Due to constant misunderstanding with my name I feel the need to change my intro. I am hateful, hateful of religion. I hate what religion does to people and that people use it as an excuse to not think. I have spent many years of my life as an Atheist and have learned to handle my emotions, but no other word quite describes how I feel towards religion short of hate. I am outspoken, open minded, and will share my opinion. If you're looking for someone who will always agree with you, that won't be me.
The Out Campaign: Scarlet Letter of Atheism
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30th October 2012

Question with 6 notes

Anonymous asked: Do you think that philosophy still has an important place next to science, or do you think that in today's world philosophy has become irrelevant?

The word scientist is a fairly recent addition to our language. It has only come about in the last few centuries, prior to being called scientists they were called natural philosophers. In many ways it was the start of modern science, the Greek idea of the “atom” came about through this sort of means, we discovered a great many things about the world around us and nature by more or less thinking, observing, and more thinking.

In recent years it seems that there is much less that a philosopher can bring to the table. It has been said by Stephen Hawking that we are now that the point where no one that isn’t an expertly trained scientist will be able to contribute worthwhile input to the fields of science. I certainly hope this isn’t true because it would mean that I could never contribute anything new to the topic. I’m not saying that I have before or that I do, but I would at least like to think that there is a possibility that new ideas and observations can come from thought and discussion. In many ways we should rely more on the expertly trained scientists with their wide array of tools and calculations to verify, but I don’t think that should mean the world is closed off to the outsiders.

I think that in many ways philosophy was necessary as a start, but has already been used and examine by many of the greatest minds throughout history. There is so much we would miss out on if we didn’t have philosophy. So many wonderful things that can trace their roots to a simple idea, statement, or discussion. The problem is that is a world that has already been explored by so many. It is the world that drew the most brilliant, imaginative, and questioning minds of the past. They all looked to contribute to it, as a result it is much harder for a modern philosopher to be anything special or to come up with something new. We can all still do it though and I think we should continue to try, who can even imagine what things we may overlook if we don’t.

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  1. hatefulatheist posted this