Bird Droppings September 14, 2012

Philosophy can be rather interesting

 

“When he to whom one speaks does not understand, and he who speaks himself does not understand, that is metaphysics.”Voltaire

 

Somewhere on my wall is a doctorate in metaphysics among the numerous plaques and degrees scattered about.  I like Voltaire’s idea of metaphysics which essentially becomes a catch all for most anything that cannot be categorized elsewhere. More than ten times a day I use the word ponder in describing sitting and thinking about something. It is wonderful to ponder under a tree about this or that to sit and think and or wonder about all that is. Too few of us take the time to do this. On my shelf at home is a psychology textbook from 1898 and over half the book is related to metaphysics in terms of psychology. Back in the day we made some rather interesting assumptions about the mind. Today we make assumptions about politics.

 

“We live in a world in which politics has replaced philosophy.” Martin L. Gross

 

A bit of a late start today I ran our electric bill by the local EMC, then went to Quick Trip for a bottle of Vitamin Water, then Burger King for a bacon egg croissant and after all that I picked up an AJC our main newspaper and a front page article was dealing with the costs of education. It seems since we elected our current Governor just a few years ago our state school budget has been cut over three billion dollars. I recall we had a few days where our governor called off schools due to possible gas shortages back in the gas scare a few years back. Of the folks commenting some a large percentage feel education monies are not handled well. Looking back in effect our state uses 250,000 gallons of diesel a day for schools which makes a good trivial pursuit answer if needed. Philosophy does not look for the most agreeable answer as does politics but searches for the real answer and that is a significant difference. There is a search more so for truth. Traditionally it is the philosophers who are seeking the truth in the world I find it paradoxical that politicians who live by bending the truth could even be near replacing philosophers but sadly it is so.

 

“The point of philosophy is to start with something as simple as not to seem worth stating and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.” Bertrand Russell

 

            This could be why politicians have gained so much they spread a story that is believable versus the controversy and often pain of philosophy. After listening to discussions on a philosopher for nearly sixteen course hours I was still wondering what we had talked about a few semesters back.  Yet that is not where philosophy began in the day I see more of a taking the unknown and explaining so anyone could understand that was the job of the philosopher.

 

“God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose.  Take which you please – you can never have both.”Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Among the greats, atheist and God fearing both will borrow from Emerson and I find this particular quote rather interesting.

 

“My definition [of a philosopher] is of a man up in a balloon, with his family and friends holding the ropes which confine him to earth and trying to haul him down.” Louisa May Alcott

 

Searching for a definitive answer as to what philosophy is in and of its self can be a tricky undertaking. We are far too often rather content to fall back on the more simple ideas of politicians who say what we want them to say and do what we want them to do at the moment.

 

“Philosophy begins in wonder.  And, at the end, when philosophic thought has done its best, the wonder remains.”Alfred North Whitehead

 

Perhaps this is what intrigues me so as our perceptions allow differing and altering views of where and why.

 

“To live alone one must be a beast or a god, says Aristotle, leaving out the third case:  one must be both, a philosopher.”Friedrich Nietzsche

 

Walking out earlier I seriously did wonder what was next. Is this existence simply a piece of a journey a stepping stone I thought as I listened to crickets and tree frogs and the sounds of a morning stillness the nearly gone moon was bright and an orange color as I walked to my car some clouds over head suppressed some of the stars and any light that might have seeped through. As I end with a quote from the late Robert Zend, a Hungarian born Canadian writer and poet.  

 

“Being a philosopher, I have a problem for every solution.”   Robert Zend

 

Please keep all in harm’s way on your mind and in your hearts and always give thanks namaste.

 

Wa de (Skee)

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