Why Do Philosophy?

[Moody]

I accept that Philosophy is not a mainstream activity - although philosophies have had a profound effect on world history.

I would go as far as saying that Philosophy is a very ARYAN activity.

However, I want to ask the most basic philosophical question of Philosophy itself - "WHY?"

Why do it?

I have put some reasons in a Poll for involvement's sake, but would welcome any other 'reasons' and expansions thereon.


Philosopher gives the world the finger.

[Awar]

I think all of the above. Very nicely selected answers though.
The most important to me being conduct, choices and survival.
These have the deepest consequences on everything.

(Philosophy is definitely NOT an Aryan-only activity)

[Moody]

I think all of the above. Very nicely selected answers though.
The most important to me being conduct, choices and survival.
These have the deepest consequences on everything.

(Philosophy is definitely NOT an Aryan-only activity)

Try and put those choices in an order of preference, then.
I'm wondering whether we can see these choices as reflecting the various Aryan archetypes - the Dionysian, Apollonian, Wotanish, Faustian etc.,

I say that Philosophy as we know it [i.e., as an activity DISTINCT from religion] only grows where Aryan blood has been in any significant quantity [Asia, China, Europe etc.,].

[Jack]

I became interested in philosophy, first as a mental exercise, and then as a means to understand life. Since then I have had a huge problem with simply not knowing about things I'm interested in. If I have an interest in something, ignorance is torture.

[Ederico]

Personally I was driven to it and attracted to it in my quest for further Knowledge and to further destroy the Ignorance within me. Therefore in the poll I voted knowledge.

On the other hand other factors apply, if it was a multiple-choice Poll I would have selected Knowledge, Conduct, Choices, and Understanding.

Also, the factors I excluded are in my opinion combined to the rest. As Francis Bacon said in 1597 Knowledge is Power and to that I would have to agree to a certain extent depending differently on the types of Knowledge involved. Information in this age is a key to success more than ever, Information could be taken as a part of Knowledge. Also Survival might depend on one's Power and thus Knowledge, but also on the other factors listed above.

The development of the Intellect and the examination of Philosophical Inquiries from various sources is a Liberating Force, a liberation from ignorance and its ensuing Mediocrity.

[Scoob]

Philosophy elevates human existence above the mechanical labor of day to day activity. Philosophers look at and talk about the deep assumptions most people make about the world - they are the engineers of the human thought Matrix. And hence they can determine overall behavioral outcomes of behavior subtlely and yet on a grand scale.

[Thulean Imperial Inquisitor]

I choose power. I am always seeking knowledge and understanding only to use it as power. I have been seeking for this many, many years...

I have had a vision of a new empire since I was a child. I wish to learn anything and everything that would help me fulfill my vision. I have great interest in philosophy and I belive that philosophy is indeed the blueprint of human thoughts. Perhaps I will fulfill my visions, perhaps I will not... but I know by Wotan, that I am ready to die trying...

[Moody]

"Ignorance is torture" says Jack [and not 'ignorance is bliss'].

I doubt this - else we all [even Jack] would be in a continual state of torture.

We're not in 'bliss' either!

Not torture.
Not bliss.

Not even power. For if 'knowledge is power', then why is GW Bush President of the world's only Hyper-Power?!?

Is it because, as we become more philosophical, so we become less interested in worldy things?

Ah it is an INNER POWER that we seek in philosophy!

Nothing to do with knowledge/ignorance as such - only to do with this innner power.

[Alkman]

Keeps me away from Churches!

[Bismark]

The word philosophy meaning “love of wisdom” was coined in Greece around 600bce by Pythagoras, the first to call himself a philosopher (a lover of wisdom). Since that time later philosophers have broken philosophy down into four major fields, metaphysics, epistemology, value-theory, and logic. Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that is concerned with questions of the physical nature, such as, ‘what is reality?’ Epistemology is the field of philosophy that devotes it self to questioning ‘what is knowledge’, and ‘what does it mean to know?’ Value-theory, as the name implies questions the value of things, both things of the physical nature, and things surreal nature, such as laws and morals. Logic, although considered a field of philosophy, is more a tool used by philosophers to investigate philosophical questions in a sensible, realistic manner.

As with any field of study, those who do the studying have many different approaches. Philosophy is no different; philosophers have four different methods in which they may philosophize called conceptions, the four conceptions are: speculative, analytical, existential, and phenomenological. Speculative philosophers philosophize over broad areas to make sense of existence on the whole perspective. Analytical philosophers analyze language, concepts, and ideas in an attempt to clarify meaning. Existential philosophers philosophize on issues, as the name implies about our existence, and the purpose of our existence. Phenomenological philosophers philosophize from the human perspective focusing on studying the world through the human experience.

If Philosophy is a study of man's curiosity of the world around him through questioning, then today’s sciences are man’s knowledge of the world around him gained from questioning. After all, were not all of today's Sciences once Philosophies? Perhaps to philosophize is to question, and to study scientifically, is to have the answer to the question.