The Value of Philosophy Essay

It can be basic human nature to question.

There is a fascination inside all of us that leads all of us to question everything. Fascination leads to examination, which leads to contemplation. Through this process the mysteries of life as well as the universe are slowly learned. But there are a few questions that may never end up being answered with certainty. These kinds of questions from the study of philosophy, and are considered using reason and logic.

Two of the main arguments in idea discuss their value as well as the meaning of life. Socrates, Bertrand Russell, Blaise Pascal and Thomas Nagel strive in their personal way to reason through these concerns and type their own unique answers. In Bertrand Russell’s The Value of Philosophy, this individual discusses what philosophy can be and so why it is important. He concludes which the value of philosophy is rooted in its very doubt. He preserves that all these questions that cannot be responded are a component to philosophical discussion, and concerns with distinct answers are a product or service of the physical sciences.

When Russell can be explaining in greater detail the value of idea he says, These questions increase the size of our conception of what is possible, enrich our mental imagination and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation (Russell 12). To get Russell, beliefs opens your brain and dispels ignorance and dogmatism, permitting us to think more readily and consider more opportunities. In Plato’s Apology: Protection of Socrates, Socrates also holds the view that philosophy is actually a necessary practice for all people when he states, An unexamined life is not any life for a human being to live (Plato 40). Socrates just been found guilty of messing the the youth and not acknowledging the gods of the city.

Once the consensus is reached, he states for execution rather than relegation because he feels that his study of philosophy can be supreme in the life and it would be more honorable to die than to run away and examine philosophy anywhere else, under subpar conditions than those in Athens. Philosophy is important to him because it permits people to believe for themselves rather than go along with what exactly they are told to think. Russell and Socrates the two uphold that the importance of philosophy come from what is does to get the mind. Viewpoint opens each of our minds, permitting unawareness and hypocrisy to dissipate. By simply questioning, we come to know more about the universe, and ourselves.

Nevertheless , Russell and Socrates perform disagree within the certainty of truth. Socrates believes that there is certain truth, and anybody can reach this through cause and careful consideration. Conversely, Russell maintains that everything is definitely uncertain, although philosophy is still valuable because thinking of all possible details enlarges the minds.

Through philosophy our company is released coming from presumption, obliviousness, and bigotry. Whether or not we can know the total truth, contemplation through reason still holds immense importance for people. I draw from Socrates and Russell when I consider the importance of philosophy.

Idea allows me to begin to see the world so that it is, rather than being bogged down by opinion of the masses, or the societal best practice rules. Through purpose I can consider the truth and it’s importance to me. Similar to Russell, I realize that much of philosophy’s success lies in its uncertainty. We all cannot find out for sure the actual answers are, nevertheless through declaration and thought we can contact form many possibilities, enlarging the minds to hold more than one answer to any given issue.

Consequently this allows us to get a more wide open mind, and that we can way life using a broadened perception of self. Another issue philosophers request is What is the level of our lives? The response varies greatly between each individual, demonstrated by the independent thoughts of Socrates, Pascal, and Nagel.

Socrates argues that it is more serious than death to be unjust. He offers some examples of what authorize as unjust. Injustice contains: lying, hurting others, breaking the law of a simply state, and hurting those who hurt you. Above all, Socrates argues which the point of your lives is usually to seek the truth. He condemns the sophists because they have no respect for the truth; they just appreciate materials things.

The sophists had been a group of philosophers around the time of Socrates who have taught the youth of Athens tips on how to win quarrels, whether what they were fighting for was true or perhaps not. Socrates maintains that this is not really the way to live. Life is not really about funds or materials things, rather, the point of life is to be just, ethical, and faithful to yourself in addition to the laws of the state.

This individual even states that one should rather die than live a bad lifestyle. I suggest that it is not death that is hard to avoid, men, but wickedness is much harder, as it is fleeter of foot than death (Plato 41). Socrates says that it is easier to live in wickedness than expire.

Therefore , injustice and slander are a pair of the greatest evils and one should avoid them at all costs. In The Wager, Pascal presents a view of life centered on belief in God. Similar to Socrates, he upholds that life is about pursuing the real truth as well as living a good life.

