Clarification/Follow-up by ethical_reason on 03/27/03 5:27 am:
As far as what the future of philosophy there is no new future.

None.

Philosophers historically and generally speaking are (as thinkers) adverse to action. So, the output for their "powers" are talking. Usually amongst themselves, as we do here. Accomplishing nothing (relatively speaking). In fact there are very few people on the planet who actually attempt to come to any conclusion other than the one they start.

So, other than the same old, none.


But the use to the individual is great. They can argue their point and fight until it's stronger than it was before, only briefly learning anything or having their opinion changed with the best of them.

Clarification/Follow-up by Jon1667 on 03/27/03 3:25 pm:
Ethical Reason:

Not "adverse", "averse".

Clarification/Follow-up by ethical_reason on 03/27/03 4:12 pm:
oh yeah. |=)

Thanks jon

Clarification/Follow-up by Dark_Crow on 03/27/03 5:51 pm:
As Jon say’s, “For instance, what truth is; what knowledge is---“ has, I agree, traditionally been the quest of philosophy; however the future of philosophy, I believe, is in the realization there is no ‘Truth’. There are propositions that might be true, false, or undeterminable, but there is no ‘Truth”.


I will just quote Jean Piaget here about knowledge. His often quoted maxim, intelligence organizes the world by organizing itself, and the principle that knowledge has an adaptive function, not a representational one .

Clarification/Follow-up by Choux on 03/27/03 8:38 pm:
HI DC,

Thanks for your quote from Piaget.

Then, considering your comments that there is no "The Truth"--which I have known for years, does it follow that there comes a point when one should stop looking?

Clarification/Follow-up by Dark_Crow on 03/27/03 9:28 pm:
I will again defer to another quote and just add one should stop with the realization that it is pointless.

"The problem is that, although we're all entitled to our beliefs, our culture increasingly holds that science is just another belief. Maybe this is because it's easier to believe something—anything—than not to know."

by Alan Alda