It was me...I voted Crap. I never cared for his writing.

NerblyBear wrote:Philosophy's not a crock. It's the most interesting subject and it has completely changed my outlook on life for the better. I would not be the person I am today had it not been for philosophy. Most people who say that it's bunk are, generally speaking, not intelligent enough to understand it.

Tut tut. If studying philosophy got you to a point in your life where you are comfortable about making gross and childish assumptions about other folks' intellectual capacities, then surely I should thank you for substantiating my initial comment, NerblyBear!

sunlore wrote:...that philosophy is a trade for teenagers, nail biters, kerb crawlers, and other fools mostly...

Which was, of course, intended more as a little spiel on Kierkegaard's life and work than as a dismissal of philosophical inquiry as such.

Okay?

NerblyBear wrote:
There are many reasons to study philosophy: to find out the right way to live, to answer questions about religion and God's existence, to learn how to engage in rigorous, rational arguments, etc.

ha! you missed the point boy.

those philosopher wankers do not have the answers you seek. only by studying their quest can you learn to think for yourself. and to rip the shit out of other people.

yeah. i was a philosophy major in college. it was a pointless intellectual exercise, other than the mental gymnastics and heavy lifting involved in deciphering a paragraph of Wittegenstien. I loved it, but it was pure wankery. The chicks were way crazier than the english major chicks. i dig crazy chicks.

and Kierkegaard is Not Crap. He has a sense of humor.

you guys have negelcted to address the role depression plays in all of this.

I don't mind Kierkegaard's work per se, from that which I am familiar with.

A lot of it is the work of an overwrought, paranoid mind, but one has to remember that he was (quite literally) reacting to the insanity of German Idealism in what he wrote......there's a hell of alot of rhetoric in Kierkegaard and all of his aliases. He was basically trying to say, I think, that life is not "rational" or "Logikal" and that free will and choice determine existence, rather than some hairbrained notion of a German professor.

NerblyBear wrote: Most people who say that it's bunk are, generally speaking, not intelligent enough to understand it..

So people don't like philosophy...Oh well. It doesn't mean they are necessarily not intelligent. Maybe it just doesn't do it for them. People do have different interests.

I like philosophy in general, but some of it is like watching paint dry.

Kierkegaard is good. I've read Fear and Trembling, Repetition and The Sickness Unto Death. Never read Either/Or though. Probably will someday.

boilermaker wrote:
Placing ideas about life in abstract theoertical frameworks just doesn't interest me like it does you.
Philosophy doesn't teach anything worthwhile about the 'right way to live' (whatever that is) which is a rather subjective concept anyway.

I am convinced of the power of philosophical insight to work a practical effect on our lives.
Epicurus characterized philosophy as "therapy of the soul." He maintained that the arguments made by a philosopher are just empty if they do not relieve any human suffering.
The Stoics also made it clear that philosophy is not merely the memorization of abstract theories or the exegesis of texts, but learning the art of living well.
Socrates used philosophy not to teach concepts but to encourage his discussion partners to examine their thinking and attitudes about almost every issue imaginable.
Descartes and Spinoza saw philosophy as the "practice of wisdom.
The light their work (among others) can shine on certain great universal problems, like unpopularity, poverty, inadequacy, lovelessness, timidity,etc.

rzs wrote:

NerblyBear wrote: Most people who say that it's bunk are, generally speaking, not intelligent enough to understand it..

So people don't like philosophy...Oh well. It doesn't mean they are necessarily not intelligent. Maybe it just doesn't do it for them. People do have different interests.

I like philosophy in general, but some of it is like watching paint dry.

Well....

In our day an age "philosophy" is a word which is so vague in meaning that it can mean a disparate variety of things, 90-plus-percent of which are bullshit.

I think however that it is good to at least familiarize one's self with philosophy though.

242sumner wrote:The light their work (among others) can shine on certain great universal problems, like unpopularity, poverty, inadequacy, lovelessness, timidity,etc.

hah! i am convinced you are a troll!

I just turned in an essay explaining why we should all be Knights of Faith.

I was supposed to be writing about Nietzsche.

It was some half-intelligible assessment of Abraham as an Overman that really fucking failed. Basically measure of desperation to fill up a few pages. Let's hope my teacher doesn't know much about SK.

The point is, Fear and Trembling is surely not crap, and I have Either/Or sitting on my nightstand now waiting to be read. I also named my Beagle Soren because I thought he was wise. He turned out to be a terror so I changed his name to Smokey and gave him to someone with more patience. I still miss that little asshole, though.

So here's a hearty 'salut!' to both Sorens in my life!