Science is advancing. This is very obvious. But is philosophy? — Alkis Piskas
Science is advancing. This is very obvious. But is philosophy? — Alkis Piskas
Remember that the discipline we now call "Science" is what Aristotle called "Natural Philosophy" or "physis" (growth or nature). As as the name implies, the subject of natural science evolves & progresses in an obvious manner, that we know via our physical senses. But, his second volume, under the same title, was actually concerned with what we now call "Culture" : opinions, activities & effects of the human Mind. Which we know only via our sixth sense of Reason (inference). So, we can't expect Metaphysical Cultural Science to make progress in the same sense as Physical Natural Science. Physics is about what is constantly changing, while Philosophy (Metaphysics) is all about eternal unchanging principles (digging for potatoes vs digging for gold).Science is advancing. This is very obvious. But is philosophy? — Alkis Piskas
Progress in philosophy? An excerpt from an old post:Science is advancing. This is very obvious. But is philosophy? — Alkis Piskas
To the degree, at any moment, a philosophical discursive practice has filtered-out pseudo-questions & pseudo-problems as well as marginalized the irrelevant/trivial, this [reflective-critical process of elimination] counts as "progress" of an evanescent kind, achieving topic-specific clarity. — 180 Proof
Tough is good. :smile: Glad that I posted it. And thanks for responding.That's a tough question. — jgill
Just a note about Psychology (which I have studied and "watched" its progress) : I cannnot call psychology a philosophy. And, although it maybe started as a science, using experiments and so on, today it can be hardly called a science. BTW, philosophy of mind has nothing to do with psychology. I have studied Psycology. The "mind "for Psychology is the "brain". For those who have studied and know what mind is --I am among them-- "laugh" with this idea. But one does not even have to study it; one has only to look what the "philosophy of mind" is.Today, the cultural sciences -- Psychology (philosophy of mind), — Gnomon
Great quote! Thanks for bring it :up:Philosophical Progress :
the mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead reportedly summed up the Greek thinker's accomplishments with the remark, “All of Western philosophy is but a footnote to Plato.” — Gnomon
Excellent description! :up:Philosophical Science vs Natural Science :
The main difference is in the way they work and treat knowledge. 2. Science is concerned with natural phenomena, while philosophy attempts to understand the nature of man, existence, and the relationship that exists between the two concepts. — Gnomon
Well written, Sir.Philosophy's job is to provide the tools to innoculate us against the mystification caused by deep grammatical trickery. — Cuthbert
:fire:Philosophy's job is not to answer the 'big questions' and progress is not to be measured by any answers given. Philosophy's job is to provide the tools to innoculate us against the mystification caused by deep grammatical trickery. — Cuthbert
There are things the existence of which one can doubt --and sometimes one should-- and things one cannot be certain about or even answer at all. But not things that have been answered eons ago and their existence is beyond reasonable doubt. And the existence of an external world is one them! — Alkis Piskas
Thank you for your response to the topic.The existence of an external world may be without doubt but its nature can and should be doubted by all philosophers. — magritte
Good point....what seems is exactly as it appears to be. Modern philosophy still insists on this stretched presumption. This is where progress ends. — magritte
Thank you for your response to the topic.I think that one of the hardest difficulties that both philosophy and science have met in their history is when they said “Of course!” about anything. “Of course!” means “There's no need to inquire!” — Angelo Cannata
Thank you for your response to the topic.For me philosophy is about developing your own perspective and getting better at discourse, not arriving at any particular ideology. — Enrique
Science is advancing. This is very obvious. But is philosophy? — Alkis Piskas
Philosophy's job is not to answer the 'big questions' and progress is not to be measured by any answers given. Philosophy's job is to provide the tools to innoculate us against the mystification caused by deep grammatical trickery. — Cuthbert
Even if "philosophy of mathematics" is considred by some a branch of philosophy, I personally don't consider it a philosophy per se. Because we also talk about "philosophy of life", "philosophy of marriage", "philosopy of education", "philosophy of music" and so on. These actually refer to a general attitude towards or philosophical view of life, marriage, education, music etc.There appears to be progress in the philosophy of mathematics, — jgill
Thank you for your response to the topic.The 'big questions' (can we know there is an external world? etc) are based on misconceptions and false analogies. — Cuthbert
I would also say "semantical". A large part of the mystification is inability to grasp concepts nor even lacking them. There are a lot of people, even in here, whod don't care about defining the terms they use and if one insists they do, they come up with none. I you cannot define a term, don't use it, man!Philosophy's job is to provide the tools to innoculate us against the mystification caused by deep grammatical trickery. — Cuthbert
I know what you mean. But this was just an example and a sparking for my launching of this topic. I gave a few more exapmles and one can meet dozens of them in philosophical forums and communities. They just make you wonder, "Aren't there more substantial, meaningful, productive questions to ask?" and that kind of things. This, as well as the so meny repetitive questions (variations), or questions that keep coming back each now and then, maybe dressed in a different cloak, as well as non-philosophical questions treated as philosophical ones, and so on, makes you wondering whether there's actually a progress in philosophy. And I am sure that in some more official philosophical forum --e.g. consisting of professional/certificated philosophers-- and various places holding philosophical lectures and official papers in philosophical magazies, end son on, such kind of questions won't exist at all. And that is also another thing I wanted to know by launching this topic, that is I trieds to atract more knowledgeable in the field. Maybe not in the best way, though! :smile:To ask why we are still stuck on these big questions and to think that means lack of progress... — Cuthbert
Thank you for your response to the topic.If science is advancing, then so is philosophy. There is no way to categorically distinguish between what science is and does, and what philosophy is and does. The history of science and philosophy is completely entangled and interdependent. — Joshs
Doubts should always exist, but they should serve as a path in establishing truths and knowledge. Isn't this the purpose of philosophy and the philosophers? — Alkis Piskas
If he were always and constantly in doubt about everything, he would be a mentally ill person — Alkis Piskas
if I live in a constant doubt, it means that I would also doubt that I doubt. Which leads to vicious circle — Alkis Piskas
And then of course to an asylum — Alkis Piskas
I think here again you confuse philosophical with human needs. If I go shopping, I cannot answer the teller “You don’t know if the things in my bag exists, you don’t know if my money exists”. I just need to pay. But this is a human and practical need, not a philosophical one. Practically I need just to pay and not to create problems to the teller, but all the doubts I expressed are true (I know I used the word “true” now, but this is needed by language, not by philosophy).A persons's reality may include doubts but it cannot be built on doubting evertyting. It is mainly build on knowledge and certitudes — Alkis Piskas
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