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Thursday, January 16, 2014

     Philosophy

Hello, my name is Mike Bisson and this is my new blog: essaydoctor.  I am new to blogging, so please be gentle.  My background is in teaching English, Composition, Literature and History.  I also have an extensive background is sales, training and management.

In this blog, I will not be teaching grammar: I am more inclined to post about ideas and to probe for the opinions of others.  I believe original, well examined ideas are the foundation for effective writing.  Discussing ideas and refining them is the intent of this blog.  If you have ideas or suggestions, please share them with me so that we may both learn together.

Thought for the day:

What does the term "philosophy" mean to you?  The word "philosophy" comes from the Ancient Greek φιλοσοφία (philosophia), which literally means "love of knowledge" (retrieved from the Wikipedia article "Philosophy" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy).
In Philosophy is typically separated into three areas:

·         Epistemology - the nature and scope of knowledge (truth, belief). 
·         Logic - the study of the principles of correct reasoning
·         Metaphysics - the study of existence (reality and time)

Philosophy is intellectual exploration; a search wherein a conclusive answer may not exist.  Mensa member and former Philosophy student, at California State University at Long Beach, Steve Martin once said “the more you learn about philosophy, the less you know”.

Philosophy is complex and requires intense reflection and critical thinking.  Philosophy is the practice of asking questions and answering them with further questions as Socrates did in ancient Greece.  Philosophy is much more than asking if a world could exist in your finger nail when you are intoxicated.  In my view, Philosophy is the study, reflection upon and progression of knowledge. 


What is your view?  Do you agree or disagree?  Do you have something to add?

4 comments:

  1. T.S. Eliot posed the question: "Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?"

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  2. Thank-you for the insightful post Suzana. The quote regarding wisdom I am most familiar is,

    "wisdom is knowledge tempered with experience" (origin unknown)

    The interesting aspect of this is knowledge is constructed via experiences.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_A._Kolb).

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  3. Yes, but without wisdom, what is it all worth? Where is the value??

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  4. Suzana, you are correct, wisdom is the highest form of comprehension. Nonetheless, knowledge and experience do not necessarily equal wisdom. The tragedy of King Lear is he “… shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise”. (Shakespeare, King Lear, 1623, I.5.40). While related to one another, wisdom and knowledge are different stages of comprehension.

    Stages of Comprehension:

    1. Idea = ‘the thing’ or ‘spark’
    2. Meaning = idea + intent
    3. Knowledge = meaning + experience
    4. Wisdom = knowledge + experience

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