The Only Thing I Am Certain Of...Is my Ignorance

I think that I am thinking that I know nothing!!!

The value of philosophy should never be underestimated. Philosophers are involved in discovering every avenue of thought. It should therefore not be surprising that I write about so many different subjects or why I cannot be labelled and put into any one particular category of person. It should also not surprise anyone that some of our/my conclusions should be found unacceptable in some way or another. There are often questions that come up where none of the suggested answers are acceptable to most.

The reason that most philosophers (thinkers) have problems with agreeing not only with one another, but with the public in general, is because of the nature of the subject (all thought), and also because they constantly challenge traditions and ideas in order to generate new perspectives on things.

In science, most people agree not only on the assumptions, but also on the questions based on those assumptions as well as on the use of certain concepts within that discipline. But even with wide-spread agreement on the subject, the philosopher is still of extreme importance. How would we know what to do with scientific discoveries without first thinking about what kind of society we want to live in and what responsibilities we owe each other, our children and the environment?

Another merit of the work/thinking of philosophers is the logical way in which they argue their stance, at least showing us what NOT to believe or accept as truth. (Yes, there are rules that must be applied when using thought to reach a conclusion). For example, we cannot say that all swans are white because only one black swan will negate that statement. However, we can say that all men who have been unmarried are bachelors. This is an undisputed truth. Logic is the most important concept in philosophy. If something is stated that is not logical, then the philosopher is nothing but a fool.

The history of social, political, scientific, religious and technological change is bound up in the history of thought. Various philosophers have made these changes possible. Without the logician Frege, the information age would not have been possible. Female suffrage was taken seriously after Wollstonecraft. Newton relied on Aristotle and Einstein on Newton for their great discoveries.

While most people associate the USSR on Karl Marx’s philosophy on communism, many do not know that the superpower of the USA was born of the philosophical writings of Tom Paine.

I have often stated that thinking is the real business of life. It is not the province of specialists in philosophy, but it is intrinsically part of how a person navigates thought life. If we all argued, using the rules of the philosopher, we would have a far more mature society to live in. The first rule is to play the ball and not the man. By playing the game of life in this way, nothing would be taken personally and we would have to think before we open our mouths to cause hurt and harm to another. Real thinking should add value to society.

Anyway, this is just my opinion. It is the reason behind why I try to put myself in another man’s shoes, why I do so much reading and research, and why I shut my mouth until I am sure that I am not talking shit. It is a constant struggle for the only thing that I really know, is that I know very little about anything.