RE: A Lesson in the Practicality of Philosophy I Learned Today
September 27, 2014 at 12:41 pm
(This post was last modified: September 27, 2014 at 12:47 pm by bennyboy.)
(September 27, 2014 at 11:09 am)Pickup_shonuff Wrote: In no way did I mean to imply that I devalue philosophy in general. I'm simply wondering if certain philosophical issues that seem reoccurring throughout history and more importantly, quite often have led or continue to lead to vexing disagreement, might really be considered a huge waste of time and thought; and in avoiding such buzzkills in the future, we might determine the meaningfulness of the idea at hand by its usefulness.What's a waste? As far as I can see, you live 60 or 80 years in a universe that doesn't make sense, and then you die. Refusing to talk about the fact that it doesn't make sense, or in engaging with others about it, doesn't really change the bottom line.
The thing about pragmatism is it's bullshit. Nothing is pragmatic unless it serves a goal, and without any objective goals, pragmatism is just another word for "doing the things I feel like doing," or even worse, "doing the things other people say I should be doing." I LIKE the unstable feeling that I get when I think about impractical issues. Breaking down what I think I "know" makes the universe seem bigger and more interesting, and more magical. And given that, like most adults, I'm set to live pretty much the same day over and over again, what could be more useful than that?
