Maia wrote: ↑Wed May 31, 2023 5:49 amI came to it through an interest in Greek mythology, which led me to Atlantis, and then to Plato, which in turn led me to choose philosophy as one of my A-level subjects at school (that is, from age 16 to 18).
I was doing maths, physics and art at A level. I really wanted to know how the world works and assumed that maths and physics would be the route to take. I'd ask questions like 'Yeah, but what are subatomic particles made of?' or 'How does matter warp spacetime?' only to be told that they were philosophical questions. What sealed it was trudging through hydrodynamics and realising that if I want to know how liquids behave, all I have to do is turn on a tap. So I switched to philosophy; much more fun. The art was useful firstly because it teaches you to see what is actually there and, secondly, it gives you a template for how pretty much every human activity is pursued; ultimately we make choices for what amount to aesthetic reasons.
Maia wrote: ↑Wed May 31, 2023 5:49 amI came to it through an interest in Greek mythology, which led me to Atlantis, and then to Plato, which in turn led me to choose philosophy as one of my A-level subjects at school (that is, from age 16 to 18).
I was doing maths, physics and art at A level. I really wanted to know how the world works and assumed that maths and physics would be the route to take. I'd ask questions like 'Yeah, but what are subatomic particles made of?' or 'How does matter warp spacetime?' only to be told that they were philosophical questions. What sealed it was trudging through hydrodynamics and realising that if I want to know how liquids behave, all I have to do is turn on a tap. So I switched to philosophy; much more fun. The art was useful firstly because it teaches you to see what is actually there and, secondly, it gives you a template for how pretty much every human activity is pursued; ultimately we make choices for what amount to aesthetic reasons.
I certainly agree with making choices for aesthetic reasons, not through art, in my case, but rather, a sense of things fitting together, both literally, and metaphorically. If it feels right, then it is.
Maia wrote: ↑Fri Jun 02, 2023 10:24 amI certainly agree with making choices for aesthetic reasons, not through art, in my case, but rather, a sense of things fitting together, both literally, and metaphorically. If it feels right, then it is.
Part of art is composition. In philosophy you get to choose from a palette of propositions to paint your picture metaphorically, or more literally, construct an argument. The propositions we choose are often the ones that just feel right, the ones that fit who we are. I said template, perhaps metaphor would be better.