Philosophy January 24Problems of Philosophy, by Bertrand Russell1. The goods that philosophy seek to achieve deal much more, if not only with the students of philosophy whereas the physical sciences tend to deal more directly with the rest of the population. In saying this it is still good to point out that philosophy does help to better mankind but in a more indirect manner through those who study it. 2. Philosophy seeks to attain the answers to questions that have no definite answers. Questions such as what is the purpose of the existence of the universe, does it even have a purpose?3. Philosophy frees us from the “tyranny of custom” by allowing those who open their minds to theideas explore the questions that may have already had a “definite answer” according to society. Our customs and societal norms often restrict thinking about certain aspects of life and through the study of philosophy these barriers are lifted and we are able to ponder these questions. 4. If we begin this philosophical contemplation with the not-self we are allowing ourselves to explore all of the possible options without limiting them to ones that go along with our personal beliefs. Once we can explore the ideas with the not-self approach it makes it much easier to transfer your findings to your own self. 5. The impartiality of philosophical contemplation carries over into the world of action and emotion because as people think with the even headedness required to contemplate the ideas of philosophy, they discover things pertaining to both the self and the not-self. These discoveries help them as people make more rational decisions in their lives. Notes- Two distinctive ways of thinking o Practical/Common/Instinctive vs. Contemplative/Philosophical  CollegeDegreeJobMoneyThings you want- Picking a majoro Something that you like Do what you want to do for living, may not make as much moneyo Something you will make money doing “sell your soul” for a job that you may not love in search for money job security Think about what people will spend money on, much more “physical” than “mental”- Once a question in philosophy is answered it becomes a “hard science” (biology, astronomy, chemistry, psychology)o For philosophy this leaves only questions that are relatively unanswerable.- People like the “hard sciences” because they produce tangible results and facts. Things we can see and touch- Philosophy can be reduced into two Greek wordso These words mean the “love of wisdom” Philo-love Sophia-wisdomo We don’t give up these questions that we have been asking for thousands of years (whatis the meaning of life? Does god exist?) Because of our curiosity. If we would stop asking these types of problems society and mankind’s forward progress would halt. o Just because we haven’t found the answer yet doesn’t mean we can never find it.- Philosophy on a personal (the self) levelo The way to properly approach contemplating philosophy is to approach a subject with anopen, un-biased mind. Pushing your boundaries is the best way to continue to explore the freedoms of your mindo Your exploration of different ideas can help you learn as well as open you mind to experiencing new thingso As humans we like to have a sense of security  We imprison ourselves with thiso By expanding our horizons we can lift psychological blocks and explore our optionso You can trap yourself into a decision by sticking to what you “know” is right If you are a republican or a democrat you may support the parties idea just because it’s “your”