/lit/ - Literature

Do you think that since the institution of marriage has fallen apart in the west, young men today have lost the motivation to work hard and succeed in life? Do you think that most men in general want a wife and family to provide for and take care of, and since that is no longer realistic, lots of guys now are ready to just drop out and not care anymore and if so, how much longer can society sustain itself?

>>18175426
The thread BTFO'd him quite hard; I'll post one of the comments - give me your thoughts:

"Philosophy is the love of wisdom. To love something entails to seek something, and once it is found to possess it and be possessed by it. Wisdom is not inquiry, but is the knowing of what is right to do. As it is prudence to know the right way through some particular moment, it is wisdom to know the right way universally.

In this quote, Russel admits quite plainly that he does not know truth, nor does he know wisdom, for he continues to seek it.

Once a man has found a home, he might inquire of the various ways to get there, and of the places he might go from it, but he does not go on looking for the home which he has not found. It is only the homeless man who goes on continually seeking that which he does not have.

It is particularly worth noting that in this, Russel does not inquire if perhaps Saint Thomas had found wisdom, nor does he give us the tools to inquire. Rather, he gives us a conclusion--that Aquinas did not really love wisdom, because he did not inquire enough about wisdom.

Perhaps, in reading Aristotle, Russel should have realized the importance of determining a thing by its end. For if the acquiring of Wisdom is the end of Philosophy, then perhaps Russel could have realized that one works back from that end, not towards it. So, if a man has found the end of philosophy, which is Wisdom, then his arguments will naturally appear to have had the conclusion in advance.

Of course, it is not really the end which is so difficult. All who claim to be philosophers claim to have Wisdom as their end. They also all claim to use reason. But if an argument is truly reasonable, then it naturally and perfectly arrives at its end. So, if a philosopher uses reason and seeks Wisdom, but can only go on seeking, never arriving at his end, then it must be because he has found the wrong beginning. Therefore the difficulty is finding the right beginning.

It would almost seem to be like some maze, in which there are many openings, but only one ending. Now, all recognize that single, unified end, shared by all, but if there are multiple openings and only one true path, than all who take a false beginning will never reach their end. It would therefore be better, to start with the end and work backwards to find the right beginning.

Of course, as Aquinas shows, the right beginning has already been given to us quite plainly. As scripture tells us, the beginning of Wisdom is the Fear of God. Russel did not fear God, and so he kept on search for Wisdom, never finding. Aquinas, fearing God, found Wisdom quickly.

If you seek wisdom, why would you follow the Man who is always searching, instead of the one who has found it?"

>>15708850