Another clueless slob...Elizabeth Isabelle wrote:I think that is David's point exactly. You study these things, you know the works of the greats and the not-so-greats by rote, but the point of philosophy is thinking for yourself.
Any real knowledge stands on the shoulders of giants. I study philosophy that came before me, and think for myself. Your point is the refrain of countless ignoramuses who like to pretend that they can get somewhere without work. Every two-bit loser decries academic education as being the surrender of independent thought.
You remind me of an idiot I once encountered. I was dropping my sister off at ballet, and for some reason ended up having an argument with another guy there, about 5'6". His big insult was to say that sure, I am huge, but I have no brains. he simply needed to believe that. I had refrained from discussing pragmatist epistemology with him, or the historical role of ancient greek sculpture, or political theory of democracy, etc.
I draw upon the entire three millenia of philosophical thought in my inquiries. You want to pretend that you can simply skip the entire library of human thought -- but somehow, people like you never come up with anything actually original, for all your plaintive assertions of originality.
Every fucking day.You know a lot, and you can cite and reference circles around just about anybody, but when was the last time that you ventured out on just your own thoughts
Yup, like I said, the plaintive cries of affronted ignoramuses.without having them substantiated, verified, or cross-referenced by anyone else? That's what David meant when he said you have never thought. You just seem to regurgitate.
Yes, I know more than you ever will, and I can reason circles around you. Deal with it.
P.S. Here, for your viewing pleasure, are some of the things I figured out on my own, without learning them by reading a philosophy book:
- I conceived of Aristotelean causal categorization before I ever actually read about it (in fact, my philosophy professor bragged about it to other philo lecturers).
- I came up with the idea of epistemic instrumentalism before I ever heard about it.
- I came up with my own analysis of the reason/emotion relationship, whcih I had never seen anywhere else.
- I came up with a unique analysis of the supernatural, which I have never seen anywhere else. Eventually Philosophaster told me someone else had done it before though.
- I came up with my idea of selfhood and the self/world relationship on my own. i am told it's very similar to the taoist idea of the same. I have never read a single book about taoism.
- I came up with my own analysis of the objectivism/relativism relationship (which in fact is my current position on objectivism and relativism). I had never seen it anywhere else.
- I came up with my own methodological analysis of epistemic status of divinity, which I have never seen anywhere else.