Biosophy

Biosophy

Biosophy, meaning "wisdom of life", is a humanist movement heavily influenced by the 17th-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza. It is "the science and art of intelligent living based on the awareness and practice of spiritual values, ethical-social principles and character qualities essential to individual freedom and social harmony" [http://biosophicalinstitute.tripod.com/objectives.htm] . It stands in contrast to biology, which can be broadly described as the "understanding of life".

History of Biosophy

The term Biosophy was probably first used in 1806 by Ignaz Paul Vitalis Troxler, a Swiss philosopher whose early works followed F. W. J. Schelling. It was later used by other philosophers like Peter Wessel Zapffe (1899-1990), who used biology as the foundation of his philosophy. Zapffe first set out his ideas in Den sidste Messias (en. "The Last Messiah") (1933). Later Zapffe gave a more systematic defence in his philosophical treatise "Om det tragiske" (en. "On the tragic") (1941). The Biosophical Institute claims that Dr. Frederick Kettner (1886-1957) was the founder of biosophy [http://biosophicalinstitute.tripod.com/kettner.htm] . Kettner was himself originally inspired by the organicism of Constantin Brunner.

Contemporary 'biosophers' include Jong Bhak, who defines Biosophy as a "new way of performing philosophy generated from scientific and biological awareness" [http://biosophy.org/index.php/Main_Page] . Bhak developed his theory of Biosophy while studying at Cambridge university in 1995 and afterwards. The main difference of Bhak's biosophy from other philosophy is that his biosophy is a computable philosophy. It borrows Russell's logicism and extends it to a computational set of ideas and knowledge. One ultimate aim of biosophy is to construct a logical thinking machine that can do philosophy for human beings. See more on this [http://biosophy.org] .

Theory of Biosophy

Zapffe's arguments have been understood in relation to philosophical pessimism and existentialism. He is also sometimes regarded as a nihilist.

The Biosophy Program was presented on the Internet by Anna Öhman & Svenolov Lindgren in January 1998 [http://www.geocities.com/biosophy/] . They noted that "the term biosophy was previously used by Zapffe (1941) in a literary context for the analysis of human social life based on philosophy of existence and biological facts. Such a narrow circumscription of biosophy is in our opinion no obstacle to widen the definition to encompass all systematic thinking on biological issues."

The Biosophy Program was intended to circumscribe and systemize biological studies in a philosophical framework to support teaching at courses on philosophy and courses on biology. The biosophical thinking is defined by Öhman & Lindgren in five philosophical fields and discriminated from Næss’ ecosophy.

Objectives

* To create biosophical groups for character and peace education where the individual has opportunities of self-improvement.
* To encourage integration among individuals based on their mutual interest in a spiritual purpose in life.
* To network with other groups and organizations interested in character and peace education working cooperatively with them.
* To replace the blind acceptance of theological beliefs, superstitions and dogmas with the cultivation of spiritual intelligence as the basis for the Religion of Freedom and Friendship.
* To create a world-fellowship of peace-loving human beings who have overcome religious, national, racial and social prejudices who can work creatively for the growth of democracy, spiritual personal growth and world peace.
* To work for the synthesis of religion, philosophy, science, education and art.
* To perpetuate and advance Dr. Frederick Kettner's principles and work for the development and cultivation of the character and peace nature in young people.
* To create a Peace Department in the national governments headed by a Secretary of Peace, and to establish peace universities.
* To establish a world-fellowship of thinking human beings who can work creatively for the growth of spiritual democracy and world peace.
* To cooperate in the advancement of humanity from civilization to the age of soulization.

ee also

* Biology
* Bioinformatics
* Biophysics

External links

* [http://www.kheper.net/ecognosis/essays/Biosophy.htm Essay at Ecognosis]
* [http://biosophicalinstitute.tripod.com/objectives.htm The Biosophical Institute]
* [http://biosophy.org BioSophy.org]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Friedrich Kettner — (* 24. Januar 1886[1] in oder bei Czernowitz, Österreich Ungarn; † März 1957) war das Pseudonym des Lehrers, philosophischen Autoren und Dichters Friedrich Katz. Nach seiner Immigration in die USA nannte er sich Frederick Kettner. Der Name… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste des théories philosophiques — Les écoles de philosophie ont eu des théories philosophiques variées, elles sont listées ci dessous. Sommaire : Haut A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A Absolutism  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Peter Wessel Zapffe — (December 18 1899 October 12 1990) was a Norwegian author and philosopher. He was born in Tromsø and was well known for his somewhat pessimistic view of human existence. His basic thoughts about the error of human existence are presented in the… …   Wikipedia

  • The Last Messiah — For the song The Last Messiah by Hawkwind, see Church of Hawkwind Den sidste Messias (English: The Last Messiah), published in 1933, is one of Peter Wessel Zapffe s most significant essays as well as concepts, which sums up his own thoughts from… …   Wikipedia

  • List of magical terms and traditions — This is a list of magical terms and traditions dealing with various occult practices, traditions, and components of magic. This list is not intended for topics like stage magic, illusion, or other entertainment based definition. It is also not… …   Wikipedia

  • Biosofía — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Biosofía, proviene de las raíces griegas Bios y Sophos, entendiéndose por esta unión de términos, sabiduría de la vida. La Biosofía corresponde a un movimiento humanista fuertemente influenciado por Baruch Spinoza,… …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”