Is philosophy judged by its conclusions?

[Anonymous No.21829387]

Everyone knows the story about Hegel and Schopenhauer. The latter complains of Hegel's extreme popularity among the young students at the University of Berlin, tried unsuccessfully to win over students to his doctrine, and failed. Only decades later after publishing Parerga and Paralipomena -- a distinctly unphilosophical set of essays -- did Schopenhauer finally see acclaim.

The more I study this, the more I feel an odd irony about Schopenhauer's rise to fame. Because ultimately, he and Hegel met with success for the same reason. They are famous not for having solid bodies of philosophy -- but because their ideas are interesting. Why else would Hegel have such explosive popularity? The man's writing is nigh incomprehensible. No, it's his fascinating conclusions, which take on a pseudo-religious character that propelled him into stardom. Such is the case with Schopenhauer as well. The public found his radical pessimism interesting, that's why he became famous. The strength of logic had nothing to do with it. Actually, it was quite similar to The Sorrows of Young Werther and its popularity.

Maybe not true for all philosophy, sometimes proofs are more famous than the conclusion (like Descartes), but I think there's some truth to it.

[Anonymous No.21830686]

In philosophy, the value of an argument or a theory is not solely judged by its conclusions, but also by the soundness of its premises and the strength of its reasoning. Philosophers aim to develop and evaluate arguments that are logically coherent, well-supported by evidence, and able to withstand objections.

In other words, the process of philosophical inquiry involves critically analyzing and evaluating arguments, rather than simply accepting or rejecting them based on their conclusions. Even if a philosophical argument leads to a controversial or unexpected conclusion, it may still be considered valuable if it provides a new perspective or challenges prevailing assumptions.

Furthermore, philosophical debates often involve exploring and clarifying concepts, such as justice, freedom, and morality, which are complex and subject to different interpretations. In these cases, the value of philosophical inquiry lies in the process of examining and refining our understanding of these concepts, rather than in arriving at a definitive answer or conclusion.

Overall, in philosophy, the quality of an argument is judged by the strength of its premises and the validity of its reasoning, rather than solely by its conclusions.

[Anonymous No.21830710]

>>21830686
Can we ban this shit soon?