The rump of philosophy, the part that didn’t become science or something, is still mainly rehashing Aristotle (and Plato). This has been recognized as a terrible mistake for centuries, but they just won’t give it up and move on.
https://twitter.com/michael_nielsen/status/1472991254048763907
People in distress turn to Philosophy as an alternative to religion. Philosophy tells them the main thing is to figure out what it means to have “a good life.” The standard citation for this is Aristotle’s Nichomachaean Ethics.
This is a disastrous idea that makes you miserable.
This is a disastrous idea that makes you miserable.
You’d think after 2500 years of not figuring out what “a good life” is, philosophers might question Aristotle’s offhand idea that this is a meaningful problem.
“A life” is a malign metaphysical abstraction. It isn’t a thing. You don’t have one. You do stuff and things happen.
“A life” is a malign metaphysical abstraction. It isn’t a thing. You don’t have one. You do stuff and things happen.
So this year an unusually good philosopher writes that you “should be very, very sad” that “your life” doesn’t have a point.
“It” doesn’t have a point because it isn’t a thing. Unless you take Aristotle’s advice to make it one.
Don’t do that. journalofcontroversialideas.org/article/1/1/132
“It” doesn’t have a point because it isn’t a thing. Unless you take Aristotle’s advice to make it one.
Don’t do that. journalofcontroversialideas.org/article/1/1/132
I am grumping about this because I’ve done days of reading philosophy that will probably get condensed into a single footnote in my next web page.
Arguing with the Ancient Greek metaphysics that make you miserable perpetuates them. How can we finally eliminate them outright?
Arguing with the Ancient Greek metaphysics that make you miserable perpetuates them. How can we finally eliminate them outright?
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