¶ … Value of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell is a discussion and analysis of the importance of philosophy to people's lives, vis-a-vis existing sciences and other fields of knowledge. In this essay, Russell contemplates and tries to identify the real meaning and definition of philosophy. In doing so, he compares philosophy to the sciences, where he defines the latter as "definite body of truths," while the former, as a discipline with no definite answer(s). This is because primarily, philosophy "aims primarily at knowledge," and with the acquisition of knowledge, one sets out to look for the truth constantly and throughout his/her life. People who have been acquainted with the sciences, since this field of thought is definitive, tend to think of the realities that we experience as definite also, subject to various answers that are certain.
Indeed, because the sciences are definitive, we tend to think that this is preferable over philosophy, which is constantly in search of knowledge and truth. However, Russell argues that philosophy has great importance to human thought, since it allows the individual to think and explore further about things and realities that s/he experience in life. Russell rightly says that, "the value of philosophy is... In its very uncertainty," since philosophy makes it imperative for people to continue seeking for truth and knowledge, thereby increasing one's thought processes and developing his/her worth as an individual. Because philosophy is not definitive and is always subject to changes and subjective interpretation, the individual can think "out of the box" exploring and taking into account various possible perspectives that can contribute to the development of a particular field of inquiry or thought. Thus, philosophy's importance to human society is its dynamic nature, giving people freedom to develop their thoughts, or as Bertrand Russell puts it, to "enlarge our conception of what is possible" and "enrich our intellectual imagination."
The central ideas about this knowledge may be categorized into four parts: knowledge, wisdom, belief, and opinion. Some are individualized -- some culturally based, some based solely on sensory perception, and some, from consideration. In its most practical state, "knowledge" may be information about which we are aware -- facts, figures, accepted truths, ways of doing things. Wisdom, in contrast, takes that knowledge and allows individuals to make judgments and
Part of that includes instilling in students an intellectual curiosity, receptivity to learning through genuine understanding, and definitions of professional success that are motivated by positive aspirations rather than by overcompensation impulses triggered by negative assumptions, messages, or early experiences. In addition to ensuring basic literacy and computational skills required by adults in society, modern primary education must dedicate itself to producing graduates who have discovered their greatest intellectual
After I entered Kohlberg's Post-Conventional Moral stage, I began to realize that: (1) homosexuality probably is not a voluntary choice; (2) homosexuals can have meaningful, committed, and stable loving relationship or superficial, casual, and unstable relationships exactly the same way heterosexuals can (and often do) experience both types of relationships at different times of their lives; (3) homosexuality is not a moral issue at all; and (4) gay people have
.. The actual universe, with all its good and evil, exists on the basis of God's will and receives its meaning from His purpose. However, these two conclusions do not stand in simple contradiction, to one another. The one says that evil is bad, harmful, destructive, fearful and to be fought against as a matter of ultimate life and death. But the other does not deny this. It does not
value of studying philosophy? According to Chapter 15 of Bertram Russell's tract The Problems of Philosophy: "The value of philosophy is, in fact, to be sought largely in its very uncertainty. The man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his mind
Existence of God The philosophical questions I will try to answer and why they are of particular interest to me. Opinions that ordinary people tend to have on the issue The great monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam profoundly influenced Western philosophy. In all of these religions, the existence of God is a central claim. For nearly a millennium from 500 S.D to about 1500 A.D., Western philosophy was the handmaiden
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