Copyright (C) 2018 Dennis Joe Darland
I think philosophy is so difficult, because philosophers so often insist on deductive arguments when none can or should be expected. Even philosophers who recognize this impossibility make the mistake. They concoct some possible world in which a philosophical theory fails and claim it proves the theory cannot be accepted in this world. Mind, matter, etc. are subjects in this world – not any possible world. The only subject which seems true in any possible world is logic, and that is precisely because it says nothing about the world. I think modern logic should be regarded as a species of mathematics. Philosophy mostly concerns speculations in subjects which go beyond current science. Maybe science will never get there – we cannot know – there is no guarantee. Most science started as philosophical speculation. The philosophy of logic is not yet science – neither is philosophy of science.
I think this mistake springs from a desire for certainty which is unobtainable. I think it is why some people are susceptible to authoritarian rulers or religions. Or are so insistent on uncertain theories in philosophy. The root of this may be our helplessness and dependence as children.