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It is only since recent times that philosophy has been separated from the other arts and sciences, just as with most sciences today. Not too long ago science, t

It is only since recent times that philosophy has been separated from the other arts and sciences, just as with most sciences today. Not too long ago science, theology, philosophy were often practiced alongside each other or even seen as the same thing. The pyramids were made with science for a religious (philosophical) purpose by the elite (priests, Pharaohs). The utility of philosophy is that we create a shared lexicon and set of ideas to make sense of the world and be able to create new things in the world and communicate them to one another.

bonoboTP 6y ago
I'll give it to you with the pyramids. As for later ages, I'm not sure about this but I assume serfs and village folks didn't really interact with monks and elites. So they kinda did their thing and built various contraptions and came up with ways to manage their crops... But perhaps the local priest had a bridging effect? I wonder how much the codex writing isolated high class actually openly looked at common folk practice to learn from or they were too proud for that. I mean I can see for example that religions have lots of practical rules on agriculture or rules of animal slaughtering and so on, so you may be right that it wasn't so divided from early on. This is one of those topics where I feel things are complicated. The relations of high and low culture and knowledge and the transmission of ideas between elite musings and common mundane practice is something that really interests me but I don't even know how to learn more about this.
- ARandomerDude 6y ago
  > I'm not sure about this but I assume serfs and village folks didn't really interact with monks and elites. This was actually a recurring complaint among the monks, and several groups (called "Orders") were created whose job it was to interface with the common man. A person who did so was called a "Friar." I highly recommend the book Medieval Christianity by Kevin Madigan (Yale University Press, 2015) if you're interested in this topic.
AnimalMuppet 6y ago
> The utility of philosophy is that we create a shared lexicon and set of ideas to make sense of the world and be able to create new things in the world and communicate them to one another. Honest question: What "new things" has philosophy created?
- FriedrichN 6y ago
  First off, I'm of the opinion that history moves forward by the actions of individuals and that technology is a main driving factor, not ideas. That being said, people like Pythagoras, Thales, Goethe, da Vinci, and many others were simultaneously artists, scientists, as well as philosophers. I agree to a certain degree with the GP that philosophy is mostly post-rationalising of existing phenomena. It's the creation of these ideas that allow for deeper thought and exchange of these ideas. Einstein had the idea of relativity before he could prove it. When it comes to creating 'new things', it seems an individual's curiosity and serendipity is what drives innovation. But I think one must not underestimate the role philosophy plays in this as it can give one's thought direction.
- bonoboTP 6y ago
  Especially social philosophers like Rousseau, Marx, and various ideologues created a lot of social power structures. Things like separation of powers. Humanist philosophers have influenced the way we see the role of the individual vs a member of a collective and so on.

bonoboTP 6y ago

I'll give it to you with the pyramids. As for later ages, I'm not sure about this but I assume serfs and village folks didn't really interact with monks and elites. So they kinda did their thing and built various contraptions and came up with ways to manage their crops... But perhaps the local priest had a bridging effect? I wonder how much the codex writing isolated high class actually openly looked at common folk practice to learn from or they were too proud for that. I mean I can see for example that religions have lots of practical rules on agriculture or rules of animal slaughtering and so on, so you may be right that it wasn't so divided from early on. This is one of those topics where I feel things are complicated. The relations of high and low culture and knowledge and the transmission of ideas between elite musings and common mundane practice is something that really interests me but I don't even know how to learn more about this.

ARandomerDude 6y ago
> I'm not sure about this but I assume serfs and village folks didn't really interact with monks and elites. This was actually a recurring complaint among the monks, and several groups (called "Orders") were created whose job it was to interface with the common man. A person who did so was called a "Friar." I highly recommend the book Medieval Christianity by Kevin Madigan (Yale University Press, 2015) if you're interested in this topic.

AnimalMuppet 6y ago

> The utility of philosophy is that we create a shared lexicon and set of ideas to make sense of the world and be able to create new things in the world and communicate them to one another. Honest question: What "new things" has philosophy created?

FriedrichN 6y ago
First off, I'm of the opinion that history moves forward by the actions of individuals and that technology is a main driving factor, not ideas. That being said, people like Pythagoras, Thales, Goethe, da Vinci, and many others were simultaneously artists, scientists, as well as philosophers. I agree to a certain degree with the GP that philosophy is mostly post-rationalising of existing phenomena. It's the creation of these ideas that allow for deeper thought and exchange of these ideas. Einstein had the idea of relativity before he could prove it. When it comes to creating 'new things', it seems an individual's curiosity and serendipity is what drives innovation. But I think one must not underestimate the role philosophy plays in this as it can give one's thought direction.
bonoboTP 6y ago
Especially social philosophers like Rousseau, Marx, and various ideologues created a lot of social power structures. Things like separation of powers. Humanist philosophers have influenced the way we see the role of the individual vs a member of a collective and so on.