Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and Metaphysics

[MindForgedManacle]

I haven't read Dr. Feser's latest screed (not do I plan to do so - I'm familiar with his childish hissy fits), but I have to wonder if, in all his talk of the different kinds of souls, why non-procreative sex is bad, etc, he has even an inkling of a scintilla of a modicum of actualy evidence in support of his medieval viewpoints.

I understand that Dr. Feser doesn't care for naturalistic materialism. All well and good, he has a right to reject whichever viewpoints aggravate his jock itch. But perhaps it wouldn't be impolitic to remind him that, in 5000 years of trying, philosophical maundering has not solved one single problem of human existence.

Er, no. Firstly, I assume by problems you mean things like developing vaccines etc. that helped extend the average human lifespan, and making life easier, yes? All well and good, but the problem then becomes "So what?" What do I do now that I have a longer lifespan than my predecessors and live more comfortably? What is the Good? How can I know it? How can I live it? How can we "build the just city"? These aren't really scientific, they deal in subject matter mostly out of ots purview.

This is the chief problem with looking at contributions to human problems in the way you are. The contributions you are [likely] talking about are, for the most part, means to get on with the business of life, not doing things that humans need (or at least feel a pull towards doing) to be happy and fulfilled, or as Aristotle might have said, to achieve 'eudamonia'. These are philosophical concepts by a long-shot.

As for specific solutions to the problems of human existence: political science much? The USA, despite the many corruptions - largely by corporations -, developed quite a good political system influenced by Enlightenment political thought by the likes of philosophers, namely Hobbes, Locke, Smith, Voltaire and so on.

Or how about developing the sciences and the empirical philosophy the underpins it? Or moral philosophy, which is largely inaccessible to science, and yet deals with perhaps the most important issues people have with one another?

Science has rather a better record.

It also has a record of developing things which threaten the very existence of its creators: atomic weaponry, biological and chemical weapons, military weaponry, etc.