Is reading philosophy a waste of time?

[GroovyGuru]

I really love reading about a very wide variety of subjects because I enjoy gaining a broader understanding of reality and dipping my toes in as much as I can while I'm here. Lately I've been trying to read about some of the greatest philosophers who have lived and as I was sat here reading I began wondering if it's just a waste of time.

I am genuinely curious about what some of the greatest minds to have ever lived have to say about how they think societies should be structured, what the purpose of life is, what reality is fundamentally made out of etc... but I've become such a firm believer that direct experience is the only real mechanism of truth that when I read about Spinoza's metaphysics for example I'm sat there wondering "Well where did he even come up with this stuff, aren't these all just ideas?" All these philosophers are super interesting and had interesting ideas, but they were just ideas, weren't they? 

Am I just better off spending my time actually trying to obtain direct experience? Or is there actual value in reading and contemplating some of the great minds like Plato, Kant, Nietzsche, Voltaire, Lock etc... I find philosophy most interesting when there are bits of the teaching that seem non-dual and spiritual, such in the case as Pythagoras, Plotinus, Parmenides and probably some others.

[Thewritersunion]

The best books you could ever read 

[electroBeam]

[Roy]

Absolutely not! You need to have your own philosophies of life constantly challenged and introduced to new ideas and perspectives, as well as have new information/theories to cross validate or invalidate old information/theories.

It's an intimately personal and independent avenue. You need to understand this stuff at your own pace and in your own way, it's a huge trap to submit to how others are telling you how to do it or what to believe.

As much as direct experience and getting out of your "mind" is important in this work it's also wise to acknowledge you ARE going to spend a lot of time and energy in your life in the domain of mind, so wouldn't it be a good idea to sharpen it?

Edited November 2, 2020 by Roy

[Preety_India]

It's kinda okay. 

[Apparition of Jack]

It depends where you're at and what your goals are IMO. If you're just starting out personal development / spiritual growth, it's probably very helpful to read philosophy, history, sociology etc. so that you can get a feel for concepts like epistemology, ethics, metaphysics, etc. Also learning about the dominant cultural ideas and historical trends that influence your society can be very helpful for "seeing through the matrix" so to speak and it'll help you understand just why people in your society think and act the way they do.

I know in my own life, I developed a LOT by reading critiques of capitalism, works on sociology, history artciles about major events that have occurred (and some not-so-major ones), and so on. There's so much interesting stuff happening under the surface of people's assumptions that 99% of people will never notice simply because they haven't been made aware of it.

With that being said, there's probably a time when you'll need to let go of your reliance on these things and start to come up with ideas on your own, or even better, let go of analytical thinking entirely. Thinking itself can become an addiction, which is something Leo helped point out to me, lol. Eventually if you develop yourself enough you simply begin to appreciate the present moment for what it is without the need to constantly deconstruct everything.

So really it's up to you. If you're still getting value from reading big ideas then keep doing that. But if you feel like you'd rather focus on more direct experience at this point, then focus on that. Basically trust the process and the rest will sort itself out.

[Leo Gura]

If you took our word for it, that wouldn't be direct experience, would it?

Ironically, reading the mental masturbations of old dead white men is the best way to directly experience mental masturbation 

[Lyubov]

Yeah, the way it’s taught in university it is. Total waste of time and $60,000. Doing it in your free time can lead to some insights however. Just as much garbage in that field as there is gold though.

[Megan Alecia]

No. The good ones are like the Beatles but written on paper. That's the best way I can describe it lol. 

Edited November 2, 2020 by Megan Alecia
I meant to say no :0

[Parththakkar12]

8 hours ago, GroovyGuru said:

I really love reading about a very wide variety of subjects because I enjoy gaining a broader understanding of reality and dipping my toes in as much as I can while I'm here. Lately I've been trying to read about some of the greatest philosophers who have lived and as I was sat here reading I began wondering if it's just a waste of time.

I am genuinely curious about what some of the greatest minds to have ever lived have to say about how they think societies should be structured, what the purpose of life is, what reality is fundamentally made out of etc... but I've become such a firm believer that direct experience is the only real mechanism of truth that when I read about Spinoza's metaphysics for example I'm sat there wondering "Well where did he even come up with this stuff, aren't these all just ideas?" All these philosophers are super interesting and had interesting ideas, but they were just ideas, weren't they? 

Am I just better off spending my time actually trying to obtain direct experience? Or is there actual value in reading and contemplating some of the great minds like Plato, Kant, Nietzsche, Voltaire, Lock etc... I find philosophy most interesting when there are bits of the teaching that seem non-dual and spiritual, such in the case as Pythagoras, Plotinus, Parmenides and probably some others.

Let your curiosity take you where it wants to take you. Your curiosity will never let you down! Your intuition will never let you down. Grow in whichever direction you want to grow. One day, it will help your life in ways you won't even realize!

[Dryas]

https://plato.stanford.edu/

https://iep.utm.edu/

^ And that's all you probably need.

[DocWatts]

Not a waste of time at all. If nothing else, reading pivotal thinkers like Marx or Plato will give you historical context and a deeper understanding of ideas which have shaped the world we live in.

The whole concept of Epistemology came out of philosophy; ditto for science which was at one point known as Natural Philosophy. Every political system that exists today has roots in philosophical ideas of 'the dead old white men' that were decried earlier (and yes Leo, this will eventually include you as well. ? ).

Also realize thay you can entertain a philosophy without necessarily believing in it. No sane person would want to live in Plato's Republic, but I'd argue understanding that work is important because of how much it's shaped the last few thousand years of history in the West.

[Leo Gura]

2 minutes ago, DocWatts said:

and yes Leo, this will eventually include you as well.

Luckily I'm not a man