why study film
philosophically?
"The
heart of so great a mystery can never be reached by following one
road only."
Q. Aurelius Symmachus
Relatio Tertia
"A sense of wonder
started [hu]man[s] philosophizing, in ancient times as well as today.
Their wondering is aroused, first, by trivial matters; but they
continue on from there to wonder about less mundane matters such
as the changes of the moon, sun, and starts, and the beginning of
the universe. What is the result of this puzzlement? An awesome
feeling of ignorance. [Humans]....begin to philosophize, therefore,
to escape ignorance..."
Aristotle, Metaphysics
"The value of philosophy
is, in fact, to be sought largely in its very uncertainty. The [hu]man
who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in
the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs
of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown
up in his [her] mind without the cooperation or consent of his deliberate
reason...As soon as we begin to philosophize, on the contrary, we
find that even the most everyday things lead to problems to which
only very incomplete answers can be given. Philosophy, though unable
to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to the doubts
which it raises, is able to suggest many possibilities which enlarge
our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom. Thus, while
diminishing our feeling of certainty as to what things are, it greatly
increases our knowledge as to what they may be...it keeps alive
our sense of wonder by showing familiar things in an unfamiliar
aspect."
Bertrand Russell from
The Problems of Philosophy
"Education either
functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate the integration
of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and
bring about conformity to it, or it becomes the practice of freedom,
the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively
with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation
of their world."
Paulo Friere from
Pedagogy of the Oppressed
"Be not conformed
to this world but be ye transformed by the renewal of your minds."
Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. citing Romans 12: 2
"Philosophy
involves seeing the absolute oddity of what is familiar and trying
to formulate really probing questions about it."
Iris Murdoch