is anyone on here into philosophy?

Question

i just ask cause im really into philosophy and all that it encompasses and wanted to see if there was anyone else into philosophy and the like...

if so what do you think of philosophy?

have you ever taken a philosophy class?

is there anything in particular you really like in philosophy, like a certain topic or branch of philosophy?
do you read a lot of philosophy books? do you watch movies that are philosophical (like the matrix)?

when did you get into philosophy?

did u major in it or do you have a job dealing with philosophy?

Answer 1

Philosophy is 'critical thought"

People who do it are philosophers.

Every type of thought is not 'critical thought'!



Critical Thinking Mini Lessons

http://www.skepdic.com/refuge/ctlessons.html

Answer 2

"if so what do you think of philosophy?"



I think it really depends on what line you understand the term philosophy to be divided from other forms of inquiry. Like I see the sciences as specialized forms of inquiry, and an aspects of "philosophy". And such a wide range of inquiry is extremely important. Naturally the fewer areas of inquiry involved in your use of the term philosophy, the less important I would consider it to be.



"have you ever taken a philosophy class?"



A few, for the enjoyment.



"is there anything in particular you really like in philosophy, like a certain topic or branch of philosophy?"



Yeah, I like analytical philosophy and philosophy of language, regarding analysis of concepts, words/symbols, and the brain's processes with them. Which also implies psychology and neurology. Also the philosophy of science, and epistemology, regarding how we develop (justified) certainty in a statement's accuracy and predictive capability. And how to avoid stifling inquiry with that certainty. And also informal logic, regarding the analysis of inferences expressed in argumentation.



"do you read a lot of philosophy books? do you watch movies that are philosophical (like the matrix)?"



Yeah, books mostly. Not to say some movies can't raise some interesting questions tho.



"did u major in it or do you have a job dealing with philosophy?"



Nope. Just a general interest in having an understanding that as accurately as possible represents reality.

Answer 3

"Philosophy" was a contrasting term re "Sophism," which latter was a kind of reductive manipulation for purposes of ego and monetary gratification.



So, one has to be at that "love of wise dominion (wisdom)" level, or clearly learning toward loving same.



If one is moving in a more or less "thoughtful" mode, that may or may not be particularly "philosophic," in the sense Plato and Plotinus intended (a major goal of which was God-realization, noted by Plotinus as "One Mind Soul"-(realization).



Depending on the teacher, philosophy class is historical recapitulation of some thinkers, perhaps some inculcation of pov; the better-received teachers tend to be brilliantly entertaining.



One of the values of reading original texts (often somewhat dense/abstruse) is learning to think along with the process developed by the particular thinker. Learning how to think like Plato, Plotinus, Kant, Husserl, and/or Whitehead is often very helpful and even "educational."



One of the more valuable sections of philosophy is awareness of simple fallacies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informal_fallacy



Books such as "Philosophy for Dummies," Tom Morris, provide an excellent resource and overview of Western philosophical thought.



Other interesting and entertaining books would include "Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar," Cathcart and Klein, "Nihilism," Eugene Rose, and "A Philosophy of Universality," Omraam Aivanhov.



"Sophie's World," by Jostein Gaarder, is fairly good on ancient philosophy, but tends toward a kind of reductionism in its second part (on modern, aka 1500 on, Western philosophy). Rose's "Nihilism" is a good counterpoint to it.