Where would people be if philosophical thought was never engaged with?

**Tactical Panda** · 07-29-2012, 06:59 AM

Where do you think people would be if philosophical thought was never engaged with?

Discuss possibilities, theories and whatnot freely.

**Straylight** · 07-29-2012, 08:08 AM

Very practical. Probably get more done.

**zibber** · 07-29-2012, 09:07 AM

What bearing does philosophical discourse have on public discourse? Philosophical concepts make their way into popular culture decades after being introduced, if ever, and in severely diluted form.

**UltraIncredible** · 07-29-2012, 12:24 PM

	Originally Posted by Tactical Panda To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Where do you think people would be if philosophical thought was never engaged with? Discuss possibilities, theories and whatnot freely.

On a large scale, the stone age.

On a lesser scale, the mall.

---------- Post added 07-29-2012 at 12:28 PM ----------

	Originally Posted by zibber To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	What bearing does philosophical discourse have on public discourse? Philosophical concepts make their way into popular culture decades after being introduced, if ever, and in severely diluted form.

Actually there's a philosophy behind everything. Economics, politics, religion, science, history. Organized belief systems and value judgments pervade all of these, implicitly if not explicitly.

**TheStranger** · 08-01-2012, 02:42 PM

Not sure, the effects of philosophical thought aren't always explicit.

**Apex** · 08-01-2012, 02:46 PM

Philosophical thoughts will always be present; regardless of being "engaged." A philosophy is a mode of thinking/living, a description of how you view the outside world. If everyone's individual views didn't exist everyone would essentially be the same. So Philosophy is the egg not the chicken, philosophy is a product of everyone's individuality.

**80085** · 08-01-2012, 02:49 PM

If you look at the MBTI types of those who would be much less likely to engage philosophy (the vast majority of the U.S. population) it could give you a good idea.

**Mohammad** · 08-02-2012, 07:37 AM

To me, philosophy means choice. Lack of it would mean that we would not be more than instinct-guided animals.

**Apricots** · 08-02-2012, 07:53 AM

Since all abstract science and religion started as philosophical concepts, we'd probably be in an agrarian society living with roughly bronze age technology.

In MBTI terms, there would be 0% intuition. No one would think into things deeper than the surface.

**Typhon** · 08-02-2012, 02:34 PM

People would do fine. Traditional hunter-gatherer societies don't have philosophy (in the Western definition of it) and they just focus on happenings in the present.

**The Dan Keizer** · 08-02-2012, 05:21 PM

Without ethics there is no "ought" or ideals. Without ideals, there is no vision for improvement. With no improvement to work towards, everything stays the same.

Humans would be living in the stone age still.

---------- Post added 08-02-2012 at 08:22 PM ----------

	Originally Posted by Mohammad To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	To me, philosophy means choice. Lack of it would mean that we would not be more than instinct-guided animals.

See? This guy gets it.

**TheStranger** · 08-02-2012, 08:34 PM

It is interesting that philosophical thought can be used as a coping mechanism for those that widely effect society.

**Monte314** · 08-04-2012, 08:25 PM

We would all be at the paint store. No worrying about why or why not; just picking out the perfect color based upon the random inspiration of the moment.

The paint store would be huge, with long, multi-server aisles, and uniformed "Snack Ladies" trotting up and down the lines, dishes out tasty snacks. "I'll have another!", you could say, and there it would be.

Fundamentally, no single color would be objectively better than another, because no one would ever think of making such an assessment. Green, red, greenish-red, reddish-green with red undertones... these would all just "be", not "be better". And no matter how you slice things, it all comes down to one final idea...

( Show Spoiler )

**Autumnleaf** · 08-05-2012, 06:21 AM

Philosophy is like the wheel. It is and was important but focusing on it now is largely wasted effort. Monte's video would be a good philosophy class topic.

**SirJac** · 08-05-2012, 11:45 AM

Philosophy directly translates as "Love of Wisdom". Anyone who learns for it's own sake is a philosopher and without philosophy there would be only ignorance.

**Berserker** · 08-05-2012, 08:54 PM

There would be rigid and forced cooperative thought.

07-29-2012, 06:59 AM	#1
Tactical Panda Core Member [133%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 5,328	Where do you think people would be if philosophical thought was never engaged with? Discuss possibilities, theories and whatnot freely.
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07-29-2012, 08:08 AM	#2
Straylight Veteran Member [62%] MBTI: INtj Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 2,490	Very practical. Probably get more done.
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07-29-2012, 09:07 AM	#3
zibber Core Member [407%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 16,291	What bearing does philosophical discourse have on public discourse? Philosophical concepts make their way into popular culture decades after being introduced, if ever, and in severely diluted form.
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08-01-2012, 02:42 PM	#5
TheStranger Core Member [149%] MBTI: intp Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 5,967	Not sure, the effects of philosophical thought aren't always explicit.
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08-01-2012, 02:46 PM	#6
Apex Member [15%] MBTI: INTP Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 633	Philosophical thoughts will always be present; regardless of being "engaged." A philosophy is a mode of thinking/living, a description of how you view the outside world. If everyone's individual views didn't exist everyone would essentially be the same. So Philosophy is the egg not the chicken, philosophy is a product of everyone's individuality.
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08-01-2012, 02:49 PM	#7
80085 Member [07%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 281	If you look at the MBTI types of those who would be much less likely to engage philosophy (the vast majority of the U.S. population) it could give you a good idea.
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08-02-2012, 07:37 AM	#8
Mohammad Veteran Member [58%] MBTI: INxJ Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 2,346	To me, philosophy means choice. Lack of it would mean that we would not be more than instinct-guided animals.
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08-02-2012, 07:53 AM	#9
Apricots Member [04%] MBTI: INFJ Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 176	Since all abstract science and religion started as philosophical concepts, we'd probably be in an agrarian society living with roughly bronze age technology. In MBTI terms, there would be 0% intuition. No one would think into things deeper than the surface.
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08-02-2012, 02:34 PM	#10
Typhon Member [33%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 1,359	People would do fine. Traditional hunter-gatherer societies don't have philosophy (in the Western definition of it) and they just focus on happenings in the present.
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08-02-2012, 08:34 PM	#12
TheStranger Core Member [149%] MBTI: intp Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 5,967	It is interesting that philosophical thought can be used as a coping mechanism for those that widely effect society.
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08-04-2012, 08:25 PM	#13
Monte314 Core Member [407%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 16,303	We would all be at the paint store. No worrying about why or why not; just picking out the perfect color based upon the random inspiration of the moment. The paint store would be huge, with long, multi-server aisles, and uniformed "Snack Ladies" trotting up and down the lines, dishes out tasty snacks. "I'll have another!", you could say, and there it would be. Fundamentally, no single color would be objectively better than another, because no one would ever think of making such an assessment. Green, red, greenish-red, reddish-green with red undertones... these would all just "be", not "be better". And no matter how you slice things, it all comes down to one final idea... ( Show Spoiler ) To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
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08-05-2012, 06:21 AM	#14
Autumnleaf Core Member [227%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 9,097	Philosophy is like the wheel. It is and was important but focusing on it now is largely wasted effort. Monte's video would be a good philosophy class topic.
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08-05-2012, 11:45 AM	#15
SirJac Member [23%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 958	Philosophy directly translates as "Love of Wisdom". Anyone who learns for it's own sake is a philosopher and without philosophy there would be only ignorance.
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08-05-2012, 08:54 PM	#16
Berserker Member [12%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 494	There would be rigid and forced cooperative thought.
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