According to the Oxford Dictionary, philosophy is the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline.
From that, one would think philosophy ought to make the basics clearer.
However, many people who think they are 'philosophers' lack any knowledge of 'logic', let alone 'formal logic'. Most ordinary people mistake 'well, I like it' for 'logical'. The other trap in philosophy is many people start from a conclusion and work backward rather than beginning with facts and working toward a conclusion. Somewhere in those conditions appear the "I'm smarter than you" concept and the "If you can't blind them with brilliance, baffle them..." operating system.
One of the other hindrances to meaningful philosophy is the disparate assumptions used as foundational between different groups. Most obvious is the radically different assumptions between theists and atheists. No matter on which side one begins, the finishing point is somewhere different.
Where do 'philosophy' and 'theology' converge? Theology is a subdivision of philosophy. Theology is a specific section of "knowledge, reality, and existence". I find it notable that this particular subdivision is far more important than all the other subdivisions combined.
Was Jesus a philosopher? Not in the normal sense of people like Plato, Aristotle, and so forth. All the 'philosophers' started with what they thought they knew and assumptions relevant to their own society and worked toward understanding - everything.
Jesus began with omniscience and explained to people how to be united to God. Massive difference. Which is not to say that Jesus never sounded like a philosopher. Jesus told parables, gave moral instruction and guidelines for living in the real world. But Jesus' though process was totally reversed from limited human philosophers.
Yes good points. That deduction versus induction thing is good to keep in mind. I see Christ as not having to explain every detail of everything he could have, because he has the absolute understanding of truth, so he worked where man needs it, in getting reconciled with God and the hope and certainty of a great reality to come when the Adamic course has run, or as with many, we prematurely cease human existence. But I believe Christ's truth will last forever and in time that understanding will come forth of the other details.
Once "faith" becomes "organizational" and "corporate" as administered supposedly through non-profit based "religions", the hidden corporate structure of control can sometimes subvert the "philosophy" to maximize profit, control and thus continue existence and growth. (This maybe a model far older than the modern religious complex, imo.) Its how industry has formed political connections to also increase profits by legal maximization. Its in how commercial based television avoids subject matter that makes people "change the channel", hence not buying more Doritos or tampons, or whatever.
I find it interesting the topical philosophical jargon and formed psychological mythologies, though made up of various "truths", often cloud the far more present and powerful profit motive, helping conceal it, though by it all things in civilization and its civil legal system exist. Understanding profit motive provides far more answers than the philosophies that help conceal it, for some reason. It really is, at the core, money and wealth management related, and the richest complex has a design to maximize its continuation and to grow its power, and that internationally, not just nationally.
(Not saying this is good or bad, just that it is naturally there in the dynamic competitive system, and the world of creative ideas, taken to myths accepted as truths, mixed with them, aids the process. Eventually though, potential or real force determines "truth". Yet addressing the core would have been more useful than spinning more philosophies and rationalizations, imo.)
I mean, for example, belief in fiat currency is all that really gives it "value", it has no value in intrinsic make up. And other illusions such as this, have become very powerful in modern society. But their basis is somewhat a form of spiritual alchemy, "wealth" from thin air, in reality of application and what it actually is. Other national government "philosophies", imo, aided concealing the core of the real wealth engine, that it is little more than a big Monopoly game, complete with the paper money, lol. (Like the recent ECB asset acquisition program, and its Fed QE counterpart, its buy time!)
The reason I said all this, the summary as my opinion, is in time national sovereignty will not be protected, it will be eliminated, imo, and thus it is ironic philosophies stating otherwise, conceal the bigger international dynamic where that must become the case in an international sovereign sense. It is progressive, it is not static, debt growth equates to sovereign loss, plain and simple, from a person to a nation, the principle is the same. The US alone cannot drag itself out of the debt hole it is in now, it will in time mathematically require an international "wealth sovereign" to do that. (and there is one, btw, that has grown in the corporate principle covered above) It is already written in US and EU debt and unfunded liability magnitudes, not if, but when, just a matter of time. In the meantime people haggled "Democrat" this and "Republican" that, distraction, while their nation floated into a world government (by mostly its financial arm), and their sovereignty is to be subjugated. Very ironic, yet many do not see this developing, also very interesting.
And that is where your statement rings true, it is profitable to engineer "philosophies" to aid the process, to influence minds to protect this and that corporate complex (or work against others), to miss other more important developments, which naturally are in "competition", at "market" war with each other, and in a very real international scale development of power growth, it has been successful thus far:
"The other trap in philosophy is many people start from a conclusion and work backward rather than beginning with facts and working toward a conclusion."
And imo those "many people" are often cultured by certain "groups" with a greater agenda. Even the Apple versus Microsoft war has such theologians, lol.
Thus modern societal development internationally has many examples of philosophies designed to actually support a preconceived conclusion as the basis of their development, to provide the questions for which they are the "answer", to explain the "problem" for which they are the "solution". I will remember that basic principle you stated as a great reminder, that should be kept in mind, when examining various "philosophies" that end up aligned in some form of political ulterior development, rather than accept their face value and superficial claims, often the intended "smokescreen" that keeps people off the real developments for decades at times. In fact, imo, many of them, the dominant ones, even the polemic and religious ones, are now thus aligned, supporting myths and truths mixed, for supporting the nation-state framework where the puppet strings all ascend to in a cascading house of global cards. LOL
Interesting to see it peaking, none the less. It is all constructed of basically experimental organized ideas, now maturing. All I want to do is make people think a little more deeply about things in their world, and to recall why Christ will in time be the truly only solution. He already is the only solution, the illusion is merely strong for now.
Thanks,
Regards
