Philosophy is the love of wisdom. At least that is the etymology of the word “philosophy.” But what is wisdom anyway? Perhaps “wisdom” is no longer a useful general term because it has been used to mean too many different things in and outside of philosophy. Even so, there have been many interesting attempts at a science of older and wiser.
P0: Philosophy in general
More about Plato and Google
What would Plato think of TV? And now Plato is on Twitter.
Why study philosophy?
To challenge your own point of view. An interview with philosopher and novelist Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away.
Can ancient philosophy help people lead better lives?
Five books on ancient philosophy and modern life. Jules Evans “explores philosophy lessons of the ancients relevant to our globalised, information age – by way of cognitive behavioural therapy, and government measures of happiness.”
Thinking about law school? Be prepared for some philosophy!
Why has philosophy been central to legal education for more than a century? Brian Leiter explains “it has partly to do with the nature of philosophy as a discipline and partly to do with the deep affinities between law and philosophy.”
Some experiments in thinking
Six famous thought experiments, animated in 60 seconds each. “From Ancient Greece to quantum mechanics, or what a Chinese room and a cat have to do with infinity.”
Philosophy of art, artful philosophy
The school of Arthur Danto. Crispin Sartwell remembers philosopher Arthur Danto. “And that’s what I most want us to hold on to: Danto’s proof that philosophy can be a lovely thing as well as a quest for truth, his demonstration of the identity of philosophy with art – not as a premise of his argument that art is at an end, but as actually enacted in his writing.”
Philosophy on the battlefield
A philosopher-general. To succeed in battle, study philosophy. “People used to tell me that business administration is for the practical life and philosophy is for the spirit. … Through the years I found it is exactly the opposite — I used philosophy much more practically. Philosophers that spoke about how to balance, how to prioritize principles in a right way. … [t]his is something that I find very helpful.”
Unsolvable problems in philosophy
8 philosophical questions that we’ll never solve? “Philosophy goes where hard science can’t, or won’t. Philosophers have a license to speculate about everything from metaphysics to morality, and this means they can shed light on some of the basic questions of existence. The bad news? These are questions that may always lay just beyond the limits of our comprehension.” But is this bad news? Do you really want to have the answers? Not if that would mean the end of philosophizing!
Socratically Speaking 