Everyday Philosophy
Practical Applications
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Thinking philosophically involves progressively deepening insight into the same problems. Immanuel Kant proposed that doing philosophy was reflection on these three problems: What can I know? How should I act? What can I hope for? These essays are loosely organized along these lines. The author is not proposing definitive answers to any of these problems. My intention is both to provoke the reader to think about these and other issues, and to provide the reader with some of the materials necessary for this “progressively deepening” insight into the problems we all encounter as we go through life. This book provides some everyday reflections. As the book develops, the same problems recur, but each time the problems are pursued in somewhat greater depth. Don’t rush through this book. One or two reflections per day should be progress enough… Chapter One Once, Over Lightly 1 Everyday Thoughts, Everyday Philosophy Everyone thinks everyday thoughts, but some do it better than others. The most important “everyday thoughts” are part of a personal quest for wisdom, which we have come to call “philosophy.” We all need some kind of “philosophy,” just to get us through the day. Most of us acquired our philosophy without much reflection from some outside source, whether a parent, a teacher, a musical group, some character in a novel, or from some significant authority figure. I became interested in reading the great philosophers while I was in high school, and it has been a life-long pursuit. My purpose in these essays is to encourage the reader to do some thinking, and to assume responsibility for the “philosophical” positions that the reader has. I want the reader to think about the things that are really important, and to see how some great thinkers have grappled with problems similar to your own. My expectation is that these “meditations” will help you understand your own thinking more clearly. Most of the famous philosophers (Plato, Aristotl
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
“Philosophy always buries its undertakers.” Philosophy comes to life in every generation, not only because each generation has its distinctive problems, but also because the genius of the great minds of the past is pertinent to our current concerns. This book applies the thoughts of the great philosophers to medical ethics problems like Transplants, Abortion, and Euthanasia. It compares the visions of Plato and Aristotle with those of the Buddha, Confucius, and with Darwin, Freud, and Nietzsche. It compares Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, in the face of contemporary atheism. It concludes with maps of the ancient, medieval, and modern philosophical worlds, and shows the relevance of the past when dealing with our current most appalling problems.
About the Author
Gene Bammel was a student at the University of Toronto at the time when Etienne Gilson, Marshall McLuhan, Northrop Frye, Emil Fackenheim, and many other famous people were there. Gene took full advantage of the Honours and Graduate Programs and studied Classics, History of Philosophy, and Modern Literature. He has taught at Michigan State University, Syracuse, Occidental College, West Virginia University, and is a past president of the SAGE Program at the University of Arizona. He founded and served as president of an Institution of Learning in Retirement in Sun City Vistoso, in Oro Valley, Arizona, where he and his wife LeiLane now live. His academic interests are in History of Philosophy, Ethics, and Philosophy of Religion.