A small retraction
I have previously said "90% of philosophy is bullshit". I stand by that, but only because there is just so much bad philosophy!The 10%, though, is pretty good, and it's not necessarily "easy" (as I generalized). Analytical philosophy, the kind that uses, you know, real propositional logic, is pretty decent. The professional philosophers, the good professors, they are formidable people on the intelligence scale (though I wish they'd do work on more important issues like FAI, but that's another issue).
My distaste for philosophy most certainly comes from my over-exposure to simply bad philosophy, with Rand at the head. I've discovered some interesting stuff, though, and I will try to remain faithful to the good brand if I delve more into the topic myself. (As you may notice I use the 'philosophy' tag kind of loosely; I think most people do.) Where I am likely to have issues with individuals is when they have embraced a philosophy as a religion (like I see with Objectivism: it's called a cult for a reason). Where I'm unlikely to have issues is with individuals who have read lots and lots of professional philosophy, understand the (admittedly simple) propositional logic syntax, and don't shrug me off as insignificant and may desire to enlighten me. I seek truth, but I don't pretend to be well-trained and I'm certain I've made many amateur mistakes.
Posted on 2010-01-20 by Jach
Tags: philosophy
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Jach
February 23, 2010 06:22:07 AM
Easy is a bad thing. It means poor minds can have at it. Do something worthwhile and challenging, don't waste time in philosophy. It's the junk food of any budding intellectual.
If a philosophy is easy, it's easy for laymen to understand and practice it.