RE: Generally speaking, is philosophy a worthwhile subject of study?
February 10, 2022 at 10:58 pm
(This post was last modified: February 10, 2022 at 10:59 pm by Belacqua.)
(February 10, 2022 at 9:30 pm)vulcanlogician Wrote: All the things you listed could be better understood by a critical examination of principles and truth. And academic philosophers explore all the issues you listed.
IMO, philosophy is not wholly an academic thing. It goes all the way back to Socrates (who had no degrees) and Plato (who practically invented academia).
Yeah, my point is just that philosophical issues are not just abstract things that don't have an effect on regular people's lives.
The obnoxious man who stands up at the school board meeting and hollers about mask mandates is trying to think about the rights of individuals vis-à-vis government authority, as well as the degree of bodily autonomy we have, even to the point of choosing to do foolish and risky things. He probably isn't thinking about those topics very well. But his inability to reason well may come in part from the fact that people have told him philosophy is only for eggheads and not something he has to worry about.
Philosophical issues are everywhere in society.
Quote:Plato (who practically invented academia).
Well, remember that "Academy" was the name of the park where Plato used to meet his students, so that's where the word comes from. It was just a park in those days, and hadn't yet taken on the nuances the word has now. It was named for Academus, a man who saved Athens from being plundered by revealing the location of the kidnapped Helen.