He states for the presence of absolute fact when he declares, Is generally there not one considerable truth, viewing there are so many points which are not the truth itself (Pascal 83). Pascal maintains that this one substantial truth is Goodness, and reasons for His presence. He claims that in life, we have two alternatives: to believe in God, or not have confidence in God.

We must accept the wager; we certainly have no choice. You will discover four feasible outcomes from this wager, according to Pascal. If Goodness does indeed exist, and we so think that he is present, we is going to gain endless bliss; whenever we do not believe he exists, then we could damned intended for eternity.

However , if Our god does not are present and we consider the same, in that case we drop nothing, but we likewise gain nothing at all. If we believe He is available and He does not, then simply we lose nothing, but have lived an excellent life with faith, humility, and consideration. Above all, Pascal wants all of us to believe. His main points will be summarized if he writes, If you gain, you have all; should you lose, you already know nothing (Pascal 83).

We must wager, and we must trust in God, pertaining to He is the ultimate truth. Thomas Nagel discusses absurdity, which is the discrepancy between just how seriously individuals take their lives, and exactly how uncertain lifestyle actually is. Every thing is open to doubt, and this causes all of us to feel that our lives are insignificant, and so, nothing concerns.

He keeps that human beings deem lifestyle absurd through epistemological skepticism, or the look at that practically nothing can be regarded with certainty. He shows five choices, which change from completely avoiding life’s nonsensicality to adopting it fully. His thoughts on absurdity great solution to this are best portrayed when he states, Ifthere is no reason to believe that anything at all matters, then simply that does not subject either, and can strategy our lives with irony instead of heroism or despair (Nagel 27). Simply by accepting the view outside the window that practically nothing matters, we all accept the lovely view that trusting nothing issues also does not matter, freeing all of us from nonsensicality.

Nagel tendencies us never to despair, but also not take life also seriously. Pascal, Nagel, and Socrates present different landscapes of how to generate our lives advantageous; but every agree that our lives should be spent looking for the truth, which is reached through honest reasoning and individual contemplation. The moment faced with the absurdity and uncertainty of life, Pascal and Nagel agree that suicide is usually not a legitimate escape. It is not necessarily necessary and ends up slowly destroying us with the possibility of unlimited happiness or possibly a life clear of absurdity. I agree with Socrates’ view, that dishonor and injustice has to be avoided to be able to live a great and genuine life.

We accept Pascal’s wager, and am ready to place my bet around the existence of God, hoping to gain most. I have also experienced a number of the absurdity Nagel discusses and have come to my own a conclusion. I maintain that we should live for today. By living in the modern day we get away the fear of the future. We do not receive hung up for the uncertainties, however acknowledge their very own existence.

I also believe Nagel that life should be approached with irony, and we should not take ourselves also seriously. Russell, Socrates, Pascal and Nagel all present plausible answers to the inquiries What may be the value of philosophy, and What is the reason for our lives. They use reason and logic to reach their conclusions. Through philosophy, we can broaden our minds and free themselves from the dogmatism of world. Once the minds are expanded, we could think with reason and discover, for ourselves, the truth.

References Nagel, Jones, The Ridiculous, In John Perry, Michael Bratman and Steve Martin Fischer, editors, Introduction to Philosophy: Time-honored and Modern Readings, 4th Edition (New York: Oxford University Press) 2007. Pascal, Blaise, The Wager, In Ruben Perry, Michael Bratman and John Martin Fischer, editors, Introduction to Idea: Classical and Contemporary Blood pressure measurements, Fourth Release (New York: Oxford School Press) 2007. Plato, Apology: Defence of Socrates, In John Perry, Michael jordan Bratman and John Martin Fischer, publishers, Introduction to Idea: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Fourth Release (New You are able to: Oxford University Press) 3 years ago.

Russell, Bertrand, The Worth of Philosophy, In John Perry, Michael Bratman and Ruben Martin Fischer, editors, Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Modern Readings, Last Edition (New York: Oxford University Press) 2007.