What exactly are the accomplishments of philosophy, aside from logic which is better studied by mathematicians and computer scientists?
I would say Questions are the greatest accomplishments of philosophy. There are many questions out there, the meaning of life, where we came from, what happens when we die. These are philosophical questions in origin. Philosophy is the birth of inquiry. Science is the attempt to find the rational answer.
And when we show there is no rational answer that is discoverable ...
Nothing we believe about the outside world is unassailably justified by logic alone. Even the surest statements (that the sun will come up tomorrow, for example) are based on a fallible interpretation of the evidence available at the time. That's no reason to stop making statements--it turns out a preponderance of evidence is enough, generally. It just means some of your beliefs sometimes turn out to be wrong.
What about statements like 1*1 = 1. I can be sure about that, but unsure about something like the existence of God.
Your simple arithmetic is either a human definition or a part of a discovered system that we can't prove to be consistent and complete in itself.
I don't disagree with that by much. Religious institutions in the past have preserved or advanced scientific discovery at times. The difference is that Philosophy consists of seeking the truth, institutionalized religion usually consists of defending the truth. Religions may spawn some scientific inquiry, but they have a lot of trouble letting their children go off and live their own lives, so to speak.
Suppose you discover that you can get nasty illnesses from being exposed to other peoples germs which are spread in their bodily emissions, indeed some of those illnesses can kill. You then have kids. Do you defend that truth by instructing them to wash their hands, cover their mouths when they cough, avoid contact with faeces, etc., to stop germs spreading? Or, do you have to wait until that child is old enough to d…
All most all religions are based on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-fulfilling_prophecy
For example, as I suspect any answer will be centred on criticism of a Judaeo-Christian world view (just a hunch) could you also give an example from another religion. I can't think of any of the top of my head. It's a good thing to base share price manipulation on though.
As I said, whether or not God exists, the question remains whether or not the existence of God is _compatible_ with the existence of evil. That's what theologians actually discuss. Stating God's non-existence just doesn't address the question at issue.
If God doesn't exist, it's not worth arguing Him. It's like asking if God can make a boulder so heavy He Himself cannot lift it. It's a worthwhile debate if omnipotence exists, but it doesn't, so the argument is moot.
Hypothetical questions aren't necessarily moot. In both the actual case and hand and your boulder example, quite a lot has been learned (e.g. about the notions of necessity and possibility) through the study of these cases.
As I said, whether or not God exists, the question remains whether or not the existence of God is _compatible_ with the existence of evil. That's what theologians actually discuss. Stating God's non-existence just doesn't address the question at issue.
Well, it does in that before looking at the relationship of gods and evil, you first have to establish what, exactly, are the characteristics of gods, how many gods are there, etc. Do theologians consider the case for all of concievable gods? Multiple gods? Only one god?
> Do theologians consider the case for all of concievable gods? Multiple gods? Only one god?
Obviously, as has been explained, the problem arises in connection with all gods who are perfectly good and also omnipotent, so I don't quite see what you're getting at here.
I would say Questions are the greatest accomplishments of philosophy. There are many questions out there, the meaning of life, where we came from, what happens when we die. These are philosophical questions in origin. Philosophy is the birth of inquiry. Science is the attempt to find the rational answer.
And when we show there is no rational answer that is discoverable ...
I don't disagree with that by much. Religious institutions in the past have preserved or advanced scientific discovery at times. The difference is that Philosophy consists of seeking the truth, institutionalized religion usually consists of defending the truth. Religions may spawn some scientific inquiry, but they have a lot of trouble letting their children go off and live their own lives, so to speak.
Suppose you discover that you can get nasty illnesses from being exposed to other peoples germs which are spread in their bodily emissions, indeed some of those illnesses can kill. You then have kids. Do you defend that truth by instructing them to wash their hands, cover their mouths when they cough, avoid contact with faeces, etc., to stop germs spreading? Or, do you have to wait until that child is old enough to d…
>> The Church has always sponsored scientific enquiry
lol
Nothing we believe about the outside world is unassailably justified by logic alone. Even the surest statements (that the sun will come up tomorrow, for example) are based on a fallible interpretation of the evidence available at the time. That's no reason to stop making statements--it turns out a preponderance of evidence is enough, generally. It just means some of your beliefs sometimes turn out to be wrong.
What about statements like 1*1 = 1. I can be sure about that, but unsure about something like the existence of God.
I meant to be excluding things like that when I said "about the outside world". But regardless of how you think of statements like that, there are all sorts of others:
* The sun will come up tomorrow.
* Nobody is plotting to have me killed.
* The lamp next to my couch is on.
* Accelerating beyond light speed is impossible.
* People other than me exist.
that can't be proven logically, but that it's still perfectly reasonable to be sure of. In practice, logical proof isn't a workable standard to look for in your beliefs.
I would say Questions are the greatest accomplishments of philosophy. There are many questions out there, the meaning of life, where we came from, what happens when we die. These are philosophical questions in origin. Philosophy is the birth of inquiry. Science is the attempt to find the rational answer.
And when we show there is no rational answer that is discoverable ...
I know, right? Like when we know there was no rational answer for the weather so we said gods did it. Silly scientists not realizing we haven't learned anything in the last five thousand years. They refuse to admit that it's impossible to find new answers to questions.