Why bother with Philosophy?

Our TV caught fire once. The early days of televisions eh! Unreliable big old things.

I believed that out TV broke often and that it was replaced from one from my aunt, also that it only received BBC TV. My mum admits to removing the fuse from the plug...

Oh haha, my parents disapproved of TV as well. We were allowed to watch BBC but ITV had adverts on! Horror of horrors! So I didn't watch ITV til my teens.

Those Allo Allo stereotypes, OMG how true.

nothing wrong with believing in something to make life bearable. im sure religion, spirituality and philosophy have helped lots of people find meaning in life.

Oh wow!! I used to watch that when I was young on - what must have been - the world's smallest B&W TV screen. But only if my mother wasn't home (she wouldn't let us watch TV and if she was out late and it was on, it was one of the few things I liked watching...LOL)

I don't bother with modern philosophy, at least not the philosophy (or philosophers) from after the 14th century (with the exception of Galileo). 

I'm just laughing about the European stereotypes you mention. But they are all so true. Europeans spend their time making fun of each other's habits.

Did you see a 1980s show called Allo Allo? It is a parody of WW2. The European stereotypes are so painful and so true.

Happiness is a selling point apparently. Constructivism is a good one to look at from a philosophical point of creating a cultural identity and values. Where as in the States, the ideal of 'happiness' is written into the fabric of what it's supposed to mean to be American with the Motto "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"

I do have a thing for the Scots as well... mathematicians, logicians and psychoanalysts alike. Culture plays an integral role in the human existence. Things which happen politically and socially can affect moments and the philosophical inquiry to follow. I'm not sure I'm specifically drawn to a particular country. The French are SO radical and the Germans can be SO exacting. Perhaps it's the balance between these poles I'm fascinated by - but honestly, I would love more time to read. 

To one extreme it does seem as though 'racism' is actually about cultural 'isms', and not always a matter of systemic injustice but individuals being excluded by another group because don't 'fit in with the current norms'... some are too loud, others seem too arrogantly quiet. Some value saying whatever comes to mind and others thinking it through. Mannerisms can cause wars. I wish this was examined better within social groupings of similar percentages melanin types. But... that might demand better of individuals and we can't have that (wink!). According to most philosophical arguments around this, regardless of colour it can come down to economical standing. 

Which, back to Trade, one can take a whole nation and give it a whole new culture. East India Co. for example. 

I have a feeling capital has a lot more to do with indoctrination of culture than we can imagine. And that definitely can change values and behaviours. 

I am similar but I do feel some empathy if people are hurt/ upset etc. I try to help but don't always succeed.

I do feel like an observer though 'what the heck are they doing???' sort of thing. Definitely like an alien visiting earth.

Hey Desmond

Reality is very explainable especially for us. Especially for us so strongly focused. No magic about it. Fallow Albert Einstein, and it will come all clear to you.

This is sadly true.

We all have to go at some point, but one hopes it's never earlier than nature dictates.

I struggle with empathy and compassion, and I'm quite emotionally detached, so I have a tendency to be a casually observer, wondering what is wrong with everybody.

Nearly 8 billion on the planet, all those minds, and we're still stuck in petty tribalism and power struggles.

It's a shame.

Hopefully we can transcend before it's too late.

i dont believe there is a good or evil.... one persons utopia is anothers evil.

you can ask someone what their utopia is and to them it could sound very good and moral but to you it could sound like a very orwellian dystopia.

there is no good or evil, just perspective and thought.

the trick with the meaning of life is that it has no meaning other than to exist and to be..... we are human beings.... all we do is be, and that is all there is to it. to exist and to be. there is no other meaning. your life is just a time from birth to death, you are heading on a slow decaying path to death and have limited time. all you do in that time is be...to exist... do what you want... your time is yours to use as you see fit... but then ofcourse governments came along and found a way to make people believe that they had to give away their time in labour hours to exist and so some people cannot understand life or handle life without work because with the government answering the question of the meaning of life for them their answer simply becomes to work until they die and convert all their living time into labour hours for the advantage of the elite few.

That is interesting you are drawn to French and German philosophers because the English, Germans and French are all interrelated, we are all descended from each other e.g. the Anglo Saxons who invaded were Germanic, the Norman French were Norse and French. England was ruled by France for 300 years. So we are all the same people.

I think there is a very different mindset of us compared to Americans i.e. Europeans, especially the more East you go, tend to be far more gloomy than Americans, who seem to value optimism much more highly.

I think you are right but unfortunately we can't know who will survive it and how we'll get through it. I fear many will die...

I started out with a bit of exploration. But I discovered I tend to like the Germans and the French. Haha. Kant, a (gain of salt with) Nietzsche (he seemed bitter), Foucault, but there's a wealth one ends up peeling through just by reading any philosopher. I've been studying Deleuze for 8 years now and the books he co-wrote with Felix Guattari are life altering - they changed my ability to navigate society, helped finalise an internal check-list and set of rules with which to understand NTs and really have laid out exactly why and how Autists are marginalised within society. But on a sociological side, I really love Erich Fromm. He's not as difficult, more of a social philosopher. 

In my late teens I had been interested in philosophy but at that age one is easily steered toward investigating religions - so I had gone east to west but some are a bit too pious to suffer (I did appreciate Thomas Merton). To be fair, I would always suggest starting with a bit of symbolic logic or just learn a little on how arguments are structured. It makes it easier to understand the rules philosophers follow when crafting their concepts or laying out a philosophy.

What does utopia look like to you?

That seems to be true.

But is it not just the natural cycle of things?

Maybe we are moving through another period of catastrophe and trauma, which will have a very high price, but will eventually be overcome. 

In time we will enter another period of relative enlightenment, harmony, and peace, before the cycle begins again.

It seems to be human nature, maybe it is our fate as a species...

I teach philosophy or a university as a hobby... Earns a few quid...

Yes, I do agree that evil is growing stronger.