I used to be interested in philosophy back in highschool, but now it’s just not doing it for me. Alot of it just seems to be like I think therefore I am, but if I wasn’t I wouldn’t be because if I was I would, but if I couldn’t, then I wouldn’t be able to, and if i… like bro maybe I’m dumb, but wtf are these dudes on about??? 😭
On another note, some of the worst of it like Nihilism goes so well hand in hand with capitalism.
It is not dumb. Basically, the actual question is “Do I know anything for sure?”. And answer is “I know that I exist for sure, because I am thinking about these questions.”
Basically that forms the basis of knowing. We can now build up knowledge because we know we exist for sure.
I think the major flaw is that you had to translate it into modern layman English for that to make any sense, because now that you say that it’s like “oh okay” but without a translator it feels lost in translation. I had the same experience in my Intro to New Testament elective course I took in community college, reading old things like the Bible is cool but feels impossible without a modern guide. All these philosophies need to not only be modernized but translated into easily understandable language as opposed to obtuse academic jargon IMO.
Yeah. So many great philosophers feel so inaccessible due to how complex and abstract the language they use is —which is fair, they deal with complex and abstract ideas they try to sum up neatly. But nobody’s got time for that, and a middleman translator that dissects these ideas and lays them out in simpler, albeit lengthier ways make it so much easier and more enjoyable.
As I’ve said in another reply, I’m reading the Tao Te Ching currently. Not only would it obviously be impossible without a translator, but also a good translator is a must, as I understand Ancient Chinese was an incredibly compact language so to speak, so you might need whole pages to unwind what a single, apparently simple verse is trying to say. It’s thanks to the thoroughness of the translator in communicating these ideas that I get to read the cool based book.
Very interesting. What author/translator?