live there life not being able to tell whether reality is real or not? i think that philosophers who beleive that reality and other minds may not be real must be very depressed and a little disturbed to even think that.
everybody else in the world lives there life knowing that it is real and knowing there are other people that the live with. philosophy must also deny psychology AND science.
if you want proof that there are other minds than read wittgensteins private language argument. he shows that a private language is impossible and that in order to have a language there has to be other minds.
2007-04-05 07:26:37 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
everybody beleives and is proven that there is an objective reality. philosophers are the only ones who dont beleive that
2007-04-05 07:38:14 · update #1
Perhaps, philosophers will often debate and question just about everything... from morality and reality to simple language and life in general. However, because we question these things, does not mean that we don't believe in them. We merely seek a greater understanding of the world around us.
Morality\ ethics for example... You might believe that telling a lie is wrong; a sin (if you believe in god) and would always try to be honest. Alter the situation: What if in telling the truth, you condemn yourself to death? Or someone you love to death? Would you tell the lie to save yourself, or your loved one? Would it be wrong? It's still a lie.
You said that there is an objective reality? Can YOU prove it? Or will you just regurgitate words you've heard other people say? What if the words you use have different meanings to me? How would I ever understand you?
Words, themselves, are full of ambiguity. It's easy to disguise, or confuse the meaning of mere words because of that natural ambiguity... Does that make it useless to communicate? No.
Listen, philosophy isn't about "Not Believing." It's about asking the questions to which answers are not easily found... why? Simply to know the truth.
If your "Reality" is limited, then how do you know you've truly experienced reality?
2007-04-05 08:00:04 · answer #1 · answered by just nate 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Do you mean how does one become a professional philosopher? The answer about getting the PhD, answers that. The etymology given by another answerer is also right. Thinking seriously about philosophical topics: what does it mean to "know" something, what's right and wrong all about, what is reason and how does one reason well -- stuff like that. Doing philosophy means thinking about such questions. Doing it well is something else entirely. Or are you asking why people do philosophy? We addicts simply can't help ourselves. For the philosophical mind, philosophy is fun.
2016-05-17 23:35:22 · answer #2 · answered by meredith 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your understanding of philosophy is inaccurate. Philosophy means 'love of knowledge' and by asking this question you are engaging in philosophy. It's fair to say at least most people are philosophers.
All Philosophers don't believe what we experience isn't real, but real philosophers do question reality. Aristotle was an empiricist, as he did assume what we experience is real, and he's one of the most influential philosophers there ever has been.
Wittgenstein, who you used as an example, is a philosopher, and you used him to support an argument against philosophy. Strange tactic...
Philosophers generally co-operate with science, because science reveals things about the universe that may suggest certain philosophical views on concepts like time or intelligent design.
It's not depressing at all to philosophize really, but it is important to do so in order to ascertain what you believe to be ethical.
2007-04-06 10:00:24 · answer #3 · answered by firefromabustedgun 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A generalization that like others is not true. By your own words you deny the statement. Psychology and science are branches of philosophy as is epistemology ( the study of knowledge). Further, Wittgenstein is a philosopher.
2007-04-05 07:51:25 · answer #4 · answered by Sophist 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Communication is probably all there is about language alright, but it doesn't necessarily mean that I'm communicating with others in the sense that others might just be more of me out there.
This whole thing must seem very real, otherwise everyone would know...lol
The secret is how to get to this point: The other is your true self.
Enjoy!0!
Oh, and good luck getting there!0!
2007-04-05 07:42:07 · answer #5 · answered by Alex 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"everybody else in the world lives there life knowing that it is real and knowing there are other people that the live with."
Really?
Do you know everyone?
You must be exhausted talking to all those people.
Seriously...
Real is a subjective term.
Did you ever talk to three eyewitnesses at the same accident? All their stories are different.
Did you ever ask three different people to all describe the same person that they all know, like a mutual friend? All the descriptions are different.
The point of philosophy is the fine-tuning of what is real and what is not real... Science only gives us facts. Facts are not truth. They help compose the truth, but they are not truth.
2007-04-05 07:36:42 · answer #6 · answered by aspicco 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
not only can the philosopher doubt the existenc of other minds - he can doubt the existence of his own mind!
Who is this mysterious entity which should supposedly feel depressed? As far as I can tell, it is simply a perception.
The linear mind presumes that if there are thoughts, then there must be a thinker of the thoughts...except...the only evidence that there is for a thinker is... thoughts! we have no way of knowing if there is even one mind, let alone other minds!
And if that's the case, there is no thinker who can be depressed... or disturbed for that matter (though the notion itself does appear disturbing, lol ... the question is, who does it appear disturbing TO? ).
Though many are content to accept the conventional notions of objectivity, none of them are as fascinated by these conventions as the philosophers. Those who are merely content do not know who they are. They simply know the pleasures of conformity.
Philosophy challenges the status quo... asks the impossible questions... investigates the nature of perception... attempts to discern between perception and reality.
Philosophy is far from depressing! it is enlightening!
...to know that you do not know, and to know WHAT you do not know sets one free from the chains of ignorance which entrain people in a world of CONDITIONAL happiness.
While the philosopher is extremely reasonable and logical, he does not presume that one needs a reason to be happy... which is why he can denounce the world and its contents, because his happiness depends on none of it.
pity for those whose happiness it to fragile to let go of attatchments.
-Rob
2007-04-05 08:10:59 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
the idea that "reality" may not be real is not so far-fetched.
think about a laboratory guinea pig in a cage. from birth, all the reality he's ever known is man-made. he lives in a glass or wire enclosure, drinks from a glass or ceramic water basin and sleeps on shredded newspapers. it's "real" enough to him, but we know it's all fabricated.
And anyway, there are bigger things to worry about. ponder: for example, the paradox of someone who understands Wittgenstein but who constructs sentences like a 5-year-old.
2007-04-05 07:39:30 · answer #8 · answered by johngineer 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
the reality is different for everyone.. naturalism, realism, romanticism.. they all described reality from some certain points of view..
i got a bit confused now..
hehe
2007-04-05 07:41:48 · answer #9 · answered by Isolde 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Once someone asks such questions he/she becomes a philosopher.
2007-04-05 08:58:13 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