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> unrelated to what philosophers talk about Plenty of philosophers talk about how to live a full, meaningful and happy life. Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, St.

by SamBam 6y ago

> unrelated to what philosophers talk about Plenty of philosophers talk about how to live a full, meaningful and happy life. Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, St. Augustine, and plenty more. It's not all metaphysics, qualia, or master-slave dialectics.

thaumasiotes 6y ago
Aristotle also empirically discussed the form and behavior of various insects, and of course he non-empirically discussed the form and behavior of legendary creatures. And all of that came under the umbrella of "philosophy" as the word was used centuries ago, but it doesn't today, and neither does the material here. When I say "what philosophers talk about", I do not mean to imply that if Daniel Dennett remarks "nice day today", then common weather patterns are a topic in philosophy, and I hope that that lack of implication was obvious to most readers.
- SamBam 6y ago
  Are you seriously suggesting Aristotle isn't discussed by philosophers, and isn't considered a philosopher by academics?
  - thaumasiotes 6y ago
    I am seriously suggesting that most of what Aristotle wrote was not philosophy. Some of it was, but that doesn't mean the rest of it was too.
    - SamBam 6y ago
      ...this is silly. You implied that Aristotle discussing the good life was akin to Dennett discussing the weather, and that such a discourse is not considered "real philosophy" anymore. I'm saying that absurd, and simply shows you don't know enough about philosophy. Here's a quick search of philosophy journals and books that reference "Aristotle" and the "good life." Are you suggesting that these aren't modern philosophy? [1] And how about the rest of them? Do articles on the Stoics not count as philosophy either? (I realize that after a couple undergraduate courses in philosophy everyone covers Dennett, and maybe Wittgenstein and Hume and a few others, and comes away thinking that any discussion of "practical" philosophy isn't "true" philosophy, but that isn't the case at all. I don't know whether this applies to you or not.) 1. https://link.springer.com/search?query=aristotle+good+life&facet-discipline=%22Philosophy%22 https://link.springer.com/search?query=aristotle+good+life&f... . Feel free to filter further by journal articles if you think books don't count as modern philosophy.

by SamBam 6y ago

thaumasiotes 6y ago

Aristotle also empirically discussed the form and behavior of various insects, and of course he non-empirically discussed the form and behavior of legendary creatures. And all of that came under the umbrella of "philosophy" as the word was used centuries ago, but it doesn't today, and neither does the material here. When I say "what philosophers talk about", I do not mean to imply that if Daniel Dennett remarks "nice day today", then common weather patterns are a topic in philosophy, and I hope that that lack of implication was obvious to most readers.

SamBam 6y ago
Are you seriously suggesting Aristotle isn't discussed by philosophers, and isn't considered a philosopher by academics?
- thaumasiotes 6y ago
  I am seriously suggesting that most of what Aristotle wrote was not philosophy. Some of it was, but that doesn't mean the rest of it was too.
  - SamBam 6y ago
    ...this is silly. You implied that Aristotle discussing the good life was akin to Dennett discussing the weather, and that such a discourse is not considered "real philosophy" anymore. I'm saying that absurd, and simply shows you don't know enough about philosophy. Here's a quick search of philosophy journals and books that reference "Aristotle" and the "good life." Are you suggesting that these aren't modern philosophy? [1] And how about the rest of them? Do articles on the Stoics not count as philosophy either? (I realize that after a couple undergraduate courses in philosophy everyone covers Dennett, and maybe Wittgenstein and Hume and a few others, and comes away thinking that any discussion of "practical" philosophy isn't "true" philosophy, but that isn't the case at all. I don't know whether this applies to you or not.) 1. https://link.springer.com/search?query=aristotle+good+life&facet-discipline=%22Philosophy%22 https://link.springer.com/search?query=aristotle+good+life&f... . Feel free to filter further by journal articles if you think books don't count as modern philosophy.