Is Philosophy Pretentious?

[TortureMeOnReplay 5,030]

I'm currently taking a Philosophy course and whenever I open any assignment I always get the impression that everything from the course material is pretentious. So far we have studied "What the Tortoise Said to Achilles" and the Theories of Truth (Correspondence Theory, Coherence Theory, and Pragmatic Theory). We've also learned a little about some modern philosophers and their views. I almost never understand what the stories try to teach because it seems like a snobby way of wording basic understandings, and even then the theories don't make sense. I went into this class looking for real life answers but nothing within this seems relatable. Am I being taught BS or is there a practical side to Philosophy? Just trying to see if maybe it's just me or if I need to get a better perspective.

[Sneaky Oliver 20,096]

Well Philosophy learning and theories have mostly originated from ancient times so I wouldn’t expect a more casual language. the thing is: you can analyze how those theories actually apply to real life! 
 

It’s mostly based on thoughts so I’d say it’s more abstract than practical. Perhaps the one science you’re searching for is Psychology!  It analyses the real life and how the human thinking and behavior actually has reasons why to be that way.

[Reality 65,739]

I'm sorry, but if you're going into a philosophy class trying to find practical, real-life answers, then you shouldn't be taking it

Personally, I really like philosophy. I don't think it's pretentious; I just think that because some people may have a harder time understanding it, they view it as "pretentious." 

It's sorta like ARTPOP in that sense  A lot of people viewed it as some pretentious, "high brow," artsy, fartsy stuff, but I thought it was really clever and interesting. 

[TortureMeOnReplay 5,030]

6 minutes ago, Sneaky Oliver said:

Well Philosophy learning and theories have mostly originated from ancient times so I wouldn’t expect a more casual language. the thing is: you can analyze how those theories actually apply to real life! 
 

It’s mostly based on thoughts so I’d say it’s more abstract than practical. Perhaps the one science you’re searching for is Psychology!  It analyses the real life and how the human thinking and behavior actually has reasons why to be that way.

I do like the abstract ideas to a degree, but I wish I could think of real life applications of anything I've learned so far. I don't need it to apply to single ideas, and a bigger picture is interesting, but what we have been taught so far seems pretty pointless. I'm a Psychology major

 

5 minutes ago, M Monstre said:

I'm sorry, but if you're going into a philosophy class trying to find practical, real-life answers, then you shouldn't be taking it

Personally, I really like philosophy. I don't think it's pretentious; I just think that because some people may have a harder time understanding it, they view it as "pretentious." 

It's sorta like ARTPOP in that sense  A lot of people viewed it as some pretentious, "high brow," artsy, fartsy stuff, but I thought it was really clever and interesting. 

I really don't like generalizing the entire topic to being pretentious, but any encounter I've had with the subject has been pretentious. I also don't want to dismiss the topic ENTIRELY because I'm sure there are some things to be learned. I do admit I have a hard time understanding it, but any attempt to find answers that might help me leads me to places that do nothing but confuse me further. I've tried several Reddit pages looking for discussions, and was never able to find anything. I kind of wish it could be explained in simpler terms. I wish I didn't have to take the class, but the alternative is a foreign language (I've seen how those classes work online and just no thanks).

[DavidLuis198 784]

I don't think philosophy is pretentious, but some people who study it are...

[FfFfFfFF 54,014]

There are for sure Philosophers or people that study Philosophy that are pretentious so I can see where you are coming from..

That said, the discipline itself is generally like every other discipline, just like Psychology and Sociology. They have a lot of theories, debates and ideas and you can learn plenty of things for them.

Your perception of the discipline is also very dependent on how your particular course is structured. 

[Seeka 12,372]

I've always enjoyed philosophy when applied creatively. Many sci-fi, dystopian anime I watch are very heavy on philosophy. 

Though that's not what you're looking for is it?

Idk. Philosophy is one of those things that always end in deep rumination. It's not something easy to lighten up. 

