Philosophy Now Forum

Being that the struggle for survival was the predominate activity of the human species, throughout most of our existence, and all life forms that we are aware of, I think it should be noted how critical this aspect of our nature is, and take due note. I think it is a valid argument, that modern tech...

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With out passion, would we have ever develop reason above simple survival. Would we have ever started painting cave walls, and dreamed of building grand structures, mapping the stars?

I suspect not.

(Edit - Oops, 'be' should be 'we')

Yeah, we all build our unique perspective of this world, starting with what we know from childhood on, picking up our beliefs from our parents, and the people and the culture we grow up in. These days, especially in the western world, big media has more to do with shaping what we see as true more th...

Something else that has come up. Language is not our only means of communication for expressing our perspective of the truth. We can also communicate by example, and this is in fact the most powerful means of proving ones point, the accuracy of one's perspective of the truth. I argue that there is t...

Good stuff guys. Thanks I would like to add: There are very specific ways that we establish what is true, what is real. The biggest factor is repeat-ability. That is what the scientific method is all about. Most of what we know and believe was put together in our brains as infants, seeing, hearing, ...

I agree, the mind, like the body, gets stronger with exercise. There are many ways we can improve our ability to get at the truth. The broader our perspective, the more we experience and observe of the world, of course helps a great deal. How much we pay attention, how we evaluate the details, how w...

Our line of sight to the realities of this world, what we determine to be true, depends on more factors than we can ever account for. Everything we do, we base upon our perception of the truth, even when we try to run or hide from the truth. Our knowledge is limited, leaving us to make decisions bas...

duszek Where does the inner fire come from ? Is it possible to make it burn more brightly and devouringly ? Is it possible to make it go out ? To me, passion is something you have to go out and find. It is the result of the external acting on the internal. You must find fuel to feed your inner flame...

I don't think you can equate desire, wants, or needs to passion. They all have their distinctions, but passions tend to eclipse them all. I equate passion more with that inner fire that drives us when all else is lost.

reasonemotion I agree, I don't think you can discipline passion. Discipline, IMO, is an excellent virtue, but not a control mechanism for passion. More the opposite, it takes passion to become disciplined. Yeah, passion is usually not reasonable. Hmm, its always great to have a passionate ending, bu...

doolhoofd Thanks, the book is published online, so it is essentially self published. I had spoken to a few publishers and agents, and had some interest, but chose this route. I edited if for years, and decided to just get it out, and search for some feedback on the concepts. If anyone wants a copy, ...

Chaz I see passion as the partner to reason, the left to the right, the yin to the yang, so they are slaves to each other. Passion drives us to reason, and reason guides our passions, but passion steps first. Passion combined with reason is power, the ability to make things happen in this world, to ...

duszek Thanks for the reply. I think political correctness does quench our passion, when civil behavior should temper our passions. To me, it is important to have more than one passion, and we should know when to give up on some passions, and that can be accomplished through developing virtues. See ...

In my opinion Passion and Attitude are more important than beauty, intelligence, physical prowess, talent, or peace. Most of life is about maintaining our passion and approaching things with the right attitude. This is an area that most philosophies ignore, or treat only as a side notion. Peace is g...