(December 14, 2015 at 12:31 pm)Kingpin Wrote: Hawking states in his book, “Philosophy is dead. It has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly in physics. As a result scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge.”
What an astonishing statement! He does not appear to understand the first thing about it, nor its commitment to the elementary rules of logical analysis. Hawking’s statement is itself a philosophical statement. It is manifestly not a statement of science; it is a philosophical statement about science. Therefore, because it says that philosophy is dead, it contradicts itself. It is a classic example of logical incoherence. Not only that, Hawking, insofar as he is interpreting and applying science to ultimate questions like the existence of God, is doing metaphysics. Saying philosophy is dead is very dangerous especially when you yourself engage in it.
I think you're misunderstanding what he's saying. He's not saying that philosophy itself is useless. He's just saying that philosophers have failed to update their philosophies using the latest scientific findings, and I wholeheartedly agree. When was the last time you heard someone pontificating on the soul quote the latest neuroscientific findings? I've never heard one. I think this is what Hawking means when philsophy is dead. It's not that he's saying it's not useful. Scientists are well aware that there is philosophy behind science. He's saying that the philosopher's inability to keep up with modern knowledge leaves philosophy dying.
And careful with the talk of metaphysics. We don't take talk like that kindly 'round here.
