Ben - [C/x]
@benersing
Random PM Musing: What's a philosophical question we wrestle with today, that our ancestors never did? Cc @july
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July
@july
Heraclitus: “you never step in the same river twice” The alternative is every question is different and every ancestor; every human fundamentally have wrestled with questions that were unique only to them and are not transmutable over different humans
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Ben - [C/x]
@benersing
The fact that we still read the Stoics, and all religious/spiritual texts, and find their contemplations mostly relevant, would suggest this isn't the case. No?
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July
@july
Though stoicism came during the Roman times where as Heraclitus was part of the pre Socratic, I’d argue your point stands Any thought that’s stood the test of time, whether that’s Lao Tze, Plato, Confucius, Aristotle, Siddartha Guatama, Mengzi, Vedic philosophers, Tao Te Ching - is worth anyone’s time imo
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Ben - [C/x]
@benersing
Certainly still worth people’s time. It does make me wonder though WHY we continue (re)answering the same questions over and over. As though we’re hardwired to search for that which cannot be known.
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July
@july
That’s a good question. Maybe it’s because the world itself keeps changing and the answers are in fact different even if we continue to ask the same questions The navigation system may not evolve that much but it’s surroundings continuously yielding a new wonderful answer every time
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Ben - [C/x]
@benersing
Could be. Do you think the Stoic’s answers are still true today? I'd be curious to hear an evolutionary anthropologist or psychologist’s take. Imagine the question may be better suited to them.
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July
@july
My take: any -ism at the end of the day is a good introductory narrative that we tell ourselves like F = ma to understand a subject deeper, because often reality is a lot more complicated and hard to get into That being said -- imo there are more classics to read than lifetimes to read them - and they ring true today
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