What do you know about philosophy?

by Bas 32 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Bas

  What do you know about philosophy and philosophers? I know many philosphers who were inspired by the bible in their writings, but

  I'm more curious about the "secular" philosophers. The old Greeks for instance Philosophied about morals. They were able to rationally

  derive morals without "devine" inspiration. This to me proves that morals are a product of humanity itself and not given to us by some

  divinity in the sky. Important Greek philosophers are; Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

  Another thing about the old Greek philosphers is that they laid the groundwork for "real science". In fact they had the hypothesis

  of everything consisting of atoms before Christ was born, and almost 2000 years before this hypothesis was proven by

  phycisist/chemists/mathematicians. I'll see if I can dig up some more great accomplishments of philosopy, until then please leave your

  thoughts/knowledge on the topic

  Bas
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  trevor

  (Descartes) I think therefore I am...er...I think? But then I... um... think not, but then I am not and I am, I think? ... this is harder than I thought...I mean think, er I think!

  It's all Greek to me or in this case french.
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  Bas

  err....trevor, on this board the correct conclusion would be: I post, therefor I am
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  kwintestal

  Pot helps the ideas flow.

  Kwin
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  Bas

  Pot helps the ideas flow.

  hmmm, I honestly can't remember which Philosopher said that. Would you care to enlighten us?
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  talesin

  I dunno about pot (except that I like it :D), but Timothy Leary was a 20th C. American philosopher who believed that LSD expanded the mind ... haven't read him cause I don't do acid, not really interested ...

  But seriously, I love philosophy! My favorite uni course was Philosophy 101 ....

  It's hard to digest some of the old Greeks because of my feminist leanings. Plato, for example, tells us that women are like beasts (?) and must be managed as such ... But, once I get past my natural prejudice, and accept that in his time this thinking was all they knew, I can enjoy his writings. Now that's an interesting perspective on the ancient Greeks, it puts a different twist on things, does it not?

  I really enjoyed reading Kant, and Descartes. Also, Bertrand Russell has some interesting things to say ...

  Are you going in any particular direction with this discussion?

  tal

  listening with a keen ear on what others have to say on this subject ...
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  SixofNine

  :In fact they had the hypothesis of everything consisting of atoms before Christ was born, and almost 2000 years before this hypothesis was proven by phycisist/chemists/mathematicians.

  I'd be interested to hear the specifics of that.
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  trevor

  Bas

  Thanks for helping me out there. As long as I keep on posting I know I Exist

  ...........................

  I think that poetry contains philosophy and presents it in an enjoyable way. True it is not mind-bendingly clever but it can be deep. This offering sums up the futility of religion and there is a nice picture for those who don't like poetry. It will probably upset all the Christians who read it but then all philosophy is, by its very nature, contentious.

  FitzGerald, Fifth Edition

  25	Alike for those who for TO-DAY prepare,
  	And those that after some TO-MORROW stare,
  	A Muezzin from the Tower of Darkness cries,
  	Fools! your Reward is neither Here nor There.
  26	Why, all the Saints and Sages who discuss'd
  	Of the Two Worlds so wisely--they are thrust
  	Like foolish Prophets forth; their Words to Scorn
  	Are scatter'd, and their Mouths are stopt with Dust.
  27	Myself when young did eagerly frequent
  	Doctor and Saint, and heard great argument
  	About it and about: but evermore
  	Came out by the same door where in I went.
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  the_classicist

  What do you know about philosophy and philosophers? I know many philosphers who were inspired by the bible in their writings, but

  I'm more curious about the "secular" philosophers. The old Greeks for instance Philosophied about morals. They were able to rationally

  derive morals without "devine" inspiration. This to me proves that morals are a product of humanity itself and not given to us by some

  divinity in the sky. Important Greek philosophers are; Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

  Actually, Greek philosophers derived their moral beliefs from Greek traditions. Plato himself was very traditional and conservative, and he even disapproved of the common Greek pratice of homosexuality.
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  peacefulpete

  Reading Greek philosophy is like watching the world wake up. These early stages in the human developement of reason and science were perceived as dangerous and deviant when in fact they represented the beginnings of modern sensibilty and global thinking. As I recall Socrates was killed because he renounced the mysticism of the day as unnecessary. These were men of high ethics. Socrates was said to have spoken " We ought not to retaliate nor render evil for evil to anyone" centurires before Jesus was claimed to have.

  .