Philosophical Musings

Excerpts from the Paper

Philosophical Musings
Abstract: Regardless of philosophy’s commitment to abstract principals and reasoning, one is certainly able to arbitrate between different positions on a given philosophical question. Not all philosophies are the same. This statement will be explored through philosophy’s need to create hierarchies and an emphasis on either life or life-after-death.
Philosophical questions are proved and disproved through reasoning and argument. This fact has suggested, to some, that philosophy as a pursuit is not legitimate. Others, conversely, have contended that, because philosophy refuses to deal with the concrete aspects of life, it is of the greatest importance. Both positions have a long history of critics and defenders. In...

.....sophy’s reliance on hierarchies and an emphasis on either life or life-after-death. It is true that philosophy is based on the abstract – that is reasoning and argument. And yet, it does not follow that philosophy does not have a direct effect on concrete reality. Philosophy’s tendency to create hierarchies was the first proof offered. These hierarchies dictate what should be valued and what should be refused in both the individual and society. Not all hierarchies are just, as demonstrated by colour based segregation. The second proof offered was the choice that all philosophies must make between an emphasis on life or life-after-death. Depending on that choice, the philosophy will evolve very differently. Not all philosophies are the same.