Thus spake Owen Densmore circa 09-07-10 09:04 AM: > Now, using the definition "Philosophy is what Philosophers do" .. would > a Philosopher agree with you?
I think so, because what philosophers do is an embedded, situated, "online" activity. They navigate around in the muck within which we live, regardless of the particular issue they're studying at the time. Hence, whatever a philosopher may be studying, it is philosophy. As an aside, I think it's quite funny when people describe philosophers as "ivory tower" or very abstractly removed from daily life. I've always had the opposite reaction. Philosophers seem to be trying to tackle the issues most near and dear to every _thinking_ animal. To me, it's engineering that is the pinnacle of abstraction, despite the concrete product. And it's the engineer's abstraction that facilitates her success. The philosopher's product is abstract, but their methods are very closely grounded to the root of all (our) meaning -- the animal. The engineer's product is concrete, but their methods are slightly unhinged from the nitty gritty animalness of living in the world. OK. That last paragraph proves that I should shut up for awhile. [grin] -- glen e. p. ropella, 971-222-9095, http://agent-based-modeling.com ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