But most of the time I see it applied creatively. Not sure if it has that many real life uses. 

[Reality 65,739]

1 minute ago, justhislife said:

I really don't like generalizing the entire topic to being pretentious, but any encounter I've had with the subject has been pretentious. I also don't want to dismiss the topic ENTIRELY because I'm sure there are some things to be learned. I do admit I have a hard time understanding it, but any attempt to find answers that might help me leads me to places that do nothing but confuse me further. I've tried several Reddit pages looking for discussions, and was never able to find anything. I kind of wish it could be explained in simpler terms. I wish I didn't have to take the class, but the alternative is a foreign language (I've seen how those classes work online and just no thanks).

If it confuses you, I'd say that that's a good thing! Philosophy doesn't have a lot of straight-forward answers. That's just the nature of the class. It's not like math where there is a specific solution to a specific problem. It's a lot more open-ended and general. 

I took a class similar to philosophy in my freshman year of college, and to be honest, at first I wasn't really into it, but I lucked out and got a really good professor who was passionate about the subject material and had awesome reading material that was both entertaining to read and interesting to analyze. 

[Kermit the frog 1,761]

I don't mean to be offensive or ehem... pretentious, but the fact that you're asking this question makes me think you haven't properly understood what philosophy is yet - it's the art of thinking, history of ideas. As someone said above, it's good to read philosophy (not ABOUT philosophy) through the lens of your own experience. Try with philosophizing writers first, there's no better exemplification of philosophy than a good novel. 

[TortureMeOnReplay 5,030]

7 minutes ago, M Monstre said:

If it confuses you, I'd say that that's a good thing! Philosophy doesn't have a lot of straight-forward answers. That's just the nature of the class. It's not like math where there is a specific solution to a specific problem. It's a lot more open-ended and general. 

I took a class similar to philosophy in my freshman year of college, and to be honest, at first I wasn't really into it, but I lucked out and got a really good professor who was passionate about the subject material and had awesome reading material that was both entertaining to read and interesting to analyze. 

Oh I definitely understand it shouldn't be completely straight-forward. I do like being left asking myself questions and wondering things, but this class in particular and the material my professor has chosen might just not be it. He doesn't seem too invested in teaching us as we're over halfway through the course and we have only learned about the Theories of Truth and What Philosophy Is (Mostly bits of terminology). I wonder if I had a better professor if I might have a better understanding.

[Massive Monster 4,426]

I also took philosophy and if taught properly it is the exact opposite of snobby. It's not a course on how to think and live your life though... it's a study of works/ideas and philosophers, on knowledge, reality, existence etc I remember loving Descartes' approach of doubting everything in life however he ended up his approach by stating the only thing you can't doubt is the existence of God. I was disappointed by this paradoxal conclusion but it really shows what philosophy is all about: being critical. 

[Sunny 12,174]

Philosophy doesn't give you real answers (it's the basics of philosophy that there are no "real answers"), it helps you, by learning about other people's theories and approaches, formulate your own look on life. Ancient philosophy is more based on metaphysical themes (truth, knowledge, time....), and that can seem pretentious. But it is nonetheless interesting to look into such simple ideas.

If you'd like more "concrete" answers on life and life's problem, look into epicureanism, stoicism (all from ancient Greece), enlightenment, Immanuel Kant, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, post-modernism...

[Chromatography 9,533]

21 minutes ago, justhislife said:

I wonder if I had a better professor if I might have a better understanding.

i think expecting to understand philosophy after one intro course is a little much. philosophy is lumped into one big category when it’s many different kinds of philosophy within. it’s like expecting to understand biology when all you’re looking at is evolutionary biology and not microbiology, biochemistry, etc as well 

[Gagaism 8,605]

I really appreciate all about philosophy, it explains lots of people common actions and would be very useful to relate it in better ways about real life at least for some aspects if it was taken more seriously. 

[PoetsTryinWrite 1,262]

No.