Does modern philosophy still make valuable contributions that create new knowledge, or are contemporary philosophers just busy analyzing existing knowledge?
If philosophers do create new knowledge (that cannot be found in the natural or social sciences), why is it so difficult - or even impossible - to detect progress' in the philosophical debate ? My impression is that philosophers are still debating the same basic topics they were busy debating 50 or even 100 years ago, and that there is little hope that they will come to a conclusion. Why is that so?
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.It seems traditional philosophy has floundered every since Wittgentstein proclaimed the death of philosophy and said "Whereof one cannot speak thereof one must be silent," though he was speaking of the death of systemic philosophy, not of philosophizing itself which he himself continued to do. Decades ago many philosophers began to go into computer science as their mastery of logic provided them with relevant skills...and because they could not get jobs elsewhere. Now many are in the AI field. Even more traditional philosophers now make contributions to the AI field, such as Daniel Dennett. See his books, Consciousness Explained and From Bacteria to Back and Back: The Evolution of Minds.
Heraclitus
Level 8
June 16, 2019
0
Is there truly a NEED to ponder NEW philosophies before we all understand WHAT IS...and what we've discovered before. People STILL don't understand life and its many elements. People STILL don't understand Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, The Taming of the Shrew, Tempest. Need we truly move on to NEW philosophies until we TRULY understand in totality? Read some new Science Fiction...Braver New World, Logans Run...Can we truly understand where we are at...and where we are going? How did a BANE like trump get into the White House??? THAT is a philosophical question for the AGES!!! RELAX...UNDERSTAND WHAT IS...THEN we may begin to perceive what will/may be...how, why, when...Relax...and just BE...CAN YOU DO THAT??? The future will be here before you can blink an eye...ponder that.
Bungaloebob
Level 8
June 16, 2019
2
An existentialist would agree that there is no need to ponder new philosophies because by doing so you are stepping outside of your authenticity, and thereby responding to an external force. Kierkegaard, possibly Kant, Heidegger and Satre would all consider conclusions relative and therefore universally irrelevant to the individual. They would argue that any search for Truth were futile as there is no core sense of being to relate to Truth, only yourself, whatever you may be.
@Geoffrey51 I'M on my way out the door right now, but I will get back to you on this...later on today!!!
John Vervaeke, a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Toronto, is making YT videos called Awakening From The Meaning Crisis. These lectures trace the search for meaning from shamanism to today. If you would like to see how philosophy has progressed over time, the first is here:
brentan
Level 8
June 16, 2019
2
That’s a really interesting post. While Vervaeke deals with loss of meaning per se, you’ve addressed the very real issue of competing meanings and the morality attached to them. It will be interesting to watch how this develops in terms of extreme religious politics, liberal politics and the intrusion of business corporations into the meaning/morality arena.
I think the most modern philosophical focus is on AI and the impact technology and cyber space has on people in general and children specifically.... Issac Asimov made this popular in his novel, I, Robot...
Cutiebeauty
Level 9
June 16, 2019
2
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