QUESTION NINE
9. Your teacher repeatedly says, "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly is religion/theology." What does such a statement mean and what are its ultimate implications (online students may have to do some web research on this one, as well). Try doing a http://www.google.com search.
i remember having a discussion in one of the posts about that one particular quote. i have taken philosophy for three quarters in ucsd, an introductory one (but none like this class), one on metaphysics, and one on logic, and after all these exposure to philosophy, i've come to a conclusion that philosophy is a study to understand basically everything in this universe. philosophy encompasses morals, ethics, science, religion, even mathematics; it seems to me like philosophy is the root of all kinds of studies. in philosophy, one asks questions and expects RATIONAL answers, which is probably why logic is one of the most fundamental field to begin with when one studies philosophy. why asking questions? because one wants to find the truth. there are many things around that we human beings do not understand; why does this event happen? why does he behave like that? what determines right and wrong? philosophy simply seeks the truth, some explanation to questions like those that logically makes sense. and philosophy is "done well," when the answer to a question it proposes is answered rationally.
so the bottomline is, philosophy is a study that promotes questions to help people better understand the universe and themselves, and seeks rational answers to the questions. science, of all fields that branched from philosophy, is the main competitor in providing rational answers. questions promoted from the study of philosophy such as "why is the sky blue" and many others have been answered rationally and logically by science. furthermore, science also gives PROOFS with factual information, and we all know that factual information must be true. thus, science is "philosophy done well," for it provides rational answers that philosophy seeks by promoting questions.
religion or theology on the other hand, also provides answers to questions that philosophy asks. but unfortunately, theological answers are mostly based on intangible things such as faith that cannot be rationally proven. also, when theology provides answers, they are quite limited since their answers revolve around a divine being, whereas science can be more flexible since they do not have to center their answers around one concept. theology does not provide the answers that philosophy seeks: rational answers. this is why theology is considered "philosophy done poorly;" the answers it provides cannot be proven by facts answers that science provides.
i remember having a discussion in one of the posts about that one particular quote. i have taken philosophy for three quarters in ucsd, an introductory one (but none like this class), one on metaphysics, and one on logic, and after all these exposure to philosophy, i've come to a conclusion that philosophy is a study to understand basically everything in this universe. philosophy encompasses morals, ethics, science, religion, even mathematics; it seems to me like philosophy is the root of all kinds of studies. in philosophy, one asks questions and expects RATIONAL answers, which is probably why logic is one of the most fundamental field to begin with when one studies philosophy. why asking questions? because one wants to find the truth. there are many things around that we human beings do not understand; why does this event happen? why does he behave like that? what determines right and wrong? philosophy simply seeks the truth, some explanation to questions like those that logically makes sense. and philosophy is "done well," when the answer to a question it proposes is answered rationally.
so the bottomline is, philosophy is a study that promotes questions to help people better understand the universe and themselves, and seeks rational answers to the questions. science, of all fields that branched from philosophy, is the main competitor in providing rational answers. questions promoted from the study of philosophy such as "why is the sky blue" and many others have been answered rationally and logically by science. furthermore, science also gives PROOFS with factual information, and we all know that factual information must be true. thus, science is "philosophy done well," for it provides rational answers that philosophy seeks by promoting questions.
religion or theology on the other hand, also provides answers to questions that philosophy asks. but unfortunately, theological answers are mostly based on intangible things such as faith that cannot be rationally proven. also, when theology provides answers, they are quite limited since their answers revolve around a divine being, whereas science can be more flexible since they do not have to center their answers around one concept. theology does not provide the answers that philosophy seeks: rational answers. this is why theology is considered "philosophy done poorly;" the answers it provides cannot be proven by facts answers that science provides.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home