So what could that question even mean, other than whether there is some independently real thing which appears to us as a cow? — Janus
It is surprising how much interest these kinds of strictly ambiguous and undecidable questions generate. — Janus
Here is a good place to start for philosophical discussions about the concept of the Ultimate. It's not perfect, but it's something:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/god-ultimates/ — Arcane Sandwich
I guess it can only mean something based on language and zoological classification. Which is fine for me. If there is a realm where cowness is found.. who cares? — Tom Storm
I guess it's all just another way to chase after a god surrogate. Ultimate truth being a conduit towards the Ultimate Concern, Tillich and other theist's term for god. — Tom Storm
On the other hand, I might enjoy thinking or reading about such questions just to see what the creative human imagination can come up with. — Janus
For me the only questions that approach "the ultimate concern" are 'how should I live?" and "how should I die", — Janus
To me philsophy primarily seems to be a creative way for us to manage anxiety. — Tom Storm
Do you really ask this kind of quesion, or does it come up indirectly through interactions with ideas and day to day living? — Tom Storm
But at it's core, philosophy is the acceptance of the reality of death. It has nothing to do with the love of wisdom. — Arcane Sandwich
I'd say that acceptance of the reality of death is wisdom, and cultivating that acceptance is the love of wisdom. — Janus
To tell you the truth I was diagnosed with schizophrenia some 22 years ago, I lost touch with reality; so it makes me wonder what is indeed real and what is not. — A Realist
BTW, I took both the red and blue pills... :-D — A Realist
My senses can deceive me, so if I cannot trust my senses, I might as well conclude that outside reality doesn't exist; It's just me and you; but if my senses cannot be always trusted then your existence must also might be an illusion.
As always, one can only deduce one truth: "I exist", whoever "I" is.. — A Realist
That's an unreasonal leap. Yes, your senses CAN deceive you, but that just implies your senses are fallible - not that they are completely untrustworthy.My senses can deceive me, so if I cannot trust my senses, I might as well conclude that outside reality doesn't exist; — A Realist
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