First the
bad news: if philosophy wasn't
bullshit then it would be something else: either
illegal, science, art (but
not that talentless
modern art bullshit) or all three.
On the bright side, once we accept that philosophy
is bullshit, and we don't get all high and mighty
about it, then it becomes good fun. We should
all be philosophers and, unlike non-bullshit
occupations, you don't need to know anything
about philosophy to be a philosopher. If it
did matter if you knew about philosophy
then it wouldn't
be philosophy, it would
be the
study of philosophy. It is the
difference between watching a game and actually
playing it.
For a short time I worked in London and shared
a house with a motley crew, one of whom was
this French guy called Boris who studied philosophy.
He gave up the course because they studied philosophy,
but they never DID philosophy. They wrote essays
about philosophers but they didn't discuss the
ideas for themselves. Boris is wiser than the
"teachers" in my opinion.
For me, the whole point of philosophy is to
think about existence, the nature of reality
and its relation to illusion; to challenge our
preconceived on how the Universe works; to question
what space is, what time is, to deal with the
questions of deities, freewill and consciousness.
On the other hand, I don't see ethics and politics
as "big questions" concerning the
mysteries of existence. There are no rules.
A good philosophical discussion ends up in uncharted
waters. There are no real boundaries.
You might hear the line that philosophy can
and should make us happy. Horseshit! Many of
the great philosophers were miserable bastards.
With one notable exception: one of the few decent
Greek philosophers other than Sockers himself:
Epicurus. Epicurus taught that the stuff most
of us
think will make us happy - wealth,
possessions, fame -
won't. Freedom and
friendships are more likely to make us happy.
I should take a leaf out of Epicurus' book.
Although my own life is not devoid of pleasure
and reward, I do not feel fulfilled. I take
the treasures in my life pretty much for granted.
Western culture has indoctrinated me to desire
what I lack, rather than luxuriate in what I
have. Epicurus would smack me upside the head
as a badly needed lesson.
The tone of my philosophy pages is horribly
uneven. Sometimes I am serious and at other
times more flippant and trivial (my personality
definitely changes with mood). However I am
always trying to make a point, and I
am always happy to hear your own angle, so please
leave comments/talkbacks on these pages (think
of each page as like a topical guestbook). I
hope you enjoy my bullshit and I look forward
to reading yours.
Links to
other philosophy sites
|
|
philosophy links
|
|
|
| Internet
Encyclopaedia |
...of Philosophy. A is for Aristotle |
| The
Philosophers |
MagazineBased in UK |
| philosophy
resources |
There
if you need it |
| Stapp
on Consciousness |
Not
a bad read |
| Cynics
Sanctuary |
Humour |
| Socrates
Argument |
Humour |
| Skeptical
Dictionary |
I
doubt it exists |
| Forest
of Rhetoric |
Resource |
|
|
|
|
But you are not here to dabble with those inferior
offerings :) See the real thing right here on
this very site,
Eadon philosophy
Add your comment to this page
| | | | |
| From: |
JGR | Subject: | 2002-07-05 16:56:19 |
| | | | |
| From: |
MadPole | Subject: | 2002-07-07 16:35:38 |
| | | | |
| From: |
jmccrudden | Subject: | 2005-06-12 21:45:45 |
| | | | |
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