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.
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?