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Philosophizers
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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by FatStrings on Sun Mar 5th at 8:38pm 2006

i was given an assignment in english to ask people their definition of a philosopher and to define their philosophy of life
so i figured i would bring it to the pit
use as many words as you like




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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by Orpheus on Sun Mar 5th at 9:31pm 2006

My philosophy is, do not exceed your ability to influence the world around you.

Life is a circle. Everyones circles is different. Yours might be as big as Montana and you can sway anything you want. Mine is about as big as the period at the end of this sentence.

Do not worry about whats outside your circle.

A philosopher, is the person in charge within your circle. In my case, its my wife,son's and grandson. <img src=" SRC="images/smiles/icon_smile.gif">





The best things in life, aren't things.



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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by fishy on Mon Mar 6th at 12:03am 2006

a good philosophy would be to do your own homework. :P




i eat paint



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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by Gwil on Mon Mar 6th at 12:16am 2006

A good philosophy would be, be yourself.






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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by reaper47 on Mon Mar 6th at 12:33am 2006

Philosophy today is what's left that hasn't yet been split into a more specific science (like physics, psychology, politics ect.). And it seems to me like there is not much left that qualifies philosophy for an independent science anymore.

The main field of work for a philosopher today is to come up with words for things that aren't named yet - and probably do not need a name. I was in a class for semiotics (one of the last attempts to squeeze out a new form of science from philosophy) last year. It's "the study of signs" and how communication works on different levels. A smart guy (I'm not good with names) tried to categorize every possible sign and come up with a name for it. Obviously he failed and the result was a theoretical paper that's so overly complicated it's almost impossible to read. The point is nobody needs it. It's more complicated than the issue he tried to explain. That's what I don't like about philosophy today. You come up with a thousand words for something that can easily be understood - wordless.

My philosophy in life btw is to try to be a happy person. Our consciousness is controlled by biochemical processes. It makes us feel good when we do something that's evolutionary a good thing for individuals and/or mankind. There are errors (psychopaths) but usually it works. You just have to think long-terms and social.

[excuse my possibly bad english, try to filter the thoughts out of the babble]




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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by Orpheus on Mon Mar 6th at 12:36am 2006

? quoting reaper47

[excuse my possibly bad english, try to filter the thoughts out of the babble]

Zounds man. If we did that you'd be left with a post of black space. smiley





The best things in life, aren't things.



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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by Addicted to Morphine on Mon Mar 6th at 1:21am 2006

? quoting reaper47
[excuse my possibly bad english, try to filter the thoughts out of the babble]


I understood you alright man smiley

I had to take a course in literary theory and had to suffer through the whole "signifier vs. signified" thing and I know how you feel.

Anyway -- I don't really have a definition of philosopher for you, but as for my own personal philosophy, I basically try to maximize the overall happiness of loved ones, friends, and strangers. I know I won't be able to have a worldwide influence with my actions, but similar to Orpheus' thoughts on circles of influence, I try to positively effect my own little circle of existence.

Not a very complicated philosophy, just one with an emphasis on personal connections that hopefully will make this world a tiny bit better than it was when I got here smiley




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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by Nickelplate on Mon Mar 6th at 1:31am 2006

I think we can sum this up using Plato's "Parable of the Cave."

The parable states that humankind is like prisoners chained in a cave since thier birth. The prisoners are facing toward the back wall of the cave with a fire behind them. They are chained so that all they can see is the flickering shadows made by the fire behind them. In between the prisoners and the fire is a raised walkway that animals and other things are brough across. All the prisoners can see of the animals is thier flickering, distorted shadows, and this is thier reality.

Plato states that if one prisoner were allowed to go free, he would realize that the shadows that he though were reality are not what was making the animal noises. If the freed prisoner were to go outside, he would be blinded by the sun's light, but in time he'd be able to see things that ARE real, even though to him, they would seem less real than the shadows of before.

A philosopher is the freed prisoner who goes back to tell the others about reality, even though they don't want to be freed. Even though it would mean having to go back into the cave to save his fellows.




I tried sniffing coke, but the ice cubes kept getting stuck in my nose.
http://www.dimebowl.com



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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by Addicted to Morphine on Mon Mar 6th at 2:10am 2006

Well for that to be the case, a philosopher has to have a transcendental experience equivalent to being freed from chains and led out of a cave...

How does a philosopher achieve that freedom? Thought? Meditation? Worldly experience?




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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by FatStrings on Mon Mar 6th at 2:13am 2006

? quote:
a good philosophy would be to do your own homework.

no, my homework was to ask 5 people those questions




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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by Dr Brasso on Mon Mar 6th at 2:31am 2006

? posted by Addicted to Morphine

How does a philosopher achieve that freedom? Thought? Meditation? Worldly experience?

well, back in the late 60's, all it took was a hit or ten of LSD and you became capable of "philosophy, "speaking in tongues", and a thousand other "spiritual" inclinations.....s**t....my big sister got in a "philosophical discussion" at 5 in the morning in the front yard with a lawn ornament once....wasnt funny then, scared the s**t outta me actually, but i have to laugh now, what a f**kin' idiot she was.....

experience breeds the process of thought and contemplation, in regards to cause and effect....and everything else..

