discussions! Most of my daily thoughts are philosophical in nature ( I don't have much of a life), and sometimes I want to bang my head against the wall when I dive too deep (and cannot rationalize myself out).....