Would we be better off as a society with more engineers or more philosophers?

Question

I trust that people in the philosophy section can be objective.

Answer 1

Aren't they really the same in a plisophical sense? After all they both strive to understand a fundamental aspect of the universe and it's nature? When philosphers and engineers work together it can be magic.

Oh, yeah, I spent my first 3 years in college studying engineering on full scholarship before I switched to art.

Answer 2

Oh, can you also trust if the people in 'non-philosophy' section could be more philosophical ?
Any way, philosophy does not negate objectivism. It merely attempts to go beyond it.
What we call as objective, is based on just sensory level perceptions.
The whole edifice is built over an axiom 'existence exists'.
Was not Socrates objective ? He was more 'down to earth' than anyone can possibly be ! The people around him were too simple. He just asked the right questions, and in the right sequence, and people joyously discovered the answers from their own within !
Try to match the number of engineers, and philosophers ! Visualise a world without one of them (at a time) and then see for yourself how the 'feel of life' would be ! And, perhaps, it is the philosophers, who dedicate to spreading the tools throughout their life, for they now know how comforting it is to be amidst wise people all around !

Answer 3

I would think we would be better off as a society of philosophers. Most people who are philosophers understand how to think critcally, analytically, objectively, subjectively, and a whole bunch of useful other ways. This would in turn probably open the door for a lot more understanding in the world. If the engineers ran society it would be too much like a mechanism rather than a society.

Answer 4

It's hard to be objective when my ( north american) culture is mostly concerned with telecomunications, transport and the building of infrastructure and technology.
I think that both disciplines represent two seperate human faculties. One, the desire to expand, appropriate and assimilate matter into something physically useful to the human experience. The other, the reflection and analysis of those same desires and ambitions that make up the trajectories of our lives.
I belive that one of these faculties are expressed more heavily than the other in certain contexts, humans, opportunists we are, when given ample clay to work, our minds of set on forming pots. Philosophy, being somewhat self limiting in the physical realm, is a trait expressed when stability has been acheived and scholasticism is cultivated or in a time when the future seems dark or doubtful. Then again, for a society to "afford" philosophers, it probably has an agricultural surplus, the result of environmental engineering. Of course, if you haven't the time or surplus for philosophy you can have the handy, pre packaged version known as "religeon".

Answer 5

I believe that we would be better of with a more philosophers personally I like to argue about things such as the creation theory and evolution.
Well a society of philosophers would be a different change .There are more engineers than philosophers.
Although all computer technology is good I would want to hear what other people have to say.Of course there might be feuds but anyways there always are.
In any case we need both of them everyone contributes in someway to the society

Answer 6

An Engineer is a Philosopher with direction. They both require an analytical mind. The Engineer puts his/her questions to reality. The Philosopher deals with questions that don't have an answer.

Answer 7

Would you rather your house was built by an honest man or a good carpenter?

It depends on the priorities of that society. Engineers can enhance our physical comforts and drive technological progress. Philosophers can stimulate our minds. So choosing one or the other would depend entirely on what's more important in the given society.

Answer 8

Engineers. There are a lot of philosophers out there, mind you some are really nice,but not to many processing the ability to construct something. Most of them would be debating if this was that way and that was this was. Get my drift.

Answer 9

the love of knowledge (philosophy) has been undermined .
I think we will be better of with more philosophers. Too bad it doesn't pay as much as engineers. But we have to start asking ourselves more often,why put the world in the situation that we are now....

Answer 10

depends on whether u want us to build physically or mentally. (yes, that's subjective. what did you expect)
we'd be best off is we had a lot of both, but since we already have plenty of engineers, lets try more philosophers and find out what the alternative is like.
philosophical populace, mostly being engineers, might work.