Doc B...





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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by Addicted to Morphine on Mon Mar 6th at 2:44am 2006

One of my friends got so high he wandered into a cemetary and spent 2 hours talking to the corpses because he figured they might be lonely since no one assumes they can hear...

Pretty creepy. Drugs make people do some pretty zany stuff.




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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by FatStrings on Mon Mar 6th at 2:49am 2006

we have about 20 pictures of one of my friends trying to catch a picture of a chip in mid-air with another guy dropping it after drinking a bunch
we got some really funny pics of his face




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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by Juim on Mon Mar 6th at 3:00am 2006

Philosiphizers are those who, by extrapolation and previous experience, cast a wide net out over the possible, and try to capture the truth.



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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by Addicted to Morphine on Mon Mar 6th at 4:06am 2006

? quoting Juim
Philosiphizers are those who, by extrapolation and previous experience, cast a wide net out over the possible, and try to capture the truth.


I really like this. It's a very elegant sentence as well as idea.




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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by Nickelplate on Mon Mar 6th at 4:22am 2006

? quoting Juim
Philosiphizers are those who, by extrapolation and previous experience, cast a wide net out over the possible, and try to capture the truth.

Verily, this is "forum signature" material.




I tried sniffing coke, but the ice cubes kept getting stuck in my nose.
http://www.dimebowl.com



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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by Biological Component on Mon Mar 6th at 6:04am 2006

A philosipher is someone who talks about stuff and tries to convey their own opinion about some views on whatever everyone else is talking about.


Here's my philosophy on the people who have decided to implement func_detail as the "new and improved version of func_wall" into hammer:


First of all, they are complete pricks, these guys, who have bogged down the entity list with 6 letter words. Detail = 6, Wall = 4. Simpler is better. Why couldn't they just make the improvements and leave them as func_wall then? Oh! That's what I thought.

Some will make arguments like "You can't make walls a func_wall, for the most part, so detail is a better description. Its longer, yes, but it is a better term for its own entity."

Hello! Wake up and smell the roses. Since when do the terms in computer programming and development have to even remotely translate to everyday English?

These people fail to see the hypocrisy of their own stand-
I'm telling you, If you are gonna say that we need func_detail, then you can't just sit there, eyes glazed and oblivious to the inaccuracy of the term "brush".

What would be a better term for brush, you ask?
A: Freakin "block".

That's why i hate it when people look at a list of hundreds of inaccurately named objects and pick out ONE of them and tout their NEW IMPROVED NAME for that single item, completely ignoring the rest, and any possibly weightier imbalances.



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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by Nickelplate on Mon Mar 6th at 6:59am 2006

You need to visit the "What ticks you off?" thread.


I tried sniffing coke, but the ice cubes kept getting stuck in my nose.
http://www.dimebowl.com



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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by DrGlass on Mon Mar 6th at 7:59am 2006

? quote:
I think we can sum this up using Plato's "Parable of the Cave."

The parable states that humankind is like prisoners chained in a cave since thier birth. The prisoners are facing toward the back wall of the cave with a fire behind them. They are chained so that all they can see is the flickering shadows made by the fire behind them. In between the prisoners and the fire is a raised walkway that animals and other things are brough across. All the prisoners can see of the animals is thier flickering, distorted shadows, and this is thier reality.

Plato states that if one prisoner were allowed to go free, he would realize that the shadows that he though were reality are not what was making the animal noises. If the freed prisoner were to go outside, he would be blinded by the sun's light, but in time he'd be able to see things that ARE real, even though to him, they would seem less real than the shadows of before.

A philosopher is the freed prisoner who goes back to tell the others about reality, even though they don't want to be freed. Even though it would mean having to go back into the cave to save his fellows.



No one is in chains, you are born looking at "reality" because it is right there in front of you. No one looks around becuase they have always accepted that the shadows are the only real thing, there is no thing better to look for.

one man just turns around one day, and finds that the world he has know all his life is only a fraction of what is out there.

^^this is all philosophy, any time we question something with a dynamic answer. To quote the "matrix" (which is based off "the cave")

"it's the question that drives us"




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 Re: Philosophizers
Posted by Loco on Mon Mar 6th at 8:41am 2006

Tom Lehrer once said something like (i.e. not an exact quote):
"Henry, like all good philosophers, told people who were much happier than he was how to run their lives. Before they took him to the home for the eternally bewildered, he said 'Life is like a sewer. What you get out of it depends upon what you put into it'"

A bit harsh perhaps, but quite fun. Incidentally, this was the same sketch where he claimed Henry was such an individualist he spelt his name H.E.N.3.R.Y.

Actually, in all seriousness, I prefer the more sensible defintions that people have given so far.


My site




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