Conceptions of "philosophy"

[Norsemaiden]

Why do people read philosophy? I think some people read philosophy to better understand life, some read it to impress others with how well-read they are, and others read it as an excercise for the brain - without looking for any useful application.
Nietzche was concerned with trying to get people to take their heads out of the clouds and deal with reality. Are there any famous philosophers who had as much humour as Nietzche?
"Blessed are the drowsy, for they will drop off".

 

[Cythraul]

@ Speed

Heidegger has not been the most influential philosopher of this century. His influence really extends only to philosophy of the continental tradition, particularly postmodernism. The sad thing is, postmodernism is merely an intellectual fad. Obstuse writing style is not the only problem for guys like Derrida (the posterboy for pomo); their ideas are unintelligible nonsense. Philosophy of the continental tradition doesn't just suffer from bad writing, it also suffers from intellectual decay and a whole host of fallacious ideas. Guys like Frege, Moore, Russell, and Wittgenstein are far more important as far as I'm concerned. Those were philosophers that brought values of intellectual rigor and clarity back to philosophy. If a philosopher is dealing with highly complex problems and trying to give good arguments regarding those problems, then he should be aspiring to exactness.

 

[derek]

I still believe that philosophy that is accessible and understandable for any intelligent person is the way forward. Much philosophy is so terribly verbose that it becomes a metaphorical swamp that we must wade through and that subverts the force the actual ideas were intended to have from having so much impact.

 

[speed]

@ Speed

Heidegger has not been the most influential philosopher of this century. His influence really extends only to philosophy of the continental tradition, particularly postmodernism. The sad thing is, postmodernism is merely an intellectual fad. Obstuse writing style is not the only problem for guys like Derrida (the posterboy for pomo); their ideas are unintelligible nonsense. Philosophy of the continental tradition doesn't just suffer from bad writing, it also suffers from intellectual decay and a whole host of fallacious ideas. Guys like Frege, Moore, Russell, and Wittgenstein are far more important as far as I'm concerned. Those were philosophers that brought values of intellectual rigor and clarity back to philosophy. If a philosopher is dealing with highly complex problems and trying to give good arguments regarding those problems, then he should be aspiring to exactness.

I have often thought they write in such an obtuse manner because they were afraid of being caught as the intellectual frauds they really were--or are.

I was doing a little research, and it seems the very funny Peter Sellers movie, Being There, was written to mock Heidegger's Dasein. I dont know if anyone's seen the movie, but its about a child-like man with simple sayings becoming the most famous thinker in the world. And really, any movie with Peter Sellers is always a treat.

I said perhaps, but, I am no expert in philosophy or current philosophical trends. It seems when persons talk of 20th century philosophers, Wittegenstein and Heidegger come first. PErsonally I'd take Camus, Cioran and Bergson. But, the first two come from more of a classical and literary tradition, which "serious" philosophers seem to mock--perhaps because both men acknowledged the limits of knowledge and logic, and werent foolish enough to create such systems.

And indeed Cythraul, what I have read about the deconstructionists, seems to point to the idea, that they have essentially no ideas, nor can they even formulate a reasonable conception of their philosophy when pressed. But again, I am not going to read Derrida, due to my aforementioned points about the writing.

 

[Cythraul]

I was doing a little research, and it seems the very funny Peter Sellers movie, Being There, was written to mock Heidegger's Dasein. I dont know if anyone's seen the movie, but its about a child-like man with simple sayings becoming the most famous thinker in the world. And really, any movie with Peter Sellers is always a treat.

I'm gonna have to check that out.

I said perhaps, but, I am no expert in philosophy or current philosophical trends. It seems when persons talk of 20th century philosophers, Wittegenstein and Heidegger come first.

Well it seems that Wittgenstein has really been the most influential on philosophy of the English speaking world, whereas Heidegger has been one of the main influences on philosophy coming out of continental Europe. So you're probably right that these two guys are the most influential, but their respective influence extends to two different strands in philosophy.

 

[speed]

I watched it a few years ago without knowing the satire was directed at Heidegger. It is hilarious. I think Peter Sellers was actually nominated for it. http://imdb.com/title/tt0078841/

 

[derek]

Anything Sellers related is going to be braw