"No refunds" - SocratesI no longer wish to be a philosopher - an ugly, annoying Greek (re Socrates)! — Agent Smith
A pragmatist vs one who enjoys poking holes in others arguments? — Yohan
I recall on a thread before someone saying they don't feel comfortable calling themselves a philosopher. — Yohan
Instead of "philosopher" I call myself
freethinker (offline) &
dialectical rodeo clown (online). — 180 Proof
Also, as much as I would like to love wisdom, Im not sure if I really do. Its more that I seek wisdom as a practical matter to avoid ruin, than out of love for it. — Yohan
No god is a philosopher. or seeker after wisdom, for he is wise already; nor does any man who is wise seek after wisdom. Neither do the ignorant seek after Wisdom. For herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself: he has no desire for that of which he feels no want." "But-who then, Diotima," I said, "are the lovers of wisdom, if they are neither the wise nor the foolish?" "A child may answer that question," she replied; "they are those who are in a mean between the two; Love is one of them. For wisdom is a most beautiful thing, and Love is of the beautiful; and therefore Love is also a philosopher: or lover of wisdom, and being a lover of wisdom is in a mean between the wise and the ignorant.
When we point to another and say 'they are wise' are we not reporting about our own values, recognizing something of ourselves rather than the nature of the other? In other words, can those without wisdom identify the wise? — Tom Storm
Theaetetus: I have often set my myself to study that problem [about the nature of knowledge]...but I cannot persuade myself that I can give any satisfactory solution or that anyone has ever stated in my hearing the sort of answer you require. And yet I cannot get the question out of my mind.
Socrates: That is because your mind is not empty or barren. You are suffering the pains of childbirth...Have you never heard that I am the son of a midwife...and that I practice the same trade? It is not known that I possess this skill, so the ignorant world describes me in other terms: As an eccentric person who reduces people to hopeless perplexity...
The only difference [between my trade and that of midwives] is that my patients are men, not women, and my concern is not with the body but with the soul that is experiencing birth pangs. And the highest achievement of my art is the power to try by every test to decide whether the offspring of a young man's thought is a false phantom or is something imbued with life and truth.
whether the offspring of a young man's thought is a false phantom or is something imbued with life and truth.
I keep coming back to the question how would a given idea (in philosophy) change how I live? — Tom Storm
[ ... ] what to do [next] — Moliere
I hear you. The fact is, I care about all those questions but they still 'don't matter' in practical terms, as far as I can tell. I'm not saying I want to change anything but I find it interesting that a transformative idea - like truth or the nature of reality - may not actually transform how I conduct myself. — Tom Storm
I think many share this view approximately.In my opinion a person is not likely to be a philosopher unless they are doing some original thinking steeped in a deep understanding of key philosophical texts or matters. — Tom Storm
Two ways to tackle this: 1) a given philosophy is deemed useless, or 2) a given philosophy is deemed bad. — Moliere
I recall on a thread before someone saying they don't feel comfortable calling themselves a philosopher.
I'm wondering what you fellows out there do feel comfortable labelling yourselves. — Yohan
Two ways to tackle this: 1) a given philosophy is deemed useless, or 2) a given philosophy is deemed bad.
— Moliere
Mashallah! Keep it comin'! — Agent Smith
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