Question by Corey: Is it foolish to view existentialism without understanding the depths of all sciences?
Well, I was thinking to day at work, reading some of Brian Greene’s, The Elegant Universe and thought of this.
Although I am into metaphysics and spirituality, I am cheating myself without understanding the edge of reality proven by science.
Is the spirituality necessary for me only to feel at peace with myself or is it benifting me in other ways?
So I did a Pros/Cons evalutaion and am still at a standstill.
The spirituality may have alienated me from some groups or concepts but inevitably showed me what my dreams and goals mean and how to achieve them.
But, the science is repeatable and is fact even if it’s on the physical level.
However the concepts explored by myself during deep thought and meditation are real also, as I use my knowledge to define myself.
I guess it comes down to what your definition of yourself, if it involves concepts and your role, it has metaphysical tendencies regardless. For they are not provable.
Anyways, the original question?
Best answer:
Answer by eugene65ca
Learn at your own pace
Add your own answer in the comments!
It is foolish not to consider and ponder all knowledge as it is presented to you. Knowledge raises more questions resulting in more knowledge until, hopefully, you arrive at a conclusion.
There are only those who know, those who don’t know yet, and those who don’t want to know.
Yes and no. It can be foolish to view anything without an understanding of the things related to it. However, it is a personal choice. The further you explore anything…the further you move yourself away from other things. The more you identify with one thing, the less you identify with others. The only foolish things that I believe in is willfull ignorance and stating that your truth is everyone’s truth.
I think it is important to learn about a vast majority of the theories, ideas, facts, etc. when it comes to philosophical, scientific, and religious searching. It’s important to learn and then apply what you have read to your own mind-set and way of thinking. So if you exclude certain areas, you are only damaging yourself because there could be something to take from any idea. Whether it be the fact you are turned off by that idea, or it makes sense to you – there is always something to take from it. So I would say it is foolish to limit yourself to a certain subject without learning the depths of other ideas, even if you know you won’t agree with it.
I think Existentialism is a rather infantile theory anyway. It’s basically the province of poseur college students who want to smoke clove cigarettes and rail against the bourgeois values that allow them to have such comfortable existences in the first place.
Of course the world has meaning, even if you get beyond the realm of faith. The expansion of order in our world. The nurturing of life. The elevation of the individual. All of these constitute an unqualified good in our world, which means we each have our individual mission to leave our world a better place than when we found it. Call it simple. Call it a cliche. But sometimes thoughts like these are shopworn simply by their truth.
Science really has very little to do with it. However, you can make the case that, through evolution and development of life on this planet, there is very palpable meanng. After all, life grew out of nothingness into order and meaning. So that in itself is a validation of your spiritual quest.
Again, Existentialism is a fatuous dead end, mental masturbation for the unfocused and the vaguely dissatisfied. Toy with it only for entertainment, for it’s absolutely no system by which to live one’s life.
Existentialism is a dependent philosophy. It is based on one question…why do I exist? It must depend on other ways of thought to come up with it’s answer so that it may disclaim it. The main thought of Existential reasoning is persistantly trying to unseat all other philosophies. It is a philosophical dead end and consistently unproveable because of it’s negative premise in the face of empirical existence. I am …therefore I exist!