Phil 1000 Notes
Philosophy Exam 1 Notes Contd.
• The Value of Philosophy – Bertrand Russell o Studying Philosophy Alleviates Prejudice ▪ Philosophy is of value. Most men, at the hands of science, believe that philosophy is useless ▪ The fault is in the way philosophy appears to people. Many people have a wrong conception of what philosophy is and wants to achieve. Just as physical science is helpful to many ignorant people, philosophy is helpful indirectly on lives of those who study it. ▪ So, we must run from the “practical man”, who sees everything in dollars, food, and goods. Even if all disease and poverty was gone, there would still be much to be done in efforts to build a valuable society. The goods of the mind are just as important as the goods of the body. o Philosophy is Beneficial Apart from Definite Answers ▪ Philosophy has had far from great success at providing definite answers like other sciences have been able to do. The reason for most of this is because anytime a definite answer is found it is then converted into its own science. ▪ The uncertainty of philosophy goes farther than that. Many questions still go unanswered. But that is what philosophy does, it answers the unknown questions. o Philosophical Contemplation as Uncovering New Possibilities ▪ The value of philosophy is in its uncertainty. Philosophy makes definite everyday things uncertain. Then using philosophy a person could find certainty and free the mind from custom. ▪ We must break the chains of living in the private world and go out and seek the outer world, if our lives are to be great and free. ▪ Philosophic contemplation is used to escape by viewing the world impartially. Also, it does not intend to confirm the universe is similar to man. o Attaining Knowledge Is Achieving Union ▪ Philosophy is not all
• The Value of Philosophy – Bertrand Russell o Studying Philosophy Alleviates Prejudice ▪ Philosophy is of value. Most men, at the hands of science, believe that philosophy is useless ▪ The fault is in the way philosophy appears to people. Many people have a wrong conception of what philosophy is and wants to achieve. Just as physical science is helpful to many ignorant people, philosophy is helpful indirectly on lives of those who study it. ▪ So, we must run from the “practical man”, who sees everything in dollars, food, and goods. Even if all disease and poverty was gone, there would still be much to be done in efforts to build a valuable society. The goods of the mind are just as important as the goods of the body. o Philosophy is Beneficial Apart from Definite Answers ▪ Philosophy has had far from great success at providing definite answers like other sciences have been able to do. The reason for most of this is because anytime a definite answer is found it is then converted into its own science. ▪ The uncertainty of philosophy goes farther than that. Many questions still go unanswered. But that is what philosophy does, it answers the unknown questions. o Philosophical Contemplation as Uncovering New Possibilities ▪ The value of philosophy is in its uncertainty. Philosophy makes definite everyday things uncertain. Then using philosophy a person could find certainty and free the mind from custom. ▪ We must break the chains of living in the private world and go out and seek the outer world, if our lives are to be great and free. ▪ Philosophic contemplation is used to escape by viewing the world impartially. Also, it does not intend to confirm the universe is similar to man. o Attaining Knowledge Is Achieving Union ▪ Philosophy is not all