Existential Comics' "Dungeons & Dragons & Philosophers"

[pemerton]

Using philosophical theories to inform real life behavior or anything remotely like it produces absurd results.

I, 1993 or thereabouts I read a footnote in Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State and Utopia that presents an argument in favour of vegetarianism. As a result, I've been vegetarian for around 20 years. Not particuarly absurd.

I could give other examples, too, from my own life or the lives of others, but that does run the risk of getting into politics/religion.

 

[Celebrim]

Interesting point about the lack of self-awareness from a low wisdom score. That rings rather true with some would be social theorists and philosophers I have met. Their arguements always ring hollow with me simply because I know their parents and how they were raised. They were near incapable of reaching different conclusions, so their logical constucts were always going to reach the same final conclusion regardless of the paths they took. Having a well expressed arguement amounts to nothing more than a lovely wrapping for a core belief system they were always going to hold regardless.

In one of Plato's dialogues, Socrates suggests that virtue and wisdom may not be teachable because he observes that parents are often not capable of imparting to their children their own virtues. (This would seem to indicate Socrates denies both nature and nurture.) I don't know that I agree with this, but I do agree with his observation that parents and children often hold different values.

There is always a danger to rationalizing why people who don't agree with you hold their beliefs. Did the children imitate their parents beliefs because they could not question or think for themselves, or did they imitate those beliefs because the parents laid the beliefs out to them in a logical and coherent method.

The interesting thing is, their argument are indeed well thought out, logical enough and coherent. If they had come from anybody else I would have held those arguments as having much more merit. As such, the fault lays with me I am sure, it's funny how humans work.

Self-awareness is good. Humans are indeed funny.

 

[Mishihari Lord]

I, 1993 or thereabouts I read a footnote in Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State and Utopia that presents an argument in favour of vegetarianism. As a result, I've been vegetarian for around 20 years. Not particuarly absurd.

I suppose that depends on one's opinion of vegetarianism. (kidding)

I could give other examples, too, from my own life or the lives of others, but that does run the risk of getting into politics/religion.

Seriously though, I don't dismiss philosophy entirely. But there are many ways people seek after wisdom - philosophy, religion, personal experience, common wisdom, case studies, leaders, etc, etc - and of these I find that philosophy is the one with the least utility to me by a very wide margin. Too much extrapolating on too little real world experience. But as you said, going in depth here would require, at least for me, detailed discussion of religion, which means that we can't pursue it here.

 

[pemerton]

there are many ways people seek after wisdom - philosophy, religion, personal experience, common wisdom, case studies, leaders, etc, etc - and of these I find that philosophy is the one with the least utility to me by a very wide margin.

There's not doubt that different people find ideas and inspiration in different places.

 

[Neonchameleon]

Dresden Codak has also done Dungeons and Discourse and Advanced Dungeons and Discourse.

 

[pemerton]

Dresden Codak has also done Dungeons and Discourse and Advanced Dungeons and Discourse.

I hadn't seen the second one.

The comics linked in the OP probably shed more light on the philosophers featured (except Quine!), but I think these one overall might be funnier.