Philosophical thread of the year awards

[pianolearner]

Who do you think deserves the prestigious title?

[pianistimo]

mayla!  bob.  pianowolfi.  many others.  dannyelfboy, counterpoint (although he mainly sticks to piano philosophies) - there are so many interesting things to read that affect either our daily life, teaching, and playing.

as i see it - if you are consistent with a philosophy or rationale - it affects pretty much everything you do.  it has proven to work for you. 

[tds]

there are so many interesting things to read that affect either our daily life, teaching, and playing.

my posts dont affect your daily life?

[pianistimo]

well, i just read the entire spa thread.  i should think it should by now.  btw, sorry about the incident where everyone got sick.  i knew there was a reason that i didn't join - although i am a firm believer that men should stick to their own spas and women to theirs.  after all - what woman wants to smell a man's sweat?  unless - unless of course there are private separate areas. 

tds, you are an excellent manager - although i see that the turnover for some jobs is quite high.

this is my ideal - women's spa - 200 miles from men's.  they can chat in complete knowledge that they are not being wiretapped or spied on.  i hate that.  i hate holes in the wall.  i plug them whenever i see them.

[Bob]

Is it a competition?

What IS competition?


:p

[thalbergmad]

BOB

You might win with that one.

Thal

[Bob]

BOB

You might win with that one.

Thal

What do you mean?  I don't get it.

(Bob feels the pressure.)

[pianowolfi]

"Philosophy" means love of wisdom. A unity between love and thinking. A unity between head and heart. Hard to compete in that don't you think? It is not competitive at all in my book. But though I would like to enter this "competition" by opening a new thread "Do you feel related to a particular philosophical line of thought?"

[Bob]

I would like my two votes recounted please.  Just to be sure.  :p

[soliloquy]

Bob wins.


Because the non-sequitorial nature of his posts invokes massive brain dysfunction, much like Spinoza and Honegger 

[pianowolfi]

Bob wins.


Because the non-sequitorial nature of his posts invokes massive brain dysfunction, much like Spinoza and Honegger 

Do you mean Heidegger by chance? His approach of "thrownness" is pretty interesting to me, sometimes. Thrown into a world, into existence.

[soliloquy]

Do you mean Heidegger by chance? His approach of "thrownness" is pretty interesting to me, sometimes. Thrown into a world, into existence.

Yes, Martin Heidegger =/


"Quote from: soliloquy on Today at 07:06:28 AM"  Too early in the morning ><  Got his name mixed up with Xenakis' teacher XD

[rc]

I have a question that's been on my mind for a while now:

What is philosophy good for?

Like, what does somebody who studies philosophy do with it?

So far it seems pretty useless to me.  Mental gymnastics.

[pianistimo]

very useful for receptionists, parents, teachers.  usually people just tell you information or why something is so - in response to a question.  with philosophy - all you have to do is ask 'why?' back.  it leads people to their own conclusions - but helps them with the thinking process.

there are certain people who are very good at this.  the ones that make you think that you knew the answer to the question long ago - but just couldn't remember what it was.  perhaps psychology and philosophy go together.  the thing is - you can only take it so far.  if you talk to someone and think you worked out some problems - but, then have 3-4 more of them right afterward s- you see that thinking sometimes just makes life more difficult than feeling.  you have to decide where the returns end.  for instance, if you take every question to the last ounce of strength that you have mentally - you're not going to remember your phone number.

science and philosophy, imo, do not go together though.  i think they are like oil and water.  you will have hard fact. truth.  and then, you will have the possible reasons for this and that - which are theory.  you can only prove it with more thinking - in philosophy.  whereas with science - you get a yes or no.  if you can't stand 'maybe so' - you should not get a degree in philosophy.

also, it is my opinion that some people obtain a certain degree of satisfaction from seeing other people with puzzled looks on their faces.  philosophy, imo, should be used as a comedy routine.  like with 'this old house' -when people attempt to positively identify a tool they've never seen before.

on the other end of the spectrum - God and the bible offer some unique and valuable perspectives on 'constants' of the universe.  i mean, nobody wants things always changing.  do they?  certain things change.  certain things stay constant.  it keeps a sort of equilibrium.  if we didn't have this - we would be in chaos.  too much philosophy produces this.  i think humans thrive on the fact that we have a regular cycle of days, months, years...seasons, tides, certain things in people that are 'personality' and are constant.  we don't necessarily want to change everything about the world.  only a few things.  possibly why humans go to war.

[thalbergmad]

i think humans thrive on the fact that we have a regular cycle of days, months, years...seasons, tides.

They can only be considered constant, because nobody lives long enough to see them change.

Thal

[Bob]

There are broad ideas behind everything.  Why things are.  Why people make the decisions they do. 

I find it fascinating when things can be boiled down to a point where they are very simple, but very profound.  If two people have a disagreement and you can boil the argument down like that, you can clearly see what they really disagree about.  Each person's ideas can be nice and tidy and make sense, and they can still be at odds with each other because of those fundamental ideas.

And then I find it useful for steering things in my life.  Do I want to make it perfect?  (Can it every really be perfect?)  Or do I just let it go and whatever happens happens?  Or do I control what I can and let the rest go?  Or do I the rational/practical thing?  Or the impulsive thing?  Sometimes it makes it easier if I figure out why I'm concerned about things, and then if I want to, I can shift gears and follow a different philosophy about ways of doing things.

[rc]

I agree with simplifying, Bob.  I think a lot of people have the tendancy to complicate things unnecessarily.  I have a friend who's amazing at that, it's hilarious to watch him make the most common things into a complicated mess, 'till his brain is twisted and he doesn't know where he is

I sometimes twist my brain too much, but I'm starting to fall into the habit of simply acting.  Figure out what I want to do, then do it.  I suppose everybody along the way develops their own philosophy for doing what they do, but I still don't see the purpose of studying it.

Maybe I'll dabble in it a bit more.  I remember the first book on philosophy I picked up had such an annoyingly stupid introduction I didn't bother torturing myself with the rest of the book.  The author's answer to "why study philosophy?" was so bad I left thinking "why indeed?  I'm going to find something better to do".  I'll see if I can find it again, hahah.

So maybe I got off to a bad start,  does anyone have a recommended reading?

[tds]

well, i just read the entire spa thread.  i should think it should by now.  btw, sorry about the incident where everyone got sick.  i knew there was a reason that i didn't join - although i am a firm believer that men should stick to their own spas and women to theirs.  after all - what woman wants to smell a man's sweat?  unless - unless of course there are private separate areas. 

tds, you are an excellent manager - although i see that the turnover for some jobs is quite high.

this is my ideal - women's spa - 200 miles from men's.  they can chat in complete knowledge that they are not being wiretapped or spied on.  i hate that.  i hate holes in the wall.  i plug them whenever i see them.

come and join us, and you'll find out that our spa is a safe, very pleasant place to be. no holes on the wall. no one will think of harrasing you--we are a band of civilized people.

come! all you have to do is open your heart and feel all the comforts our spa has to offer. come!

[pianistimo]

spas have humidity.  humidity breeds malaria.  i choose dry air - and cycling - outdoors.  nevermind the skin cancer risk. 

spas are inherently cloistered.  i don't want to turn around and bump into someone.  i suppose claustrophobia might be another problem that i have with spas.

[Bob]

I am officially request Bernhard as my running mate.  A Bob-Bernhard ticket.



And now, a statement by m1469.... :p