How to be a great philosopher. Jesus The Great Philosopher — Jonathan T. Pennington 2022-12-15

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Being a great philosopher requires a combination of intellectual curiosity, critical thinking skills, and the ability to communicate complex ideas effectively. Here are a few key steps you can take to become a great philosopher:

  1. Read widely: A good philosopher should be well-versed in the ideas and arguments of philosophers throughout history. This means reading texts from a variety of time periods and philosophical traditions.

  2. Think critically: Great philosophers are able to analyze and evaluate arguments, identify flaws and weaknesses, and construct logical and well-reasoned responses. This requires a strong ability to think critically and logically.

  3. Communicate effectively: A philosopher's ideas are only as valuable as their ability to communicate them effectively to others. This means being able to write and speak clearly and concisely, and being able to present ideas in a way that is easily understood by others.

  4. Engage with the philosophical community: Great philosophers are not isolated individuals – they engage with the philosophical community and contribute to ongoing debates and discussions. This means participating in philosophical societies and conferences, and publishing articles and books on philosophical topics.

  5. Be open-minded and willing to revise your views: A great philosopher is not afraid to question their own beliefs and revise their views in light of new evidence or arguments. This requires an open-minded and humble approach to philosophical inquiry.

By following these steps, you can work towards becoming a great philosopher – someone who is able to make valuable contributions to the field and inspire others to think deeply about the world around them.

What Makes A Philosopher?

how to be a great philosopher

A better idea would be to read the readings from a grad class. The most important aspect of every philosopher is putting into action the truths that are found in our philosophical searchings and find out if they are as applicable in action as they are in theory. © Dr Siobhan Lyons 2018 Siobhan Lyons is a scholar at Macquarie University, where she earned her PhD in media and cultural studies. In the centuries that have passed, notable philosophers both young and old have produced original thoughts and made contributions to all industries and disciplines including politics, mathematics, literature, art, and science. Philosophy deals with things as they are and things as they might and perhaps ought to be. I assume there are similar courses at most universities. On the other hand, why not? I am often surprised what a really good philosopher can do with a topic which has not previously been seen as a suitable object of philosophical reflection.

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David Hume (1711

how to be a great philosopher

I think that being well-read in philosophical texts is part of this; it's kind of dumb to come up with ideas that someone has already addressed. Axiology The least well-known but most accessible branch of philosophy, axiology. Highly regarded New Testament scholar and popular teacher Jonathan Pennington argues that we need to recover the lost biblical image of Jesus as the one true philosopher who teaches us how to experience the fullness of our humanity in the kingdom of God. Epistemology The study of knowledge — of how we can know the things we know and what does knowing mean at all. The dubious authorities of crowd, religion, and state, with their tendencies to demand blind obedience, are at odds with the philosophical endeavour.


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How to become a respectable philosopher? : askphilosophy

how to be a great philosopher

In your debates, be keen to 6 Write your ideas down Take note of your thoughts on the matter at hand. Philosophy is essentially an anti-authoritarian business, or at least, philosophy acknowledges only the authorities of reason, argument and evidence. While developing your critical thinking, you should take part in any debate you can. © Ian Ravenscroft 2010 Ian Ravenscroft is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Flinders University, South Australia. This is arguably the foundational cornerstone of philosophy and we all brush against this with constant occurrence. All other comments are off-topic and will be removed. I believe this is done best with written word either through the newest technologies.

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How to Become a Philosopher: 12 Steps (with Pictures)

how to be a great philosopher

But the greatest philosophers do not philosophise in order to call themselves a philosopher. His logic later influenced philosophers like Voltaire and Rousseau. Plato had his theory of Forms and allegory of the cave; Kant put forth the thing-in-itself and the categorical imperative; and Nietzsche proclaimed the theory of the Ãœbermensch Superman. Writing a lot helps in figuring out where you are in your understanding of the material, as the professor in the other thread said. Jesus teaches us what is good, right, and beautiful and offers answers to life's big questions: what it means to be human, how to be happy, how to order our emotions, and how we should conduct our relationships. Professor of philosophy Anthony Grayling described reading as a duty of "extreme intellectual importance," and suggests reading literary works in the morning and philosophical works later in the day.

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How To Be A Good Philosopher

how to be a great philosopher

I am not saying that they can not be good philosophers, as I believe everyone can, I am saying that they are not good philosophers now. The true philosopher must live in and for their philosophy. Our politics, our morals, our ideas of beauty and love and friendship and virtue. This inadequacy of philosophical acumen is birthed from a variety of reasons. Her most notable book, The Second Sex, discusses the treatment of women throughout history and the oppression they endured. That'd be a full time job. Her best-known publication, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, is considered the first great feminist treatise.

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12 Famous Philosophers and Their Guiding Principles

how to be a great philosopher

How many years do you have left in your undergrad, and what kind of flexibility is there in your course schedule? It's tough to be disciplined on your own - not because of any fact about yourself, but from a lack resources. Your reading of other philosophical works will help you make these determinations by exposing you to the ways others have approached philosophy in the past. Linking philosophy and truth is a common approach; but I believe that philosophy is less a search for truth and more of an engagement with possibilities; those that exist and those that are yet to exist. The greatest Conclusion Philosophy helps in building your cognitive ability. .

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What is the best way to become a good enough philosopher to get published in reputable philosophical journals as an autodidact? : askphilosophy

how to be a great philosopher

Are you interested in the human condition? However, I imagine philosophy is comprised of many more dimensions than simply making a logically sound argument. One way it does this is by example. If we say yes it did well it did not go so far back into the past as to create itself and so the first efficient cause would be God. The things that we believe and the ways that we act upon those beliefs shapes every aspect of our lives and says everything about who we are. It may help to see how we approach philosophy in our everyday life by exploring, in brief, the different branches of philosophy. So yeah, I can see sociologists contributing to the philosophy of social science, or linguists contributing to philosophy of linguistics or language.

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How To Be A Philosopher

how to be a great philosopher

There is a great deal of imaginative power in the simple joy of wondering why something is the way it is and exploring that curiosity by imagining a million reasons for it to be that way. Okay, maybe not beauticians. He went on to establish the Academy in Athens, one of the first institutions of higher learning in the Western world. Reading and writing can be done by oneself, but getting guidance and feedback on one's efforts is absolutely essential, and very difficult to do or, rather, do with any reliable quality outside the academy. Living and Dying Philosophy would be of little interest if it did not help us live without betraying our values and die without fear.

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How to be a Great Philosopher

how to be a great philosopher

Another worry concerns academics indoctrinating their students in the classroom. His most notable work, Essay Concerning a Human Understanding, offers an analysis of the human mind and its acquisition of knowledge. Much more important than covering a breadth of topics is learning to read philosophy, and to think and write philosophically. To do this, one must be free of prejudice, ignorance, and dogma. It is about taking that wonder as far as possible and not judging or dismissing outright the directions or answers it leads you too. It may not seem like it, but even these heavy, confusing questions influence the way we think and act in the world. Start writing down your reflections on the philosophical texts you are reading right away.

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