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Does a philosophical life have a higher value than a life devoid of thought?

שו”תCategory: philosophyDoes a philosophical life have a higher value than a life devoid of thought?
asked 6 years ago

peace,
Do you think there is value (moral or religious) in philosophical pursuits? Not as an act of psychological necessity to understand the world, but as a moral, perhaps even religious, act?
If so, I would love to hear a reason why you think philosophy is a valuable pursuit.
thanks


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מיכי Staff answered 6 years ago
I don’t think there is religious value in this, but I also don’t accept the concept of religious value except for halacha. Values ​​that go beyond halacha are by definition universal (although their foundation is in God’s will, as far as I understand it. See the fourth notebook of the 3rd century). In my opinion, there is value in this, as in all wisdom. It is a bit difficult to answer the question why, for two reasons: 1. Every value cannot be rationalized (it is the basic ethical premise). Why is there value in human life? Like this. 2. The answer itself will make use of wisdom, and therefore it seems absurd to me to demand an explanation of why wisdom is important.

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שי זילברשטיין replied 6 years ago

Rabbi Michi,
Apparently, one could say that studying philosophy is an occupation of correcting one's morals. Through philosophical occupation, one acquires for oneself the moral character of a thinking person, and not a follower.
Agree?

Rabbi Schach has already said: “There is no greater sin than being stupid”.

מיכי Staff replied 6 years ago

It is possible. But it is strange to talk about the value of correcting one's habits to become a thinking person without giving value to the content of thinking itself. If its content has no value, what is the value of being a thinking person?

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