[lit-ideas] The Loves of the Wisdoms
- From: jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:48:47 -0400
that philosophy dealt
with such problems as ‘What is consciousness?’ ‘Is the mind distinct
from the brain?’ ‘How can we know the things we claim to know if the
only evidence we have is the evidence of our senses?’ ‘Should one always
act in such a way that...
Robert, don't feel trapped by McCreery's logistics (i.e. sophistics!). Of
course we philosophers don't have to answer what philosophy _is_. We should at
least answer what PHILOSOPHERS (or you _qua_ philosopher -- or _quack
philosopher_, as Geary prefers) does! (sic).
Personally, I think it's _personal_. I.e. educational. The student of
philosophy usually had a course in philosophy in high school, and then, when
about to decide what to study -- or _scholia_ which meant _leisure_ in Greek,
for surely, if you don't have _leisure_ you cannot philosophize -- to engage
in, is the only one that makes the _wise_ choice, and chooses philosophy. More
utilitarian spirits prefer _medicine_ and dedicate the rest of their lives to
save people's _bodies_ -- what a _waste_!
So, philosophy was what Plato felt for. Not Socrates, who was Plato's
invention. Aristotle spoiled it all, though, by making more scholastic than it
should, and being the cause of Peters.
I'm currently analysing _dictionaries of philosophy_ (Greek base) to see what
entry is deemed philosophical enough. For Plato and the 'pre-socratics',
everything went, and finely so; for surely philosophy should be the concern (if
not the realm of the metaphysician, as R. Paul ironically puts it) not the
specialist, but of the 'well-educated gentleman', as Peters puts it in his
Foreword.
I'm also reading Flew dictionary from z (zoon) to 'a' (adunatos). He has one
entry for theosophy (the wisdom of God, cfr. philosophy -- the wisdom of Love?)
Also, the notes under "Wisdom, John Terrence Dibben", philosopher, "not to be
confused with his cousin, John Orwell Wisdom". I loved that!
Cheers,
JL
Other related posts:
