To contemplate existence.

@drdoombot but to what ends?

@ABoyNamedBoobs03 The journey is more important than the destination.

To help us know more about who, how and why we are who we are. Philosophy is to help us learn about the aspects of ourselves which science can never teach us.

There is no function.
Luckily us humans are so smart we can have half of the people do stuff and the other half think about nothing, or draw a picture of a boat, and still continue as a species.

@drdoombot but is it?

Or does one assume the journey is the more vital simply because we are unaware of one’s end?

We can never know everything because we are limited in our perceptions. However, in our pursuit of knowledge, we can learn about ourselves.

to philosimatize things

Philosophy helps people to organize their thinking. It can be very useful when engaging in discussions about the relative worth or value of certain choices. Scientists and mathematicians make use of philosophical principles to help prioitize their work. Philosophers work to discover more accurate, effective ways of approaching problems.

I’m kind of disappointed that no one got my reference :-/

@YARNLADY ie. philosimatize things

j/k lurve

for all who might be curious. This question is from here

To discern the essence and form of “the good life” and the true nature of reality.

It is interesting that the word philosophy was created by two other Greek words, philos, which is one of the many classical Greek words that can be interpreted as “love” and sophia which means “wisdom”. Therefore philosophy can be defined as “the love of wisdom”, and a philosopher can be described as “one who loves wisdom”.

@ABoyNamedBoobs03 I got the reference, but on Fluther, the reason for questions is to get Jellies to discuss it, not to copy and past ancient philosophy.

@YARNLADY that’s what I was aiming for. Discussing Aristotle’s position on the subject, whether one agrees, disagrees, and why.

@ABoyNamedBoobs03 Then your question is very poorly worded.

@YARNLADY “What is the Function of the Philosopher” is one of Aristotle’s essential questions, it was a direct reference that happened to go over a couple people’s heads.

The function of the philosopher is to improve human existence. Philosophy is our most valuable tool in ethics, in understanding the social implications of science, and finding a more useful mindset in which we can reach greater understanding.

No surprise that I didn’t catch a philosopher’s philosophical philosophicalizing. I think the fact that the reference went right over my head shows how well I’ve done on not worrying about philosophy.

@ABoyNamedBoobs03, I agree with @YARNLADY. Your question is poorly structured in that there is no supporting direction given. You cannot be disappointed if you don’t provide the construct to determine the direction you would like the question to take.

@ABoyNamedBoobs03 The function of a philosopher,in my humble opinion, is to make ‘considered sense’ of existence, and to convey his/her findings to others, for their benefit.
As for what Aristotle was on about, I’ve yet to find the time to find out.
But I believe that he was pretty cool, by all accounts.

haha yes, a pretty cool dude indeed.

I views have always been that a philosopher ’philosophizes’ ;) to acquire a worth-while appreciation of existence.

I’d like to add more but this philosopher has a pretty girl to ponder with tonight. I’ve got some points I’d like to bring up later though.

The function of the Philosopher was to do the heavy lifting for Aquinas. The function of philosophers in general is to subsist without having to earn a living.

To feed himself by confusing everyone enough to make sales on his/her self help books, and merchandise.