Philosophy Discussion Forums

Kings are born in palaces, not in stables. Virgins do not give birth. Poor is not rich. Death is not birth.

Still, (from the song "O Holy Night"):

"A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn...."

Merry Christmas!

Ecurb,

Kings are born in palaces, not in stables. Virgins do not give birth. Poor is not rich. Death is not birth.

I question some of your ideas buddy. What defines kings is not where they are born, but their bloodline. Virgins don’t give birth, I agree with you there. People can be materially rich, but in terms of the qualities they possess, very poor. Death is certainly not birth, but if you take the Christian doctrine as an allegory, I’m sure that you get the point. Religions are not based on empirical facts, rather they are concerned with purported aspects of life, be that experiential and/or spiritual. If you examine a religion looking for hard proof of the things they purport, you’ll just end up seeing it as a load of rubbish.

Ecurb wrote: ↑December 24th, 2020, 10:06 pm Kings are born in palaces, not in stables. Virgins do not give birth. Poor is not rich. Death is not birth.

Still, (from the song "O Holy Night"):

"A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn...."

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Ecurb wrote: ↑December 24th, 2020, 10:06 pm Kings are born in palaces, not in stables. Virgins do not give birth. Poor is not rich. Death is not birth.

Still, (from the song "O Holy Night"):

"A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn...."

Merry Christmas!

It's only a story, so why worry about it?

Fanman wrote: ↑December 25th, 2020, 5:59 am Ecurb,

Kings are born in palaces, not in stables. Virgins do not give birth. Poor is not rich. Death is not birth.

I question some of your ideas buddy. What defines kings is not where they are born, but their bloodline.

Not even that.
Real kings make themselves. Their decendants are just lucky.

Sculptor1 wrote: ↑December 25th, 2020, 10:14 am

It's only a story...

"Only"?

Myths resonate when they embody personal histories writ large. On Christmas a baby was born to save us from our sins and give us eternal life. Those of us who are parents know that our own babies have, in fact, saved us from our sins and given us eternal life. Thus,

"A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn...."

"Only a story!" Only one of those creations that makes us human, and helps us look forward to each glorious dawn with new hope. Especially on Christmas.


By the way, here's a Christmas Poem from Joyce Kilmer (author of the much lampooned "Trees") which was written a few days before he was swhot and killed in no-man's land in WWI. He appears to agree with my take on the resonance of Christmas, and a mother's kisses are a fitting crown for any king:

Wartime Christmas
Joyce Kilmer - 1886-1918

Led by a star, a golden star,
The youngest star, an olden star,
Here the kings and the shepherds are,
Akneeling on the ground.
What did they come to the inn to see?
God in the Highest, and this is He,
A baby asleep on His mother’s knee
And with her kisses crowned.

Now is the earth a dreary place,
A troubled place, a weary place.
Peace has hidden her lovely face
And turned in tears away.
Yet the sun, through the war-cloud, sees
Babies asleep on their mother’s knees.
While there are love and home—and these—
There shall be Christmas Day.

Ecurb wrote: ↑December 25th, 2020, 11:42 am

Sculptor1 wrote: ↑December 25th, 2020, 10:14 am

It's only a story...

"Only"?

Myths resonate when they embody personal histories writ large.

Yes, only.
In fact its only an OLD story.
It's totally out of date and uses the logic of sacrificel; virginity; purity; divinity all of which employ cultural logic which no longer makes any sense in the modern day.
There's much more truth in Lord of the RIngs.

Ecurb wrote: ↑December 24th, 2020, 10:06 pm Kings are born in palaces, not in stables. Virgins do not give birth. Poor is not rich. Death is not birth.

Still, (from the song "O Holy Night"):

"A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn...."

Merry Christmas!

Obviously you Ecurb are no fan of religion.

Remember though, as Bertrand Russell said, you must always keep philosophy, religion, and science separated.

They have nothing in common.

h_k_s,

Remember though, as Bertrand Russell said, you must always keep philosophy, religion, and science separated.

I agree with this sentiment. Philosophy requires an open-mind, religion requires giving up on your autonomy, and science requires the following of a strict, proven method.

Intrinsically, they function in different ways, which also seem to contradict each other in various ways. If you try to combine them, they cannot be facilitated in a way that will get the best or right results.

Fanman wrote: ↑December 26th, 2020, 2:34 am h_k_s,

Remember though, as Bertrand Russell said, you must always keep philosophy, religion, and science separated.

I agree with this sentiment. Philosophy requires an open-mind, religion requires giving up on your autonomy, and science requires the following of a strict, proven method.

Intrinsically, they function in different ways, which also seem to contradict each other in various ways. If you try to combine them, they cannot be facilitated in a way that will get the best or right results.

One can thoroughly combine science and philosophy, but should one? Keeping them separate may be a good idea, by not getting any real answers, the illusion of hope is more easily maintained.

Atla,

One can thoroughly combine science and philosophy, but should one? Keeping them separate may be a good idea, by not getting any real answers, the illusion of hope is more easily maintained.

This doesn’t make a lick of sense to me. Care to expound?

Guess not.

Fanman wrote: ↑December 26th, 2020, 9:54 am Guess not.

Ignorance is bliss for most people, lacking the ability to combine science and philosophy may be a lucky personality trait for most people.

Atla,

Ignorance is bliss for most people, lacking the ability to combine science and philosophy may be a lucky personality trait for most people.

This doesn’t make clear to me what you initially said, but if you don’t want to expound, that’s fine. I was just interested in how science and philosophy could be combined. As in, what role could philosophy play in science?

Ecurb wrote: ↑December 24th, 2020, 10:06 pm Virgins do not give birth.

Have you not heard of parthenogenesis? According to Wikipedia, it occurs in all kinds of creatures, including humans.

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!