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What makes good philosophy?

Forums: Philosophy
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rufio
 
Reply Fri 12 Dec, 2003 06:37 pm
There was a tangent in another thread with JL about whether or not people counted as philosophers, and whether or not they were GOOD philosophers - independant of our personal opinions of the philosophy itself. JL said he'd have to write a book about what makes good philosophy - so here is your book, write away.

And everyone else please share your ideas as well, of course....
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cavfancier
 
  1  
Reply Fri 12 Dec, 2003 06:46 pm
Interesting....I suppose that if people were not philosophers, I'm not quite sure who would be, but I can certainly see philosphies developing around the observation of animals and the natural world. I think what most likely makes a good philosopher is a person who is a good observer, a good questioner, a good listener, and a person who is willing to bend their opinion to a good challenge. Incidentally, I missed the thread, so I have no idea if you are being sarcastic or not rufio, I hope not. Wink
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onyxelle
 
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Reply Fri 12 Dec, 2003 06:52 pm
i always thought that all individuals were philosphers in their own right....even it's a philosophy that they don't share with anyone, or that is litle known beyond their households.

Like, a small bit of my philosophy is that gentle spanking is sometimes needed in rearing a child.

is this not a personal philosophy and if not, what would be considered one?
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rufio
 
  1  
Reply Fri 12 Dec, 2003 06:55 pm
Me? Sarcastic? Of course not. Wink

Seriously, it's an honest question, though.
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cavfancier
 
  1  
Reply Fri 12 Dec, 2003 07:06 pm
Then you shall get honest answers. I think I'm with onyxelle on the point that it seems inescapable to NOT have some sort of personal philosophy.
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onyxelle
 
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Reply Fri 12 Dec, 2003 07:13 pm
my philospophy is EDIT: i thought better of it.....it was an add homonym
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cavfancier
 
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Reply Fri 12 Dec, 2003 07:17 pm
onyxelle, I suppose you caught that joke of mine then Laughing
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onyxelle
 
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Reply Fri 12 Dec, 2003 07:19 pm
yup
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OCCOM BILL
 
  1  
Reply Fri 12 Dec, 2003 07:43 pm
I would consider a philosopher; any person who introduces, or expands on an nonfactual idea or opinion in such a way as to provoke further thought. If a persons "philosophy" leads me to consider the validity of my own beliefs, than they, by my definition, are a philosopher.

As for who is a good one or not; I would tend to rank philosopher's roughly in order of how much thought their respective philosophies provoke.

As for Ayn Rand (who, by the way, is the subject of the aforementioned tangent); she very definitely provoked a great deal of thought.

Quote:
About the Author: Ayn Rand (1905-1982) Novelist and philosopher Ayn rand, author of The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged and many other fiction and non-fiction works, is the originator of the philosophy of Objectivism. More than 20,000,000 copies of her books have been sold. In 1991 in a joint survey by the Library of Congress and the Book-of-the-Month Club, Atlas Shrugged ranked second (to the Bible) on a list of "books that made a difference" in peoples' lives. In 1998 a documentary film "Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life" was nominated for an Academy Award, and in the Random House/Modern Library Readers Poll, all four of Ayn Rand's novels were voted in the top ten novels of the 20th Century.
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cavfancier
 
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Reply Fri 12 Dec, 2003 08:13 pm
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Heliotrope
 
  1  
Reply Sat 13 Dec, 2003 04:45 pm
A good philosopher ?
I don't understand the question.

It's like asking : is gravity good ?

How can you possibly judge ? What criteria do you look at ?
It's implying that there is some sort of moral high ground to be gained from having more ideas or more to say on a particular subject.
It sounds like it's basically rooted in ego, so saying is someone a good philosopher is almost like saying who has the biggest mouth.

I'm still no nearer to understanding the question.
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rufio
 
  1  
Reply Sat 13 Dec, 2003 11:11 pm
Well, I tend to think of philosophy as more of an art not a science in terms of its derivation, anyway. So there is good philosophy and bad philosophy, just like there would be good debate and bad arguments, good logic and bad... and so forth, regardless of the content of the debate or the logical argument.
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cavfancier
 
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Reply Sat 13 Dec, 2003 11:12 pm
I would concur that there is an art to philosophizing.
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