What is the Most Important Philosophical Question

As a philosopher I often find myself questioning the importance of other fields. I have met several psychology majors who were completely oblivious to the inner workings of their own minds, let alone other peoples’. I’ve met ineffective Math teachers who could not communicate with normal people. I’ve met engineers who made good money but were thoroughly unhappy with their jobs. As a philosopher it’s natural to question the importance of other fields because we do not want to waste our time with pointless work. But ironically it is very rare that I see philosophers questioning the purpose of philosophy. Before delving any further into philosophy, I thought it necessary to find the best starting point in philosophy.

The most important philosophical question… is it the same question for all of mankind, or is the most important philosophical question different for each person? Is philosophy important for the sake of mankind, or for my own sake? Should I use philosophy to examine how I live my life, or is it more important to examine the true nature of reality? Suicide, morality, God, the greatest good, these are all things that famous philosophers have claimed are the most important philosophical question. There are many possibilities, but I am not sure where to go from here. Hopefully you guys can help me out.

Or perhaps the most important philosophical question is in fact: “what is the most important philosophical question?”

a reply to: Wang Tang

In order to become complete (philosophically speaking) you need not to ask the question.

Believe in now a place with no need for an answer..

a reply to: Wang Tang

why?

What and who are we really?

Chicken or egg?

a reply to: Wang Tang

Always: Life? What for?

a reply to: Wang Tang

The most important philosophical question is the question of self . Then to look outward to the natural order of things and pose the other questions . A amazing thing about self is that it is community .We talk to ourselves which is first community .Family and society in the broader scope needs to keep the foundation of self in order to not stray away from the first principals . Although Sophism is a part of philosophical discussion it does not acknowledge the self as a community . It also denies any deity but is not really consistent in that ,weather looking at the natural world while claiming that all we can know is through our natural senses . Modern physics teaches us that our senses can not tell us the reality of reality . imo

I have only been looking into philosophy a very short time and am not capable of arguing it ,but do have a opinion that seems to move and change the more I study it .

a reply to: Wang Tang


When are humans going to understand and accept that their prime purpose for being is to get beyond the physical body?


Meaning, paradoxically if not cryptically , that life itself is inmaterial to what IS.

The most important...hmmmm Why are we here..... are we alone
Why are we here...... are we alone

We are here..... to find out if we are alone

a reply to: Aliensun

Meaning, paradoxically if not cryptically , that life itself is inmaterial to what IS.

I can go along with that and think that the material world is a kind of illusion that allows some to not believe .The unreal in the illusion is a more permanent and real reality that can be known but also ignored .

I feel there isn't really one question that will cover all aspects of human life.
After all, you ask someone a question who doesn't speak or read, write a word of english they won't understand you. If it's grammatically complex, it won't even be able to be translated.

Every person who has been on this planet will always ask questions. Wonder about something else, what if, etc.

I think the best way to describe us humans is curious for the most part. So the question that comes to mind is:
"What if...?" an open ended question that has potentially endless endings, and could begin endless conversation.

What if I want to become a software engineer?
What if the world was a flat?
What if the sky wasn't blue?
What if I hit this rock against this clam?
What if I throw this meat on this fire?

etc, etc.

Here's an interesting philosophical point from Wittgenstein:

Where does our investigation get its importance from, since it seems only to destroy everything interesting, that is, all that is great and important? (As it were all the buildings, leaving behind only bits of stone and rubble.) What we are destroying is nothing but houses of cards and we are clearing up the ground of language on which they stand. - Ludwig Wittgenstein

What is the most unimportant one? I would say it would be asking what is the most important one.

a reply to: Wang Tang

As a fellow philosopher it can be different based on society structure or lack of.

For a civil society it is the topic of duty. Specifically how should I act.

a reply to: zosimov

Ah Wittgenstein. Good.

He was a contemporary of the Logical Positivists, who claimed the main function of philosophy was to sharpen and clarify the concepts employed by the scientists. The Logical Positivists disregarded Metaphysics as meaningful in Philosophy. But Wittgenstein was a little different.

Here is another of his quotes.

"People say again and again that philosophy doesn't really progress, that we are still occupied with the same philosophical problems as were the Greeks. But the people who say that don't understand why this has to be so. It is because our language has remained the same and keeps seducing us into asking the same questions." -Wittgenstein

a reply to: Wang Tang

Applied sciences tend to disregard philosophy but, Popper certainly effected science in recent times. Cosmology in general still works closely with philosophy.

But I stand firmly by our lack of basic moral duty as basis for beliefs being a huge cause for civic decay. Without the ability to act on rational morality all other forms of thought are put into jeopardy by the return of survival based family tribal ideology.

When one understands the moral duty to the society and the governance regards the social cotract the ability to think freely is presented without the hindrance of survival based philosophy. When that falls apart the social contract freys and the kill or be killed philosophy returns which limits free thought.

The most important question to me is: Is the truth being kept from us for "their" benefit...or for our benefit?

a reply to: Wang Tang

all are equally important - because they all promote thinking [ hopefully logically ]

philosophy becomes mired [ my opinion ] when - one starts to assert that :

the contemplation of X is " somehow better " than the contemplation of Y

and when one further asserts that believing X is indeed better than Y

then one has drifted from philisophy into religion and dividing people along dogmatic " lines "

a reply to: Wang Tang

The foundation of philosophy is the answer to the simplest question.

Why? The second question. Is their a why?

Why are we here?
Love And virtue?
Material and pleasure?

Choose your philosophy. One leads to Nirvana, the other is insatiable.

originally posted by: Wang Tang

Or perhaps the most important philosophical question is in fact: “what is the most important philosophical question?”

WHO DO YOU TRUST?