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Top Ten Misconceptions About Philosophy
Philosophy is not just a bunch of common sense, but rather a foundation for building upon. We need to understand why we believe what we believe, and then we can grow from there.
I have always held two very different ideas when it came to philosophy. There has always been the philosophy that you study. This is the one that I was sure I would never understand and never have any real need for. It seemed like you would need to learn Latin to understand half of it.
Then there was the philosophy that you use everyday. For example a view you hold when deciding where you are going to stand on an issue, what you are going to make important in your life,or how you want to spend your time. It’s very odd to see that they are the same thing, they just needed me to take a closer look at it.
Catch up:
Oh really? Does anyone think that it takes nothing more than common sense to recognize the difference between the right and wrong of slavery or genocide? If so, why did we see (and continue to see) these types of issues thousands of years after their introduction? There are issues in life that require deep understanding of what is universally true and what is merely accepted. Until a person reaches that state, they are at the mercy of folklore and fairy tales. Philosophy seeks to seperate fantasty from reality.
Catch up:
Philosophy is not a game of semantics. We are not all saying the same thing. For proof you needn’t look any further than current world affairs. We (nations), fight wars and commit attrocities in the name of differing philosophies. Somewhere in the midst of all the nonsense, there is true and there is false. The trick is, spending the time and effort it takes to find out which is which.
Catch up:
Philosophy is absolutely necessary. Trusting in anything is extraordinarily dangerous if you do not comprehend the basic premise of what you beleive. Philosophy searches for the truth and without knowing the truth you cannot successfully predict what is to come accurately.
Catching up: this was neglected due to the problems with annotation early on.
Regarding “too much thinking and not enough doing”, I totally disagree. People need to understand how their thoughts interact with the world around them to give proper perspective on life in general. Without understanding philosophy to some degree, one is really traveling down a dark road with no map.
Lara, i respectfully disagree with what you have said here.
in most cases age does equal wisdom, but there are exceptions to this rule. while there might be a few in the younger crowd who are thinking about there place in life, most still have not experienced what life is really like (note that i say most, not all).
and likewise, most in the older crowd have thought about their place in life (i firmly believe that you can’t reach 35 or 40 without having had some experience that makes you question your existence, etc.) while also having experienced it.
I think just from our readings so far I can see that Philosophy has everything to do with real life. It is something that we have been doing without even realizing it.
Actually Cherissa, it doesn’t have anything to do with age. I know just as many ‘older’ people who have never thought beyond their immediate needs, as I have ‘younger’ people who have put much time into contemplating what life is and how they fit in the world. Age Does Not always equal wisdom.
How can someone say Philosophy has nothing to do with real life?
I like what you said in your last sentence Laura. I believe that.
Although your last sentence is pretty much like saying “the older you get the smartter you are.” I suppose your way of saying it is a little nicer though.
The contemplation of life is necessary for growth and development, the less you contemplate the workings of life and your position in it, the less valid your ideas may be. Everyone has to start somewhere in their thought processes, you simply have to be open to other points of view and not narrow minded.
Common sense tells us that if we grab something hot, we will get burned. Belief in God goes against common sense, yet it is part of many peoples philisophical nature.
Everyone has a different set of core beliefs and values, even those that have similar beliefs and values. Philosophers are Not saying the same thing, they each present different theories and ideas for contemplation. They also often disagree in theory, not simply ‘semantics.’
Regardless of your beliefs or convictions, how you were raised, or what you have been told is right, wrong, good, bad, etc., there comes a point where each of us needs to decide for ourselves what we believe and why we believe it. It is not enough to believe something because someone told you that you should. This act of contemplation is philosophy, and it is necessary.
Philosophy is more than “saying what you think.” It is the act of deciding for yourself what your beliefs are. It is a study of life in general or life specific. It is as challenging as you make it. The more you contemplate life, the more developed your thoughts and theories will become.
Some people are newer at analyzing life than others. This makes the task of understanding theories and concepts more difficult when considering the works of those who have been in contemplation far longer. This applies regardless of one’s age or the period of time in which one lives, or lived.
Philosophy is the analysis of life, the who, what, where, how, and why of what life is. It is also the study of those things, how they interact and change over time.
Philosophers do spend a great amount of time contemplating the hows of life…so now we have philanthropy…the extention of their thoughts.
Everyone has their own view point, but the whole purpose of Philosophy is to try to understand someone else’s point of view to get a better sense of the argument or genre of topic you are discussing.
There are people who are religious, but there are also people who AREN’T religious. Philosophy is for everyone to understand and promote in. It’s not going to be a segregated concept.
Philosophy has EVERY thing to do with real life. Whoever says that, period, is a fool because without all the thinking and analyzing that philosophers do throughout life, helps the rest of the community grow as one big entity.
It may be alot of thinking but without that thinking involved, us humans wouldn’t be where we are today. Plenty of thinking leads to more doing to create a better environment for every living thing in it.
1. Sometimes philosophy is just words and no action.
2. Real Phil. has everything to do with real life.
3. This statement can be true. Philosophers sometimes live in the clouds.
4. Saying what you mean is often not enough. Action must be taken
5. Those beings are philosophy.
6. Not true.
7. No – it is NOT common sense.
8. Nope again – Some people are just stupid or narrow minded and don’t think at all.
9. Their ideas are alive today – and the root of other’s expanding thoughts. We all age and die – will my wisdom and words life on?
I try hard not to believe this but sometimes its difficult to understand even to me.
It seems to me that philosophy is everything about real life. It is the questions we all have about our own existence and the role we play in life.
We all have our own philosophies
I don’t know what I think about a lot of things!
This will be a problem for me at times too.
I would think that one would want to be challenged in their thinking, to process ideas that are not your own and maybe even come up with something origional.
Um…philosphy IS real life…it seems to me that everyone has a philosophy. Work hard, play hard. Be a good person. Above all: love. Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves….and on and on and on. Everyone has ideas and thoughts that guide them in their thinking and lives. Isnt philosophy the study of thought?
One should think before they act.
This is the most bogus comment on the list. There are many “dead guys” whose knowledge is still greatly contributing to the advancement of our societies. To abandon any of their findings due to their death would be disrespectful and foolish.
This would apply to me, at least to some extent. It seems like philosophy is more geared toward the earlier (Roman) times than today…again my impression so far.
#2. Philosophy is how you live your life.
#3. They do make things confusing.
#4. K
#5. Everyone needs to have there own Philosophy, not other peoples.
#6. WORNG
#7. ACording to who
#8. I think the last part is true
#9. Could Be
Philosophy dosen’t mean you have to do anything.