Reply
Thu 27 Feb, 2014 01:46 pm
Hi all, This is my first year studying philosophy in University and I believe I've found my major. However, I am dealing with some hesitations that perhaps some of you may be able to help with. Every time I read a text that at first blush is impenetrable, I feel rather, well, dumb. Have many of you found these texts, Kant being the most notorious, as being simple? Is reading Philosophy something that is meant to come naturally for those who should study it? Or is it an acquired skill? I've just recently read some of Descartes meditations (which weren't too difficult), Summa Contra Gentiles Vol.1, and now Judith Butler's "Giving an account of oneself" just to give some context. Thanks.
@bdykstra,
Don't expect philosophy to be simple, especially Kant, since he in particular questions the very status of what we usually call "reason". Descartes'
cogito falls apart when we read (in Heidegger for example) that the distintiction between "subjects" and "objects" (like "self" and "world") may have no epistemological foundation and is merely a reflection of the influence of a Greek worldview embedded in our language. To a large extent, understanding philosophy involves understanding its historical evolution as sets of interacting and contrasting worldviews. Indeed postmodernists might argue that this is ALL that it consists of, with no claim to any significant academic status or "findings" in its own right. Consider for example Wittgenstein's celebrated adage " philosophical problems are what happens when language goes on holiday".
I hope this gives you more of an idea about what to expect.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace