Okay, philosophy.
Uhhh..eh.
This...I can do it traditionally at least
in two lines, no?
Mm-hmm.
Philosophy does not solve problems.
The duty of philosophy is not to solve problems
but to redefine problems.
To show how what we experience as a problem
is a false problem.
If what we experience as a problem is a true
problem then you don't philosophy.
For example: Let's say that now there would
be a deadly virus coming from outer space
so not in any way mediated by our human history
and it would threaten all of us.
We don't need, basically, philosophy there.
We simply need good science desperately to
find...we would desperately need good science
to find the solution to stop this virus.
We don't philosophy there because the threat
is a real threat, directly.
You cannot play philosophical tricks and say
"No, this is not..."
You know what I mean?
It's simply..our life would be...
Or, ok, the more vulgar even, simpler science-fiction
scenario.
Kind of an Armageddon or whatever, you know,
Deep Impact.
A big comet threatening to hit Earth.
You don't need philosophy here.
You need, I don't know, to be a bit naive.
Strong atomic bombs to explode, maybe.
Maybe.
I think it's maybe too utopian, but you know
what I mean?
I mean, the threat is there, you see.
In certain situation, you don't need philosophy.
I don't think that philosophers ever provided
answers but I think this was the greatness
of philosophy.
No not in the common sense that philosophers
just ask ask questions and so on.
I mean, what is philosophy?
Philosophy is not what some people think,
some crazy exercise in absolute truth and
then you can adopt, you know, the skeptical
attidute.
"We true scientists are dealing with actual
measurable solvable problems.
Philosophers just ask stupid metaphysical
questions and so on.
Play with absolute truth which we all know
is inaccesible."
No, I think philosophy is a very modest disciple.
Philosophy asks a different question, the
true philosophy.
How does a philosopher approach the problem
of freedom?
It's not "Are we free or not, is there god
or not?"
It asks a simple question which would be called
a hermeneutic question: "What does it mean
to be free?"
So this is what philosophy basically does.
It just asks when we use certain notions,
when we do certain acts, and so on and so
on, what is the implicit horizon of understanding?
It doesn't ask the stupid ideal question "Is
there truth?"
No.
The question is "What do you mean when you
say 'this is true'?"
So you can see it's a very modest thing, philosophy.
Philosophers are not the madmen who search
for some eternal truth and so on and so on.
