Philosophy: Who Needs It?

All truth is God's truth. Even when it is said by not-so-godly people.

I'd let you be the judge of how much truth the atheist Ayn Rand has to say on “Philosophy: Who Needs It?”:

"As a human being, you have no choice about the fact that you need a philosophy.
Your only choice is whether you define your philosophy by a conscious, rational, disciplined process of thought and scrupulously logical deliberation-- Or let your subconscious accumulate a junk heap of unwarranted conclusions, false generalizations, undefined contradictions, undigested slogans, unidentified wishes, doubts and fears, thrown together by chance, but integrated by your subconscious into a kind of mongrel philosophy and fused into a single, solid weight: self-doubt, like a ball and chain in the place where your mind’s wings should have grown."

Comments

adriank said…
I thank God that the truth is more than a logical conclusion. It is a living, responding person! And what a person he is! Yes, no more agonising and calculating without God! No more worrying if you've got it right without knowing someone is watching your back in case you don't! I hate thinking so much. I want to live. But I guess it's still important to use your brains to digest information ("Love God with all your mind"). Still, charismatics seem like happier people.
Dave said…
Well said, bro! We need more than 'mere logic' in our reflections, life has got so much more than just mental gymnastics... Other resources for reflection can come from beauty, relationships, music, creation, meditation, etc.

Dun abandon logic altogether though, in fact, nobody can, even if he or she tries.

Resolved: To live with all my might while i do live!
(Jonathan Edwards)
Leon Jackson said…
Actually funny, I feel more alive, more closer to God when I am doing mental gymnastics considering the truths of the Bible, thinking so hard, that I have to resurface for air every once in a while. The Bible is so full of such tremendous themes, sometimes I get a glimpse of something, and see it string through from the OT to the NT, and my feeble mind says "lets watch a movie" because I know that the depth I would have to plunge to, will consume me for a while, and it will be like flying in a jet and feeling the G-force, you don't feel like you'll make it, but you do.

It’s all consuming, its like childbirth, pain that seems fatal and then you give birth to something you nurture into a life long conviction and passion. I have spoken in tongues, I have taken off my shoes as I stood on holy ground that God Himself manifested Himself at, I have san the most tear jerking songs, but none of these have had as much impact in my life as when I have dared to let my puny mind, think thoughts after God.

I guess we are all wired differently.
Dave said…
While in Thailand, I've embarked on a book called, "Courage and Calling".. a crazy suggestion came up, maybe I should learn how to make clay pots!

Remember the movie "Ghost", when Demi Moore shaped clay with her hands to the haunting Unchained Melody? heheh!

The reason is this passage:
"...only as we learn to work with our hands, mastering a craft as a means of employment or as a form of recreation, are we truly integrated with our bodies".

Yes, when we embrace God's calling in our lives, who we truly we are, we don't need to apologize for the way God has wired us.
Shih Chung said…
> Other resources for reflection can come from beauty

I like this ;)

On a more serious note, while it's true we are wired differently, we are still made of the same parts. Which means we have at least some capacity to consider and appreciate both the rational and the emotional.
Dave said…
You must have glimpsed on some revelations of glory while in the beautiful land of Japan, huh? heheh...

http://lsctravel.blogspot.com

Simply can't rationally believe there is nothing more to life than atoms and energy, when I see relationships so beautiful that they make your heart ache.