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How to live an intellectually rich life

utsavmamoria.substack.com

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Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#41

Post by nonethewiser »

BoxFour wrote: post #25

This is a little meandering so just to focus on one part: Philosophy can be valuable, but applying the ideas meaningfully requires discernment. I’m thinking particularly about the popularity of “Meditations”, for example. Take Plato, for example: He and his also-famous mentor believed knowledge was a form of recollection from past lives, an idea illustrated with an unconvincing geometry lesson in Phaedo (EDIT: It’s M…

>But let’s not overly-romanticize ancient thinkers: Plato and Aristotle held fundamentally different views on knowledge.

1) everyone agrees “overly” Romanticizing is wrong. By definition of “overly”.

2) why should having a fundamentally different view on knowledge disqualify something from being romanticized? Isnt romanticizing precisely for things that are different?

3) i think its a mischaracterization to say Plato thought “ knowledge was a form of recollection from past lives.” He was not talking about “past lives” but the “soul” (which I think wed both agree is a loaded term). He said the soul knew it before the person was born. This goes to his theory on the forma which I think is a better way to characterize his thoughts on knowledge. In general terms id say he believes truth exists in a timeless, non-empirical realm (the Forms). With the physical reality being an imperfect imitation. Which people have some mediated access to.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#42

Post by BoxFour »

safety1st wrote: post #34
BoxFour wrote: post #25

This is a little meandering so just to focus on one part: Philosophy can be valuable, but applying the ideas meaningfully requires discernment. I’m thinking particularly about the popularity of “Meditations”, for example. Take Plato, for example: He and his also-famous mentor believed knowledge was a form of recollection from past lives, an idea illustrated with an unconvincing geometry lesson in Phaedo (EDIT: It’s M…

Philosophy is just one of the liberal arts. This idea has declined in popularity in recent years but I still think there's a lot to be said for possessing a liberal arts education. If you have a good one your understanding of the world around you gets broader and deeper. You recognize why things are the way they are. In the long term you may spot opportunities you wouldn't have otherwise, or be able to solve problems…

I don’t have a problem with having a good understanding of classics (liberal arts is a category that far encompasses more than just classical education, though).

I do have a problem with blindly assuming Plato/other ancient philosophers were some sort of omniscient super-intelligence we should blindly follow, which I do see happen with some regularity in my own life.

Plato et al might’ve been the start of our modern understanding of ethics, but the concept of a moral life or epistemology certainly didn’t stop with him!

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#43

Post by BoxFour »

nonethewiser wrote: post #41
BoxFour wrote: post #25

This is a little meandering so just to focus on one part: Philosophy can be valuable, but applying the ideas meaningfully requires discernment. I’m thinking particularly about the popularity of “Meditations”, for example. Take Plato, for example: He and his also-famous mentor believed knowledge was a form of recollection from past lives, an idea illustrated with an unconvincing geometry lesson in Phaedo (EDIT: It’s M…

>But let’s not overly-romanticize ancient thinkers: Plato and Aristotle held fundamentally different views on knowledge. 1) everyone agrees “overly” Romanticizing is wrong. By definition of “overly”. 2) why should having a fundamentally different view on knowledge disqualify something from being romanticized? Isnt romanticizing precisely for things that are different? 3) i think its a mischaracterization to say Plato…

> everyone agrees “overly” is wrong

I mean, apparently not - this author alone takes Plato’s cave allegory at face value without spending even a moment to criticize it.

> I think it’s a mischaracterization…

It is not. Read Meno. Socrates thought this, and has a very painful example of trying to prove it. Plato thought the exact same.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#45

Post by aflukasz »

tomrod wrote: post #12

I tried this for awhile, but was dissatisfied. I found myself a constant consumer of intellectual material instead of being an engaged participant. Once I realized that, I set course to become more of a producer of useful things. That's led me to woodworking, to running a consultancy, to producing AI/ML for nonprofits, and to writing academic works. All in all, I enjoy life substantially.

I find consumer vs producer to be very interesting and useful distinction. Sometimes very enlightening and somewhat scary when applied to personal time spending.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#46

Post by js8 »

WillAdams wrote: post #32

For my part, one of the most striking things which I recall from my youth was reading Dumas' _The Count of Monte Cristo_ and the Abbé Faria contending that everything a gentleman needed to make his way in life was contained in less than 100 books --- which he had memorized the content of, and could impart to the young Edmond Dantes. A naïve younger me tried to brute force this by reading one non-fiction book from eac…

I like your idea, but it's missing any sort of practical skills (which Dantes and Faria certainly had).

What would be more interesting, IMHO, books that Cyrus Smith from The Mysterious Island had memorized.

Just from what I saw on HN, I remember Gingery books on metal workshop from scratch, and some homesteading manual from late 19th century.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#47

Post by amos-burton »

> Our ideas become Oscillators

it is the muscle working, the tide going back and forth.

i liked reading it, lots of things to unpack, new descriptions of the elephant in the room to absorb.

The conclusion itches me, (sorry for the spoil, readers)

> After all, aren’t we all trying to understand our place in the universe?

are you sure about that ? that "you" are trying to do that, or that, something else works hard on you, much like in those "Goals that are physically, emotionally and economically crushing us"

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#49

Post by js8 »

I have been wondering lately if "intellectually rich" can be found solely in books.

I read Jim Stanford's Economics for Everyone, and he recommends to go out and talk to people and see what problems they are having in life.

That's not to say that long time dead philosophers cannot give good insights, but I feel that looking at other people's problems (especially in different cultures) is a lot more relevant for understanding the world.

Re: How to live an intellectually rich life

#50

Post by amos-burton »

incomingpain wrote: post #3

How to: Read lots of non-fiction. Whatever interests you. Try to find overlap over the different interests. Try to find new thoughts there. You might be the first to find them. Assume everything you know is wrong. It's generally true of >50%. Hard is best, too hard is bad, too easy is bad.

bend, dont break
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