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I was talking to a friend to paraphrase:

"Freud is the kind of guy who had the like the Feynman attitude: 'Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it.' and while that's useful for certain fields it's a hindrance for a field whose primary concern should be human well being."

Is this an apt reading of Freud or is my friend's thoughts unfounded?

More Anonymous
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  • So it's not by Freud, but about Freud? – Mozibur Ullah May 06 '22 at 21:34
  • @MoziburUllah yes. Edited the title. Thanks – More Anonymous May 06 '22 at 21:50
  • The Feynman 'quote' seems to be apocryphal. Does not appear in his books or cited in a biography. Oldest book citing "physics is like sex" is Scary Monsters and Bright Ideas (2000) by science broadcaster Robyn Williams. On p. 44, this book claims: "Einstein said, 'You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother'. Richard Feynman added, 'Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it'." Given that Einstein didn't really say the former, it's likely that Feynman didn't really say the latter. – CriglCragl May 07 '22 at 10:34
  • So, is your friend saying, Freud would hold, sex has practical consequences but that's not why we do it. Is that what you take from it? – CriglCragl May 07 '22 at 10:37
  • No my friend was implying Freud was driven primarily by intellectual stimulus rather than human well being – More Anonymous May 07 '22 at 15:16
  • Is there real contradiction between intellectual stimulus and human well being? – Double Knot May 07 '22 at 17:44
  • @DoubleKnot while it might be intellectually stimulating to devlop the nuclear bomb I don't see how it is useful for human well being – More Anonymous May 08 '22 at 04:25
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    Isn't the quest for any of your own concerns/questions itself an intellectual stimulus and meanwhile is for your own well being at least? As for your specific above ethic question about the usage of any physical object such as a knife, the answer still lies in mind's intellect assuming here intellect includes ethics and wisdom, ie, philosophy... – Double Knot May 09 '22 at 01:55
  • @DoubleKnot All I'm saying is there is a difference between having a purely intellectual stimulus and being driven by human concern. The nuclear bomb is a valid example since over there the person is driven by intellectual stimulus but not concern for human welfare. – More Anonymous May 09 '22 at 07:07
  • To elaborate a bit further and be a bit more abstract one can use philosophy as a means to defend their value system and another can use it to inform their value system as well. – More Anonymous May 09 '22 at 07:09
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    From your last comment, it shows the importance of philosophy if you'd like others agree with yours value system, and this is intellectual from my perspective... – Double Knot May 09 '22 at 21:41

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