Philosophy Now Forum

Jaded Sage wrote:What makes a thought deep?

Jules Verne

-Imp

duszek wrote:Why is a man like Hobbes reluctant to provide a sort of answer that Jaded Sage would like to get ?



This is supposed to be a deep question.
Serious, insightful, complex to understand, requiring thorough thinking and promoting wisdom, mainly in the area of emotional intelligence.

The deep answer to this question that I could produce looks better when not spelled out.

Have you heard of the phrase 'falling on deaf ears"?
If you follow the whole thread you will see that I have answered all that is required.

Yes, you sort of have.
But Jaded Sage wanted you to be a good pupil and to apply the list of criteria provided by Rist to the thoughts under examination. One by one.
But he has not enough authority over you so you did it your way.

I can be wrong of course but that´s how I see the emotional constellation at the moment.

Aphorisms and allusions provide deep insights and are a challenge because the meaning is not obvious at first or even appears to be a contradiction sometimes.

From the local paper:

Wer weniger vom Leben erwartet, genießt es mehr.
Norman Mailer (1923-2007)

= Who expects less from life enjoys it more.

Man findet Vergnügen nur selten dort, wo man es sucht.
David Lloyd George (1863-1945)

= You find pleasure only rarely there where you look for it.

Really ? I usually know from experience where I can find pleasure so I can arrange the circumstances for the pleasure to happen. But perhaps I am under an illusion. Perhaps I don´t remember the disappointments.

duszek wrote:Is an allusion a deep thought par excellence ?

A lot of people keep saying stuff like that. I wholeheartedly disagree. What the hell is that about, lol?

The Inglorious One wrote:

Jaded Sage wrote:What makes a thought deep?

I dunno, but I know it when I see it.

Same here. I think most of us do. I'd like to have a little bit more though.

Jaded Sage wrote:

duszek wrote:Is an allusion a deep thought par excellence ?

A lot of people keep saying stuff like that. I wholeheartedly disagree. What the hell is that about, lol?

An allusion is not easily understood so one needs to make an effort to grasp it.
The truth contained in an allusion is hidden like on the bottom of a deep lake.
That´s why the thought is .... deep !

duszek wrote:

Jaded Sage wrote:

duszek wrote:Is an allusion a deep thought par excellence ?

A lot of people keep saying stuff like that. I wholeheartedly disagree. What the hell is that about, lol?

An allusion is not easily understood so one needs to make an effort to grasp it.
The truth contained in an allusion is hidden like on the bottom of a deep lake.
That´s why the thought is .... deep !

Also I guess there is that stuff about the ineffable. They say it can't be described directly.

Other than that, I think we now have good reason to discard that definition.

If you are in a hurry make a detour.

A Japanese saying.

Because that way you have time to calm down and to switch from the unhealthy mode of existence (hurry) to a healthy one ?

Japs live long lives, they might know.

duszek wrote:If you are in a hurry make a detour.

A Japanese saying. .

"Short cuts makes for long delays", Bilbo Baggins.

Start with a stupid one then bury it!

Does a deep though have to be heavy ?

One philosopher was very much against the spirit of heaviness and praised lightness.
He adored dancing girls.

IMO A deep thought is one that has many implications and perhaps alters one's perception of the world.

In this definition, a deep thought would necessarily have to be simple, yet powerful.

duszek wrote:Does a deep though have to be heavy ?

One philosopher was very much against the spirit of heaviness and praised lightness.
He adored dancing girls.

I suppose you mean like serious or playful. I see no reason to think there cannot be a thought that is both playful and deep. Then again, I come to this entire enterprise with an air of playfulness, so maybe it is just I who am playful and not the subject matter. I suppose we can be playful about serious things, but then it doesn't seem to matter much whether the subject is playful or not.

A_Seagull wrote:IMO A deep thought is one that has many implications and perhaps alters one's perception of the world.

In this definition, a deep thought would necessarily have to be simple, yet powerful.

Often, it is good to start by stating certainties. I am certain it does not necessarily follow from that definition that a deep thought must be simple.

I wonder if having a poweful effect (altering world-perception, in this case) is what makes something powerful.

As far as implications are concerned, while I would agree that any idea that has exciting and unexpected implications is almost certainly a 'good' thought, I do not think the number matters, nor I do not think that means it is a 'deep' thought.

• Perhaps deep thoughts alter world-perception. Is it the nature of a deep thought to do so, or is it, if deep thoughts are rare, that their introduction often does so? I suppose you could say: is it the depth or the newness that alters world-perception.