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timelets“Most historians agree that philosophy first saw the light of day in Greece, some time around the sixth century BC. So sudden and so astonishing was its manifestation, it has become known as ‘the Greek miracle’. ”
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The first task of philosophy is that of theory, an attempt to gain a sense of the world in which we live.
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Any philosophy therefore takes as its starting point the natural sciences which reveal the structure of the universe – physics, mathematics, biology, and so on – and the disciplines which enlighten us about the history of the planet as well as our own origins.
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But philosophy goes further and examines the means by which we acquire such knowledge.
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These two questions – the nature of the world, and the instruments for understanding it at our disposal as humans – constitute the essentials of the theoretical aspect of philosophy.
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For not only are we not alone, but we could not be born and survive without the help of others, starting with our parents. How do we co-exist with others,what rules of the game must we learn, and how should we conduct ourselves – to be helpful, dignified and ‘fair’ in our dealings with others? This question is addressed by the second part of philosophy; the part which is not theoretical but practical, and which broadly concerns ethics.”
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But why should we learn about the world and its history, why bother trying to live in harmony with others? What is the point of all this effort? And does it have to make sense? These questions, and some others of a similar nature, bring us to the third dimension of philosophy, which touches upon the ultimate question of salvation or wisdom.
-- Luc Ferry. “A Brief History of Thought.”
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The first task of philosophy is that of theory, an attempt to gain a sense of the world in which we live.
...
Any philosophy therefore takes as its starting point the natural sciences which reveal the structure of the universe – physics, mathematics, biology, and so on – and the disciplines which enlighten us about the history of the planet as well as our own origins.
...
But philosophy goes further and examines the means by which we acquire such knowledge.
...
These two questions – the nature of the world, and the instruments for understanding it at our disposal as humans – constitute the essentials of the theoretical aspect of philosophy.
-----------------
For not only are we not alone, but we could not be born and survive without the help of others, starting with our parents. How do we co-exist with others,what rules of the game must we learn, and how should we conduct ourselves – to be helpful, dignified and ‘fair’ in our dealings with others? This question is addressed by the second part of philosophy; the part which is not theoretical but practical, and which broadly concerns ethics.”
-----------------
But why should we learn about the world and its history, why bother trying to live in harmony with others? What is the point of all this effort? And does it have to make sense? These questions, and some others of a similar nature, bring us to the third dimension of philosophy, which touches upon the ultimate question of salvation or wisdom.
-- Luc Ferry. “A Brief History of Thought.”
