Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

Is philosophy dead?
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/...sophy-dead

KEY POINTS: "Scientific philosophy" seeks to closely align philosophical inquiry with scientific methods. Traditional, nonscientific philosophy is increasingly seen as outdated or even "dead." Many leading philosophical minds now work in scientific fields outside philosophy departments.

EXCERPT: Naturalist philosophers, like Daniel Dennett, were quick to counter these kinds of statements. People like me and many other scientifically minded philosophers don’t believe that philosophy has truly died. And yet, if we look at philosophy as a whole, the naturalist philosopher, or I should rather say "scientific philosopher," really is much closer to Hawking and many other scientists who have become skeptical about the value of philosophy than their defenses let on... (MORE - details)

Quote:We each exist for but a short time, and in that time explore but a small part of the whole universe. But humans are a curious species. We wonder, we seek answers. Living in this vast world that is by turns kind and cruel, and gazing at the immense heavens above, people have always asked a multitude of questions: How can we understand the world in which we find ourselves? How does the universe behave? What is the nature of reality? Where did all this come from? Did the universe need a creator? Most of us do not spend most of our time worrying about these questions, but almost all of us worry about them some of the time.

Philosophy as a contemporary field of learning or analytical thinking has rarely fared well. Few were concerned with Descartes' mind-body problem back in his time. It only became a big deal over centuries of retrospective research in the history of ideas. It was never about philosophy contributing to the present weltaschaung of the day like science does. It was about posing questions so well that they literally influenced the later history of thought itself. Hume, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Derrida, Chalmers.. Deep consciousness-raising questions which were never meant to support and find their relevance inside the cultural paradigm of their time but in the paradigm-shifting future substrate of thought itself--in changing the discourse with subversions and revolutions that also accompany the evolution of human civilization itself.

Another element of philosophy is that of wonderment--of generating such states of awareness that humans are enobled with aesthetic and ethical meaning. Science itself is dead without this fundamental awe and profundity at the base of all thoughtful consideration. They participate in it all the time. It gives their science relevance in the cosmic scheme of things. Here's Tyson waxing philosophical himself:

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