is philosophy self defeating??

Question

think about it.

you can look at life in any way. whether your an idealist or an empericist, nihilist, ETC. but all those views of looking at life can be contradicted and disproven.

philosophy also doubts whether other beings and reality exists. and nothing can be known for sure

so in conclusion. what we get from philosophy is self confusion. you cant be sure of reality being real and you can be sure that your thinking is corect because yout thinking is wrong in some context. so you realy only end up behind. you cant have a normal opinion because its wrong, and you can live life normaly cause you cant be sure its realy there. so what realy is the point of philosophy?

Answer 1

This is a pretty good question. Thank you for asking it.

I know that what you describe IS what a lot of people get out of philosophy. It's no secret that it's not a very popular subject, much less a pleasurable one for most people. The confusions and doubts are a main point of the study.

So are doubts an advantage or a disadvantage? Would it be better to have none at all? To not ask those questions? If doubt only led to paralysis, I would certainly agree with you that philosophy as a study was bad and should be abandoned.

But unless someone doubts themselves, they're not likely to ask questions about what they're doing and why. And if they don't ask those questions, they're not likely to find any answers other than the ones they already think they have. And if nobody finds any new answers, then what do we have? Stagnation and death.

Perhaps that is why so many philosophers are fond of Socrates. There is a story told about a man who went to the Oracle at Delphi and asked, "Who is the wisest man in Athens?" The Oracle said only that it was Socrates. When Socrates found out, he was nothing but confused... he didn't think he knew anything particularly wise at all.

So he set out to find out in what way the Oracle could possibly be right. He began interrogating all the wisest people in town and found out that they knew a lot less than than even they thought they did. And in the end, Socrates concluded that the only wisdom that he had and they did not was that he KNEW that he knew nothing. And in a way, that was the greatest wisdom of all.

I, for one, tend to agree with the Oracle. It is the people who THINK they know all the answers who are probably the least likely to actually know them. And it is the people who doubt all their answers who are most likely to have good answers.

Skepticism is a very valuable tool but - like most tools - those who are well-trained make better use of it. Don't let skepticism dominate you, but don't sell it short, either. Philosophy can teach you how to do this.

Peace.

Answer 2

There are a lot of different theories in philosophy, and you're correct in saying that we can never prove that one philosophical view is right and another is wrong in the way that we can prove that the answer to a math problem is right. However, that by no means makes philosophy useless.

The most elementary purpose of philosophy is simply to make people think about what they believe. Too many people lumber through their lives never questioning what they are taught to believe. The problem with that is that if you never investigate what the possible alternate beliefs are, you have no basis for believing that your views are the right ones. Only after seriously considering other views can you rightly take a stand on which you think is correct.

Philosophy also teaches people to think critically. When you study philosophy, one of the most fundamental skills you develop is that of recognizing a logical flaw in another's argument. This is an extremely valuable skill. Most people can be very readily duped by a simple trick of words because they lack the skills of discernment to recognize such a trick. Philosophical thinking teaches you to recognize the trick, and shut it down.

Most people who immerse themselves in philosophy eventually reach a point where they feel the kind of philosophical helplessness that you describe. They don't know what to think or believe. However, we all get through this period of doubt and eventually come to settle on beliefs that we think are right, and are better for the experience.

Answer 3

Philosophy has one point. I'm not sure if self-defeating is the best way to describe it, but close. I can only relate it in terms of the philosophy that I have studied...Zen. The whole point of studying and trying to "figure it all out", is so that our grapes will swell to a point of explosion and we will sit it aside and just live and be happy. Maybe a more correct term would be mind-defeating or even better....thought-defeating.

Awesome question btw

Answer 4

Philosophy is about determining what's right for you. You can study all the philosophers you want but ultimately you must choose for yourself. With proper knowledge man becomes his own authority. Self created philosophy is the most effective. Determine what works best for you and do that.

Answer 5

Philosophy taken literally from the Greek means "love of wisdom."

Unfortunately, most modern people have come to understand philosophy as a high-brow search for new answers to things that are as old as the sun. The field of philosophy has lost its noble heritage.

Although the earliest philosophers sought after truth, many did so from a pagan perspective, giving them only limited insight. Later philosophers like Thomas Aquinas helped to fully develop some of these early thoughts using the light of Catholicism.

You are right that much of modern philosophy has been plunged into "self confusion" because love of God and wisdom has been replaced with love of self. That has rendered much of it useless to others (unless true seekers of wisdom can use the philosophies of despair and absurdity to learn how to combat falsehood).

Do not despair, though. The library and internet are full of philosophical classics from ancient luminaries that can be of much help to you. Blow off the dust, and be prepared to become a true lover of wisdom.

Scripture says "the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God." We must begin any study for Truth with the acknowledgment that He is Lord and is the author of the knowledge we seek.

Answer 6

The point of philosophy is to find a place where you stand and to make sense of where you stand.