Is see no more fitting way than to begin with the words of Aristotle, to set the tone:
“Philosophy begins in wonder.”
The Beginning
4 December, 2007 by Zachary
Posted in Philosophy in General | Tagged Aristotle, Philosophy, wonder | 3 Comments
3 Responses
Leave a Reply
Categories
Archives
-
Top Posts
You May Also Enjoy…
-
Gamer Humor at
- Penny Arcade.
- Marchen Studios.
- Any of a Hundred Styles.
- Civics News .
- Cory Doctorow.
Art and imagination with
Or the artistic musings from
News and politics from
Thoughts from
Movie Reviews with
Sam and Jordan
Or maybe you just want to waste some time?
Minesweeper.- Penny Arcade.
Like poetry?
At a Glance
Amazon Anselm a priori Argument atheism blog blogging Blogs books Caitlin Christian Christianity CS Lewis Denial of Death Descartes Earnest Becker epistomology Existential existentialism Gay Marriage God homosexuality Islam Jordan Kant Kierkegaard Kindle life love meaning of life Nietzsche of ontological Philosophy RCC reason Religion Richard Dawkins Riverside Community College Sartre subjectivity The Great Divorce theology Truth ViewpointsConfused?
Hey, not familiar with some philosophical term? Check out Terms and Definitions!John 1:1
εν αρχη ην ο λογος και ο λογος ην προς τον θεον και θεος ην ο λογοςPlato, The Republic
"He said, Who then are the true philosophers? Those, I said, Who are lovers of the vision of Truth."Emerson on Nature
"Standing on the bare ground, my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing, I see all; the current of the universal being circulates through me. I am part or particle of God."Goethe, Faust Part 1
Habe nun, ach! Philosophie,/ Juristerei und Medizin/ Und leider auch Theologie/ Durchaus studiert mit heißem Bemühn./ Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor!/ Und bin so klug als wie zuvor;/ Heiße Magister, heiße Doktor gar,/ Und ziehe schon and die zehen Jahr/ Herauf, herab und quer und krumm/ Meine Schüler an der Nase herum –/ Und sehe, daß wir nichts wissen können./ Das will mir schier das Herz verbrennen./
Surely a great beginning. Though I would proceed to ask three questions:
1. Why do few see such a beginning?
2. If one takes take the road of such wondering, what are the political consequences? Aristotle had to leave Athens quickly not to becoem another Socrates.
3. Does wonder lead to more continuous wonder, or rather to a certain more assured understanding (though never complete) that wonders less but enjoys more?
Andrés
That’s a very fitting beginning indeed! I prefer much more than the modern beginning, which since Descartes has been: Philosophy begins with doubt.
And than of course there’s always the “Dionysian” impulse, that became famous with Bacon (but which goes back at least to Machiavelli, and probably Thrasymachus if you go back to Plato’s Republic), which is: “Like all things, philosophy begins with a will-to-power.”
And if I may suggest some answers to amelo:
1.) Perhaps only a few are called to be true philosophers; perhaps only a few ever can be.
2.) Perhaps, in the end, it’s worth even disastrous political consequences? Socrates had no problem with dying for the Truth, and in fact he even classified philosophy as “the Art of Dying”. I think that’s true in many respects.
3.) That’s an interesting question, which I’m not sure I understand entirely, although if you look at the original Greek, the word here is The word for “begin” here is arche (ρχή), which signifies a “ruling beginning” —-not merely a starting stage, which we eventually move beyond and discard but an animating, vitalizing, ever-present source which guides our entire inquiry.
[...] would do well to remember the maxim of the Ancient Greeks: Wisdom begins in Wonder. The word for “begin” here is [...]