"The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it"
- Bertrand Russell
About this Quote
This quote by Bertrand Russell talks to the nature of approach and its purpose. Viewpoint is a discipline that seeks to understand the world and our location in it. It is a process of questioning and exploring concepts, and it typically leads to unexpected conclusions. The quote recommends that viewpoint starts with something so basic that it may not seem worth specifying, however through the process of expedition and questioning, it can cause something paradoxical and unexpected. This is the appeal of philosophy; it can take us to locations we never ever expected to go. It can challenge our presumptions and assist us to think in new and imaginative ways. Eventually, philosophy is a journey of discovery, and it can lead us to unexpected and sometimes paradoxical conclusions.
"I think philosophers can do things akin to theoretical scientists, in that, having read about empirical data, they too can think of what hypotheses and theories might account for that data. So there's a continuity between philosophy and science in that way"
"What I mean by photographing as a participant rather than observer is that I'm not only involved directly with some of the activities that I photograph, such as mountain climbing, but even when I'm not I have the philosophy that my mind and body are part of the natural world"
