What's the ultimate purpose of Philosophy ?

I think phylosophy was, after religion, another unsucessfull atempt to understand nature.
It never gave any answers just bunch of meaningless assumptions.
Only when science took over things become to happen in an amazing speed.
Phylosophy and religion should both be berried a long time ago but they still keep draging human race backwards feeding itself with humar fear and stupidity.

vori,

What are these statements if not "philosophical" ones ?

They are statements, assumptions.
Philosophy doesn't have an exclusive right of making statements, assumptions.
Everyone can make statements, assumptions.
Scientist can make statements, assumptions.
Philosphy makes statements and assumptions and stops there.
Sicence makes statements, assumptions and tries to prove them through experiments, mathematical models, by creating mathematical models of physical laws and so on.

You've not answered the question. Three eminent scientists made statements.
Are you merely saying they are are "assumptions" in order to avoid the word "philosophy" ?...it certainly looks like it ! How could any of them be "scientifically tested" ?

Are you merely saying they are are "assumptions" in order to avoid the word "philosophy" ?...it certainly looks like it !

Yes, that is correct.
I want to separate phylosophy and science, and not making phylosophy as starting point for science, Science is science. phylosophy is phylosophy. They can both make assumptions.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How could any of them be "scientifically tested" ?

I am not saying that they can or can not be tested.
I am sure that there are many assumptions that currently can't be tested.
Science tests those that can be tested.
Philosophy never tries to test anything which is why it is making absolultly no progress in our knowledge of universe.
Phylosophy just piles up infinite number of assumptions.

The word philosophy is Greek for "love of wisdom", and if you ask me, that's still a pretty good description of what philosophy is. Wisdom, and the love of it, don't have an ultimate purpose. The purpose of philosophy is philosophy.

Good point, Thomas. And that is true of life itself.

Vori: "I think phylosophy was, after religion, another unsucessfull atempt to understand nature."

I think both religion and philosophy were key ingredients in the looooong chain of events that put science where it is today.

I also think that the distinction is valid only on paper. Something is never just science, religion or philosophy. Except whey they are on paper. Before that, in the process of forming the ideas, a scientist will, by virtue of being a normal human being, have issues to relate to that fall under all categories. His inspiration to create great scientific works may be well founded in religious belief.

Einstein wasn't a great scientist because he was good at math. In fact, he wasn't very good, compared to lesser scientific minds of his time, at least not around the time his first ideas on relativity started to grow in his mind. What he did have was the power to envision. Imagination, creativity and intuition are important ingredients of scientific discovery. Of any discovery.
If any scientist denies this, ask him if he has ever discovered something

I don't think Philosophy has an ultimate end or goal. I think it's more to do with challenging things that claim to have ends or goals.

philosophy is to thinking what tears are to crying

To learn.

Why would anyone think that there was an ultimate purpose of philosophy except, of course, to deal with philosophical problems? But that is so obvious, why would anyone raise the question? It is like asking what is the ultimate purpose of chemistry.

If that is the case, I would say that you could posit that the ultimate purpose of chemistry is to give a basis for biological modeling, to explore the modeling of systems that more more complex than what physics proposes to model, or to help build faster computers/cheaper medicine/superior house cleaners.

I suppose I could do that. But why would I? And what would be my justification for doing so? I don't see why I should suppose that chemistry has some ultimate purpose other than dealing with chemical issues, and similarly why I should suppose that philosophy has some ultimate purpose other than dealing with philosophical issues. That is why chemistry was invented. And that is why philosophy was invented.

Seems your friend has it down right, I can't agree with your "suffering" part. Least in Denmark we don't have much suffering. We have a bunch of spoiled idiots who are being lazy of too much welfare, we have the worst and most inefficient educational system ..etc, because of welfare.

With too much welfare, people become complacent, lazy, stupid, doesn't strive.

You should read some Sun Tzu - Art of War, it's good for everyday understanding.

As a thought exercise, I'd say. I don't think things need to have a point, but looking for a point can help to amalgamate information under categories, and thereby bring what may have at one point seemed to be disjointed into relation. Perhaps the wording "Ultimate Purpose" isn't the best, as I think purposes are self-ascribed, but I think the question was akin to "What it is that people are doing when they are doing philosophy?"

i personally believe that philosphy, without the unknowning, wouldn't be philosophy at all. Once something is proven, it becomes fact. Once there is a fact, there's no question to answer. With no question to answer there's no wonder, or desire to understand, since it's already understood.

luckily for us, we'll never fully understand.

Haha! This is a good one

To answer the topic's question: If I had to say only one 'ultimate' purpose, it'd be Perspective.