Should Philosophy Be Studied In High School?

They should show The Brain series by David Eagleman in all schools too.

I might have mentioned this before and I probably will again.

 

I remember Dr. Sceski's logic class at uni when this came up. Just about every student raised their hand with an example intended to dispute the law. Unfailingly he'd address each one, "You're referring to different points in time..." "those are different respects..."

Without it we might as well not even get out of bed in the morning. Both nothing and everything might be true and false simultaneously, rendering any attempt to seek what is as ultimately futile.

 

I thought about this again within the context of production/directorship of television series. It's interesting when the characters have to weigh these philosophical equations... whether to save their own life or that of their child who has been kidnapped for ransom. Television and cinema give us an opportunity to express our inclinations about such issues. A true mode of philosophical expression!

 

Descartes' problem is that western culture goes to elaborate lengths to avoid discussing bullshit. Feynman said, "We are attempting to prove ourselves wrong as fast as we can, for only in that way can we hope to make faster progress". Sun Tzu said know thy enemy, and that means comprehending their lowbrow slapstick.

 

(ponders)

But what *is* homework?

 

in an open and non-authoritative way, absolutely why not?

 

Why do they call it homework anyway? It's not like you're working on your home.

 

to the extent that your planet is your extended home, in a way you are (working on your home)

 

To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?

 

I took philosophy in college and, while interesting, got nothing useful out of it. They should instead teach parenting, birth control methods and personal finance. A class on pulling up one's pants, wearing a cap properly and finding a job would be nice too.

 

I feel like Philosophy is more of an elective, and that the focus in high school should be on general education; the nitty gritty math, history, science, and English. That sort of thing.

 

Mmm... i guess i don't see much importance in it to see it as a mandatory subject.

 

Keep in mind, some philosophers were essentially multi-faceted experts of their day, some were really accomplished scientists and mathematicians.

Philosophy has some very practical and useful applications to other paradigms today, for instance computer programming.
This basic type of if-else conditional statement in the javascript panel below, which based on the truthiness of the conditions, "decides" the output read in the string sentence panel is taught in philosophy. While it can be understood through math too, for some who are more linguistic oriented, the philosophical approach to learning such statements might be more comprehensible compared to the math approach. Kind of analogous to visual learners vs verbal learners.

Obviously one could just take Computer programming to learn it but syntax can vary between different computer languages, so having a foundational understanding of the concepts can be useful and that is something that extends into the realm of philosophy.