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Cigar Mike,

Here are a few of my own personal definitions related to the subjects of: philosophers, politicians, and psychiatrists:

Philosopher: The most useless and the most dangerous critter on two legs. Useless because virtually all of them, from Aristotle to Ayn Rand, make pronouncements on "the way, the truth, and the life" of the universe, with nothing but a bunch of navel-gazing that's 100%+ divorced (or nearly so) from reality or authentic human experience to back it up. Dangerous because they try to get everybody to buy into their proclamation of "what is real".

Politician: A philosopher with a group of armed thugs (i.e. cops, armed forces, etc.) to back him up.

Psychiatrist: A philosopher with a prescription pad.

You guys have philosophers and sophists confused. The unexamined life is not worth living.

Obama is an apprentice sophist, sophomoric at best.

Back to the show, "Boy, when you die at the palace, you really DIE at the palace!"

jlulx,

While I agree that a life lived mindlessly (my interpretation of that famous quote) is scarcely worth living, there's a difference IMO between thinking on what you do and why, and navel-gazing. Most philosophers (again, IMO) engage in the latter. That's just how I see it.

I hear you, Peshkatari, but, in defense of Aristotle (and true philosophers), he would say that if you're not really pursuing truth and wisdom then you're not really philosophizing. The doctor who kills his patient is not really a doctor. The dramatic setting of Plato's dialogues is the struggle between philosophy and sophistry, which is what politicians, demagogues, and their ilk engage in. So, it's a bit of an unfair and ironic charge. Navel-gazing reminds me of Woody Allen, another philosopher wannabe.

Sophistry = Democrat Party

The Democrats use sophistry to advance their socialist agenda.

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