Are you nicer to people because of philosophy?

xauriel · 1 year

Yeah, I'm way better than all of those non-philosophers, the dumb bitches.

EpistemicFaithCrisis · 1 year

No. If anything I'm meaner, because I get so tired of the vast majority of people who can't think rationally, who can't distinguish between facts incidental to an argument and facts essential to it, who can't realize that they can disagree with someone and still defend them when they're right about something.

[deleted] · 1 year

I'm indifferent because of philosophy but I understand more points view so I am more understanding.

I was taught that the first philosopher (Thales, well, considered the first Western philosopher by a lot of people) started out on a journey to find a unifying theory because he lived in the outskirts of city-states in Greece. He saw different cultures because of his location (travelers and different city-states connecting to his particular path) and thought that all these people were not unique but had unique understandings (religion-based). They were not unique because something bonded them together, that simply being human limited their potential to physical laws.

He figured that this something was elusive but that it could be found through reason. The simple assumption that has baffled people ever since.

edit The point is that all humans are in the same position and that the philosopher is just a person that is more open and not as closed minded as the other people because they know that everyone else is not guided by reason. But this doesn't exclude the philosopher from being disillusioned. This philosopher thinking that because of his nature he's right is a very dangerous idea. Not the least because it's self-defeating.

rofflewoffles · 1 year

Of course. Good philosophy, at minimum, teaches one respect for worldviews and mindsets other than one's own.

permagreen · 1 year

I am certain that I am definitely a nicer person on account of studying philosophy. Whereas before my moral grounding was simply based on intuition and emotion, now it's based on sound logical reasoning, which is much more difficult to subvert. I can't convince myself to do something mean because I would have to prove that doing the mean thing would be more beneficial to both myself and the other party (or parties) than doing the nice thing and I've found that the only times this is the case are generally crisis situations most people will (hopefully) never find themselves in.

In other words, yes, cold, hard reasoning have made me a nicer person that soft, warm emotions.

rmeddy · 1 year

Yeah, the abyss doesn't smile back at you.

[deleted] · 1 year

I would hope at the least it would make you more understanding of people. I mean, if it didn't at least do that for you then it just made you more of a dick. And you really don't need to read any books to become a dick, so that would be quite the waste of time spent learning philosophy.

I will say, though, that one thing it has made me much more intolerant of is political speech. Close reading and paying attention to what the words in use actually mean make it very hard for me to listen to any politician open his mouth. I try though.

un_loved · 1 year

We're only "above the animals" because we've become self-important in thinking that we're at the top of the food chain, despite our unsustainable lifestyle as a collective.

I realise that I am a living being, an animal, who despite consciousness and communication and whatever else might separate us from other animals, still acts on instinct, like everything else.

After acknowledging this, I can respect and appreciate others like I can respect and appreciate myself.

xracquellyy · 1 year

I believe, for me at least, that it has broadened my mind, and I am able now to be even more open minded and respectful of people. Although on the other hand, it has made me realize how lots of people do not question anything in society with regards to news or government or anything like that. So, it has its ups and downs, but ultimately, I believe I am nicer overall.

you'll need to login or register to do that

create a new account

login