Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Philosophy as a timewaster?

     Yes, our resident clown, Stormbringer, is at it again.
     "Don't get the wrong idea, I am not saying that all philosophy is a waste of time, and reject it out of hand."
     Well, my experience is that he rejects all dissent out of hand. Of course, if I am wrong, people are free to give their evidence why that is so.
     "When discussing the nature of [g]od, or existence, or [g]od's existence, I am not interested in the opinions of the 'great philosophers' for very long. Instead, I believe that people are not interested in reaching the truth."
     Of course he's not interested in the opinions of the great philosophers. These were people who sought to penetrate the unknown and, hopefully, find the truth. But Stormbringer is quite right. Many people are not interested in reaching the truth. They prefer to use some "holy book" and not even think.
     "Me, I prefer to talk like regular people instead of putting my audience off by excessive circumlocution."
     The act of "talking around" an issue can be done without the use of fancy words and obscure terminology. I would argue that Stormbringer's own blog is a perfect example of this point.
     "So, if a discussion turns overly philosophical, don't be surprised if I bail out because I feel that it is self-indulgent and unproductive."
     Given that self-indulgent and unproductive is the general nature of his operation, I must conclude that he has some other reason for bailing out.
     "By the way, there are so many philosophers and philosophies through the ages. One reason for this, it seems to me, is because they are all incomplete. Sure, some are clever and raise some good points. But they haven't arrived at the truth which they allegedly seek."
     Personally, I think this is because truth is more a journey than a destination. Oh, and then he gives the quote "For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles." Let's put that in simpler terms, shall we? Anyone who actually thinks about christianity will come to the conclusion that it is false. The only ones who believe are the ones who do so mindlessly.

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