Is Philosophy old-fashionied or is it still alive and well?

Question

Everyone seems to talk about philosophy as if it is some sort of old worn out rag.
I personally believe that life itself is philosophy. Everything that a individual or group believes is their philosophy and what we believe defines who we are. Philosophy is everywhere.
All businesses, schools, religions, and countries revolve around their own philosophy. Even all our sciences and matematics started with philosophy.
What do you think?

Answer 1

An Ideal is only as good as the people using it, so philosophy is both new and old, begining and end, a pradoxical thought pattern in the minds that choose to see it. A person who says philosophy is worn out is actually living in that philisophical mind set, philosophy has always been a state of mind, and every single human being has there own state of mind. It is the most popular thought process, you just have to see it for what it is, then label it so others understand.

Answer 2

I think you are right. People get the idea that philosophy is old-fashioned because so much of philosophy is the work of people centuries or millennia dead. But its not, philosophy is a flourishing field. I should know, I'm hoping to get a job in ethics after i finish my studies. But don't take my word for it, look at the major controversies of today: abortion, stem cell research, welfare, foreign aid, capital punishment, and many more are all topics in ethics, a subsection of philosophy. The existence of god, our duties to other people, the nature of morality, etc. all drive the "culture war" and are all philosophical issues. of course the "culture war" is pretty shallow and the arguments that occur in it are more often illogical than they are logical, but it is still philosophy, or at least tries to be. The areas of philosophy of science, phil. of education, political philosophy, and social philosophy are also areas that are quite popular today. They're just not usually acknowledged as philosophy. The areas i'm interested in are ethics, political phil., social phil., and phil. of religion. (I guess I like controversy) I don't think that anybody pretends that the issues these subjects deal with are an "old worn out rag."

Answer 3

I don't think that philosophy, the love of and search for wisdom, will ever be an "old worn-out rag."
Everyone has always sought answers to the age-old (and mostly unanswerable) questions and I believe everyone always will.
It's not really the answers that are so important; it's asking the questions.
As with poetry, philosophy will forever be an expression of the human spirit - a quest to define the indefinable and to try to understand the universe and ourselves.

Answer 4

philosophy is an ever evolving thought process that changes as life's effects is evident in our daily lifes. some hold tight to what they believe and others let the flow of life change them if it is strong enough to make it happen. each of us have our own strenghts and weaknesses
some talk about it as a worn out rag because so many before us have laid the ground work but time and experiences still strike out and change the ways we think slowly or quickly as there is no proper way to judge what is right and should be for each of us

Answer 5

You don't make sense I don't believe you know what the word means.

We all have philosophical thoughts about most things that effect us, it what separates us from other species, that we can think freely, because we do not act innately like animals, we can manipulate our environment, and find new ways of advancing our civilisation.

Answer 6

Well, since your question is under "Philosophy," I would venture to say, "it's here to stay. (Philosophically" speaking.)

Answer 7

It is the foundation of all civilization. So it has to be.

Answer 8

in theory...