Jean-Luc Picard's Greatest Challenge: Philosophy

"There is no greater challenge than the study of philosophy." When the captain of the Enterprise says it, you know it's in comparison to some serious challenges. From the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Samaritan Snare".

[@clattereffect]

take it from someone who has studied both engineering and philosophy, the writers giving picard those lines are exactly right in doing so and on the mark! The unexamined life is Not worth living, as Socrates once said, living and truly examined life is very difficult to do, is what picard or the writers meant! anyone with some focus and proper time management can study formula's or memorize them and get through engineering school, but studying true philosophy is a far greater challenge in life.

[@jimbopumbapigsticks]

@Altairograph Well, major scientific (and so ultimately engineering, I guess) advancement comes from philosophical reflection within and about science - challenging preconceived concepts, categories, and procedures used in science. The greatest scientists of the past century - Einstein, Planck, Bohr, Schrodinger, de Broglie - also took an interest in philosophy of science, because they did exactly that. Reflection which isn't practical now might one day have enormous practical importance.

[@kidindacardboardmask]

"There is no greater challenge than studying Philosophy."...or trying to slam a revolving door.

[@JoseSanchez-xj3xn]

Based on these ancient comment, I can see how ignorance has brought us to where we are now.

[@Carinthium]

@clattereffect In the real world, it would more depend on personality types- those strongly inclined one way or the other greatly differ obviously, so it's more a matter of where the typical person is.

[@luke00jordan]

If every statement within philosophy is unprovable, then even meta-philosophical statements like your own ought to be unprovable. It seems at least somewhat paradoxical to make a truth evaluable statement about philosophy, which states that philosophy is not truth evaluable.

[@ufgt1989]

@jaimeastorga2000 You're totally missing the point.

[@jaimeastorga2000]

I'd like to see the god damn writers dare to give Picard this line after trudging through and obtaining an engineering degree.

[@TheRhinehart86]

Hence why I closed the books, its pointless. Less philosophy, more virtue.

[@TheRhinehart86]

Ive never formally studied philosophy but I have done amateur study, in my opinion its the same as arguing about the existence or non-existence of god, you cant prove anything definitavely and if you try you just get stuck in an infinite loop of trying to define knowledge and trying to define the definition of knowledge, everything is equally valid if you argue it well enough, Id rather close the books and try live a happy life myself