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Can philosophy ever produce useful results?

Can philosophy produce useful results

  • Yes

    Votes: 6 60.0%

  • No

    Votes: 1 10.0%

  • Lemme explain

    Votes: 3 30.0%
  • Total voters
    10
thegreenhand

thegreenhand

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Title basically. Don’t get me wrong I love discussing philosophy but has it ever produced any useful answer that has tangible results in our world? it seems like academic philosophers talk themsleves into circles yet they insist that their work is critical. I’m starting to think that it may not be so
 
also, a lot of logic, which puts maths and computer science on a firm foundation, was motivated by philosophical questions about what mathematical objects are, etc.

i think the metaphysics of quantum mechanics has helped many researchers in that area- i don't get how you can reason about it if you take the Copenhagen (i.e. 'shut up and calculate' nothing is defined til you measure it) interpretation, i like many worlds because in my head it is easier to reason about things that actually exist.

i think all scientists should study the philosophy of science- Popper, Kuhn, and philosophers specific to their chosen subject area. understanding the way science operates, scientific revolutions, and the limitations of your field of study are all important.
 
Hummm the scientific method and a better understanding of the human condition are two things that come to mind. Seems like a pretty big deal to me.

Or maybe you're asking something more along the lines of : what role should philosophy play in the modern world?
 
Touché

I suppose I was not considering empirical fields as philosophy but they undoubtedly are. Math falls in there somewhere too

what are you thoughts ones like philosophy of art or philosophy of ethics?
 
4meSM said:
what role should philosophy play in the modern world?
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This probably would have been a better title

Much of academic philosophy seems very useless in today’s world, barring the empirical sciences and mathematics. So perhaps I should have specified our current labeling of philosophy as the work that is done in philosophy departments of most universities
 
thegreenhand said:
what are you thoughts ones like philosophy of art or philosophy of ethics?
Click to expand...

i think the benefits are less easy to quantify, and you can probably argue against them, but there is still value. i studied philosophy at undergrad, joint honours with physics, which requires you to do the mandatory modules of both (so its more like 2 degrees at once, lotta work but fun) so i had to study ethics, political philosophy, normativity etc and they have helped me clarify my own feelings about things.

like stuff that i'd thought was obvious, like that altruism exists, turns out not to be once you pin it down and clarify your thinking about it. so while its not going to produce tangible results in the way that something like chemistry does, it impacts people who study it on an individual level. i think society as a whole would benefit if people were given introductions to ethics and political philosophy.
 
chinup said:
i think society as a whole would benefit if people were given introductions to ethics and political philosophy.
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agreed. most people are averse to thinking about this sort of stuff and learning how to engage in thoughtful, critical conversation is a crucial skill

it's just hard to find the line between useful discourse and meaningless semantics
 
I think it's useful to know at least something about the major philosophical movements, because they really are profusely intertwined with modern culture(s). Same reason why knowing some history is important.

When you look at the foundations you realize that stuff like science, art and ethics are actually very similar and often interconnected in numerous ways.


For me it starts getting shaky when professors (or whoever) go from teaching philosophy/humanities/gender studies/whatever to actively promoting a specific ideology.
 
I studied it for one year, and picked up a nasty habit of literally throwing books out of windows.

It's incredibly positive for many however, as noted above. The study of it contributes enormously towards many a person's self development on multi-layers which is in itself a massive result
 
4meSM said:
For me it starts getting shaky when professors (or whoever) go from teaching philosophy/humanities/gender studies/whatever to actively promoting a specific ideology.
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in taking a couple philosophy courses this is what i have experienced... probably what compelled me to post lol
 
4meSM said:
For me it starts getting shaky when professors (or whoever) go from teaching philosophy/humanities/gender studies/whatever to actively promoting a specific ideology.
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Fully agree but yeah, by no means unique to philosophy
 
im doing a post grad moral political philosophy course atm the teacher is really good does not promote or push his own beliefs but gets a discussion going about our own ideas and how to justify them.

The philosophy of ancient Greece set the foundations for the next 3000 years of human history.

I mainly enjoy the philosophy of non-duality to achieve awakening.

Philosophy will teach you many good skills.
 
Philosophy has utility because it attempts to analyze ontology, which all humans ponder, due to inherent human suffering and confusion.

It is also a useful way of cataloguing meaning. Meaning is the central human faculty. Our greatest freedom relates to our ability to choose meaning.

Producing tangible end products in the material world is not really philosophy's goal.
 
Zuda said:
When philosophy (or spirituality) merges with science, that is when it becomes most useful
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Well technically philosophy is the cradle where the sciences were born.

Logic - Physics - Ethics

That's the trinity of the sciences in Ancient Greece. Philosophy was seperated from the sciences not too long ago, but in truth it's the means of how most, if not all other sciences came to life

Edit: Also, please don't call philosophy spirituality. Philosophy is founded on Logic, Spirituality is founded on incense, sleep deprivation and psychotrope drugs.
 
December Flower said:
Well technically philosophy is the cradle where the sciences were born.

Logic - Physics - Ethics

That's the trinity of the sciences in Ancient Greece. Philosophy was seperated from the sciences not too long ago, but in truth it's the means of how most, if not all other sciences came to life

Edit: Also, please don't call philosophy spirituality. Philosophy is founded on Logic, Spirituality is founded on incense, sleep deprivation and psychotrope drugs.
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Well for me, the 2 subjects play off of each other. Philosophy is a part of spirituality. However, I understand that you might not see it that way.

&& the fact that philosophy and science separated could be why everyone is so blasted dumb these days
 
Foreigner said:
Philosophy has utility because it attempts to analyze ontology, which all humans ponder, due to inherent human suffering and confusion.

It is also a useful way of cataloguing meaning. Meaning is the central human faculty. Our greatest freedom relates to our ability to choose meaning.

Producing tangible end products in the material world is not really philosophy's goal.
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Which is why I think it is most useful when it merges with science: Because we have 2 planes, the energy plane, and the physical plane
 
If it interests you makes you think and changes your opinions those things are all useful. Maybe not in the most obviously direct ways
 
Zuda said:
Well for me, the 2 subjects play off of each other. Philosophy is a part of spirituality. However, I understand that you might not see it that way.

&& the fact that philosophy and science separated could be why everyone is so blasted dumb these days
Click to expand...
The question "why" has made us what we are today. Philosophy is the one absolute science that made us thrive for the unknown and discover our world, and everything beyond.

I find it rather disgraceful that our science today is often expressed by pure data, and our scientists today are often just motivated by tasks or money, not so much curiosity. A person that would make it upon themselves to discover things about the world first-hand, explore it, instead of learning it, would in my eyes be much more of a scientist, than anyone that just goes through the pre-programmed education to do pre-programmed things with their minds later on.

Maybe that's why I love particle- & astrophysics so much, so many questions to ask. The questioning is a big part of what makes science science.

Also: I would counter your argument by saying that Philosophy is governed by logic, where Spirituality is governed by "gut feeling", for lack of a better word.
 
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