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Because you want to be murdered?
Because you want to be murdered?
Aeschylus was bombed by a hawk with a turtle, Socrates was sentenced to death and committed suicide, Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier, Hypatia was torn apart by a mob (directed by opponents), Boethius was strangled to death on orders of his master, Judah Halevi and Abraham ibn Daud were murdered, Thomas More was beheaded, Jan Hus was executed, Peter Rasmus was caught in ethnic cleansing,
Because you want to be friendless and alone?
Because you want to be friendless and alone?
Renee Descartes didn't get enough sleep and died, Soren Kierkegaard didn't get enough sleep and died, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz didn't get enough sleep, got sick and died - only his secretary attended his funeral, Chrysippus got his donkey drunk (because apparently no one else would hang out) and died of laughter watching it try to eat figs. Peter Abelard had his genitals cut off, his love imprisoned and spent the rest with her as pen pals.
Because you want to be depressed?
Because you want to be depressed?
Too many to name...
Apparently Empedocles jumped into the crater of the volcano on Mount Etna.
Let's just say "natural causes" are often highly unnatural in philosophy circles.
But srsly...
Each of the above websites provides compelling reasons for studying philosophy. But notice what types of reasons and what types of evidence and data they use to build their case. What does this assume about our motivations and interests?
Asking questions can be dangerous. Dangerous to yourself and dangerous to the society and systems that you have grown up in.
You might be seen as a threat by those who would rather not have what is behind the wallpaper examined. This is true of every part of society, every branch of politics, each branch of religious endeavor, and most societies and cultures.
This doesn't mean that we shouldn't do it. This process of examination can lead to authentic lasting, immoveable happiness and real irresistible change in ourselves and others.
Even if we settle into the patterns and systems that we were heretofore instructed and taught, those systems have more meaning, purpose and direction if sieved by critical thought and analysis.
Read the following essay:
A Love Letter to my Students on the Occasion of a New Semester
Do you agree with the author? What issues resonate with you? Which do you contend with or find uncertain?
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