RE: How worthless is Philosophy?
February 13, 2024 at 8:08 pm
(This post was last modified: February 13, 2024 at 8:18 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Sure, though it needs to be mentioned that the difference between eastern and western axial philosophies in this regard leans more toward your own point of view. From a naturalistic and practical pov those are all the things you should do - as opposed to trying to solve those problems by appealing to gods or immaterial ideals, for example. Only an unvirtuous ruler would insist that his people "be better" in order to be less sick.
You can see how this ruler would fail the test, even if they believed that "being better" was a way to be less sick, of recognizing the flow™ of said people. An analog sentiment in western philosophy would be "faith without works". It can never be stressed enough that while western philosophy is characterized by the attempt to satisfy some ideal, eastern philosophy is much more concerned with promoting social order. In western philosophy, doing something you abhor just because it promotes social order is, broadly, a bad compromise - but justifiable or exemptible. In eastern philosophy, it's a good one - laudable and exemplary.
You can see how this ruler would fail the test, even if they believed that "being better" was a way to be less sick, of recognizing the flow™ of said people. An analog sentiment in western philosophy would be "faith without works". It can never be stressed enough that while western philosophy is characterized by the attempt to satisfy some ideal, eastern philosophy is much more concerned with promoting social order. In western philosophy, doing something you abhor just because it promotes social order is, broadly, a bad compromise - but justifiable or exemptible. In eastern philosophy, it's a good one - laudable and exemplary.
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