...because what we believe drives how we think; what we do; what we support.
Example: one believes that one cannot trust other nations to fairly trade when they possess natural resources one's own nation badly needs:: therefore the smart thing is to acquire a dominant position among nations (mainly by building a military dominance) so that, in case of need, other means can be used to acquire those resources. See Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East in general.
Example from nearer home: Politicians believe that the purpose of an economy is to provide employment for everyone who needs an income. The result is an economic system that has an insatiable lust to grow and expand into all areas of society while destroying the life of civil society and the life supporting resources provided by nature.
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The biggest danger to a civilization is the corruption of its philosophy and the devaluation of the role of ideas in the public mind.
Culture, civilisation, the quality of private and social life, the values we embrace; all this is expressed in practical ways through the institutions we build in society. And the human aspirations that give purpose to these institutions are, in the final analysis, the result of the dominant philosophy in society.
(I did say philosophy was a serious business :-)
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PS Who is responsible for this board's infuriating rating system?
Philosophy is a serious activity...
...because what we believe drives how we think; what we do; what we support.
Example: one believes that one cannot trust other nations to fairly trade when they possess natural resources one's own nation badly needs:: therefore the smart thing is to acquire a dominant position among nations (mainly by building a military dominance) so that, in case of need, other means can be used to acquire those resources. See Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East in general.
Example from nearer home: Politicians believe that the purpose of an economy is to provide employment for everyone who needs an income. The result is an economic system that has an insatiable lust to grow and expand into all areas of society while destroying the life of civil society and the life supporting resources provided by nature.
-------------------------------
The biggest danger to a civilization is the corruption of its philosophy and the devaluation of the role of ideas in the public mind.
Culture, civilisation, the quality of private and social life, the values we embrace; all this is expressed in practical ways through the institutions we build in society. And the human aspirations that give purpose to these institutions are, in the final analysis, the result of the dominant philosophy in society.
(I did say philosophy was a serious business :-)
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PS
Who is responsible for this board's infuriating rating system?