Sure, but at a fundamental level philosophers are still seeking new understanding and information which is a form of answering questions.
They’re not just sitting there asking questions with no purpose.
Sure, but at a fundamental level philosophers are still seeking new understanding and information which is a form of answering questions.
They’re not just sitting there asking questions with no purpose.
Carrolade@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Asking a question can have many purposes asides simply answering it. I think if a philosopher thinks they are definitively answering important questions, they’re perhaps engaging in a bit of hubris, and while that may have been more appropriate in earlier centuries, I doubt very many in the modern day fall into that kind of self-important trap.
Coming up with hypothesis and working out the brain with new methods and ideas is important in other ways, you simply don’t need that sort of certainty that belongs more in the arena of faith. Call them “answers” or whatever, that’s fine. The purpose is not to arrive or convince, though, it’s to strengthen through exercise and come up with new things. Much like how martial arts is no longer as useful for self defence in a world with handguns, but instead makes for very good exercise and social connections, and is just fun.
Not that philosophy cannot answer any questions, mind you. But I don’t think that’s very important anymore when more rigorous methods exist. Finding answers is a very small thing philosophy can accomplish, that is minor and unimportant compared to the much more valuable things it can do for a person’s skillset. If it did not contribute to skillsets in a very efficient way, I doubt it would have much relevance anymore.
masterspace@lemmy.ca 4 months ago
Except that a key difference is that no one gives out PhDs for martial arts. Yes you can get a black belt, signalling that you are as skilled as the top tier martial artists (I assume, I don’t do martial arts), but you cannot write a peer reviewed paper and get a PhD on karate because that would require learning something new about it and publishing it.
Philosophy in how the common person relates to it, may just be as a mental kata that helps to improve their lives, but philosophy as a profession and academic discipline is still very much concerned with trying to answer questions and find ways of constraining the infinite to relevant possible answers.
Carrolade@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Yes, that’s the “new stuff” part that I mentioned. You don’t want to stagnate in a world where things are constantly changing as time flows. And you can always continue to refine methods, ask new questions, ask questions in new ways, and yes, even sometimes constrain or find an answer.
Martial arts continues to change as well. New schools appear, new styles appear, etc. I’m not sure what point you’re ultimately trying to make.
masterspace@lemmy.ca 4 months ago
The point I’m making is that philosophers are trying to answer questions and if they weren’t they wouldn’t be getting PhDs, since a PhD is not given for just knowing a lot about Philosophy, but for discovering something new in the field.