Mark Carolus Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 a. Outward and historical conditions imposed upon Philosophy. It must be remarked in the first place, that a certain stage is requisite in the intellectual culture of a people in order that it may have a Philosophy at all. Aristotle says, "Man first begins to philosophize when the necessities of life are supplied" (Metaphysics, I. 2); because since Philosophy is a free and not self-seeking activity, cravings of want must have disappeared, a strength, elevation and inward fortitude of mind must have appeared, passions must be subdued and consciousness set far advanced, before what is universal can be thought of. Philosophy may thus be called a kind of luxury, in so far as luxury signifies those enjoyments and pursuits which do not belong to external necessity as such. Philosophy in this respect seems more capable of being dispensed with than anything else; but that depends on what is called indispensable. From the point of view of mind, Philosophy may even be said to be that which is most essential. I quite agree with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsayers Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 a certain stage is requisite in the intellectual culture of a people in order that it may have a Philosophy at all. "Culture" opposes philosophy as it is subjective. Also, if philosophy is the method to determine the truth value of an objective claim, I'm not sure what is meant by "a philosophy." Man first begins to philosophize when the necessities of life are supplied People have the necessities of life can reject philosophy. It's not conditional or dependent. passions must be subdued I don't know what Hegel is referring to, but in Aristotle's time, "passions" referred to emotions. Emotions are not the enemy of philosophy. A philosopher who embraces both the empathetic and logical portions of his brain can arrive at answer more efficiently and apply them more convincingly. People who are right-handed to not bind their left hand for being inferior. They make use of both to accomplish more together than the sum of the two alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LovePrevails Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 I think it is congruent with Maslow's hierarchy of needs people need to feel their basic needs are met before seeking out self-actualization such as an interest in philosophy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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