Should ordinary people ask philosophic questions ?

[raolduke]

Perfect example of how I feel about this topic is my love for "Modest Mouse". If you don't like their music atleast read their lyrics.

 

[Langbein]

Thank you honestrosewater.

It seems very hard for an "ordinary person" to ask a question of someone who is of "higher intelligence" without having to consult a dictionary.

Could this be a case of "Master vs. Slave Morality"?

Well, I think a master, at least a master of philosophy, would know the difference between atacking arguments and attacking persons, but possibly it might be some different kind of "masters".

 

[Langbein]

Back to the original question:

"Should ordinary people ask philosophic questions ?"

What is then philosphy, and what is philosophic quesions ? OK then, let's look in Wikipedia to see wat at least some pople agree on at the moment:

"Philosophy is the discipline concerned with the questions of how one should live (ethics); what sorts of things exist and what are their essential natures (metaphysics); what counts as genuine knowledge (epistemology); and what are the correct principles of reasoning (logic)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy

If practising philosophy is to ask questions to find out the most important things in life, how to live the right way, how to do the right dessitions and so on, would it then be adviceable to leave those questions to some far away expert that don't know my life at all ?

If ordinary people has their own moral, their own beliefs and their own direction in life who will that treaten ? Why should anybody se it as something negative or something treatening that "ordinary people" has their own meaning and direction of life ?

 

[raolduke]

The lead singer of Modest Mouse could be described as a normal person.. Read his lyrics and then maybe it would give alittle light to what "ordinary".

 

[Langbein]

I have to admit that I have never heard about "Modest Mouse" ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modest_Mouse

Quite interresting - I see the title of one of their albums:

"We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank"

Well, why leave the living or "to be allive" to the experts ?

.. Unless the experts are.. who ?

 

[Smurf]

Could this be a case of "Master vs. Slave Morality"?

I don't think that's quite what Nietzsche was getting at

 

[Smurf]

Exactly. In my opinion, labeling someone as being "intelligent" is very negative. Everyone operates on different levels and most people have personal problems.

Exactly, take me for example, I'm ****ing brilliant, but in the last two weeks I havn't talked to a single person who wasn't
1. my roomate, or
2. my co-worker/boss.

great minds don't burn out, they just fix their personal problems.

 

[Smurf]

Back to the original question:

"Should ordinary people ask philosophic questions ?"

What is then philosphy, and what is philosophic quesions ? OK then, let's look in Wikipedia to see wat at least some pople agree on at the moment:

"Philosophy is the discipline concerned with the questions of how one should live (ethics); what sorts of things exist and what are their essential natures (metaphysics); what counts as genuine knowledge (epistemology); and what are the correct principles of reasoning (logic)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy

If practising philosophy is to ask questions to find out the most important things in life, how to live the right way, how to do the right dessitions and so on, would it then be adviceable to leave those questions to some far away expert that don't know my life at all ?

If ordinary people has their own moral, their own beliefs and their own direction in life who will that treaten ? Why should anybody se it as something negative or something treatening that "ordinary people" has their own meaning and direction of life ?

Aristotle wrote a great book, the 'Nichomachean ethics'. Which was basically a guide to how to live a good life. Unfortunately, he didn't actually write it, it was compiled from lecture notes from his son Nicomacheus, hense the name. Also, it was written 2500 years ago, so isn't exactly an easy read from a modern context. I think it would be totally sweet if someone attempted to basically re-write that, or write their own - whatever, today, so that your average person could understand it. Because the only reason I think most people are in capable of understanding philosophy is because no one's putting into a familiar context for them, you have to understand soooo much history just to get Aristotle, Locke, etc,. And they're the easy ones, don't even get me started on Hegel or Kierkegaard.

 

[Langbein]

Aristotle wrote a great book, the 'Nichomachean ethics'.

At lest something I can agree on :-) (As I like to have my own opinion about most things.)

This was one of the first books on philosophy I read as a teenager. It has been in my bookshelf ever since then.

The thing that allmost shocked me at that time at 17, was how such a famous person like Aristoteles could write such a easy and available language, that anyone can understand.

I think this book really made me ask myself for the first time: Is it really true that the world is moving forward and that there really is something called "development", or is this just an illusion ?

I can't say anything else that this book should be highly recomended for anyone.

While speaking about Aristoteles do you know some books or some texts that is more directly after Aristoteles than this one ? I believed that this was the closest.

 

[Langbein]

Kierkegaard.

That was one of the other great heroes of the teenage years.

Not as easy as Aristoteles.

Professor Dreyfus of Berkeley does an exelent job while explaining Kierkegaard and also sets him into a relationship with some other philosophers.

I think that the freely avalable podcasts of his lessons can be recomended for anyone that would like to know sometbing about Kierkegaard or about philosophy in general.

Even for those who knows Kierkegaard already I think that there might be new ways to see things. (At lest it was like that for me.)

http://webcast.berkeley.edu/course_details.php?seriesid=1906978306

Here is one about more general philosophy:

http://webcast.berkeley.edu/course_details.php?seriesid=1906978407

 

[Smurf]

http://webcast.berkeley.edu/course_details.php?seriesid=1906978306

Here is one about more general philosophy:

http://webcast.berkeley.edu/course_details.php?seriesid=1906978407

Thank you so much for the recommendation, I've been trying to understand Kierkegaard for almost a year... I see he also does Dostoevsky (my favorite) and Nietzsche, most excellent!

While speaking about Aristoteles do you know some books or some texts that is more directly after Aristoteles than this one ? I believed that this was the closest.

You know they just found a new text of his? (well it wasn't that recent, but) And it's special too! See, it's not lecture notes like all his other books, it was actually written for popular consumption, it's about the role of philosophy and stuff, not sure where you'd get it, one of my profs gave me a handout. If I can't find it online I'd be willing to scan and email it to you if you really want.

 

[raolduke]

No ones going to play the harp when you die
And if I had a nickel for every damn dime
Id have half the time, do you mind?
Everyone's afraid of their own lives
If you could be anything you want
I bet you'd be disappointed, am I right?
Am I right? And its our lives
It's hard to remember, its hard to remember
We're alive for the first time
It's hard to remember were alive for the last time
It's hard to remember, its hard to remember
To live before you die
It's hard to remember, its hard to remember
That our lives are such a short time
It's hard to remember, its hard to remember
When it takes such a long time

These are some nice lyrics here..



http://www.the-collective.net/~bwillen/ModestMouse.HTM"

 

[Tosh]

Philosophy is important when it affects people, ordinary people. The best philosopher is the one who can bring his/her concepts to a level which all people understand.